Rising Malevolence is the second episode of the first season, but sixth if you are watching the show chronologically. Every episode will follow the structure of its movie predecessors: the well known theme song coupled with a narrated blurb that sets the context for the story. In addition, there is always a proverb suited for younger viewers in familiar blue text against a starry background.
In this episode, the Separatists have developed a devastating new weapon that leaves no survivors. Jedi Master Plo Koon’s mission is to find more information about the weapon, which turns out to be an ion cannon that strips ships of their defense shields. They are left vulnerable to enemy fire.
Plo Koon, sensing his fleet is about to be destroyed, signals his position to Anakin and Ahsoka prior to engaging with the enemy. His fleet destroyed, his men adrift in escape pods, they wait for rescue as the Separatists launch their own small craft in order to kill any survivors.
Anakin and Ahsoka go to the council with the information Plo Koon gave them, but they are not given permission to search for survivors. Instead, their fleet is re-assigned, effectively consigning the surviving Jedi and clones to their death.
Not known for following orders or playing by the rules, Anakin re-assigns his fleet as ordered but takes Ahsoka and Artoo with him in a small ship to search for survivors. Just barely in time, they find Master Plo Koon, rescue him and the remaining clones, and escape.
Essential Ahsoka Tano Viewing
If watching in release order, this will be the first episode to feature Ahsoka Tano after her introduction in the movie. Though certain elements of her character were introduced there, such as her boldness and her wit, this episode sets the stage for an internal arc that stretches beyond The Clone Wars and into Star Wars: Rebels.
Ahsoka immediately mirrors Anakin’s heart, both in her desire not to let Plo Koon go and her decision to advocate for Plo Koon before the Council even after being forbidden to speak unless spoken to. The difference is that she has not yet learned to navigate being at odds with the Council as Anakin has.
The entirety of the scene between Anakin and Ahsoka mirrors that of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin in Attack of the Clones when they first meet Padmé after her assassination attempt, where they argue with each other regarding the actual meaning of their mission. Obi-Wan doesn’t hesitate to publicly rebuke his padawan, and it sets the two at odds with each other.
Anakin, however, immediately stops instructing Ahsoka when the Admiral enters the room. He has learned from Obi-Wan, but he also has compassion and knows that more harm than good will occur if he continues to rebuke Ahsoka with a witness present. This immediately puts their padawan and master relationship on more even footing in a way that Anakin did not achieve with Obi-Wan until he also received the rank of knighthood.
When Anakin brings Ahsoka along with him in his small rescue ship, Ahsoka tries to apologize for speaking out of turn, and Anakin tells her she doesn’t need to explain. Her head droops, her eyes downcast as she feels it as a continued chastisement as opposed to what it actually is: commiseration. Unlike the viewer, she does not know about Padmé and Anakin’s forbidden relationship with her.
It is Ahsoka who feels Plo Koon through the Force. She is the one who takes control of the ship and finds Plo Koon and the clones, barely surviving.
Overall, this episode does a great job establishing the type of relationship Ahsoka and Anakin will have as padawan and master. It also shows that Ahsoka is, at heart, a rebel like Anakin, that they are, essentially, kindred spirits. Ahsoka shares with Anakin that Plo Koon is one of her oldest friends ever since he found her and brought her to the Temple. Now it’s her turn to find him, and she also does not want to simply let him go because she has been told to.
Even Yoda recognizes one in the other. Towards the end of the episode, he muses, “Twice the trouble they have become.”
Not only that, the episode again underscores that they stand by each other. Anakin risked a good deal to validate Ahsoka’s desire to search for Plo Koon, and Ahsoka says, “Right beside you,” at the end of the episode when they face the Council together.
Secondary Reasons To Watch
Plo Koon and the clones had great moments in this. At one point, one of the clones says it wouldn’t be strategic to come look for them. Another says they are meant to be expendable. Against the backdrop of battle droids brutally dismantling escape pods so the clones die in space, it’s particularly heartbreaking even though the clones seem to be resigned to their fate.
Unbeknownst to the clones, the Jedi Council, with Anakin and Ahsoka, are deciding what to do regarding Plo Koon and the missing clones. No one has ever survived, they say. The best course of action is to protect themselves elsewhere.
It’s only Plo Koon who says, “I value your life more than finding that weapon.” It’s Plo Koon who assures a clone that they are not expendable to him.
His feelings are in stark contrast to the Jedi Council and even Ahsoka, whose primary concern was for Plo Koon.
Star Wars has been known for the tragic moment of Anakin’s ultimate fall to the dark side of the Force. Return of the Jedi, released before we actually see that story, offers a grace note of hope: Anakin will choose his son over Sidious and will choose love over hate, even though it means his death.
There is no such grace note for the clones, which makes these glimpses of their lives devastating.
The question not asked in this episode is how the Jedi can commit to this war with clones as their soldiers (though the question is sometimes raised in future episodes). The clones have no choice in whether or not they march. In some ways, it’s easy to say that Plo Koon doesn’t see them as others do–but what do his actions say?
Conclusion
Rising Malevolence reaffirms that Anakin’s and Ahsoka’s relationship will not be like other padawans with their Jedi teacher. It introduces that Ahsoka is a rebel who cares as deeply as Anakin about the people close to her. It also lets us get to know the other Jedi better. Whereas Plo Koon is a face in a fighter ship for a few brief seconds in Revenge of the Sith, this episode shows us who he is in a way that emotionally underscores his future death.
You can stream Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+.