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 10 - Lair of Grievous

Lair of Grievous, directed by Atsushi Takeuchi, is the most mythologically dense episode of the Clone Wars series yet. Grievous is a late addition to the Star Wars story, and his development has been taking place in front of the fan base. His first appearance, in finale of the first series of Clone Wars shorts in 2003, turns out to have been a rough sketch from early concepts. His later iterations have wavered between insect-like, cowardly, bold and cunning. The EU has addressed his origins a bit, but that's about it.

In some ways, that's a very good thing. Star Wars isn't the X-Files or Lost: sometimes the less Star Wars fans know about a character, the more fun that character is (see: Fett, Boba). Lair of Grievous, therefore, strikes the perfect balance. There are hints of his background, tantalizing teases, including the powerfully realized statues in his honor... but they are all part of the moody atmospherics.

As a Star Wars fan, I don't find myself aching for exposition. Star Wars is about story, and in Lair of Grievous, we get plenty. The action of the episode continues that storyline arc that started in Bombad Jedi and carries over my directly from Cloak of Darkness. The Jedi are still chasing Nute Gunray, and a homing beacon leads Jedi Master Kit Fisto to a remote planet in service of that pursuit. There, he reunites with a new character, his "old padawan" Nahdar Vebb, and his clone troopers. Vebb is a young Calamarian, having very recently completed the trials.

Once on the planet, they find themselves in a mysterious structure, and in grave danger. A trap has been set for them - or is it for Grievous?

The unfolding episode plays out as a lesson about the nature of war, and the difficulty the Jedi have maintaining their code and discipline in the face of such dangerous foes. Vebb is hot-headed, eager, and throughout the episode, he uses the Force in ways that seem excessive (to turn a chair around, for example); Kit Fisto's notes this with concern. When, in the end, Vebb turns to face down Grievous and starts kill Battle Droids like he's Starkiller, you know he's running straight for the wrong end of a blaster.

In many ways, I found this episode to be the antidote to the Ahsoka-is-always-right dynamic that pervaded Cloak of Darkness: here, the Jedi Master is treated as such, and his lessons of restraint are proven founded.

But beyond the storytelling, what makes the Lair of Grievous one of the best of the series thus far, is the blend of inventive design and a sense of adventure. There's comedy here, but it seems well placed (Grievous's attendant seems suitably preoccupied with housekeeping, so to speak); more than anything, there's a sense of foreboding that permeates to every characters and scene. It also helps that we see the Jedi Council for the first time in the series, and the scene is, though short, appropriately disconcerting.

More than any other episode in the series so far, Lair of Grievous reveals the character of its cast through its action and themes. By the end of it, we know much more about who (and what) Grievous is; and the same can be said for the Jedi. Hard to beat that.

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

Lair of Grievous Preview from July

Atsushi Takeuchi, director of the upcoming episode Lair of Grievous, did an in-depth preview of what looks to be a top-notch episode in July on the Official Star Wars blog. Take a look!