A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "An Old Friend," "The Rise of Clovis" & "Crisis at the Heart"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

If you've missed Rush Clovis since he tried to poison Padmé, well you're in luck. And we get some more tension in the Padmé and Anakin's doomed marriage. Yay? Let's get to it.

"An Old Friend," Season Six, Episode 5

"To love, is to trust. To trust is to believe."

Narrator: "As the war between the Republic and the Separatists intensifies, many are driven from their home planets, and it is up to Senator Amidala to secure aid for them. All eyes turn to the Banking Clan and the planet Scipio. In an effort to remain independent from the Republic and the Separatists, all operations are divided and money transactions are performed in a neutral zone surrounding the Main Vault. For operations to continue there must be no war on Scipio. However, worry about the stability of the Banking Clan is brewing within the Republic as the wellspring of money may be in jeopardy..."

Padmé is shocked to find out that the Banking Clan representative who is assigned to help her is Rush Clovis. She initially refuses to work with him but Clovis comes to her room to tell her that the five heads of the Banking Clan have the Clan on the verge of collapse and are funneling the money to secret accounts. Padmé agrees to work with him to prove that, but they are caught and she is arrested. Anakin shows up to bail her out, but isn't happy that she's working with Clovis. All this and a bounty hunter is on their trail.

This guy.

We haven't had a Padmé focused episode in a while and I'm excited for it but I'm also trepidatious because Rush Clovis is back. I wasn't a fan of his first appearances on the show and I wasn't necessarily excited to see that he was going to be a focus of this three episode arc. 

I think that having an arc that focuses on the Banking Clan is interesting. The fact that this centralized financial institution is financing both sides of this war is kind of mind blowing and a commentary on all this. I mean, there have been a lot of arcs and ruminating on what it means to be neutral and if planets can actually be neutral in these times of war. And it shouldn't come as any surprise that the only way that you could remain truly neutral is to control the money.

It shouldn't come as a shock that the heads of the Banking Clan are corrupt and war profiteering. Though, there's a case to be made that if you are financing both sides of the war you're probably profiteering even if you aren't funneling money to the equivalent of offshore accounts. It's a little strange to me that the Banking Clan would spring Rush Clovis on Padmé given their history and his history with the Republic but that feels like one of those things that you just have to go with.

I feel like both Clovis and Padmé make a lot of weird decision in this episode. Clovis is trying to get Padmé to trust him and the way he does that is to sneak on to the balcony of her residence on Scipio. That definitely feels like a smart idea. I guess its lucky for Clovis that Embo the bounty hunter shows up because that convinces her to help Clovis expose the corruption along with a subtle but strong push from Palpatine. I will say that one thing that sticks with me during this sequence is Padmé's relative unconcern for the safety of her handmaiden. They are so close to her and she's already had one killed protecting her so it is strange that she waits so long to ask how Teckla is doing.

Anakin shows up and is the absolute worst. When he finds out that Padmé is working with Clovis he both acts like a petulant child and treats his wife as if she is a child. That is really an accomplishment. I don't think I've ever disliked Anakin as much as I do during this sequence with and that includes when he was out murdering younglings. He is just the absolute worst honestly.

This is not a bad set up episode for this arc. I do think the action scene with Embo pursuing Clovis, Anakin and Padmé feels a little tacked on, even though it is well done and we get an ending episode reveal that Darth Sidious hired Embo.

Grade: B-

"The Rise of Clovis," Season Six, Episode 6

"Jealousy is the path to chaos."

Narrator: "War profiteers! In a time of war, credits are the fuel that fund all operations. Senator Amidala is sent to Scipio to resolve matters between the Republic and InterGalactic Banking Clan. Here she is reunited with Rush Clovis, a once close friend, but now a known traitor to the Republic. When Clovis reveals corruption at the core of the Banking Clan, Senator Amidala helps him steal vital files that may uncover the full extent of the plot. Anakin Skywalker is sent to rescue the Senator and escort the information back to Coruscant, leaving the Banking Clan in chaos..."

Rush Clovis brings his information to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. He is swayed by the information and asks Padmé to work with Clovis to locate the secret accounts where the missing money is being funneled. Despite Anakin's objections and demands, Padmé does work with him. When Anakin walks in on an intimate moment between Clovis and his wife he loses it which could cost him the thing that he cares about the most: his wife. In the meantime, Dooku approaches Clovis with an offer he can't refuse.

He is so constipated.

So, this Banking Clan storyline is important, right? That's a rhetorical question because it definitely is, but it's not the most interesting thing about this episode. I'll briefly touch on the major moments. The big development is that Dooku provides Clovis the evidence of the secret accounts and he uses that information to get appointed the new head of the Banking Clan. He, stupidly, thinks that this won't mean he's in the pocket of the Separatists, but Rush Clovis isn't known for his high intelligence. My big issue with the Clovis/Banking Clan storyline is that it feels too easy for him to get this lofty position. He is a traitor to the Republic and it feels like these Senators have long memories. I get that Palpatine endorsed him, but it feels like the vote would have been closer than it seems to have been.

The best part of this episode is the way that it tackles the marriage of Anakin and Padmé. I haven't been a big fan of how the show has handled this relationship in past episodes, but I think as the series starts to maneuver the characters into position for "Revenge of the Sith" things start to come in to sharper focus. There are three really great moments in this episode. The first is the conversation that Obi-Wan has with Anakin. You really feel the history between these two characters. I think its really important that while Obi-Wan is trying to talk to him, Anakin is tinkering with something. It really shows that no matter what happens in so many ways Anakin will always be that lost boy they found on Tatooine. It's been a minute since we saw a heart to heart like this between Anakin and Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan is doing his best to counsel Anakin. He even tries to relate to him by bringing up his feelings for Satine. But it goes about as well as you could expect with Anakin.

The second great moment in this episode is the fight between Anakin and Clovis. It is one of the most brutal hand to hand fights in the series history. Anakin is completely unhinged. He is literally seeing red and even Padmé's protests are ignored at first. I was concerned that Anakin was going to accidentally kill Clovis and like, I knew he wasn't going to. But that fear was there and that is always impressive.

This leads to the third and maybe greatest moment of the episode which is Padmé's reality check with Anakin about the state of their marriage. Padmé basically says everything that I've been thinking since these two got secretly hitched on Naboo. She knows that this is doomed. Their entire relationship is built on lies, so of course there isn't trust. I've been screaming at Padmé this entire time to do the right thing and she finally does. The only downside to this is that you know it can't last. That she won't stay away from him. So it takes a little bit from what is otherwise a pretty powerful moment.

All in all, this episode may not be super satisfying when it comes to the Banking Clan storyline, but it delivers a really powerful meditation on the Padmé and Anakin's marriage.

Grade: B+

"Crisis at Heart," Season Six, Episode 7

"Deceit is the weapon of greed."

Narrator: "Corruption discovered at the core of the Banking Clan! Reunited, Rush Clovis and Senator Amidala discover the full extent of the deception. Anakin Skywalker is sent to the rescue! He refuses to trust Clovis and asks Padmé not to work with him. Determined to save the banks, she refuses her husband's request, throwing their relationship into turmoil. Voted for by both the Separatists and the Republic, Rush Covis is elected new leader of the Galactic Banking Clan. Now all attention is focused on Scipio as the important transfer of power begins..."

Padmé Amidala and head of the Separatist Senate, Bec Lawise, head to Scipio to oversee the peaceful transfer of leadership of the Banking Clan to Rush Clovis. Clovis's leadership is shortlived when Count Dooku almost immediately gets Clovis to raise interest rates on Republic loans in repayment of the Separatists giving him the intel that got him his position. Soon, Separatist forces are attacking Scipio that are seemingly under Clovis's control and the Republic is manning a counterstrike.

It was fun while it lasted.

I feel like I say that a lot when we make it to the final episode of these mini arcs I always say this, but this last episode was definitely the weakest of the three.

Part of my issue with this is that the fall of Clovis seems super quick. He barely has time to be head of the Banking Clan before Count Dooku is appearing before him and is demanding him raise the interest rates on the Republic loans. You almost get whiplash here and I think that they could have given this a bit more nuance than they do.

Last episode, I was really praising Padmé for her handling of the Anakin situation but in this episode, she shifts back to damsel mode and when that happens the writers seem to forget that this is a strong, badass Senator who has intelligence and common sense. Take the scene where she grabs the blaster and points it at Dooku and he then uses the Force to make her shoot Lawise. I feel like there are a few ways that Padmé could have stopped that from happening. Why couldn't she just drop the blaster or try? It doesn't feel like she is struggling at all. And another issue I have with this is that there will be no repercussions from this. It's not something that she's going to have to grapple with, so what's the point? Shock?

Then, there is the worst consequence of the fall of Clovis. It pushes Padmé back at Anakin and basically negates everything she told him in the last episode. Look, I know that the show can't have them break up for real, because if that happens how is she going to get pregnant, etc, but wasn't there a better way for that to happen. Clovis is really a bad guy, so Anakin is proven right. And his jackass behavior and attempted murder of him is completely justified. Sigh.

The last two episodes have been kind of light on the high octane war action that the show has become known for, so this episode makes up for that. And I feel like it kind of detracts from everything. It becomes more about this large battle than the nuances of the actual plot stuff that is kind of interesting.

In the end, Sidious gets what he wants. Due to Clovis's actions, the Banking Clan gets put under Republic aka Palpatine control. And thought Palpatine swears he will give power back to the Clan once the war is over, we all know how that is going to turn out. I will say that "long live the banks" chant echoing throughout the Senate chamber was legitimately chilling. It was a little too real because I could honestly hear the same thing in the halls of our real life Congress.

Grade: B-

Next up, Mace Windu and Jar Jar Binks team up for a two-part adventure and the Jedi finally learn what happened to Sifo-Dyas. 

What did you all think of this little arc? Did you appreciate the take on Padmé and Anakin's relationship? Do you wish the banking storyline had been fleshed out a little bit better? Let me know in the comments.