Season 1, Episode 16 - The Hidden Enemy

The Hidden Enemy is a brief prequel (or at least precursor) to the Clone Wars movie. It, therefore, takes place prior to the introduction of Ahsoka Tano, but after Attack of the Clones. The entire Clone Wars series leads into Revenge of the Sith, which is the last of the trilogy of prequels. To which I say: Star Wars continuity officially needs a spreadsheet. Maybe two. I haven't even mentioned those, you know, original three movies.

I bring this up because The Hidden Enemy has lots of little nods to the Clone Wars movie. It takes place of Christophsis, it mentions "heavy cannons" (which were the focal point of the first battle in the movie), and Asajj Ventress makes a point of getting off-world just in time to be on her mark for the start of the film. Why, exactly, it was deemed necessary to give people the events immediately prior to the Clone Wars movie isn't immediately clear to me. At least now we know.

All these little references make The Hidden Enemy a sort of oddball of an episode. At its core, beyond the obligatory set pieces, is a story that I suspect will have a big impact on fan's understanding of the clones. The idea of a clone traitor, despite the fact that the clones were bred for "obedience" and loyalty (according to the Kaminoans) means that the clones aren't brainwashed, but instead, participating in a culture of service. The line is a thin one between service and servititude where clones are concerned: they're bred (heck, grown) for combat, by the truckloads, but they're also individuals in their way. To see a clone trooper that openly disdains the Jedi opens the door for the story to come.

And so, the main story of Commander Cody and Captain Rex as Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson works very well. Cody and Rex have been well-established as characters now, and watching them feels familiar and fun. The interrogation and subsequent hunting of the traitor are certainly fun and full of fun character notes and smart moments.

The rest of the episode, though, isn't as well thought out. Obi-Wan and Anakin have a secret plan to, apparently, drive directly up to the front door of Separatist central. If that's your plan...why make it secret to begin with? Then, when they fight Asajj Ventress, she announces to them that she has an informant. What good is an informant inside your enemies camp if you announce his existence to them?

Why, I'm forced to ask, are they really fighting her at all? Not that I don't enjoy a good lightsaber duel. I do. It's one of my favorite things. (It's on the list with Brooklyn Lager, Kettle Chips and comfortable shoes.) I just like there to be a reason for the fight. My standards are low on this point. If it was "If you want to leave here, you'll have to get through me" or "I am going to make a very real attempt to kill you" I'd be satisfied. In The Hidden Enemy, it's pretty clear we're watching a lightsaber duel so we know why Obi-Wan and Anakin aren't around while the clones are sorting stuff out.

(Let me go on record, though, of loving the Asajj vs Obi-Wan flirt/fight dynamic. I can't wait until we get an episode in Season 2 that sounds like Who's Afraid of Virigina Woolf? with lightsabers. I pray for it at night.)

With these three disparate elements (the mystery, the movie lead-in, and the lightsaber duel), The Hidden Enemy tries to do too much and feels, as a result, thinner than it should with such rich material. The core story, though, answers a burding question about the clones' psychology, and rolls out in an entertaining way. That makes it an episode that's required viewing for clone wars fans, flaws and all.

Rating (out of five) ***

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The "Movie"

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) came out in the middle of August and barely took in $40 million at the box office. It was ignored by all but the most die-hard Star Wars fans, and rejected by the press. It suffered from the lack of goodwill that the prequels engendered in the mainstream audiences, and from its own lack of ambition.

Let's be honest: the Clone Wars movie is a trumped up pilot episode. Or, really, a few pilot episodes, edited together to make a "feature." It could be argued (and I'm certain it has been argued) that the feature might have been more happily received if it were originally released for the small screen.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Since the movie was less a story of its own, and more of a "release party" for the show, maybe it's best to judge it on its goals.

First of all, the movie establishes and introduces the Thunderbirds-influenced animation style of the Cartoon Network show. The look was always going to be a bit controversial, but it certainly works. The problem, perhaps, is that on the big screen, there's Pixar and Dreamworks pumping out things like Wall-E and Finding Nemo and Kung Fu Panda. Animation that simply looks breath-taking. The Clone Wars is amazing for a weekly TV show; but its simply low-rent compared to Pixar.

Second, the feature introduces the Ashoka Tano, the Togruta teenaged Padawan of Anakin Skywalker. "Snips," as Anakin bracingly calls her, offers a little bit of Star Wars for the Hannah Montana-set. One might fairly ask if Hannah Montana fans were looking for a little more Star Wars in their diet. God knows. But they've got it, and now, so do the rest of us.

Ashoka, in the feature, is a heartlessly market tested contraption, sort of the opposite of Qui-Gon Jinn. Whereas Qui-Gon seemed to be a good idea that was unrealized, Ashoka seems like a terrible idea, to which the entire film is dedicated. She treats our heroes like imbeciles, makes already bloodless scenes of war into play-time contrivances, and generally lowers the IQ of the entire feature.

Why, a reasonable Star Wars fan asks, does she exists beyond an appeal to teenage girls? The stated reason, essentially posed by Yoda, is that Anakin has too many "attachment" issues and this Padawan is a way for him to learn how to let go. Fair enough. (A lot of good it does everyone, according to Revenge of the Sith and the entire Star Wars mythos.) The dark side is in the details, though. It's hard to look the other way as Anakin's entirely unheard of Padawan shows up in this cartoon series, never to be spoken of again, and never heard of before. It's harder still to accept the idea that the only solution that the Jedi can come up with for solving the Anakin-problem is to team him up with a quippy, chirpy teenybopper in the middle of a civil war.

Her presence makes Jar Jar Binks seem positively unintrusive.

Not helping, though, is the plot. This sort of Scooby-Doo level plot revolves around a baby Hutt that's missing. It's, suffice to say, an insufficiently thought through story. There's never been much clamor for a sentimental Jabba the Hutt story (his menace here is butterknife dull) and the "hutt-let" called Stinky (I'm told he has a real name, but who really cares?) is a visual gag that attains only Michael Jackson childishness. Plus, within the confines of this plot lies a mistake so massive, it doesn't even get subtitles Huttese: Zirro the Hutt.

How many ways does Zirro the Hutt fail? He is designed with glowing tattoos and feathers. He speaks like Truman Capote. He is a gay Hutt from New York City. He is a terror. Let us speak no more of him. Ever. Again.

So... not a smashing debut for the series, so to speak.

So what went...right?

First of all, Anakin Skywalker, in the movie (and in the series) comes off as particularly likeable and heroic. In the confines of the two films in which we see an Anakin that's older than 10; there's little time for much beyond brooding. Hayden Christensen had the weight of Darth Vader on his shoulders; cartoon Anakin has no such pretense. He has no idea that he's about to become the world's biggest villain, and in the feature, he comes off as charming, fun, and resourceful.

Second, some of the action sequences were inventive. The vertical battle (despite the "race ya' to the top" boneheadedness) is staged with real style; the Obi-Wan vs. Asajj Ventress duel has some nice moments; and space battles have a nice Star Wars feel to them.

Third, it was Star Wars on the big screen. So heck, who doesn't like that?

Rating (out of five): **