Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 1x16-17
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tori_reviewsStar Wars: The Clone Wars – 1x16: "The Hidden Enemy"
I...didn't expect this episode. I think I like that it exists more than I like it as it is, but I am really glad it exists. I have spent too much time in recent years in fandoms that refuse to acknowledge that protagonist centered morality is not the same as an actual reason to root for the heroes. This episode tells me that this show actually knows that what's going on here is as murky as I think it is; and that Slick has a point even if his actions are presented as wrong.
Weirdly, I got the sense in the very first scene that we were being set up for a betrayal storyline, but in that first moment I wondered how that would work in an army where everyone has the same face, you can't do infiltration very well. I guess that means even I fell into the trap of taking the clones' loyalty for granted, even though I've been saying all along that they had a lot of legitimate grievances and the Jedi/Republic were complacent in breeding and using a slave race.
And in some ways I'm not surprised that the show would opt to tell a story about clones who decided they didn't want to be part of that system; I think I just didn't expect it to happen this early on (though, they wouldn't have known how long the show would run for). And with how kid friendly the show has been, at least superficially, I didn't expect it to be this...blunt if it ever addressed the issue.
I suppose I could be seeing this through some confirmation bias, I see Slick as right so I perceive the show as agreeing with me. But I feel the show would have offered an actual rebuttal if we weren't supposed to consider that he has a point. As I suspect that this arc isn't done, I also expect the next episode will end up being a partial rebuttal, at the very least saying that most of the clones are willing to be in the fight and want to fight beside their brothers (and probably not address that they've all been brainwashed their whole lives to think that way). But even if they walk it back next episode, it seemed telling to me that they would let this episode leave off with calling the heroes slavers (which I think Anakin ought to have some issues with).
On reflection, I also think there was no reason for the show to shy away from addressing the problem of the clones; after all, we do know that the Republic is not under the best leadership. And even most kids watching will probably be familiar enough with the movies to know the basics of that; and I support not necessarily coddling kinds and giving them a measure of thoughtful storytelling over just more fight scenes. But there's a difference between last episode saying that just because you're on the same side as the heroes doesn't make you a good person and here outright calling the heroes out as part of an evil system. That's a fair amount of moral complexity to put in a show that has always been kid friendly when it's not very plainly a kids show.
I do wish the show hadn't felt the need to write Obi-wan and Anakin as such idiots in order for this plot to happen, because they're pretty dumb to keep walking right into a trap the way they do. That seems unnecessary.
All that said, it was pretty easy for me to spot Slick as the traitor; score one for the Gene Hunt school of spotting a killer in a crowd, first person to talk is probably the guilty one. (Warning, this lesson is likely most applicable to structured dramas and not real life.)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 1x17: "Blue Shadow Virus"
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It was definitely more good than bad, but it seemed like every time it would get its stride, it would do something that bothered me. And I don't just mean Jar Jar's maxed out luck score; there are other logic problems.
But I do want to talk about Jar Jar's luck score, because this episode does something really odd with character, it makes him almost a literal plot device/deus ex machina. Don't know how to get your characters to the next story point or out of a corner you've painted them into (largely unnecessarily)? Deploy Jar Jar cheat code and just have the thing that needs to happen, happen. Jar Jar is even less a character here than he was in his other episodes, he's not even really annoying, he's just there to literally stumble into plot points.
Now, there's a lot of show left, so there may or may not eventually be a point behind all this. But it almost feels like they could go some weird direction of Jar Jar being an avatar of the Force, literally there to cause things to go a specific direction; justifying writing needs with in-story logic is always a weird thing to do, and can be interesting if pulled off, but the Force gives them room to do it. Then again, I feel like even that weird writing choice would be better served if Jar Jar was an actual (preferably not annoying) character and the discovery that he was something extra was a subtle mystery unraveling. As is, it would mean we'd have to watch more of him leading up to that reveal, and I don't want that.
I guess I was wrong to think last episode would be followed by an ep that walked back the moral complexity that the last one acknowledged. They're apparently just going to let that stand and not offer a rebuttal, at least not right after it brought it up.
As for watching this episode about having a plague potentially released on the galaxy during the middle of a real world pandemic...well it was a little awkward. But because I'm me I focused more the logistics of what they're trying to do. On one hand, it continues the kind of plots from the Lerman episode, that the Separatists apparently aren't concerned with preserving organic life in the universe; and that's...still a weird choice. While the army is made up of droids, the Separatist Alliance is made up of organically populated worlds. I could almost allow it in the Lerman ep, since I could see the potential of it as a targeted weapon, and it did effect a limited area with each use of the weapon; it raised questions about how useful those spaces would be to people after the battle was over, and therefore what the long term plans would be if using it, but it possibly had a usefulness.
But biological weapons are a different thing, and are a lot less controlled. Granted, they say a few times in the episode that the virus was previously 'extinct' which is not the language we use for, say, small pox; we say it's eradicated. If the way to kill off the virus exists within the Republic/galaxy then...*maybe* I could see a strategy for using this. For example unleashing it and forcing the Republic to have to deal with quarantine measures and vaccinations (presumably the Separatists having already prepared to face these problems on their own worlds), interplanetary travel no doubt forbidden until it was under control; basically giving the Separatists free rein to conquer as they will for a little while, even using the options of a cure as a bargaining chip to bring people to their sides. But even then, it doesn't seem like a smart move, as everything kind of has to go perfectly for it work for them that way.
Of course, that also causes questions of what kind of virus it is, even if I buy that it can effect every life form in the galaxy (which I'm not sure I do since insects don't seem effected by it, and I'm sure there are plenty of sentient species in this galaxy who have more in common with insects than humans), if it's instantly fatal as it's shown to be then this is just the same kind of attack as we saw against the Lermans. Except that it's going to render entire planets uninhabitable for generations (although maybe lacking anything left to infect it will die off again?) and that's not a long term strategy either. Plus, this would be exactly the kind of thing that would rally the entire surviving galaxy against them; there's no longer a political game to play at that point.
I've actually been nursing this as something worth commenting on for several episodes now, and while I keep it in my pocket to go into in a shorter review, I seem to have worked my way to it now. The reason why keeping your word is important in politics and warfare is akin to the boy who cried wolf. If you make deals with people and break them, then you're not going to be able to make those kind of deals again. The first episode I thought about bringing this up in was the Luminara episode; because I was literally thinking about how if Dooku/the Separatists kept their word to the traitor guard it would be an important sign to others who might be willing to defect. But then Ventriss killed him, which I would think could have the opposite effect. Now, that was probably a small enough instance that it wouldn't get out; but if there's a few instances where people sold out the Republic and you don't start hear about them living large in the outer worlds, you'll have doubts if they approach you. Same goes if you call in people to talk about a peace deal only to kill them; if you ever do want to sue for peace your enemy is unlikely to come to the table very quickly. If you kill surrendered soldiers, then in other battles soldiers will fight until the last man instead of surrendering and therefore killing more of your army.
Apparently I didn't have that much to say on this episode, as I was easily distracted onto sub-points. I think that kind a hallmark of an okay episode. Odd, this one actually did have character stuff I could have commented on, I guess I just still don't care about Anakin and Padme.
I...didn't expect this episode. I think I like that it exists more than I like it as it is, but I am really glad it exists. I have spent too much time in recent years in fandoms that refuse to acknowledge that protagonist centered morality is not the same as an actual reason to root for the heroes. This episode tells me that this show actually knows that what's going on here is as murky as I think it is; and that Slick has a point even if his actions are presented as wrong.
Weirdly, I got the sense in the very first scene that we were being set up for a betrayal storyline, but in that first moment I wondered how that would work in an army where everyone has the same face, you can't do infiltration very well. I guess that means even I fell into the trap of taking the clones' loyalty for granted, even though I've been saying all along that they had a lot of legitimate grievances and the Jedi/Republic were complacent in breeding and using a slave race.
And in some ways I'm not surprised that the show would opt to tell a story about clones who decided they didn't want to be part of that system; I think I just didn't expect it to happen this early on (though, they wouldn't have known how long the show would run for). And with how kid friendly the show has been, at least superficially, I didn't expect it to be this...blunt if it ever addressed the issue.
I suppose I could be seeing this through some confirmation bias, I see Slick as right so I perceive the show as agreeing with me. But I feel the show would have offered an actual rebuttal if we weren't supposed to consider that he has a point. As I suspect that this arc isn't done, I also expect the next episode will end up being a partial rebuttal, at the very least saying that most of the clones are willing to be in the fight and want to fight beside their brothers (and probably not address that they've all been brainwashed their whole lives to think that way). But even if they walk it back next episode, it seemed telling to me that they would let this episode leave off with calling the heroes slavers (which I think Anakin ought to have some issues with).
On reflection, I also think there was no reason for the show to shy away from addressing the problem of the clones; after all, we do know that the Republic is not under the best leadership. And even most kids watching will probably be familiar enough with the movies to know the basics of that; and I support not necessarily coddling kinds and giving them a measure of thoughtful storytelling over just more fight scenes. But there's a difference between last episode saying that just because you're on the same side as the heroes doesn't make you a good person and here outright calling the heroes out as part of an evil system. That's a fair amount of moral complexity to put in a show that has always been kid friendly when it's not very plainly a kids show.
I do wish the show hadn't felt the need to write Obi-wan and Anakin as such idiots in order for this plot to happen, because they're pretty dumb to keep walking right into a trap the way they do. That seems unnecessary.
All that said, it was pretty easy for me to spot Slick as the traitor; score one for the Gene Hunt school of spotting a killer in a crowd, first person to talk is probably the guilty one. (Warning, this lesson is likely most applicable to structured dramas and not real life.)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 1x17: "Blue Shadow Virus"
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It was definitely more good than bad, but it seemed like every time it would get its stride, it would do something that bothered me. And I don't just mean Jar Jar's maxed out luck score; there are other logic problems.
But I do want to talk about Jar Jar's luck score, because this episode does something really odd with character, it makes him almost a literal plot device/deus ex machina. Don't know how to get your characters to the next story point or out of a corner you've painted them into (largely unnecessarily)? Deploy Jar Jar cheat code and just have the thing that needs to happen, happen. Jar Jar is even less a character here than he was in his other episodes, he's not even really annoying, he's just there to literally stumble into plot points.
Now, there's a lot of show left, so there may or may not eventually be a point behind all this. But it almost feels like they could go some weird direction of Jar Jar being an avatar of the Force, literally there to cause things to go a specific direction; justifying writing needs with in-story logic is always a weird thing to do, and can be interesting if pulled off, but the Force gives them room to do it. Then again, I feel like even that weird writing choice would be better served if Jar Jar was an actual (preferably not annoying) character and the discovery that he was something extra was a subtle mystery unraveling. As is, it would mean we'd have to watch more of him leading up to that reveal, and I don't want that.
I guess I was wrong to think last episode would be followed by an ep that walked back the moral complexity that the last one acknowledged. They're apparently just going to let that stand and not offer a rebuttal, at least not right after it brought it up.
As for watching this episode about having a plague potentially released on the galaxy during the middle of a real world pandemic...well it was a little awkward. But because I'm me I focused more the logistics of what they're trying to do. On one hand, it continues the kind of plots from the Lerman episode, that the Separatists apparently aren't concerned with preserving organic life in the universe; and that's...still a weird choice. While the army is made up of droids, the Separatist Alliance is made up of organically populated worlds. I could almost allow it in the Lerman ep, since I could see the potential of it as a targeted weapon, and it did effect a limited area with each use of the weapon; it raised questions about how useful those spaces would be to people after the battle was over, and therefore what the long term plans would be if using it, but it possibly had a usefulness.
But biological weapons are a different thing, and are a lot less controlled. Granted, they say a few times in the episode that the virus was previously 'extinct' which is not the language we use for, say, small pox; we say it's eradicated. If the way to kill off the virus exists within the Republic/galaxy then...*maybe* I could see a strategy for using this. For example unleashing it and forcing the Republic to have to deal with quarantine measures and vaccinations (presumably the Separatists having already prepared to face these problems on their own worlds), interplanetary travel no doubt forbidden until it was under control; basically giving the Separatists free rein to conquer as they will for a little while, even using the options of a cure as a bargaining chip to bring people to their sides. But even then, it doesn't seem like a smart move, as everything kind of has to go perfectly for it work for them that way.
Of course, that also causes questions of what kind of virus it is, even if I buy that it can effect every life form in the galaxy (which I'm not sure I do since insects don't seem effected by it, and I'm sure there are plenty of sentient species in this galaxy who have more in common with insects than humans), if it's instantly fatal as it's shown to be then this is just the same kind of attack as we saw against the Lermans. Except that it's going to render entire planets uninhabitable for generations (although maybe lacking anything left to infect it will die off again?) and that's not a long term strategy either. Plus, this would be exactly the kind of thing that would rally the entire surviving galaxy against them; there's no longer a political game to play at that point.
I've actually been nursing this as something worth commenting on for several episodes now, and while I keep it in my pocket to go into in a shorter review, I seem to have worked my way to it now. The reason why keeping your word is important in politics and warfare is akin to the boy who cried wolf. If you make deals with people and break them, then you're not going to be able to make those kind of deals again. The first episode I thought about bringing this up in was the Luminara episode; because I was literally thinking about how if Dooku/the Separatists kept their word to the traitor guard it would be an important sign to others who might be willing to defect. But then Ventriss killed him, which I would think could have the opposite effect. Now, that was probably a small enough instance that it wouldn't get out; but if there's a few instances where people sold out the Republic and you don't start hear about them living large in the outer worlds, you'll have doubts if they approach you. Same goes if you call in people to talk about a peace deal only to kill them; if you ever do want to sue for peace your enemy is unlikely to come to the table very quickly. If you kill surrendered soldiers, then in other battles soldiers will fight until the last man instead of surrendering and therefore killing more of your army.
Apparently I didn't have that much to say on this episode, as I was easily distracted onto sub-points. I think that kind a hallmark of an okay episode. Odd, this one actually did have character stuff I could have commented on, I guess I just still don't care about Anakin and Padme.
