Star Wars The Clone Wars
I can't stress enough how much "The Clone Wars" has made the prequel films and that era more palatable for me and probably a lot of other people too. The prequel era has some great ideas and just imagine if all we had to explore them was the films. That would be tragic. So, remember that as you watch the series and run into some lackluster episodes. They are always better than the films for the most part.
"Lair of Grievous," Season One, Episode 10
"Most powerful is he who controls his own power."
Narrator: "Viceroy Gunray escapes! En route to Coruscant to stand trial for war crimes, evil Separatist leader Nute Gunray has broken free of his Jedi escort. With the help of Count Dooku's sinister agents, the villainous viceroy has made a daring getaway. Alerted to the bold prison break, Jedi Master Kit Fisto has traced the stolen ship to a remote system, hoping to recapture Gunray and return him to justice."
Jedi Master Kit Fisto tracks Nute Gunray to Vassek. He meets up with his former Padawan, Nahdar Vebb. The enter a castle expecting to find Gunray, instead they find a hologram and learn that they are in the home of General Grievous, who Count Dooku has sent the Jedis way. This is clearly a trap, but is the trap for the Jedi, Grievous or both.
 |
| Insert witty caption here. |
This episode wraps up the Gunray captured/escaped arc. I like that "The Clone Wars" takes it's time and gives these little arcs room to breathe, but not all arcs need three episodes to resolve and this is one of them that would have benefited from a smaller, tighter arc. Sorry, I just said the word "arc" so much.
Kit Fisto is one of my favorite Jedi Knights and I love that he is getting his first solo "Clone Wars" showcase. Plus, it's not some second rate bad guy he's going up against, it's General Grievous. That is pretty bad ass. I enjoyed the setting for the episode. Grievous' lair gives off heavy "Alien" vibes. The architecture is very Giger-esque. I'm not sure if that was intentional on the animators part but I'm really digging it. There is a new sassy droid to add to the pantheon of sassy droids in the "Star Wars" universe, EV-A4-D. I thought it was super cool how Grievous literally got cut off at the knees. The visual of him skittering around amplified his already insect like qualities and it was pretty awesome.
This episode is pretty action oriented which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it makes the pacing of the episode a little wonky. It is nice to see Grievous kind of on the ropes which we don't usually see on this show. Because of all the action, the emotional parts of the episode, specifically with Nahdar Vebb, don't really hit. His over eagerness and showing off telegraph not only how he is fighting but his eventual fate. There is a story to be told about how the war is changing the Jedi, especially the younger Jedi, but this isn't the episode for that. But thank you Yoda for spelling that out at the end.
Grade: B-
"Dooku Captured," Season One, Episode 11
"The winding path to peace is always a worthy one, regardless of how many turns it takes."
Narrator: "Manhunt! After a long and perilous search, the Jedi finally track down Separatist leader, Count Dooku. During a heroic attempt to capture the Count, Anakin Skywalker has gone missing. Having lost contact with Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi heads towards his friend's last known location, a lone Separatist frigate in the far reaches of the Outer Rim..."
Obi-Wan shows up to "rescue" Anakin and they confront Count Dooku. Dooku escapes and the three Force users crash land on a nearby planet. Dooku traps the Jedi in a cave with some rampaging gundarks. Dooku encounters some pirates who offer assistance, but they actually take him hostage. When Obi-Wan and Anakin show up to retrieve him, will the deal be honored?
 |
| Hot three way |
Right off the bat, I was kind of surprised that they just drop this information that Anakin was on a mission to capture Dooku on his own. I feel like that could have been a compelling episode on it's own, but you know what? No one asked me.
It's nice to have some Obi-Wan and Anakin time. And although, they quickly fall into familiar patterns, like Anakin completely disregarding everything Obi-Wan says, it is a comfortable familiarness that is kind of nice. One thing I love about Obi-Wan is that he is petty af. Apparently, I could be a Jedi because pettiness is completely allowed. The whole scene where they are trapped in the cave is hilarious. Anakin gets his lightsaber taken by Dooku, which gets some ribbing even though Obi-Wan's is shorting out. This is how you deal with someone like Anakin. Make him the bait and fuck with him. I do like how they can come together to act like Ahsoka didn't save their arguing asses from the poison gas in the cave and the second gundark. She doesn't buy it.
This episode is a ton of set up. It's fun set up, but that doesn't stop the episode from feeling like it is spinning its wheels. The Weequayan pirates led by Hondo Ohnaka are fun and they are classic pirates, trying to play both sides. Like, I get that they need to set up the next episode, but sending Jar Jar as part of the exchange team especially because he was so against it a few episodes ago. And there is no indication that Palpatine is is sending Jar Jar because he wants things to go sideways.
One thing about this episode and the last is that like the Jedi are not very intuitive or if they are they ignore it. How did Fisto and Vebb not realize Gunray wasn't there through the Force? Then in this episode Obi-Wan and Anakin drink the drinks they are offered even though they are already suspicious of the pirates. OK.
Grade: B
"The Gungan General," Season One, Episode 12
"Fail with honor rather than succeed by fraud."
Narrator: "Dooku held for ransom! After escaping capture by Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the villainous Count Dooku fell into the clutches of pirates led by the brigand Hondo Ohnaka. Eager to get custody of Dooku, the Republic agreed to pay Hondo a hefty sum in exchange for the Sith Lord. But Anakin and Obi-Wan had not counted on the treacherous cunning of Ohnaka and his band..."
After the ship carrying Jar Jar and Senator Kharrus crashes, killing the Senator, Jar Jar becomes the lead man in charge. Yikes. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Dooku have teamed up, reluctantly, to try to escape the pirates, multiple times. Can the Jedi, the Sith Lord and the Gungan escape intact while the pirates fight amongst themselves?
 |
| The Three Stooges |
This episode is kind of a jumble that has so many tonal shifts that you may get whiplash. On one hand, you have Anakin, Obi-Wan and Dooku, barely working together to escape and their disdain for each other really works against them. Hence, why three of the strongest Force users out there and they get caught by pirates three times as they try to get away. These are interactions we don't see. There is the usual manly posturing, but we also get shade and sort of a begrudging acknowledgement that they all are pretty strong. I'd watch another episode where the three of them just banter and throw shade at one another. But then, you cut to Jar Jar and the broken, dead body of Senator Kharrus and the pirates torturing Obi-Wan and Anakin. It's weird.
The other half of the episode is basically a re-tread of the last episode where Jar Jar was confused for a Jedi. It's basic Jar Jar stuff. He's clumsy. He causes problems. He somehow saves the day despite his fuckery. He has zero skill. He's not charming and I don't even think kids like him. They really need to figure out what to do with him and if I recall correctly, his appearances become sparser as the show continues and when he's on it's a bit better.
Question for the group: Is leaving the pirates to be dealt with by Dooku a form of revenge? Discuss.
Next up, Jedi Aayla Secura joins the fray and Anakin and Obi-Wan look for lost clones.
What did you all think? The first season of "The Clone Wars" is just OK, but still worth it, right? Let me know in the comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment