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tori_reviews2021-02-15 07:50 pm
jedi_of_urth) wrote in tori_reviews2021-02-15 07:50 pm
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Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 2x05 - 06
Sorry I missed Friday's update, I'd been doing pretty well this year, so not I have to restart my count of # days since post missed.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 2x05: “Landing at Point Rain”
So this episode is a visual spectacle, narratively hollow, and intellectually odd. I didn't like it very much, but I do have things to say.
I feel fairly confident assuming this episode exists for the sake of the visuals, as that's the part that was definitely trying the hardest. And as an example of being an animated war movie for kids it is visually impressive. Showing different kinds of combat, keeping the focus tight in spite of jumping between points of interest, and focusing in the war part of Star Wars, all of that works.
But everything else doesn't work. The script is minimal in terms of dialog and character work. What is there is clunky and unnatural. It doesn't actually create any tension or atmosphere. And I just zoned out on a good portion of it, it's well over the line on how much battle I can care about when the players are pretty empty.
Between what we did get and how much my mind wandered from it, I found myself thinking back on so many points I brought up in s1. This episode has the Republic as the ones attacking a planet that is loyal the Separatist cause, the enemies are not just droids but sentient soldiers that get mowed down with just as little consideration. And on the flip side, the body count among the clones is really high and doesn't seem like something people consider. Yes, in war there is going to be death on both sides, that's kind of the definition, and I'd be willing to hear arguments that is was an important and necessary fight; but it still bothers me.
What are Geonoshans fighting for? What are their reasons for fighting and dying for the Separatists and/or against the Republic? Tell me what the damned war is about, what passions are stirred up on the other side that drive them to fight? Show me on a map or in a charter what they're trying to accomplish; they might be every bit the bad guys they're painted as, but there has to be a reason. Even nationalistic pride still requires them to see the other side as in opposition to their nation.
I've said before that I think there's a lot of similarity between the Watsonian and Doyalist reasons for the battles being carried out by droids and clones; that being that you don't have to think about the cost. Whether you're a producer who wanted the show to appeal to kids and get away with an allowable rating; or a ten year old who mostly wants to see your favorite characters doing cool stuff; or a Republic civilian who on a day to day basis doesn't have to think about there being a war going on; or a politician who can sell a war without being asked why people are being asked to fight and die for a nebulous cause. Now, the Doyalist reasons still apply to very inhuman insect aliens, but the Watsonian ones trip me up.
What I do find myself thinking about in episodes like this that show how loyal and committed the clones are, is how sorry I feel for them in Order 66. Cody clearly had Obi-wan's back, and Obi-wan trusts him, but we know how that story will end; with him, without hesitation ordering Obi-wan's death. And we can assume that it's more or less true of the other squads we see in ep3, that some of them have been working with these Jedi for years only to find themselves as executioners. And that's sad.
That long term thought aside, I hope this arc can improved, this episode was just not for me.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 2x06: “Weapons Factory”
That was a pretty good episode; a little flawed in structure, but it does some very relevant things. And since those are the things that are meant to be the basis/theme of the episode, the fact that it does that well means they did what they set out to do.
If it weren't so important to the actual theme of the episode, I would say that the two sides of the plot don't go together. That the surface battle distracted from the creepy horror of the dungeon crawl; that it could have been pretty interesting to not know much about what was going on outside, and focused more of the decent into the unknown and fear of the dark and getting lost.
I do think the opening conflict between Anakin and Ahsoka is somewhat at odds with how the episode plays out. Almost maybe we should have seen that he has complete confidence in her when they're working together, but he gets nervous when they're not. Maybe towards the end the implication becomes that he's deliberately (if partly subconsciously) trying to keep her in the role of padawan so he doesn't have think about her leaving him behind.
I also have some questions about their battle planning; the point of sending the padawans in to blow the factory up was that the original plan would have been too costly...only to turn around and use a very costly plan as a distraction. I could go on another rant about viewing the closes as easily sacrificed pawns, but you've heard me say that enough to know how I feel (until the next time I feel a real need for that soapbox). And yes, battle plans and generals throughout history treat foot-soldiers as disposable, but I tend to find that both the narrative and the Jedi to have an awkward attitude about doing that in this case.
As a last complaint, the scenes in the collapsed tank were nerve-wracking because I'm constantly aware that they're using deadly weapons as flashlights in a confined space. I definitely wondered why they needed both to be on; it's easier to keep one from accidentally going in the wrong direction than controlling two in that position.
But as to the character work in this episode, I was actually a little surprised how well it worked. The opening bits with the briefing and then seeing Lunimara and her padawan I could already see meant this ep was going to contrast their relationship with Anakin and Ahsoka's. But I expected more of a lesson in how padawans take after their masters, and Anakin's more prideful tendencies with rubbing off on Ahsoka while the other two had a more traditional relationship. I thought that would be a somewhat off theme since we know how different Obi-wan and Anakin are in those same terms, but it's what I thought was coming.
Instead what we get is an examination of Anakin's fear of loss, which it seems I find much more compelling in his relationship to Ahsoka than I do with Padme. And it's done in a way that again paints it as not necessarily a bad thing if we didn't know where it leads. He's not constantly distracted worrying about her or anything, but he's not sanguine about the possibility of losing her either. And it's not like Ahsoka is quick to resign herself or others to what seems inevitable either; in contrast with Barris who kind of is. Ahsoka shows that there is a middle way between the quiet acceptance of the Jedi way like the other pair, and Anakin's dangerous emotionality. And therefore they actually show that Anakin didn't have to fall to the dark side; as this episode reinforces, the two of them are very alike in a lot of ways, but they're not going to end up at the same place (as far as I know, and I'm fairly spoiled on the broad strokes).
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 2x05: “Landing at Point Rain”
So this episode is a visual spectacle, narratively hollow, and intellectually odd. I didn't like it very much, but I do have things to say.
I feel fairly confident assuming this episode exists for the sake of the visuals, as that's the part that was definitely trying the hardest. And as an example of being an animated war movie for kids it is visually impressive. Showing different kinds of combat, keeping the focus tight in spite of jumping between points of interest, and focusing in the war part of Star Wars, all of that works.
But everything else doesn't work. The script is minimal in terms of dialog and character work. What is there is clunky and unnatural. It doesn't actually create any tension or atmosphere. And I just zoned out on a good portion of it, it's well over the line on how much battle I can care about when the players are pretty empty.
Between what we did get and how much my mind wandered from it, I found myself thinking back on so many points I brought up in s1. This episode has the Republic as the ones attacking a planet that is loyal the Separatist cause, the enemies are not just droids but sentient soldiers that get mowed down with just as little consideration. And on the flip side, the body count among the clones is really high and doesn't seem like something people consider. Yes, in war there is going to be death on both sides, that's kind of the definition, and I'd be willing to hear arguments that is was an important and necessary fight; but it still bothers me.
What are Geonoshans fighting for? What are their reasons for fighting and dying for the Separatists and/or against the Republic? Tell me what the damned war is about, what passions are stirred up on the other side that drive them to fight? Show me on a map or in a charter what they're trying to accomplish; they might be every bit the bad guys they're painted as, but there has to be a reason. Even nationalistic pride still requires them to see the other side as in opposition to their nation.
I've said before that I think there's a lot of similarity between the Watsonian and Doyalist reasons for the battles being carried out by droids and clones; that being that you don't have to think about the cost. Whether you're a producer who wanted the show to appeal to kids and get away with an allowable rating; or a ten year old who mostly wants to see your favorite characters doing cool stuff; or a Republic civilian who on a day to day basis doesn't have to think about there being a war going on; or a politician who can sell a war without being asked why people are being asked to fight and die for a nebulous cause. Now, the Doyalist reasons still apply to very inhuman insect aliens, but the Watsonian ones trip me up.
What I do find myself thinking about in episodes like this that show how loyal and committed the clones are, is how sorry I feel for them in Order 66. Cody clearly had Obi-wan's back, and Obi-wan trusts him, but we know how that story will end; with him, without hesitation ordering Obi-wan's death. And we can assume that it's more or less true of the other squads we see in ep3, that some of them have been working with these Jedi for years only to find themselves as executioners. And that's sad.
That long term thought aside, I hope this arc can improved, this episode was just not for me.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – 2x06: “Weapons Factory”
That was a pretty good episode; a little flawed in structure, but it does some very relevant things. And since those are the things that are meant to be the basis/theme of the episode, the fact that it does that well means they did what they set out to do.
If it weren't so important to the actual theme of the episode, I would say that the two sides of the plot don't go together. That the surface battle distracted from the creepy horror of the dungeon crawl; that it could have been pretty interesting to not know much about what was going on outside, and focused more of the decent into the unknown and fear of the dark and getting lost.
I do think the opening conflict between Anakin and Ahsoka is somewhat at odds with how the episode plays out. Almost maybe we should have seen that he has complete confidence in her when they're working together, but he gets nervous when they're not. Maybe towards the end the implication becomes that he's deliberately (if partly subconsciously) trying to keep her in the role of padawan so he doesn't have think about her leaving him behind.
I also have some questions about their battle planning; the point of sending the padawans in to blow the factory up was that the original plan would have been too costly...only to turn around and use a very costly plan as a distraction. I could go on another rant about viewing the closes as easily sacrificed pawns, but you've heard me say that enough to know how I feel (until the next time I feel a real need for that soapbox). And yes, battle plans and generals throughout history treat foot-soldiers as disposable, but I tend to find that both the narrative and the Jedi to have an awkward attitude about doing that in this case.
As a last complaint, the scenes in the collapsed tank were nerve-wracking because I'm constantly aware that they're using deadly weapons as flashlights in a confined space. I definitely wondered why they needed both to be on; it's easier to keep one from accidentally going in the wrong direction than controlling two in that position.
But as to the character work in this episode, I was actually a little surprised how well it worked. The opening bits with the briefing and then seeing Lunimara and her padawan I could already see meant this ep was going to contrast their relationship with Anakin and Ahsoka's. But I expected more of a lesson in how padawans take after their masters, and Anakin's more prideful tendencies with rubbing off on Ahsoka while the other two had a more traditional relationship. I thought that would be a somewhat off theme since we know how different Obi-wan and Anakin are in those same terms, but it's what I thought was coming.
Instead what we get is an examination of Anakin's fear of loss, which it seems I find much more compelling in his relationship to Ahsoka than I do with Padme. And it's done in a way that again paints it as not necessarily a bad thing if we didn't know where it leads. He's not constantly distracted worrying about her or anything, but he's not sanguine about the possibility of losing her either. And it's not like Ahsoka is quick to resign herself or others to what seems inevitable either; in contrast with Barris who kind of is. Ahsoka shows that there is a middle way between the quiet acceptance of the Jedi way like the other pair, and Anakin's dangerous emotionality. And therefore they actually show that Anakin didn't have to fall to the dark side; as this episode reinforces, the two of them are very alike in a lot of ways, but they're not going to end up at the same place (as far as I know, and I'm fairly spoiled on the broad strokes).