A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Deception," "Friends and Enemies," "The Box" & "Crisis on Naboo"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

As we head towards the end of the Clone Wars and the implementation of Order 66, the show is not afraid to get a little grittier and darker and I'm not upset about it. Let's get into it.

"Deception," Season Four, Episode 15

"All warfare is based on deception."

Narrator: "A terrorist threat! Moralo Eval, mastermind of a Separatist plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, has been captured by Republic forces. But even with the criminal behind bars, rumors swirl in the underworld of Coruscant that Moralo's plot has already been set in motion... With precious time running out, the Jedi Council hatches their own plot to keep the Chancellor safe."

The Jedi Council concoct a plot to fake Obi-Wan Kenobi's death and have him take on the identity of the man who supposedly killed him, Rako Hardeen. The Council hides this information from Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, needing Anakin's natural reaction to his Master's death to sell the ruse. Obi-Wan as Hardeen ends up in prison with Eval who reveals he's also working with feared bounty hunter, Cad Bane. 

This is a lot.

This episode feels a lot different then other episodes of "The Clone Wars" and that's a good thing. I love it when the show plays with its format and this episode does this. It give us a riff off of "Face/Off" and "Prison Break," which is something I never thought I'd say. 

The opening with Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka going after Hardeen when he starts sniping at Obi-Wan is a great. It's a thrilling way to start the episode. And when the sniper gets his shot in and Obi-Wan falls off the roof and hits the ground hard, it is shocking. You know that this is not the way Obi-Wan Kenobi dies, but my eyes got wide and I was still like, whoa. The reactions of Anakin and Ahsoka really sell this as well. 

You know I love when it when the show visits the seedy underbelly of Coruscant and we get a little bit of that in this episode. Hardeen heads to a dive bar crowing about how he killed a Jedi. The bartender is a weird snake creature and it freaked me out. The way it twists and wraps around the top of the bar. I hate it and love it all at the same time. 

It's not a surprise that Obi-Wan is still alive, but it is a surprise that the Jedi are resorting to these sort of tactics. It's clear that it doesn't sit well with them. I really enjoy how that unease shows itself in Mace Windu and Yoda's body language. It seeps in their voices. Obi-Wan is being his usual lighthearted self but you can tell that is a front, particularly when they start going through the process of changing  his appearance. I never thought we'd be getting body horror in "The Clone Wars" but we get some here. Watching the bones in Obi-Wan's face shift as his face changes to Rako Hardeen's is stomach churning. And then he has to swallow a spider type droid to change his voice. I hate it.

In prison, things continue down that dark road. Obi-Wan has to go against his instincts and it's interesting to watch him kind of struggle with these moral quandaries. We get a lot of fun surprises during the prison sequence. The reveal that Cad Bane is working closely with Eval is perfect and adds another layer to the whole production because he's already distrustful of "Hardeen" so Obi-Wan has to work twice as hard to get his way in with this crew. We also get some fun cameos from young Boba Fett and Bossk. 

This episode is a great set up for what is shaping up to be a thrilling and challenging four episode arc.

Grade: A-

"Friends and Enemies," Season Four, Episode 16

"Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer."

Narrator: "Fugitives on the run! Disguised as the Jedi killer, Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan Kenobi works undercover to solve a Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Obi-Wan meets the plot's mastermind, Moralo Eval, breaking him out of jail to gain his trust. But now Kenobi faces another obstacle: bounty hunter Cad Bane. Can Obi-Wan Kenobi overcome Bane's suspicions? Or will the ruthless criminal see through his disguise and expose the Jedi? Only time will tell..."

After crashing their stolen ship in the swamps of Nal Hutta, Cad Bane, Moralo Eval and Obi-Wan Kenobi, still disguised as Rako Hardeen, search for new clothes, weapons and a new ship. Bane still doesn't trust "Hardeen" so he plots to double cross him, leaving him to the authorities of Nal Hutta. Obi-Wan turns the tables and eventually meets back up with his partners. After acquiring yet another ship, the bounty hunters are overtaken by Anakin and Ahsoka, looking for justice for the thought dead Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka is ready to let them know.

I love this episode because we rarely get these extended scenes featuring villains. This episode really showcases why Cad Bane is such a great character and has shown such longevity in the "Star Wars" universe even after "The Clone Wars" ended. He is smart and savvy and ruthless and all these qualities are on display in this episode. One of the joys of this arc, is watching Obi-Wan and Cad Bane try to one up each other and maybe gain a mutual but very, very, very, very grudging respect for one another. These are two very smart characters and I love that Bane is immediately very suspicious of Obi-Wan and is willing to do whatever he can to get him off the team.

This episode leans even more into the moral issues that Obi-Wan has as a Jedi and the things that are being done by these bounty hunters. When they go to the pawn to get new clothes and rough up the store owner, you can tell it really hurts Obi-Wan. He tries to give them credits but they aren't interested and it is really jarring. It also comes back to bite Obi-Wan in the butt when the pawn shop owner and his wife are right there to turn Obi-Wan in to security.

A new wrinkle is added to all this with Anakin and Ahsoka finding out that Hardeen is on the move and are determined to get justice for Obi-Wan. Though, Anakin's idea of justice looks an awful lot like revenge. I enjoy these scenes with Palpatine and seeing the subtle manipulation tactics he employs on Anakin when they are together one-on-one. He plays to the young Jedi's pride. And it's interesting to think of the layers here. Palpatine certainly knows about this plot by Dooku to kidnap him and he pooh poohs it while also encouraging Anakin to defy the Jedi Council. 

Ahsoka and Anakin keep ending up in shady bars in this arc. They visited the snake alien's bar and roughed him up to find the real Hardeen. And in this episode, they end up in Nal Hutta to rough up another bartender. Watching these scenes, I'm curious just how far the Jedi would go. Is this OK? This definitely feels like emotions taking over. 

Things just keep getting more and more complicated for Obi-Wan when he realizes that Anakin and Ahsoka are pursuing them. While Anakin and Cad Bane are fighting on the hull of the ship, Obi-Wan is piloting and trying to assist his former Padawan as much as he can without bringing that to the attention of Eval. These first two episodes are kind of light on full on action, particularly for "The Clone Wars," but this sequence is great. Bane's fighting style is very adaptable and he is not a pushover for the Jedi. And watching Obi-Wan step in and choke out Anakin while telling him not to follow them gives us more emotional stakes. 

Grade: A-

"The Box," Season Four, Episode 17

"The strong survive. The noble overcome."

Narrator: "Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise! Working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan leads a secret msision to uncover the Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Using cunning and courage, he gains the trust of bounty hunter Cad Bane and criminal mastermind, Moralo Eval, earning him entrance to the stronghold of Separatist leader, Count Dooku. Now it is here, on the beautiful planet of Serenno, that a barbaric contest will determine the fate of Obi-Wan Kenobi and possibly, the Republic itself."

Obi-Wan, Cad Bane and Moralo Eval land on Serenno and are met by Count Dooku. They are joined by 10 other bounty hunters and told they will be put through a test. Eval has designed a box full of death traps. Obi-Wan uses his wits and Jedi skills to try and keep as many of these bounty hunters alive as he can while trying to get Cad Bane to trust him. While watching all this, Dooku suggests that maybe Hardeen is the one who should lead the time, angering Eval.

Putting himself on a pedestal.

This is probably my favorite episode of this four episode arc. It's a simple premise. All these bounty hunters and Obi-Wan, in this box, and all they have to do is survive. It's fun to see what they are going to have thrown at them next and Obi-Wan being a Jedi and trying to protect all life even bounty hunters, just adds another layer to the proceedings. 

These other bounty hunters are super interesting and even though we don't get a ton of time with them, I really enjoyed them. Along with Cad Bane and Obi-Wan, there is Derrown the Exterminator, Sixtat, Embo, Jakoli, Onca (and his brother who Bane killed for his hat), Twazzi, Sinrich and Mantu. Dooku reveals that only five of the bounty hunters will continue on with the plan to kidnap Palpatine and the box is meant to whittle them down.

"The Box" really makes the most out of it's simple premise. Each death trap is even more difficult than the last. The first is toxic gas filling the room. It seems like an easy fix, get on these raised platforms to avoid it but then they start hitting the ceiling. Obi-Wan figures out that the way out is to go low, finding a trapdoor and leading them under it. The next is a series of pillars shooting out the sides of the walls with spikes on the wall. Again, it's Obi-Wan that figures out the solution, recognizing a pattern. 

The next trap Obi-Wan can't help with. There is a force shield closing in on them that will fry them if it touches them. Derrown is a Parwan who drinks a solution that only his body chemistry can handle and that allows him to reach outside the force shield and shut it off. Derrown is the coolest of the bounty hunters for me. The Parwan design is really neat, with an oval shaped head and three big eyes around it. 

As they watch from a control room, Dooku takes a page out of his master's handbook and takes jabs at Eval as they watch Obi-Wan relatively easily solve Eval's traps. He keeps telling Eval that maybe Hardeen should be the leader which drives him crazy and makes things personal. The final test is a sniper trial that Eval sabotages so Obi-Wan can't win. This doesn't sit well with Cad Bane who saves Obi-Wan. When, Obi-Wan refuses to kill Eval, Dooku puts Cad Bane in charge of the mission.

I love that this episode has stakes. Obi-Wan wants to save everyone, but he can't. He can't control the decisions that the others make so there are casualties, which I appreciated. It made things more dangerous and more real. 

Grade: A

"Crisis On Naboo," Season Four, Episode 18

"Trust is the greatest of gifts, but it must be earned."

Narrator: "Supreme Chancellor in peril! After surviving the ordeals of the Box, Obi-Wan Kenobi, working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, is invited to join Count Dooku's plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Working with a team of deadly bounty hunters, Obi-Wan travels to the planet of Naboo, where the Chancellor will preside over the Festival of Light. Now, as the Jedi Council and Count Dooku finalize their respective plans, a deadly confrontation seems inevitable..."

The time has come. The plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine is finally set in motion. Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to alert the Jedi on Naboo to what is going on to save them. After it goes into action, it feels like the Jedi won, but Count Dooku has a secondary plan that he puts in action. Can Anakin and Obi-Wan put aside their differences and save the Chancellor?

Standing guard.

It's a testament to these episodes that I kind of forgot about the plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine until this episode. There's just been so much more going on that was so good that the reason for all this kind of got put on the back burner until the final episode of this arc. That is good and bad. 

The bad part is that "Crisis on Naboo" is the weakest episode of this four episode mini arc. That seems to be a common them when "The Clone Wars" does these mini arcs. The final episode is just a big battle that wraps things up and any nuance shown in the previous episodes is basically non existent.

That is partially the case here. The first part of the episode is pretty action heavy. The bounty hunters attempt to kidnap Palpatine. They are almost successful but Obi-Wan reveals himself to Bane and Eval and takes them down just as the other Jedi arrive. It's here that things pick up a little bit.

Obi-Wan reveals he is alive and disguised as Hardeen. Anakin is upset that he wasn't let in on the plan. He immediately defaults to blaming the Jedi Council. He's sure that this is just another example of them keeping things from him, because they don't think he needs to know or they don't trust him. Obi-Wan reveals that it was his decision to keep Anakin out of the loop. This clearly hurts Anakin, but we all know Anakin can't process his feelings in a healthy way. He sees being hurt as a sign of weakness so he defaults to anger. He clearly feels betrayed and it will be interesting to see how this feeling of betrayal towards Obi-Wan plays out throughout the rest of the series.

When there is still ten minutes left in the episode and the plot seems wrapped up you know that other stuff is going to go down. And it does. Dooku isn't at the rendezvous because he had bugged the sniper case and heard Obi-Wan talking to the Jedi. So he tries to take out Palpatine when he's alone with Anakin. Luckily, Obi-Wan figures things out and helps Anakin save Palpatine. Dooku employs some tactics from his Master as he gets away. Telling Obi-Wan that he was the only real challenge and that Anakin was no match for him. If you know Dooku's fate, that's kind of ironic.

Grade: B

Next up, we close out season four with another four episode arc that has us checking in with Asajj Ventress and Savage Oppress and gives us the glorious return of Darth Maul.

What did you all think of these episodes? Am I too hard on these concluding episodes? Let me know in the comments.