The first episode of Clone Wars wasn’t that inspiring, on my first watch, I didn’t
go on to episode two. The second time I sat down to try and watch (in lockdown,
when, well… there wasn’t much else to do), I pushed on through, and I am very
glad that I did. Lets see how Clone Wars followed up its mediocre opening
episode…
Season 1:
Episode 2: Rising Malevolence.
“Belief is not a matter of choice, but of conviction”
This time, we’re starting in space. Apparently, lots of
republic ships have been ambushed and attacked, so Jedi master Plo Koon is sent
to track down the secret weapon the Separatists are using. Plo Koon and his ship
are tracking a Separatist ship they believe to be involved… a ship carrying a
character Star Wars fans know well. General Grievous.
Plo Koon seems anxious, and tries to call for reinforcements
from General Skywalker (lil’ ol’ Ani) before he launches his attack. He talks
to Anakin and his new apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Part way through the discussion,
the Separatists begin to block transmissions, and Anakin is left in a difficult
position. He has strict orders from the council not to move his ships away from
their current position, but now there is another Jedi in peril nearby. All he
can do is ask the council for their permission to move. He warns Ahsoka, who is
still young and inexperienced, not to speak rashly or out of turn, and he
briefs the council on what he knows.
Meanwhil, Plo’s ship is coming under attack. The mysterious vessel
they have been tracking is now turning on them. Grievous and Dooku, on board, give
the order to fire their new weapon.
A beam strikes Plo’s three ships, and its purpose becomes
clear. It dismantles their energy shields, leaving them completely helpless.
Their ships are unable to strike back, unable to escape… they are torn apart.
Plo orders all hands to escape pods, and they launch away
from their dying vessels. Grievous congratulates Dooku on the weapon, and Dooku
makes it plain that there must be no survivors. The escape pods must be
destroyed, so that no-one can tell the Jedi what the new Separatist weapon is,
or how it operates. Specialised ships are sent out to destroy the pods.
Meanwhile, the council is discussing the next steps to take.
They are reluctant to sent Anakin’s fleet to look for survivors, as no
survivors have been found after any of the previous attacks from this weapon.
Plo Koon sits in a life pod with a handful of clones. Their
electrical systems are all fried, including their life support. They set out to
repair the damage, hoping to stay alive until someone comes looking for them…
If someone comes looking for them. Mace Windu orders
Skywalker to take his fleet further away from the site of the attack, but
Ahsoka pipes up, asking to be allowed to look for survivors. Her request is
refused, and after the call ends, Anakin snaps at her for speaking up in the council
meeting, and breaking protocol. Ahsoka is upset, she knows Master Plo well, and
wants to believe that he is alive. Anakin orders his ships into the position
Mace Windu ordered, and decides to scout ahead himself, taking Ahsoka with him.
Back in the escape pod, Master Plo tries to keep the clone’s
morale up. They don’t believe rescue is coming, especially when they see
another pod that has been cracked open, leaving its inhabitants to die. They
realise that something is hunting them.
Ahsoka and Anakin launch their ship to scout ahead, and
Ahsoka apologises for speaking out of turn. Anakin finally explains that,
although he thinks her wrong to break protocol, Anakin is going to look for
survivors, no matter what the council says. He explains that they look for the
freedom within the rules, rather than challenging the rules directly.
In the pod, they manage to get their systems back online,
and hear a distress signal from another pod. The droids are going around and killing
the survivors, one pod at a time.
Obi-Wan Kenobi calls Anakin, asking what he’s doing. Anakin
has to admit that he’s bending the rules, and he is ordered back to the fleet.
On the way, though, they find a message on the emergency
channel. They’re short on time to answer, though, as the droids have spotted
Master Plo’s pod, the last one.
Plo makes a seemingly suicidal play, voluntarily leaving the
pod to have a chance to attack the droids. This is, I think, the first time we
have seen anyone surviving the vacuum of space. They are able to drive the
droids back, but time is limited. The droid ship begins to crush the life pod,
damaging its hull.
Ahsoka and Anakin are closing in, and Master Plo is using the
force to enable his troops to attack the droids. The pod-hunter is finally
destroyed, and the survivors retreat back to their pod.
The council meeting continues. They discuss how Dooku always
seems to be one step ahead… little knowing, of course, that Dooku’s master is
in the room with them.
The council also discover Anakin’s disobedience, and order
him back to the fleet. Ahsoka feels Master Plo through the force, however, and
takes control of the ship, heading over to find him. They quickly discover the pod,
and pull it onto their ship, rescuing Master Plo and the clones.
Master Plo can now tell the Republic that the weapon is an
ion cannon, a vital piece of information. They finally know what the secret
weapon is.
They… are also about to get a second demonstration. They sense
a massive ship coming out of lightspeed nearby. Grievous has returned, to find
out who destroyed the pod hunter. Anakin plays dead, turning off everything
electrical onboard… Apart from the medical droid.
A potentially fatal mistake. The weapon detects the Jedi
ship, and Grievous prepares to attack.
Anakin sets off, piloting his way through the debris of the
destroyed ships. They desperately try to get their hyperdrive working, but too
late. The ion cannon is fired, and Anakin gets to test his piloting mettle as
he weaves his way though destroyed ships in an attempt to outpace the beam. He succeeds,
and they make the jump to light speed.
Grievous despairs that the republic will learn of their
weapon, and Dooku threateningly says that he will discuss his failure with “my
master”.
Anakin returns safe to his fleet, but now he and Plo have to
face the council. Before he faces the music, he compliments Ahsoka for her
resolve and determination to do what is right.
OK, so… this should have been the first episode of the
series. There is genuine tension throughout this story. The stakes are kept
high, and we actually see people killed by the pod-buster. We also see the
undercurrent of Palpatine trying to misdirect the council, and keep his
apprentice’s secret weapon secret. As an episode it’s well crafted. It
introduces us to Ahsoka for the first time in this series, and instantly sets her
up as a determined padowan, who still has a lot to learn, but has a big heart.
There is definitely a bit of tension between her and Anakin, it seems she has yet
to learn respect for her master, but there is potential there.
We are also introduced to Grievous. His position here is
also made clear. He is subservient to Dooku, but hasn’t the same respect for
him as Ventress. We also get to see Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and Palpatine, alongside
Yoda.
So…. Yeah. This should have been the first episode of the
series. It’s actually quite brave with how dark it is. You outright see people
die, which, in a series that is meant to be kind friendly, is… something. It
sets up characters that we will see come and go through the rest of the series,
it introduces a new threat, it shows us how the Jedi led army is structured.
All in all, I give this episode a strong 8/10. It
accomplishes a lot in terms of setting up what comes next, while still
delivering a tense and interesting story, in a short 20 minutes. It’s just… well
done. And whereas the first episode didn’t make me want to keep watching, this
one really does.
I look forward to the next one.
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