Sabotage is the beginning of the final arc of The Clone Wars – Season 5, and proves just how malleable this show and the Star Wars universe as a whole can be as a backdrop for different kinds of stories.
After a thrilling Jedi Starfighter chase and buzz droid fight, Anakin and Ahsoka are called back to Coruscant to investigate a bombing at the Jedi temple. The episode plays out like a police procedural show as they search for the culprit.
It’s a very straightforward episode and is the exact opposite point of view of the story where the film gets its name. In Alfred Hitchcock’s film (which you can watch here and read my analysis of), a dissident passes off a bomb to his young brother-in-law, who delays the delivery of the bomb and ends up blowing up an entire bus full of people. Not much of the film has to do with the aftermath, and it’s told almost exclusively from the viewpoint of the family. This turns that around and shows us what it’s like trying to unravel a crime like that from the perspective of those trying to apprehend the bad guys. And it’s also similar in that an unsuspecting loved one is used to deliver the bomb to that target.
This episode was reasonably dry, but there was plenty to be excited about.
For one, this episode opens with that fantastic starfighter sequence over Cato Nemoidia, but we’re instantly shown an Ahsoka who is more grown up than we’ve ever seen her. Her voice is more adult, she speaks with more confidence, even the way she carries herself is more mature. She’s a young woman now, no longer a kid befitting the name “Snips.”
This is what I loved most about the episode, to be honest. Watching children grow up might be one of the most bittersweet things one can do, and Ahsoka has been forced to grow up during such a terrible time. And the impression I get is that this is just going to be the calm before the storm. Whatever Ahsoka’s eventual fate may be, my guess is that it will be unfair to her and devastating to us. To be honest, watching her struggle here in this episode caused a bout of melancholy in me.
The visuals of this episode, as all the episodes, are incredible. The Coruscant cityscapes are something that ought to be utilized more, especially since they’ve been developed so well on the show as time has gone on. And the holographic cameras that played back the actual explosion created an incredibly interesting visual location for key conversations.
As someone who doesn’t watch CSI – Miami, I don’t have much to comment on the droid patterned after David Caruso, but I could see it being a fun wink and nod to people who watch that show.
This was a solid set-up episode, but I’m ready for the meat of the story. I’d tentatively rate this 3.5 out of 5, with more points coming if the arc pans out as well as I hope it does.