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Clone Wars Debriefing: Season Finale
May. 3rd, 2010 06:05 pm"R2 Come Home"
The penultimate episode of CW S2 finds Mace, Anakin, and their respective R2 units checking the wreck of a crashed ship (destroyed by Boba Fett last week) for survivors. There they find beasts running lose. One of them destroys Mace's R2, but Artoo is of course too awesome to be destroyed by some stupid monster. This is a good thing because Anakin enjoys a blonde moment and picks up the booby-trapped helmet of Jango Fett, setting off an explosion that traps Anakin and Mace beneath a lot of rubble. For some reason they cannot use the Force to move the wreckage aside.
It's up to Artoo to defend the two Jedi not only from monsters but also from Boba, Aurra, Bossk, and Castas. They want proof that Mace Windu is dead so they head over to the wreckage. Artoo does more than an admirable job outsmarting the villains and using droid fu on them. If you have any doubts at all that Artoo is a Jedi who is somehow trapped in a droid's body, this episode removes them forever. This is the real hero of the saga ;). Anakin sends Artoo to take Mace's ship back to Coruscant to get help. The bounty hunters thought Mace was escaping, so the Slave I pursues the ship. Boba tries shooting at the fleeing starfighter, but Artoo dodges his bullets and outraces the Slave I to a hyperspace ring. Ha ha. Artoo reaches Coruscant, chest bumps another droid, and "tells" Ahsoka and Plo Koon the boys are in trouble. Ahsoka and Plo rush out with the calvary to save Mace and Anakin.
However, the bounty hunters have taken hostages…two surviving clones and the ship's admiral. Uh oh!
This episode was a lot of fun because of Artoo's clever hijinks. Seriously, where would the good guys be without him? The title plays off of "Lassie, Come Home" because Artoo kind of is the Lassie of the SW saga.
I'm confused as to why two of the most powerful Jedi in the Order couldn't move that wreckage, but needed Ahsoka's help and Plo's help to do so. I was surprised Anakin was totally clueless on Jango Fett. That was mostly Obi-Wan's arc in AOTC and maybe there was never time to go into details with Anakin about Obi-Wan's adventures on Kamino and Mustafar, but hello, Fett captured Anakin in the factory on Geonosis. Fett was right there in the arena standing behind Dooku. Mace decapitated Fett about oh, 10 feet away from Anakin. He should have at least realized the helmet looked familiar! I've noticed that some fans wondered why the Jedi simply didn't ask the clone cadets from the prior episode about Boba and the other bounty hunters. Hmm.
Overall though, an enjoyable episode and a great set-up for...
"Lethal Trackdown"
The season finale ends a great S2 with a bang. Because Mace would rather read his Kindle in his hospital room than pursue Boba and Anakin is still recovering, it's up to Ahsoka and Plo to go kick some bounty hunter butt before they kill the remaining hostages. (Poor Ponds is quickly dispatched in a hostage video.)
Meanwhile on the Slave I, Aurra is yelling at Boba for chickening out after she ordered him to kill Ponds. Castas tells her he's had enough of this scheme and they agree to part ways once they reach a planet called Florrum.
Ahsoka and Plo begin their search for Aurra and Co. in Coruscant's under levels. Plo has the good sense to have Ahsoka cover up but has the bad sense to bring a minor to what looks like a strip club. The bounty hunters arrive on Florrum, where they are met by our old pal Hondo. We find out that Aurra and Hondo were…uh…God, I just don't want to think about it. :Shudder.: Hondo even makes a joke about Boba being his. Anyway, while they are all at the bar, Aurra catches Castas telling another guy by holo about their mission. Aurra caps the rat.
It just so happens that Ahsoka is using Force-enhanced hearing at the strip club to overhear the guy Castas had been talking to. He and his compatriots notice that Ahsoka is eavesdropping and all heck breaks loose. Plo immediately whips out his lightsaber and Ahsoka throws money into the crowd to distract them. Then afterwards, Plo has the nerve to tell Ahsoka she needs to be more subtle.
Shortly thereafter, Ahsoka and Plo arrive on Florrum and Hondo makes it clear he's not in on their beef. Aurra and Boba believe it's Mace Windu and are disappointed when they see it's just Plo. Boba puts a gun to Plo's head. Aurra is about to give the order to Bossk--who's still on the ship--to execute the remaining hostages when Ahsoka jumps out, whacks off Aurra's antenna, and holds the lightsaber blade to Aurra's throat. Isn't it fun to see a couple of teenagers in a Mexican standoff using adults as hostages? I think it is. The standoff ends, a fight ensues, and it ends with Boba in custody and Ahsoka in hot pursuit after Aurra on speeder bikes. Hondo eggs Boba into giving away where the hostages are located, saying it's the honorable thing to do. Plo passes on the info to Ahsoka, who breaks pursuit and frees the hostages. Bossk is in custody.
But Aurra returns and tries to flee on Slave I. Ahsoka's having none of that; she disables the Slave I and it crashes in a fiery poof of smoke. Anakin would be really proud of her ;). Now, we all know we haven't seen the last of Aurra. After all, she shows up in the Season Three preview. Somehow the Slave I is rebuilt. But still, quite a bit of damage from one little padawan ;).
At the end, Boba is hauled off to juvie on Coruscant but not before he tells Mace he can never forgive the Jedi.
For 22 minutes, this episode was PACKED. There's enough character development to shame even an hour live action drama. Boba continues to struggle with his conscience. He doesn't have the stomach to murder Ponds, even when ordered, and earlier in the episode, he brings the hostages water. Boba is also learning the hard way that in the underworld, you can't trust anyone. You kind of feel sorry for the guy when Aurra just leaves him at the bar. Self-preservation always comes first. Little wonder then an adult Boba works alone. Interestingly enough, Hondo is also there to imbue a sense of honor in the young miscreant. I think it leaves an impression on Boba that Jango had a reputation for honor.
Jaime King does an amazing job as Aurra, who is fleshed out more than she ever has been in her 11 years of existence. Aurra is flat out a sociopath who takes pleasure in violence and death. Her attempts at connecting with anyone are…interesting. Hondo knows she is too much to handle beyond an occasional fling (interesting that the only flat out sexual reference thus far in CW is between him and Aurra). She pushes Boba to kill people and engage in cruelty yet she won't let him drink at the bar. She seems to like having Boba under her wing but she ultimately abandons him. Now life in jail, however long it lasts, will only harden him further.
Ahsoka comes into her own as a heroine, growing stronger as a Jedi and putting Anakin's unorthodox ways to work. She's smart, quick on her feet, and insanely brave.
There was one plot hole, where Boba challenges Mace to meet him face-to-face, he never bothers to tell Mace where he is.
Other than that, a fantastic way to close out the season. I'll have a separate post about the S3 preview.
The penultimate episode of CW S2 finds Mace, Anakin, and their respective R2 units checking the wreck of a crashed ship (destroyed by Boba Fett last week) for survivors. There they find beasts running lose. One of them destroys Mace's R2, but Artoo is of course too awesome to be destroyed by some stupid monster. This is a good thing because Anakin enjoys a blonde moment and picks up the booby-trapped helmet of Jango Fett, setting off an explosion that traps Anakin and Mace beneath a lot of rubble. For some reason they cannot use the Force to move the wreckage aside.
It's up to Artoo to defend the two Jedi not only from monsters but also from Boba, Aurra, Bossk, and Castas. They want proof that Mace Windu is dead so they head over to the wreckage. Artoo does more than an admirable job outsmarting the villains and using droid fu on them. If you have any doubts at all that Artoo is a Jedi who is somehow trapped in a droid's body, this episode removes them forever. This is the real hero of the saga ;). Anakin sends Artoo to take Mace's ship back to Coruscant to get help. The bounty hunters thought Mace was escaping, so the Slave I pursues the ship. Boba tries shooting at the fleeing starfighter, but Artoo dodges his bullets and outraces the Slave I to a hyperspace ring. Ha ha. Artoo reaches Coruscant, chest bumps another droid, and "tells" Ahsoka and Plo Koon the boys are in trouble. Ahsoka and Plo rush out with the calvary to save Mace and Anakin.
However, the bounty hunters have taken hostages…two surviving clones and the ship's admiral. Uh oh!
This episode was a lot of fun because of Artoo's clever hijinks. Seriously, where would the good guys be without him? The title plays off of "Lassie, Come Home" because Artoo kind of is the Lassie of the SW saga.
I'm confused as to why two of the most powerful Jedi in the Order couldn't move that wreckage, but needed Ahsoka's help and Plo's help to do so. I was surprised Anakin was totally clueless on Jango Fett. That was mostly Obi-Wan's arc in AOTC and maybe there was never time to go into details with Anakin about Obi-Wan's adventures on Kamino and Mustafar, but hello, Fett captured Anakin in the factory on Geonosis. Fett was right there in the arena standing behind Dooku. Mace decapitated Fett about oh, 10 feet away from Anakin. He should have at least realized the helmet looked familiar! I've noticed that some fans wondered why the Jedi simply didn't ask the clone cadets from the prior episode about Boba and the other bounty hunters. Hmm.
Overall though, an enjoyable episode and a great set-up for...
"Lethal Trackdown"
The season finale ends a great S2 with a bang. Because Mace would rather read his Kindle in his hospital room than pursue Boba and Anakin is still recovering, it's up to Ahsoka and Plo to go kick some bounty hunter butt before they kill the remaining hostages. (Poor Ponds is quickly dispatched in a hostage video.)
Meanwhile on the Slave I, Aurra is yelling at Boba for chickening out after she ordered him to kill Ponds. Castas tells her he's had enough of this scheme and they agree to part ways once they reach a planet called Florrum.
Ahsoka and Plo begin their search for Aurra and Co. in Coruscant's under levels. Plo has the good sense to have Ahsoka cover up but has the bad sense to bring a minor to what looks like a strip club. The bounty hunters arrive on Florrum, where they are met by our old pal Hondo. We find out that Aurra and Hondo were…uh…God, I just don't want to think about it. :Shudder.: Hondo even makes a joke about Boba being his. Anyway, while they are all at the bar, Aurra catches Castas telling another guy by holo about their mission. Aurra caps the rat.
It just so happens that Ahsoka is using Force-enhanced hearing at the strip club to overhear the guy Castas had been talking to. He and his compatriots notice that Ahsoka is eavesdropping and all heck breaks loose. Plo immediately whips out his lightsaber and Ahsoka throws money into the crowd to distract them. Then afterwards, Plo has the nerve to tell Ahsoka she needs to be more subtle.
Shortly thereafter, Ahsoka and Plo arrive on Florrum and Hondo makes it clear he's not in on their beef. Aurra and Boba believe it's Mace Windu and are disappointed when they see it's just Plo. Boba puts a gun to Plo's head. Aurra is about to give the order to Bossk--who's still on the ship--to execute the remaining hostages when Ahsoka jumps out, whacks off Aurra's antenna, and holds the lightsaber blade to Aurra's throat. Isn't it fun to see a couple of teenagers in a Mexican standoff using adults as hostages? I think it is. The standoff ends, a fight ensues, and it ends with Boba in custody and Ahsoka in hot pursuit after Aurra on speeder bikes. Hondo eggs Boba into giving away where the hostages are located, saying it's the honorable thing to do. Plo passes on the info to Ahsoka, who breaks pursuit and frees the hostages. Bossk is in custody.
But Aurra returns and tries to flee on Slave I. Ahsoka's having none of that; she disables the Slave I and it crashes in a fiery poof of smoke. Anakin would be really proud of her ;). Now, we all know we haven't seen the last of Aurra. After all, she shows up in the Season Three preview. Somehow the Slave I is rebuilt. But still, quite a bit of damage from one little padawan ;).
At the end, Boba is hauled off to juvie on Coruscant but not before he tells Mace he can never forgive the Jedi.
For 22 minutes, this episode was PACKED. There's enough character development to shame even an hour live action drama. Boba continues to struggle with his conscience. He doesn't have the stomach to murder Ponds, even when ordered, and earlier in the episode, he brings the hostages water. Boba is also learning the hard way that in the underworld, you can't trust anyone. You kind of feel sorry for the guy when Aurra just leaves him at the bar. Self-preservation always comes first. Little wonder then an adult Boba works alone. Interestingly enough, Hondo is also there to imbue a sense of honor in the young miscreant. I think it leaves an impression on Boba that Jango had a reputation for honor.
Jaime King does an amazing job as Aurra, who is fleshed out more than she ever has been in her 11 years of existence. Aurra is flat out a sociopath who takes pleasure in violence and death. Her attempts at connecting with anyone are…interesting. Hondo knows she is too much to handle beyond an occasional fling (interesting that the only flat out sexual reference thus far in CW is between him and Aurra). She pushes Boba to kill people and engage in cruelty yet she won't let him drink at the bar. She seems to like having Boba under her wing but she ultimately abandons him. Now life in jail, however long it lasts, will only harden him further.
Ahsoka comes into her own as a heroine, growing stronger as a Jedi and putting Anakin's unorthodox ways to work. She's smart, quick on her feet, and insanely brave.
There was one plot hole, where Boba challenges Mace to meet him face-to-face, he never bothers to tell Mace where he is.
Other than that, a fantastic way to close out the season. I'll have a separate post about the S3 preview.
