Continued from last week...
(11) Dooku Captured: Anakin and Obi-Wan follow Dooku to the Outer Rim, but the jedi become trapped in a nest of gundarks and the sith falls into the hands of Weequay pirates, who offer him to the Republic for a ransom. Having been rescued by Ashoka and some clone troopers, Anakin and Obi-Wan are dispatched to meet with the pirates to confirm they are really holding Dooku.
Craftily starting in media res I thought I'd somehow missed an episode when this one started, but I soon realised it was a time saving device to get the story rolling. And what an action packed one it is! As well as some meaty jedi versus sith action, the Weequay pirates were a fine horde of reprobates, representing the Fringe elements of the Star Wars universe that aren't so often shown in this era of the Saga. I still can't get my head round Dooku being taken so easily by the pirates (although I suspect it's all part of some Machiavellian plan to turn the tables on The Republic) and my heart sank when it was announced by Chancellor Palpatine that "Representative Binks" would be delivering the ransom (in the next episode). (3.5/5)
(12) The Gungan General: Jar Jar Binks, another senator and some clones are dispatched to deliver the ransom for Dooku to the pirates, who have also captured Anakin and Obi-Wan. The two jedi are forced into an uneasy alliance with the sith lord in their repeated attempts to escape captivity. Meanwhile, the ransom delivery goes wrong and the senior senator dies, leaving Jar Jar in charge of the mission. Hilarity ensues.
Despite this episode looking gorgeous as always, and Hondo and his gang of treacherous pirates being very interesting characters, there is so much to dislike about this story- and not all of it revolves around Jar Jar. This episode, and the previous, seems determined to totally undervalue the powers of the Force as Dooku, and then the two jedi, are captured ridiculously easily by the pirates - without even the use of cunning traps or ysalamiri! It wasn't even part of the "cunning plan" that I'd thought... unless Dooku is playing a very long game. Then, of course, we have the rank stupidity of Jar Jar to contend with; in this story he contributes to the death of the other senator and a couple of clones, but somehow gets away with it. I just wish one of the clone troopers would 'accidentally' shoot him in the back of the head and put him out of our misery. (2.5/5)
(13) Jedi Crash: Aayla Secura's ship is damaged during a battle with the Separatists and accidentally jumps into hyperspace, taking her, her unit of clones, Anakin and Ashoka, to parts unknown. Anakin was severely injured in the battle, the ship's navicomputer misfires and they end up crashing on a dusty planet of giant trees and dangerous monsters. They meet up with the local lemur-people, the Lurmen, who are none too happy that the jedi have brought the war to their planet.
It seems as though the more interesting episodes are those that don't concentrate on the main characters from the movies, perhaps the writers feel more at liberty to flex their creative muscles when they are playing with the peripheral characters. As well as the usual fantastic visuals, exciting Force-powered action and thrilling air combat, this episode saw an intriguing exchange of ideas between the Lurmen headman and Aayla, when he challenged the jedi's claim to the title of "peacekeepers" when their solutions to everything are inevitably so violent. (4/5)
(14) Defenders of Peace: Anakin is still recovering in the Lurman village when The Separatist's turn up - not knowing of the jedi presence on the planet - with the idea of testing their new super-weapon on the native population. Anakin, Ashoka and Aayla defend the village from attack, despite the Lurmen headman's initial desire to give in to The Separatists without a fight.
Another near-perfect combination of jedi awesomeness with spectacular animation and first rate sound effects. The jedi stealth attack on The Separatist's base was one of the finest sequences I've yet seen in this series... and that's saying something. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the script's efforts to equate the Lurmen's extreme pacifism with weakness, but I'll leave it to more erudite viewers of this series to decide what message that was sending out. (4.5/5)
(15) Trespass: Anakin and Obi-Wan travel to a supposedly unpopulated, frozen planet, with the young senator and Chairman (ruler) of the neighbouring planet, which claims sovereignty over the rock, to investigate the disappearance of a Republic outpost. It turns out that the outpost, as well as a Separatist base, were actually wiped out by a native tribe of the furry, four-eyed Talz. The jedi try to broker a peace with the natives, but the Chairman wants them removed from "his" planet. It's left to the young senator to negotiate a treaty after hostilities break out.
There was something about this story which rang bells with me; I was sure it was a reworking of an old Star Wars comic stript I'd read, set on Hoth, but I haven't been able to track it down - so maybe it was just my faulty memory. Not that that would detract in any way from the brilliance of this episode. Setting it on a stunning snow planet immediately elevated it in my eyes before the story even began to unfold, and when it did everything about it was spot on. However, I do have to question the wisdom of the Galactic Senate in letting so many young children take such important roles in the fate of the galaxy! (5/5)
To be continued...
(11) Dooku Captured: Anakin and Obi-Wan follow Dooku to the Outer Rim, but the jedi become trapped in a nest of gundarks and the sith falls into the hands of Weequay pirates, who offer him to the Republic for a ransom. Having been rescued by Ashoka and some clone troopers, Anakin and Obi-Wan are dispatched to meet with the pirates to confirm they are really holding Dooku.Craftily starting in media res I thought I'd somehow missed an episode when this one started, but I soon realised it was a time saving device to get the story rolling. And what an action packed one it is! As well as some meaty jedi versus sith action, the Weequay pirates were a fine horde of reprobates, representing the Fringe elements of the Star Wars universe that aren't so often shown in this era of the Saga. I still can't get my head round Dooku being taken so easily by the pirates (although I suspect it's all part of some Machiavellian plan to turn the tables on The Republic) and my heart sank when it was announced by Chancellor Palpatine that "Representative Binks" would be delivering the ransom (in the next episode). (3.5/5)
(12) The Gungan General: Jar Jar Binks, another senator and some clones are dispatched to deliver the ransom for Dooku to the pirates, who have also captured Anakin and Obi-Wan. The two jedi are forced into an uneasy alliance with the sith lord in their repeated attempts to escape captivity. Meanwhile, the ransom delivery goes wrong and the senior senator dies, leaving Jar Jar in charge of the mission. Hilarity ensues.
Despite this episode looking gorgeous as always, and Hondo and his gang of treacherous pirates being very interesting characters, there is so much to dislike about this story- and not all of it revolves around Jar Jar. This episode, and the previous, seems determined to totally undervalue the powers of the Force as Dooku, and then the two jedi, are captured ridiculously easily by the pirates - without even the use of cunning traps or ysalamiri! It wasn't even part of the "cunning plan" that I'd thought... unless Dooku is playing a very long game. Then, of course, we have the rank stupidity of Jar Jar to contend with; in this story he contributes to the death of the other senator and a couple of clones, but somehow gets away with it. I just wish one of the clone troopers would 'accidentally' shoot him in the back of the head and put him out of our misery. (2.5/5)
(13) Jedi Crash: Aayla Secura's ship is damaged during a battle with the Separatists and accidentally jumps into hyperspace, taking her, her unit of clones, Anakin and Ashoka, to parts unknown. Anakin was severely injured in the battle, the ship's navicomputer misfires and they end up crashing on a dusty planet of giant trees and dangerous monsters. They meet up with the local lemur-people, the Lurmen, who are none too happy that the jedi have brought the war to their planet.
It seems as though the more interesting episodes are those that don't concentrate on the main characters from the movies, perhaps the writers feel more at liberty to flex their creative muscles when they are playing with the peripheral characters. As well as the usual fantastic visuals, exciting Force-powered action and thrilling air combat, this episode saw an intriguing exchange of ideas between the Lurmen headman and Aayla, when he challenged the jedi's claim to the title of "peacekeepers" when their solutions to everything are inevitably so violent. (4/5)
(14) Defenders of Peace: Anakin is still recovering in the Lurman village when The Separatist's turn up - not knowing of the jedi presence on the planet - with the idea of testing their new super-weapon on the native population. Anakin, Ashoka and Aayla defend the village from attack, despite the Lurmen headman's initial desire to give in to The Separatists without a fight.
Another near-perfect combination of jedi awesomeness with spectacular animation and first rate sound effects. The jedi stealth attack on The Separatist's base was one of the finest sequences I've yet seen in this series... and that's saying something. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the script's efforts to equate the Lurmen's extreme pacifism with weakness, but I'll leave it to more erudite viewers of this series to decide what message that was sending out. (4.5/5)
(15) Trespass: Anakin and Obi-Wan travel to a supposedly unpopulated, frozen planet, with the young senator and Chairman (ruler) of the neighbouring planet, which claims sovereignty over the rock, to investigate the disappearance of a Republic outpost. It turns out that the outpost, as well as a Separatist base, were actually wiped out by a native tribe of the furry, four-eyed Talz. The jedi try to broker a peace with the natives, but the Chairman wants them removed from "his" planet. It's left to the young senator to negotiate a treaty after hostilities break out.
There was something about this story which rang bells with me; I was sure it was a reworking of an old Star Wars comic stript I'd read, set on Hoth, but I haven't been able to track it down - so maybe it was just my faulty memory. Not that that would detract in any way from the brilliance of this episode. Setting it on a stunning snow planet immediately elevated it in my eyes before the story even began to unfold, and when it did everything about it was spot on. However, I do have to question the wisdom of the Galactic Senate in letting so many young children take such important roles in the fate of the galaxy! (5/5)
To be continued...
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