Tonight’s episode of The Clone Wars, the first of 2012, was the conclusion of the Slavers arc and had a lot to live up to after the strength of the last episode. When we last saw our heroes, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were both held prisoner by the Zyggerians and the Queen herself was holding Anakin hostage as her bodyguard.
This episode brings Count Dooku into the situation, demanding the executions of the Jedi.
The first third of the episode felt very much like Indiana Jones, across the board. Obi-wan spent his time as the Short Round of this episode, slaving away in a mine (that was lit very much like the mines in Temple of Doom.) Anakin spent his time during this first break dealing with the Queen as though she was a fierce mix between Marion Ravenwood and Belloq, and the lighting and architecture of the Zyggerian palace was so much like Egypt in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Visually it was just stunning and, as a setup, it worked gangbusters.
My only complaint? In the first third, I felt like I was promised a Clone Wars version of the mine cart chase from Temple of Doom. Why else would they have a mine set and show mine cars and make Obi-wan Short Round if not to have a mine cart chase, right? Wrong.
It was sad, but I got over it.
Then Dooku arrives to cancel the party. The first thing I noticed about Dooku, though, was how improved the facial animation was. I think facial animation was one of the last frontiers The Clone Wars had to explore and they’ve just started knocking it out of the park in this episode with Dooku. It was so noticeably amazing that I was taken aback. And there was something in his eyes… They were black eyes, a dolls eyes… It was very creepy.
The rest of the episode plays out as a rescue mission with the Jedi involved all having to make very hard choices about how they’re going to proceed. This is all part of Sidious’ plan to weaken and ruin the Jedi. Obi-wan spends his time not helping anyone because he simply can’t, he’s broken. And he can’t make the hard decisions to end the conflicts quicker. If Obi-wan were more like Anakin, willing to force choke some guards and get out by force, there would have been far fewer lives lost.
Should he have succumbed to using the Force for attack in that way?
It’s a difficult choice and it’s writing like that that makes this show the best one on television.
This episode also brought us Plo Koon and his Wolf Pack, which put a smile on my face. I know how much Dave Filoni loves Plo Koon and the Wolf Pack, so when they jumped out of hyperspace on Anakin’s mark, it was as cool as that moment in Serenity where the Agent realizes that there are thousands of Reaver ships coming in out of the distortion cloud. That’s how satisfying that moment was for me.
The music in this episode told a story that was at once beautiful and tragic, but somehow at odds with the events we were being shown. When Ahsoka is looking to find her people that had been sentenced to die with electric walls and a disappearing floor, the music slowly told us that the Jedi were losing and it never got better from there. Though they win and save the day, they lost here. And there was something sad and tragic about it that the music conveyed perfectly.
I also want to specifically mention one shot that completely took my breath away: After the action was over and the camera cuts to the space above Kadavo, there is a beautiful establishing shot of Plo Koon’s fleet and the planet behind. That single shot was a work of art and should be framed. Though that can be said of most shots on this show, it’s doubly true of that particular shot. It was just incredible.
Though I felt a little cheated that there wasn’t a mine car chase, I was intensely satisfied by this episode. It was exactly what I needed after this too-long break from the show. This is certainly one of the standout arcs of the entire series and I think it might be my favorite arc of the season so far. The Umbaran arc was incredible, yes, but there was something about this one that just worked much better for me.