The Clone Wars: Season Two

We have reached the end of Season Two in our exploration of The Clone Wars.   Episode posts resume next Tuesday with Season Three.  But first, a quick reflection...

General Impressions

As I had hoped, The Clone Wars takes on more of a life of its own in Season Two.  While there are still plenty of straight-up, Jedi/Sith stories with Anakin as the focus, we are allowed more avenues of exploration.  There is even one episode, "Senate Murders," that includes no Jedi at all.  Many of the more interesting stories take us into the seamy Star Wars underworld of pirates, thieves, assassins and especially bounty hunters.  In fact, many of the threads ultimately connect back to the Galaxy's most famous bounty hunter: Boba Fett.  The young Boba himself makes his first Clone Wars appearance in "Death Trap."


Favorite Episode: "Bounty Hunters"

via Wookieepedia

Lots of strong candidates for this distinction but I'm a sucker for an homage.  "Bounty Hunters" isn't really about bounty hunters much at all.  It's a send up of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.  My favorite Clone Wars character, the pirate Hondo Ohnaka, also puts in an appearance.


Least Favorite Episode: "R2 Come Home"

via Wookieepedia

Conversely, not many obvious stinkers.  "R2 Come Home" is part two of a three-episode arc about young Boba Fett, a fun and important story overall.  Despite (or partly because of?) a droid duel, this installment lacked a certain compelling energy.  In fact, I would say this is a bit of a recurring issue for the series: not all chapters of an arc are equal.  The same is true for the film trilogies, after all.


Favorite New Character: Duchess Satine

via Wookieepedia

Satine is the leader of the planet Mandalore and also the Council of Neutral Systems, an organization of worlds determined not to participate in the clash between the Republic and the Separatists.  The Mandalore story itself is an interesting one.  An insurgent group known as Death Watch is waging civil war on the planet and they have targeted Satine in particular.  She is a strong, independent woman and a potent leader.  As if all that weren't enough, she also has a quasi-romantic past with Obi-Wan Kenobi, enriching his backstory, too.


Onward

The droning buzz of vuvuzelas filled the air during the summer of 2010 as South Africa hosted soccer's World Cup (though I suppose it was technically winter in the southern hemisphere).  In July, WikiLeaks published 90,000 internal reports from the US-led War in Afghanistan.  The Clone Wars launched Season Three in September.

There's a lot to look forward to in Season Three.  The first episode, "Clone Cadets," is a prequel to what is still my favorite episode of the series: Season One's "Rookies."  Duchess Satine returns as well.

Please visit the other participants today.  Next Tuesday: "Clone Cadets."