A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Corruption," "The Academy," "Assassin" & "ARC Troopers"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

We are back to trying to make some solid Padmé episodes and while they are getting slightly better, they still aren't all the way there. But, we do get some solid Ahsoka action, so plus side? Let's take a look at the FOUR(!) episodes we are looking at in this episode.

"Corruption," Season Three, Episode 5

"The challenge of hope is to overcome corruption."

Narrator: "Desperate times on Mandalore! Having won neutrality for the Mandalorian system, Duchess Satine now finds herself an outsider with little aid to her people. Supplies are impossible comes by, except on the black market. As a result, the Duchess faces a world consumed by greed. Hoping to alleviate some of the tensions rising on the capital city of Sundari, Satine has called upon her friend Padmé Amidala to make a diplomatic visit..."

Padmé's visit on Mandalore couldn't have come at worse time. The planetary government is at each other's throats and a member of the notoriously corrupt Galactic Senate butting into their business isn't helpful at all. Even when Satine attempts to take Padmé to a local hospital to show some of Mandalore's good work, instead they are confronted by poisoned children. It turns out getting supplies on the black market maybe isn't the best?

Whoa, whoa, whoa

Some good news to start off with. Padmé doesn't get kidnapped once this episode! She isn't the one that's poisoned! It's kids this time! So that's progress as far as a Padmé focused episode. I loved the initial Mandalore episodes in season 2, but I enjoyed these a lot less.

The basic premise of this episode and the next is that corruption is bad. It's really bad, y'all. And the episode hits us over the head with that over and over and over again in the most unsubtle ways. Which, is disappointing, because I know the show has the ability to be more nuanced when it tells these stories. 

My biggest problem with this episode and it extends into the following one is that these characters act kind of dumb. Take Padmé when Satine is making a threat that everyone knows she isn't going to follow up on. Padmé is so aghast about the whole thing. And I'm like, girl, your husband routinely beats and/or uses the Force on prisoners all the time so why are you acting like this is so terrible. Also, isn't Padmé smart enough to realize that people who worked hard for neutrality are going to immediately turn on her when she tries to get involved?

The main conflict here is honestly pretty silly. We are talking about some random tea, plus it never feels like these kids are in any real danger. They identify the poison right away and help everyone out, so, all this running around seem a lot anticlimactic. This whole thing seems odd to me. The opening narration makes it seem like the government is aware that some of their supplies are being funneled into Mandalore by black market operatives, so is it really that difficult to believe that corruption would follow that? It seems like everyone is getting amped up over literally nothing. I know we will find out next episode why Satine thinks it's a good idea to place a Jedi in the academy, but it's a random note to end the episode on, and kind of a head scratching cliffhanger.

Grade: C-

"The Academy," Season Three, Episode 6

"Those who enforce the law, must obey the law." 

Ahsoka is called to Mandalore to teach at their Academy, the future leaders of Mandalore. Ahsoka tries to teach the kids about corruption, include Duchess Satine's nephew. The kids take their lessons to heart and end up locating a stockpile of food that the public was told never made it to the planet. The kids have routed out the corruption but can they put a stop to it with Ahsoka's help?

I hate these kids...

Oy vey. The kids in this episode. I didn't bother learning any of their names, because I kind of hate them all. I'm not even sure what to say about this episode. I'm struggling to talk about it because I really disliked it so so so much. This episode makes it a bit clearer why Satine wants a Jedi to come Mandalore and teach at the Academy. I don't think they make it clear in the last episode what Academy she was talking about. My mind just went to like a regular school, no an Academy specifically for training the future leaders of Mandalore.

I feel like the success of a lot of this episode hinges on stupidity. First off, has Mandalore really been corruption free this whole time? To the point they don't even bother teaching their cadets about the concept? You would think they would touch on it even if they haven't really experienced it recently. And, would the cadets not listen to an actual teacher who were not a Jedi, they would just ignore them and corruption would run rampant?

That brings us to this warehouse full of food that Satine had no idea had gotten to the planet. I get that the prime minister has more to do with the day to day life of the planet, but wouldn't Satine know that the supplies had arrived? And isn't it so completely obvious that this prime minister is corrupt? Seriously? Every aspect of this episodes depends on the characters being clearly, obviously ignorant. The cadets are just ignorant all the time. First of corruption, then when they think Ahsoka has betrayed them. The Prime Minister doesn't believe that Ahsoka has turned, but he doesn't realize that she knows he knows that she is faking. It's all just a mess. Mandalore deserves better. Ahsoka deserves better. Satine deserves better. Literally everyone deserves better except for those kids.

Grade: D

"Assassin," Season Three, Episode 7

"The future has many paths - choose wisely."

Narrator: "Criminals captured! Jedi Master Plo Koon and Padawan Ahsoka Tano successfully thwarted an attempt on Mace Windu's life, killing bounty hunter Aurra Sing in the process. Since that time, young Ahsoka has grown strong in the ways of the Force. Now, after several harrowing adventures alongside her Master, the two Jedi have returned to the Temple on Coruscant to receive their next mission..."

After being left on Coruscant while Anakin goes on a mission, Ahsoka begins having dreams about the supposedly dead bounty hunter, Aurra Sing, assassinating someone. She finally discerns that the target is, Padmé. The senator is heading to a conference on Alderaan, headed up by Bail Organa and Ahsoka gets permission to tag along and watch over Padmé. After a false alarm on the ship to Alderaan, Ahsoka is left to wonder if there is really a threat or are her dreams leading her astray?

Protector

I have to say, after those last two episodes, this on was a breath of fresh air. Ahsoka and Padmé kind of got the shaft in those Mandalore episodes, so it was nice to see them actually be the great characters that they are in this one. 

We don't get a lot of solo Padmé/Ahsoka time. Usually, Anakin is there to muck things up. The scene where they kind of bond is short, but really sweet and I think a lot is communicated there in very little words. It's more in their body language and the way they interact with each other than what is said. I am hopeful that we will see more of these moments in future episodes. 

There is a common trope in these types of episodes. Someone has dreams or visions of something happening with no concrete evidence. There is a false alarm. Any trust they have in this person is shattered. Of course, the threat is real and the person who had the initial vision/dream/intuition is proven right and they end up saving the intended victim. A lot of that does happen here, but no one ever doubts Ahsoka. She is always taken seriously. Even when Padmé wakes up to find Ahsoka standing over her bed brandishing a light saber when no one is there. It's nice to see that they retain their faith in her and it's super refreshing seeing as how Ahsoka is both young and female. The only slight downside to that is that trope does kind of have built-in tension so not having it removes that and I don't think the episode really does anything to replace the tension that creates.

The return of Aurra Sing is a nice treat. She's such a cool character and not one that you want to die. She's like Ventress. You want more from her. We get there reveal that Padmé's assassination was ordered by the imprisoned Ziro the Hutt. Oh goodie.

Grade: B+

"ARC Troopers," Season Three, Episode 2

"Fighting a war tests a soldier's skills, defending his home tests a soldier's heart."

Narrator: "Separatist attack! After the destruction of the Republic outpost on the Rishi Moon, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress plan an attack on the planet Kamino, home of the cloning factories. Meanwhile, aboard a Jedi cruiser, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi examine an intercepted message from General Grievous..."

When the Jedi realize the Separatists plot, it's all system go. There is a full on battle on the cloning planet to not only save the cloning machines, but stop the Separatists from escaping with samples of the clone DNA. The Jedi and Clone's get some help from the "damaged" clone 99, but will it be enough to ward off the enemy?

RIP 99

This is an episode that the show does so well. It's a full-on battle episode and honestly, the show could do this in its sleep at this point, but when it is done so well, it doesn't make the episode any more thrilling. 

We get Asajj Ventress and it honestly feels like forever since she's been in the series. We really start to get more of her in season 3 and that is really a treat. This is where her character arc really begins to take shape and within a few minutes on screen you're reminded why she is such a strong part of the Star Wars canon. 

It's nuts to think that this is the first time that Grievous and Ventress have met fas to face. But I guess it's smart to keep two of your most ruthless assets apart. If they got together, and got a wild hair, they could try to overthrow the leadership of the Separatists. Grievous is clearly pretty taken with Ventress and does his version of flirting which is both fascinating and really gross at the same time. Ventress is clearly not into it and doesn't seem as impressed with Grievous as he is with her, so maybe the Separatists didn't have anything to worry about after all.

We check back in with Echo and Fives from the season one episode, "Rookies," along with so-called failed clone, 99. With the amount of screen time 99 was getting, you just knew he wasn't going to last. It was great seeing him in the trenches with his brothers, puling his own weight. 99 dies doing what he was born to do and it is sad but it also feels like a triumph for him. It's this sort of emotional storytelling that lifts these episodes above what they would be in the hands of a lesser show.

There is some really cool droid design here. The octopus looking droids that are deployed might be my favorite design of the show so far. As always, the action is top notch, whether it's the space battles, the clone v drone battles or the Jedi battles. It is nice to see the show kind of swap things around with Anakin going after Ventress and Obi-Wan going after Grievous. It feels like Obi-Wan has the most face time with Ventress and Grievous so it's nice to see Anakin get his turn with either.

Grade: A

Next time, we've got kidnappings and a lot of Ziro the Hutt.

What do you all think of these episodes? Am I missing something in the first two? If I am, I'd love to hear some alternate thoughts in the comments.