The Clone Wars - The Hidden Enemy Television 

Five Thoughts on Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ “The Hidden Enemy”

By | September 13th, 2017
Posted in Television | % Comments

Star Wars: The Clone Wars relegates the Jedi to the b-story this week, and go deep into an espionage mission that reveals more about the mindset of the Clones than any prior episode.

Truth enlightens the mind, but won’t always bring happiness to your heart

1. Espionage

One element that this show, thus far, has not really delved into is how autonomous/hive-mind-y the Clones really are. On one hand, we see various characters, specifically Cody and Rex, who have developed character traits and are identifiable from the mob of dudes in white. But on the other, we’ve only seen Clones working as soldiers. We haven’t met a Clone ice cream scoop, or a Clone plumber. That’s because, of course, they are created to be soldiers, and so that is what they do. Unless my prequel memory is failing me, it is never quite established just how autonomous a Clone is, in terms of opinions and likes/dislikes. It is certainly implied that they aren’t all identical, or else Slick’s betrayal would be impossible.

I love a good story involving a mole or a turncoat, from The Godfather to The Departed, so this episode is right up my alley, in terms of plot enjoyment. The A story, which saw Red and Cody trying to lure out the mole was a lot of fun, and it gave a lot of insight into just how much the Clones do differ in what they do/how they feel. Some clean their weapons after battle, some chow, some make weird necklaces.

2. Haircuts

I do have to give the show credit for finding every variation of military-ish haircut to give the Clones, to attempt some individualism. I’m really hoping they get past the military cuts so we can get what we all want: mullet Clone. Emo-side part Clone. Combover Clone. Reverse-mohawk Clone. Cyndi Lauper-dye job Clone. The haircut is the easiest way to identify clones when out of costume, so you’d think they’d be tripping over themselves to try to find the most unique cut.

I hope one of them shaves a reverse-widow’s peak like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway-era Peter Gabriel. I also hope at least one reader gets that reference.

3. Oh, behaaaaaaave Obi-Wan

The faux-flirting between Obi-Wan and Ventress is great, in part because you know that Obi-Wan is rock hard the entire time. Here’s a guy who isn’t allowed to love, getting flirted with by a sexy lady with laser swords. You know he’s like 4 seconds away from grabbing her arm and screaming “CARA MIA” and kissing it up and down like a bearded space Gomez Adams.

The best part is that she absolutely knows what she’s doing. She knows that’s he is essentially a monk, and she’s just taunting him with her sexual abandon. You know at some point in his exile on Tatooine, Obi-Wan thinks about her as the evil one that got away.

4. Higher ground

In what seems like it could either be a deliberate reference or a simple direction decision, Ventress pretty much instantly goes to higher ground when lightsabering Obi-Wan and Anakin. Revenge of the Sith essentially makes higher ground the magic bullet of lightsaber dueling, allowing Obi-Wan to cut down the ‘Chosen One’ into mince meat simply because he has a slight elevation advantage. Here, Anakin and Obi-Wan don’t appear to be in worse shape due to being down wind of Ventress, but that could also be chalked up to them being superior duelers than she is. I don’t know – I sort of wish that higher ground shit made any sense in the first place.

5. Slick sort of has a point

Slick – and no, not the Doctor of Style – makes a pretty compelling case for his actions. Sure, he’s not really a slave in the strictest sense of the word, but is he that far off? His career has been mandated to him, he doesn’t get to choose a side, and while he’s clearly revered among the fellow Clones, what does he have to show for it? He wants a way out, and I think that is an understandable position.

From the second you meet him, you know “oh, so that’s the traitor,” and the show has a history of telegraphing these sorts of things, but it doesn’t make his story any less compelling. He even claims to be doing this for his fellow Clones and, while that might sound like horseshit, I sort of believe him. To be a Clone seems like a pretty far cry from a good life, and anything he can do to escape that destiny may inspire his brothers.


//TAGS | 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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