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spacemagicandlaserswords · 1 year

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The Clone Wars 2x6 ‘Weapons Factory’ and 2x7 ‘Legacy of Terror’ Reaction

So this whole Point Rain arc was an interesting one. Back on Geonosis so soon after Attack of the Clones and it’s somehow going even worse than before. If there’s a Third Battle of Geonosis then it’s going to end up with the planet imploding and taking everyone with it. I talked about this in my reaction to 2x5 ‘Landing at Point Rain’ but the immense number of clones that are killed is beyond horrific. They’re just cannon fodder at this point. All of the groups (regiments? brigades?) take heavy losses. Sure, the Republic ends up just winning the day, taking the capital city of Geonosis, stopping the droid forge, capturing Poggle the Lesser and taking out the Geonosian queen and her horde of zombies. But at what cost? So many clones were just blasted to bits or Thanos snapped out of existence by the Geonosians' sonic blasters. I’m surprised there were any clones without plot armour left.

The part that really rubbed me up the wrong way was when Ki-Adi-Mundi was leading his group (platoon? company?) through what looked like the Geonosian equivalent of a spooky forest. Clones were constantly being atomised left, right and centre and all he’s doing is telling them to keep going and forge ahead through the shortcut that he found?! It’s a pretty rubbish shortcut if none of you make it out alive. Yes, I get that this is a vital campaign whose success hinged on all three groups (legions? corps?) making it to their positions on the battlefield. This was made abundantly clear at the start of the arc in 2x5 ‘Landing at Point Rain’. But at some point you have to reassess, use some of that apparently famed jedi logic, reasoning, and divesting-thine-self-of-emotions, and consider if you’re going about this the right way. Probably just before the last of your men, and you, are ruptured to bits by a swarm of angry Geonosians with sonic blasters. Of course the jedi and clones won in the end. Can’t have the hero’s not saving the day. But it was only by the very thinnest of margins. I was wholly unimpressed with Ki-Adi-Mundi’s approach, and he wasn’t the only new jedi that I was disappointed by.

(I’ve since realised that I should’ve included this paragraph in my reaction to 2x5 'Landing at Point Rain' because Ki-Adi-Mundi doesn’t actually appear in either of these episodes. I wrote a good chunk of this as a reaction to the characters introduced in the Point Rain arc rather than addressing specific episodes and it makes more sense in this context so it’s staying here.)

I did not like Luminara Unduli’s characterisation at all. I can see from a narrative perspective why she, and Ki-Adi-Mundi, are written the way they are. They’re both there, Luminara especially, as narrative and character foil to Anakin. An example of the Perfect Jedi. Calm, at peace, one with the Force, not driven by emotions. The complete opposite to Anakin’s bold and rash actions, emotions clouding his judgement, and attachment to his padawan. Or at least they’re trying to frame it in this way. I know at one point Luminara specifically says to Anakin that he’s misjudged her on thinking that she doesn’t care about her padawan Barriss most likely being dead. But it really did not come across like that. When it appeared that Ahsoka and Barriss were squished under the rubble of that explosion, it seemed like Luminara just gave up, immediately accepted without hesitation or thought that her padawan was dead and didn’t even bother to try and see if she could save her. It was just like ‘well that one’s kicked the bucket, fetch me a new child soldier from the nursery’. I am fully aware that this is probably not how it was probably intended to be portrayed. This is my viewing experience of TCW and that is how her characterisation and actions came across to me and how I interpreted them. And it really rubbed me up the wrong way. There was a lot of that in this arc. I guess this is another example of The Clone Wars tackling fairly weighty, tough, difficult topics where there’s not always a right or good answer, even though it’s “just a kid’s tv show”.

Anakin has many, many, many problems and is absolutely by no means even close to being a good or vaguely decent person. Yet in this particular specific singular instance, at least he had a bit of fight and passion about him and actually seemed to care about the wellbeing of the literal child that is under his care and who he is responsible for. He didn’t just give up immediately and actually tried to see if he could save her. There’s a difference between acceptance and giving up and I think Luminara’s characterisation fell too far towards the latter.

Her characterisation also wasn’t helped when, after the Republic has saved the day and finished leading clones to the slaughter, she promptly does a philosophical 180 and hares off into an oncoming sandstorm on a reckless pursuit after Poggle. Luminara seems particularly obsessed with trying to capture Poggle, which is in complete contrast to her portrayal earlier as the Perfect Jedi who would never be affected by such base things like emotions. She’s so driven to go after Poggle that she makes reckless decisions and her actions result in the unnecessary and completely avoidable death of more clones and puts the lives of even more clones and her fellow jedi in danger. That’s not particularly Perfect Pious Jedi now is it, and just makes her apparent initial abandonment of Barriss even more hypocritical.

(Editing me has also realised that I may come to reassess my opinions on these characters. I'm coming back to this quite a while after writing it and now I'm not as sure about what I originally wrote. However, I need to post something so it's staying for now and may be a useful comparison for when I eventually, hopefully, rewatch TCW again.)

We’re also introduced to Barriss in this arc and this character just makes me so, so sad, though for a purely personal reason. Barriss is portrayed as the model student, the perfect padawan. She follows orders to the letter, doesn’t dare to even consider contradicting her master, goes above and beyond in everything, like memorising the catacombs. She’s terrified of failure and is so desperate to please. Everything has to be perfect and done exactly as her Master said it had to be. Barriss is the Gifted Kid. And I saw so much of my younger self in her. I just wanted to hug her and tell her that she’s ok just as she is. She doesn’t have to try and impress everyone and be the perfect model student. She can just be herself and that’s all that matters. Because it never ends well. It doesn’t end well for Barriss (I know what happens and I’ve got plenty to say about that when I get to that episode). And it didn’t end well for me either. My body, mind and soul are now completely crushed and destroyed and a lot of it started with that Gifted Kid nonsense. I was tearing up writing this paragraph remembering it all and to see it all reflected in Barriss was just as heartbreaking.

I don’t know how to transition to this next paragraph without it being a completely record scratching change of tone. So just imagine that as some sort of transition. Plus we need some humour after 1000+ words of general grimitude.

The scene in the lair of the Geonosian queen Karina the Great had me absolutely cackling. I always enjoy Obi-Wan and Anakin sassing each other and there was plenty of that here. Especially the part where Anakin steps on the brain worm and Obi-Wan just looks so sad and dejected about not being able to study it and then Anakin tells him to study the bottom of his boot. Obi-Wan you absolute nerd.

Look at him. He's so sad he can't study the brain worm.

In the lead up to this, where Luminara is being menaced with the brain worm, I did have a brief moment of thinking that Obi-Wan was actually going to watch one of his fellow Jedi be controlled by a brain worm just because he wanted to see what would happen. Evil Scientist Obi-Wan?

Luminara is being held captive and being threatened with essentially being brainwashed and Obi-Wan and Anakin just wander straight into the evil lair and start idly chatting about what they think will happen to her. They’re both absolute little shits but in entirely different ways. I’m not sure Obi-Wan had as much control of the situation as he thought he did.

Was 2x7 ‘Legacy of Terror’ the first proper horror themed episode? Or as proper horror themed as an animated kids tv show on Cartoon Network is going to get? Maybe horror homage is a better description. Basically like episode 2x11 ‘Metamorphosis’ of The Bad Batch where they reenact Alien while discovering the Zillo Beast. The fandom seemed to lose their collective minds at that reveal so I’m looking forward to finally finding out what all the fuss is about. I think I’m going to have to rewatch The Bad Batch, or at least certain episodes, after finishing TCW and Rebels to get a greater sense of some of the reveals that happen.

Random Thoughts Having encountered Poggle the Lesser, could this imply the possible existence of a Poggle the Greater or Poggle the Better?

As Geonosians have sonic blasters and sonic canons, could that possibly mean the existence of Geonosian sonic screwdrivers? The Doctor would not be pleased.

Obi-Wan’s quip to Cody about the first time he was on Geonosis was peak sass and flirting. Don’t tease the poor Marshal Commander with a good time that he wasn’t there to enjoy.

(Editing me has also only now realised that this moment was also from 2x5 'Landing at Point Rain'. This is why I need to finish these reaction posts much sooner after watching the episode.)

Occasionally there are some utterly ridiculous and unbelievable moments even by TCW standards and Luminara and Anakin “climbing” under the bridge planting bombs was one of them. How are you dangling vertically under the bridge and somehow managing to hold onto the rocks with the tips of your fingers like that? What are you, Force geckos?

I know I’ve said this before but I am now definitely just here for the clones. The jedi can go wave their glow sticks somewhere else. Just give me everything to do with the clones.

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