“Crisis on Naboo” is the final part of this current arc of The Clone Wars, whereby Cad Bane and Count Dooku have meticulously plotted to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine on Naboo. The early episodes of the arc had Obi-wan infiltrating the organization in disguise as a bounty hunter.
This episode has Dooku springing his trap, Obi-wan trying to foil it, and Anakin getting left in the dark in the middle.
It had all the vibe of a classic heist film, reminding me of movies like Ronin or Ocean’s 11. At least as far as the Bounty Hunters are concerned. I loved the plan, I love the way it was executed. It made a couple of things in “The Box” make more sense (particularly the video game training aspects of it) and that was actually a good thing. The episode also kept up the recurring dilemma of Obi-wan selling out his ideals, watching Bane and others kill innocents and having to watch, not interceding for fear of blowing his cover.
Sure, this episode was action packed and had a great plot, but this episode wasn’t about any of those things. This episode was about Palpatine driving a wedge between Anakin and the Jedi, Obi-wan included. This episode was about Palpatine playing a game of chess from both sides and smiling devilishly when pieces began to fall. In the third act of the episode, when Anakin tells Obi-wan that if he’s in the dark, what else is it they don’t know? They could all be in the dark about everything.
He’s really hit on something and I’m not even sure he realizes how completely right he is.
Anakin is slowly drifting to the Chancellor as his emotional guide, even more than ever, making his final descent in Revenge of the Sith make more sense than ever.
My only complaint about “Crisis on Naboo”? It didn’t really look or feel like Naboo. Maybe I’m just being nitpicky because I walked out of a theatre screening of Phantom Menace in 3D and had the look of Naboo fresh in my brain. When the Jedi land on Naboo, it looks more like a town out of an old western than the lush old Italian Naboo. I guess it’s fine on one level, since that’s the vibe they seemed to be aiming for in the episode, but it just didn’t look like Naboo, not in the lighting or the color palate. Maybe there’s a reason for it and I just missed it.
I absolutely loved where this episode ended, though, with the climactic fight between Dooku and Anakin. It was very well done. I never tire of watching Dooku fight, his style is so elegant and fun to watch.
I wouldn’t hesitate to say this was the best episode of the four. I really liked it except for that one, minor, nit-picky complaint.
Other than that, I’m completely on board with this episode as being one of the best of the season.