Clone Wars Debriefing: "The Hidden Enemy"

[lazypadawan]

So I like making jewelry! What's wrong with that? Huh? Huh??



Taking place just before the events of the CW theatrical release, the boys fight Seps on Christophsis and quickly discover the enemy seems to know their every move. Cody and Rex suspect a spy but can't quite wrap their heads around the possibility it may possibly be a fellow clone. Anakin and Obi-Wan leave to see what happens behind enemy lines. While chatting, Cody and Rex notice someone listening in. They chase him into the mess hall, but since it's hard to tell these guys apart, they lose their spy.

Undaunted, they use Artoo's help in figuring out there's a terminal within a set of barracks that has seen a spike in use. They haul in all of the men in the barracks, including their sergeant, Slick, in for questioning. By now everyone over the age of five has figured out Slick is the spy. They may as well have named him "Mole" or "Rat" or if they wanted to be fancy, "Quisling." But the clone commanders spend several unsettling minutes trying to root out the spy. They lean heavy on the different guy of the group, Chopper, because he acts all nervous and entered the mess hall later than his compatriots. As it turns out, Chopper does have a secret...he likes making jewelry from battle droid fingers. Less a metrosexual activity than it is taking war trophies, Cody and Rex sternly remind him it's against war protocols.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin bump into Asajj Ventress. Ventress practically comes on to Obi-Wan while he valiantly flirts back during the subsequent dueling. She wiggles her big round booty while Obi-Wan calls her "my sweet." Anakin tells them to get a room already. Ventress attempts to throw books at the Dynamic Duo. Or maybe they were fancy Kindles.

Back at HQ, Cody and Rex basically set a trap for Slick to out himself. When Slick is subdued, they ask him why he was helping the enemy. Just as you're wondering how clones bred to take orders could possibly be turncoats, Slick says something surprising. He did it for freedom, something Ventress apparently promised him in return for his selling out. He says the Jedi have enslaved him and his brothers. This is the first time the ethics of using clone soldiers comes up on the show. Sure Karen Traviss didn't write this?

This was a really compelling episode. While it has all of the action and derring-do we love to see (<3 Anakin's improvised method to move from one building to another), it had some real drama with the clones. Who else wanted to give poor Chopper a hug? Even without the fist fight, you could feel the tension among the men as mistrust settles in the ranks. It makes up for the fact the spy was fairly obvious ;).

It was kind of fun to see Whorm Loathsome, the Sean Connery sound-a-like, pop in for a cameo. I also got a kick out of the background pinup girls...notice this time there are Naboo handmaiden pinups as well? Heh heh.