A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Grievous Intrigue," "The Deserter," & "Lightsaber Lost"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

We are getting deeper into "The Clone Wars" television series and the show is starting to branch out and use the war to tell interesting stories maybe on the outskirts and that is what two out of the three episodes here do.

"Grievous Intrigue," Season Two, Episode 9

"For everything you gain, you lose something else."

Narrator: "Diabolical defeat! Though Republic victories outnumber their losses, the Jedi have been unable to stop Separatist advances in the Outer Rim. The ever-elusive General Grievous stays one step ahead of his opponents. With thousands of droid armies at his command, the Jedi can never predict where Grievous will strike next until now..."

General Grievous boards the flagship of Jedi Master Eeth Koth and the Jedi is captured. A ransom holo is sent to the Jedi. Obi-Wan is able to decode a message from Koth that Plo Koon notices him tapping out in the video. Obi-Wan, Anakin and Jedi Adi Gallia mount a rescue mission, but can the Jedi save Koth and capture Grievous for good?

Another cool Jedi way better than Anakin.

I'm too lazy to comb through my past "Clone Wars" blog posts to see if I have mentioned this, but I probably have. "The Clone Wars" did a lot of work in, not redeeming the prequels, but fleshing them out to the point that they feel like integral parts of the "Star Wars" canon. One way they have done that is by taking characters that were interesting in the films, but kind of one note, and fleshing them out. A character that really benefitted from that was General Grievous. Grievous is dope. I mean, look at him. And he's clearly a badass, but introducing him in the final act of the prequel trilogy really did him a huge disservice. We weren't able to connect with him and there was a lot of exposition that filled in his backstory that while interesting was a lot in the context of a movie that's purpose was to finish Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. So, I love any opportunity "The Clone Wars gives tp further exploring Grievous. 

That being said, this episode doesn't do a lot of that and it isn't really reinventing the wheel when it comes to your typical "Clone Wars" episode. The other two episodes in this post really explore new things in the show and so while this episode isn't bad, it kind of suffers in comparison with the other two. This episode doesn't really show us anything new about Grievous. He's cruel and sadistic. He gets a thrill out of torturing and killing Jedi. Awesome. 

This episode is fine. I always love Obi-Wan and Grievous squaring off. It's full of great action, but in a lot of ways it feels like any number of episodes I've seen up to this point. I would have liked to see a bit more of Jedi Adi, but she's kind of pushed to the outskirts for Anakin, which is blah. One thing I did love was Yoda ushering the younglings out of the room AFTER they've heard Grievous talking about torturing and killing Koth. Great job.

Grade: B-

"The Deserter," Season Two, Episode 10

"It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable."

Narrator: "Fugitive! Though the Republic has won many decisive battles against the Separatist army in the Outer Rim, the Jedi have failed to capture the elusive General Grievous. After specifically targeting members of the Jedi Council, a trap was set. But following a fierce confrontation, the droid general managed to escape to the surface of the planet Saleucami. Now, the chase is on as General Kenobi leads a squadron of clone troopers and closes in on his desperate target..."

After escaping the Jedi, General Grievous crash and a contingent of droid troopers crash land on the planet Saleucami with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his clone squad in hot pursuit. While pursuing the fleeing Separatist general, Commander Rex is badly wounded by droid snipers. He and his platoon take refuge on a farm and despite his protests, Rex is left behind as the rest of the squad goes to look for help. While there, Rex is confronted by a familiar face that may force him to make a tough decision.

Clones make the worst patients.

This episode starts off like another run-of-the-mill "Clone Wars" episode and I have to say initially I was kind of zoning out. Grievous on the run on a desert type planet that is very similar to a lot of the other desert type planets that we have been on since "The Clone Wars." Obi-Wan is determined to stop Grievous once and for all. It's all very serious aside from droid humor. Then, about a third of the way through the episode, Rex gets injured, they end up on this farm and then things take a turn for the interesting. 

I should have known something cool was coming. The episode is called "The Deserter," after all. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the father is a clone. He goes by the name Cut Lawquane and it should come as no surprise that Rex is not happy to find out that Lawquane has decided that he wants no part of this war and has made a life for himself along with his family on Saleucami. I love stuff like this. I love exploring how much independence a being that is manufactured has. How much agency is theirs? How engrained in them is this "programming." It reminds me of the X-Man, Jamie Madrox aka Multiple Man. Jamie can make dupes of himself and at one point he was making them and then sending them out to learn things and live expecting them to come back so he could reabsorb them along with the knowledge they accumulated. Of course, some of these dupes rebelled and did much the same as Lawquane. 

It's been clear that despite being made, the Clone soldiers have always yearned for some sort of individuality from the way they adorn their armor to the way they come up with their call signs. But they still fight for the Republic. So, Lawquane really begs the question, how deep does that programming really go. Is it less of a pull the more that the Kaminoans clone? The episode doesn't really give us any clear answers but it does raise the questions which is really cool. Like, was Lawquane affected by Order 66? I want to know. 

"The Clone Wars" continues to get around the restrictions being an animated show aimed at kids can put up by using droids instead of people. Look at when they attack the farmstead and Rex and Lawquane go basically full Rambo on them. Lawquane hits one droid full in the face with blaster fire. Imagine if that was an actual person. It's crazy.

The episode does cut to Obi-Wan and his pursuit of Grievous, which kind of does cause the episode to drag in places, which is too bad. If this had been just a fully clone focused episode, it would probably be one of the best "Clone Wars" episodes so far.

Grade: B+

"Lightsaber Lost," Season Two, Episode 11

"Easy isn't always simple."

Narrator: "War creates opportunity for the criminal underworld! Ruthless mercenaries conspire with the Separatists to disrupt and exploit the unstable situation within the Republic. Now, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano descend into the treacherous gangster havens in an effort to find a corrupt and vile arms dealer, who is buying weapons on the black market and selling them to the Republic's enemies..."

On their mission, Ahsoka's lightsaber is pilfered. She doesn't want to tell Anakin and face his disappointment so she attempts to solve the problem on her own. In the Jedi Archives, she meets up with an elder Jedi, Tera Sinube. With Sinube's help, Ahsoka locates the thief and learns some lessons along the way.

Run!

I loved this episode right off the bat. I love episodes that are fully in Coruscant. I've always loved Coruscant. I think a city planet is so cool. The different levels, the skycars, the brightness and the neon juxtaposed against the dark and dirty and gritty. It gives me heavy "Blade Runner" vibes which I will never not be into. It's also an Ahsoka focused episode and we all know that Ahsoka is the best "Clone Wars" character so of course it's going to be super dope.

First off, the actions that Ahsoka takes in this episode make a lot of sense. You understand why she wouldn't come clean to Anakin in the first place. Ahsoka is always in a position where she is trying to prove herself to her Jedi Master and so, she definitely wouldn't want to say something to him about the lightsaber theft. I immediately thought, well, it'd be a pain, but why not just make a new lightsaber? It's been done. Then, you learn that if anyone was killed using her lightsaber, Ahsoka would feel a tremendous amount of guilt. She doesn't reject help. She initially doesn't think Sinube will b helpful, but she accepts his help and almost immediately begins to learn from him.

Sinube is a great character. He's your typical wizened older Jedi who shows up the young upstart. It's a cliché but it works here. Plus, his lightsaber is also his cane. There is some nice Batman level detective work that he does too. Sinube uses the Force in ways that Ahsoka hadn't thought of. He helps her use it more intuitively to sense feelings and emotions rather than just use it offensively. 

I really dug the chase scenes through Coruscant. Running across the rooftops. Sliding down them and down the giant moving billboards. It's such a different vibe from most episodes. All this plus an appearance from everyone's favorite Jedi librarian, Jocasta Nu. It doesn't get much better. 

Grade: A-

Next up, we meet a Duchess targeted by assassins from Mandalore. Mandalore, you say? Sounds familiar.

Did you all love these episodes? Do you dig it when the show steps outside what you expect? Let me know in the comments.