I wasn’t expecting to see such a direct follow up to the prior episode, as I had thought that, for the most part, early seasons of the show weren’t necessarily too worried about building sustained, multi-part stories. This isn’t a bad thing, I was glad to get a little more time with Master Plo Koon, in particular, and the episode continued my enjoyment of the show thus far.
Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by themselves
1. Serial Introductions
I really love how the series has been using the 1940s-style serial narrations to begin each episode. George Lucas was a huge fan of the old Republic serials, which directly influenced his Indiana Jones films. The voiceovers here set a perfect tone for the series, as, thus far, they are more swashbuckling, fun versions of the typical Star Wars stories.
It also makes jumping into the series at any point a far easier task. Sure, you don’t quite get the full story from the voiceover, but it, much like the crawl at the start of each Saga film, gives you enough information to not feel like you’re jumping into an impenetrable property.
2. I thought Ahsoka was supposed to be awesome?
I am fully aware that the show is still in a somewhat embryonic state, and that the tonal adjustments that all shows make will not occur until later in this season, if not until later seasons, but boy oh boy was Ahsoka obnoxious in this episode. She’s presenting as whiny and scared, and obsessed with nicknames (Artooey? Really?), until she eventually saves the day by nagging Anakin to death.
I’m being a little unfair here, and I recognize that, but the character really did bug me this week. Part of the reason you have a padawan on the show is to show what goes into being a Jedi, and this episode really fell flat in that regard. Sure, she had a good idea that, eventually, saved the day, but to get there, we had to wade through a trough of annoyance that could have ruined the episode if it was even just slightly more pronounced.
3. Do the Manta Ray
The Neebray mantas have a brilliant sci-fi design, and are creatures that both seem part of the universe, as well as like something new. This isn’t their first appearance on the show (or, at least that’s what Wookiepedia tells me), but their appearance in the nebula was a perfect serial moment. The shortcut becomes deadly! It’s an old trope, but one that really worked, and a not insignificant part of that is just how amazing the design is for them.
4. Clone compassion
I promise this will be the last time I comment on the compassion shown towards the Clones, at least until it becomes a major plot point. Count Dooku and General Grievous want to use the Jedi’s concern for the Clone Troopers as a way to lure them out into the open and then destroy them using their ion gun. They essentially say “we don’t destroy our droids due to the expense; they don’t destroy their clones because they legitimately care about them.” It isn’t the most subtle storytelling in the world, but it works.
5. A different kind of Space Jedi
Last time, I mentioned how Plo Koon doing lightsaber shit in space was a new type of experience for me. Well, this week brought another – if you changed Obi-Wan’s garb, you’d have sworn that he was an Imperial general. The way he stood on the bridge of the ship, commanding a fleet of military might, it was about the farthest thing from a Jedi in the post-Revenge of the Sith landscape as one could imagine. There was nothing spiritual or mystical about his actions – he was, straight up, a commander of a warship. And that is yet another type of Space Jedi that I never thought I’d really see.
I don’t know why him fighting on the ground is less jarring than this, but it absolutely is. I wonder how long it will take for me to get over this feeling of “uh, shouldn’t the Jedis be meditating or something?” whenever I see them doing anything remotely militaristic.
