Clone Wars Recap - Episodes 1 - 10

So, we've reached a natural point of reflection in the Clone Wars series. There's a Clone Wars marathon going on, the show won't be back until January, and we're ten episodes into the first season. For now, just before the holiday, I'm going to review my ratings, talk about the episodes in rank 1 - 10, and then talk about what these first episodes bode for the future.

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1. Lair of Grievous (Episode 1o) - **** 1/2

The most cinematic and thematically solid episode. It also features a mix of fresh characters and dynamics.

2. Duel of the Droids (Episode 7) - **** 1/2

Delivered with golden hues, excellent pacing, and well-directed action. Felt very much like, well, Star Wars.

3. Destroy Malevolence (Episode 4) **** 1/2

Takes the standard prequel-era characters and mixes them into an original trilogy set-up. The result is a wonderfully satisfying homage to everything you missed about the OT, and everything you wanted in the Prequels.

4. Rookies (Episode 5) ****

Exceptional episode that hopefully will be the beginning of a trend towards more episodes just like this one. The only problem I had was that it's the first one: we don't know the clones well enough to feel it when they die. Otherwise, great stuff.

5. Cloak of Darkness (Episode 9) *** 3/4

Many people's favorite episode, and a real winner. All around awesome except for one big caveat: why is Ahsoka always right? Isn't her role to...learn? Hard to ignore that problem in an episode so full of Tano.

6. Ambush (Episode 1) *** 1/2

The perfect introduction to the series, if offering little new. Good to see Yoda being playful, and the action feeling zippy.

7. Rising Malevolence (Episode 2) ***

Introduction of Plo Koon, and a dark episode to lead into the Malevolence arc. A little static, and Plo Koon is a bit generic. The stakes, though, do feel dire.

8. Shadow of Malevolence (Episode 3) ***

Totally fun "bombing run" episode that has "Ahsoka knows best" syndrome. Still...Y-Wings! Love the Y-Wings!

9. Downfall of a Droid (Episode 6) ** 1/2

A lead-in to the far better episode Duel of the Droids. It's biggest problem: does anyone really think Artoo dies? Raise your hands. Also, Anakin comes off like a dick.

10. Bombad Jedi (Episode 8) ** 1/2

Better than its reputation, but sort of all-over-the place and weird. Like Jar Jar himself.

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The series has had exactly two stand alone episodes - Rookies and Ambush. Everything else was loosely, or directly, a part of a story arc: The Malevolence "trilogy;" the Downfall/Duel of the Droids two-parter; and the Nute Gunry-arc (Bombad Jedi, Cloak of Darkness and Lair of Grievous). I, personally, love these forays into story-arcs, and hope it emboldens the showrunners to take it further as the series rolls on.

It also strikes me that any of the story-arcs in the first ten episodes of the series would have made better feature releases than the actual feature itself did. The Malevolence Trilogy seems made for a DVD release of its own, maybe with a little editing to hang all three episodes together. You've got a just under 70 minute mini-movie right there.

If there's any major flaw in the series, it's Ahsoka. The series is all over the map with her. I have no idea what lesson the writers are intending to teach when she condescends to more experienced Jedi and is proven right. Is this to show young women that they should be pro-active, or to encourage kids to ask a lot of questions or...what? Because it appears to undercut the entire premise of the Master-Padawan relationship in a way that's not only unrealistic, but cloying.

Also, all the victories of the Republic are hollow in the midst of the larger context. The Clone Wars are a sham after all. In order to be more than a series of fun adventures clouded in a sort of distracting irony; we need to see war stories from a psychological (as opposed to story) perspective. The idea of this as "Star Wars meets Band of Brothers" was thrown about liberally when the series was being promoted. I say "heck yes" to that. These can, and should, be war stories.

It's good to see the villains as dangerous, and these last few episodes delivered that. Asajj Ventress, General Grievous, the Commando Droids, traitorous humans... we're getting a better sense of the enemy and what makes them formidable. The more of this we see, the more we'll care about Ahsoka or Captain Rex when their backs are to the wall.

Ten episodes in, we definitely have been watching a steady increase in both quality of the episodes, and of our own expectations. Let's hope the series continues to evolve and takes more chances. Regardless, the Clone Wars series is proving to be some of the best of the non-film product that has come out of Lucasfilm to date. And we're not even half-way through the first season.

The Force is with us!

Season 1, Episode 7 - Duel of the Droids

Duel of the Droids is the second of a two-parter, and a thoroughly entertaining one at that. It's also directed, notably, by Rob Coleman himself: the animation director for the prequel trilogy.

His experience shows in every frame of this episode. Lightsaber duels are performed with moody panache; the dive onto Skytop Station is bathed in autumn hues; the final "duel" of the episode's namesake is staged with racous tension, and wouldn't have looked out of place in one of the films.

Essentially, the story is of the rescue of Artoo from the clutches of the Separatists. Much like Destroy Malevolence, it involved infiltrating on Separatist ground, racing against the clock, and outthinking superior numbers. It's got all the best elements of a good Star Wars adventure, and it delivers.

While the action soars, Duel of the Droids doesn't overlook the details. Grievous's dispatching of Gha Nachkt comes as a violent shock (and a shoutout to a deleted scene in Revenge of the Sith), for example. We also see, for the first time, Artoo completely disassembled, in an amusing sequence.

It's also inventive. The quoting of other adventures is at a minimum here; as well. We see the first duel between Ahsoka and Grievous, and the battle is uniquely suited to these two relatively new characters. R2-D2s battle with his unlucky replacement shows Star Wars fans something they've never had the pleasure to see, as well. Even if (as stated in the previous episode's review) there is never any real question about Artoo's safety, it's a vibrant episode, one of the series best so far.

Rating (out of five) **** 1/2

Season 1, Episode 6 - Downfall of a Droid

Downfall of a Droid is the setup episode for a superior payoff, Duel of the Droids. On its own, it's perfectly acceptable television, with some great character moments and battle sequences, but it's ultimately incomplete. It also reveals an essential weakness the series has: putting well-trod characters in jeopardy.

Artoo is lost in a space battle in this episode, and is replaced by the seemingly incompetent R3-S6. While everyone around Anakin views Artoo as lost and replaceable; Anakin can't let go of his friend. To add fuel to his argument that Artoo must be found, Anakin notes that Artoo contains a full array of Republic Military schematics in his databanks. With that, the Republic agrees to let him seek out Artoo.

Will Artoo be rescued? Of course. As hard as the episode works to establish moodiness and menace, the outcome is rarely in doubt. It makes for a less than compelling storyline overall. The fact that the action and character work rise to the level they do is a testament to the expert work done here. Let's face it: we all know Artoo makes it out alive.

Only 6 episodes into the series, the idea that Anakin can't "let go" is already a bit soggy. In fact, it's almost counter-intuitive. Anakin's loyalty here plays out like a heroic quality; but in the ultimate saga of the prequels, its his fatal flaw. Or, perhaps, its simply Jedi orthodoxy that creates Darth Vader. It's certainly complex, but its thoroughly ambiguous. In episodes like this one, where Anakin's loyalty makes him try to save a beloved character, it's hard to remember the sense of forboding that his rebelliousness is intended to illicit.

Also, Anakin's mistrust of R3-S6 (later vindicated) comes off as baseless and intolerant, initially. It's hardly Anakin's judgment that R3 is a traitor; he simply feels that the droid is incompotent. The distinction here makes for a less sympathetic Anakin (fine with me) but when the second part of the series reveals R3's intentions, it comes off as all-too-easy in terms of justifying Anakin's behavior.

That being said, I enjoyed the smarmy introduction of Gha Nachkt (voiced by Ron Perlman); a sort of less than charming Watto with bad intentions. The IG assasin droid scene, as well, is certainly energetic and fun.

The next episode builds off of this one nicely, though, and winds up as one of the series best episodes to date. So maybe the slow burn here, flaws and all, are worth a few odd notes.

Rating (out of five) ** 1/2