Photo credit: starwars.com
Part one of the two-part Clone Wars Season Two finale kick-started with R2 Come Home. Here’s the breakdown:
Still intent on killing Mace Windu, Boba Fett and his rag-tag gang of deadly bounty hunters set a trap for the Jedi in the wreckage of The Endurance on Vanqor. Falling into the trap, Mace and Anakin must rely on R2-D2 to head for Coruscant and find help: but first, R2 must battle menacing gundarks and outrun the vengeful Boba Fett!
The Monkey: It’s always nice to see R2 in action. Watching him sabotage the bounty hunters’ progress through the wreckage (beeping and tittering in amusement) was not only humorous, but also recalled his many memorable moments from the classic films. In addition, seeing some of R2’s “new moves” (particularly in his tangle with the gundarks) was thrilling and genuinely funny.
The fact that Mace and Anakin fell into Boba’s trap was a nice way to help humanize the Jedi; so often they come off as invincible, so it was nice to see them in some real peril.
The inclusion of Aurra Sing and Bossk was brilliant. While minor characters in the movies, their Expanded Universe stories are fascinating, and seeing them make a G-canon appearance is exciting. And I have a feeling Aurra Sing is going to play a larger role in the future of the series, which is definitely something to look forward to.
The setting for this episode was unique and entertaining; Star Wars has never dealt much with wrecks, and seeing the slanting deck plates and hazardous explosions of The Endurance was a new and fresh set piece for a Star Wars adventure – plus, the animation team really out-did themselves with the level of detail.
The Weasel: The episode was obviously meant to feed directly into the final episode, so the fact that it felt a bit sparse in plot can be excused.
One thing that surprised me, however, was how little Boba Fett played a role in this episode. Aside from the revenge plot-line, he almost seemed like a foil character to the much more interesting and characterized Aurra Sing. I realize he is still a kid, not yet the fearsome bounty hunter from The Empire Strikes Back; and I realize Aurra is his pseudo-mentor – but his presence in the episode bordered on unnecessary.
A great prologue episode for the final part of the season finale. And hands down, the best R2-D2 action to date!
4 Death Stars out of 5
What do you think? Are you liking Aurra Sing’s inclusion in The Clone Wars? Does R2 deserve some more time in the spotlight in future episodes? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Pop Goes the Culture 