A Long Time Ago During the Clone Wars: "Rookies," "Downfall of a Droid" & "Duel of the Droids"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

Have you been yearning for more R2-D2 during your "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" viewing experience so far? If so, then these episodes are right up your alley. Let's get to it.

"Rookies," Season One, Episode 5

"The best confidence builder is experience."

Narrator: "Clone forces rally! As the war escalates in the Outer Rim, the Jedi Knights are spread thinly across the galaxy. Many new clones are rushed into service to support their Jedi generals. Unfortunately, because of the relentless demands of battle, many young clones must join the struggle before their intensive training has been completed. These clones, manning a vital network of tracking stations are all that stand between the Republic and invasion..."

General Grievous and his droid army are planning on launching a full out assault on the clone homeworld of Kamino. If they can destroy Kamino, where the clones are cloned, then they will cripple the Republic army and win the war. To help with their mission, they target a listening outpost in the Outer Rim. The same listening post tasked with alerting the Republic of droid army incursions to Kamino. Staffed by a few rookie clones, can they stop Grievous and protect Kamino?

Kaboom!

This is another episode of "The Clone Wars" focused mainly on the clone troopers that are the main force fighting the war for the Republic. I always enjoy when the show sort of reveals more of the minutiae of war and it does so again with this episode. It makes sense that the Republic and probably the Separatists have listening posts scouting for enemy activity, but it doesn't seem exciting so why focus on it? I loved how these stations are staffed by rookie soldiers. The Republic need all the men they can get so they are releasing these clones before they are fully cooked but they aren't throwing them onto the front lines to be canon fodder. There was something about this that I really enjoyed.

We are introduced to commando droids this episode and they are kind of more efficient than your standard droid trooper. Like, a little bit more competent. They are able to take over the listening post and fool Anakin and Obi-Wan by wearing a clone helmet and a voice simulator, but once Rex and Cody show up then it's a wrap. If you're a fan of Clone episodes then this has everything you love. Rex and Cody. A selfless sacrifice by a clone brother. Explosions. Blaster battles. A poignant ending after the rookies prove themselves. All great stuff.

I was kind of surprised that Obi-Wan and Anakin weren't suspicious when there was definitely stuff happening at that outpost that should have raised some eyebrows and maybe should have made them check things out. But, nope. As long as that beacon was still going, then everything was fine.

I need point out the stellar voice work of veteran voice actor Dee Bradley Baker who is the voice of all the clones in "The Clone Wars." He does a great job making each clone feel unique using just his voice. It's filled with nuance and I appreciate it. He's the Tatiana Maslany of voice acting.

Grade: B+

"Downfall of a Droid," Season One, Episode 6

"Trust in. your friends, and they'll have reason to trust in you."

Narrator: "After suffering a series of disastrous defeats at the hands of General Grievous, the Republic's foothold in the Outer Rim is in jeopardy. Commissioned to protect the world Bothawui, Anakin Skywalker and his weary battle group are all that stands between the system and domination by the droid army..."

After a raucous battle between Anakin's Gold Squadron and Grievous, where they win and Anakin barely escapes with is life, R2-D2 is lost. Obi-Wan deems this an acceptable loss until Anakin informs his master that he hasn't' wiped R2's memory banks so the Astromech unit is filled to the brim with sensitive information that can't fall into the Separatists hands. Anakin, Ahsoka and R2's replacement, the super suspect R3-S6 aka Goldie track R2 to a Trandoshan smuggler. Can they save him before Grievous gets his claws on him?

Ineffectual scolding.

One thing "The Clone Wars" did that I really appreciate is that they helped turn General Grievous into a real threat. He's pretty cool in "Revenge of the Sith" and you know he's dangerous, but in "The Clone Wars" you really get a sense of how dangerous. In "The Clone Wars" you get a sense that Anakin is a rebellious jackass. I mean, yes, we've always known that but we are less than a dozen episodes in and I'm already sick of the whole "Anakin disobeys direct orders, saves the day so faces no consequences" thing. It is happening every episode he is in and I'm over it. Of course Anakin's daring plot to use Gold Squadron to go after Grievous using the asteroid field works. Even though he almost dies, you know Anakin will do it again. Plus, like, there are no consequences when R2 is stolen filled with data Anakin left there. Sigh. I hate to break it to you, Obi-Wan, but I think the attachment lesson has sailed.

Anakin's new droid, R3-S6, who Ahsoka nicknames Goldie, is a shiny new astromech unit and is also very clearly a spy for Grievous. Oops, spoiler alert. But seriously, if you didn't see that twist coming a mile away after Goldie is just comically bad at its job then you must have never watched tv before. 

This episode is a lot of set up. The sequence with the Trandoshan and the assassin droids coming after Anakin and Ahsoka is great, but you know the big stuff is going to happen in the next episode.

Grade: B

"Duel of the Droids," Season One, Episode 7

"You hold onto friends by keeping your heart a little softer than your head."

Narrator: "Missing in action! Anakin Skywalker's heroic droid navigator R2-D2 was lost in battle. When a desperate search fails to locate Artoo, Anakin is forced to take on a new navigator, R3-S6. Now the Jedi embark on a dangerous mission, to find a secret enemy listening post. Meanwhile, R2-D2 has fallen into the hands of a vile droid smuggler and is on his way to General Grievous who will surely plunder the Republic's secrets hidden within him..."

While searching for a listening post, Anakin and Ahsoka get a distress signal Anakin believes may be from Artoo. Rather than wait for reinforcements per Obi-Wan's instructions, Anakin rushes to aid R2. Once there it's a race to retrieve R2 before Grievous absconds with him and the secrets inside him.

Duel of the Fates... wait.

I'm going to just completely ignore the Anakin ignoring direct orders thing AGAIN, because you all already know how I feel about that. Overall, this episode is a lot more enjoyable and action packed than the previous one. 

First off, watching R2 get basically tortured is heartbreaking. It's crazy how attached I am to that little Astromech, but seeing him disassembled and strewn across that table like he was just scrap made me sad and mad. Let's be real, I wasn't necessarily that upset when Grievous lightsabers Gha Nachkt, the Trandoshan smuggler that sold Artoo to Grievous in the first place. He got what was coming to him! 

This episode is great because there are stakes and a time table. It's nice that every one finally figures out that Goldie is a spy. Especially since the way he was acting, he might as well have had "I'm a spy for Grievous" painted on the outside of his dome. 

The fight between Grievous and Ahsoka is really exhilarating. I remember watching that episode for the first time when it aired and wondering if Ahsoka was going to make it out of this alive. She wasn't the beloved character that she is now so there really was a sense of dread as she's trying to escape that store room. It's really tense and well done. 

The actual duel between R2 and R3 is pretty short but I like it. It's so ridiculous but so funny. It's nice to see R2 get some action and it was extra nice to see Goldie get what was coming to him. Ugh. The worst thing about this episode is that I'm on Anakin's side. What would "Star Wars" be without Artoo?

Grade: B+

Next up, Jar Jar gets mistaken for a Jedi and Ahsoka teams up with Master Luminara Unduli. 

What do you guys think of these episodes? Were you emotionally destroyed when Artoo was being tortured or was that just me? Are you ready for Anakin to have some consequences? Let me know in the comments.