The Clone Wars - Mystery of a Thousand Moons Television 

Five Thoughts on Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ “Mystery of a Thousand Moons”

By | September 27th, 2017
Posted in Television | % Comments

Syke! That virus from last week? It may still wipe out all of Naboo. What’s a pair of Jedi to do about it?

A single chance is a galaxy of hope.

1. The journey to the Dark Side

This season has been showing us, at times, that Anakin is too quick to risk everything for Padme, but this episode showed us a clear path to the Dark Side for him. Obi-Wan tries to rein him in a bit, but the show did something really wise: it doesn’t totally clue in Obi-Wan. A lazier show would have given Obi-Wan a “huh, is he going to the Dark Side?” moment. But that doesn’t really make sense at the moment. All of Anakin’s actions have been just, and as far as the Jedi know, the only Sith out there are Darth Maul, who is presumed dead at this point, and Count Dooku, who recently trounced Anakin’s ass in battle.

Obi-Wan probably blames a lot of this on his late start to his training, if he’s blaming anything at all.

2. Prince Parrothead

Jaybo is a fun little character who we meet on Iego (where the Jedi go to find an antidote to the Blue Shadow Virus), but the first things we see him do are jump into a hammock and make a droid play some reggae-lite beach jams. Jaybo is an interstellar, teenaged Jimmy Buffett fan! The kid was born in the wrong galaxy and millennium, as he would be in heaven with all the Jason Mrazes and Jack Johnsons out there in our world. I hope, for his sake, that his planet as least can tune into the Margaritaville Sirius XM station.

3. Audreys 3-5

The plants that almost devoured the Jedi on Iego were clearly Venus Fly Trap-esque, and I couldn’t help but be transported into everyone’s favorite Rick Moranis-led musical, Little Shop of Horrors, and the man-eating Audrey II. I’ve mentioned this a few times now, but one of the nice things about the show is how it slowly but surely expands the palette of what Star Wars can be. Sure, a giant Venus Fly Trap wouldn’t have been as weird a tonal shift as the Ewoks in the original trilogy, but it wouldn’t have really fit in anywhere that we’ve seen before, although it may have worked on Dagobah.

But because of the work this show has done in expanding the mythos bit by bit, this didn’t feel egregiously out of place. In fact, I didn’t really bat an eye over it. It’s further evidence that Star Wars is far wider than the narrow scope that many, myself included, have tended to put it in.

4. Jar Jar, Angel of Death

I honestly understand why Jar Jar was banished for being clumsy now. This fucking guy can’t walk down the street without almost killing someone who is looking out for him. Ahsoka is being a badass and mowing down droids, and he decides he should open fire. Due to that, Padme’s contamination suit gets busted, and he almost kills a senator.

Why didn’t this guy get a desk job a long time ago?

5. Angels?

There’s a truly terrible line in The Phantom Menace, where Anakin asks Padme if she’s an angel. I always took this line either for a terrible attempt to pick up an older woman, or a bullshit story that a kid is told (“Yeah kid, I tells ya, there are beautiful angels out in space that are be-you-tee-full.”). But here, we get an angel! No, not a winged servant of a god, but a luminous being that lives in space. This is somehow not as dumb as it sounds.

That said, if the pilots had accurately described an angel to Anakin, he would never have confused Padme for one as she, you know, has features, and whose face doesn’t appear to be a vision of nuclear winter.


//TAGS | 2017 Summer TV Binge | The Clone Wars

Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

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