CLONE WARS: Tipping To The Good Stuff
Episode 5.05 “Tipping Points”
[photos: StarWars.com]
As I hypothesized in my last recap, The Clone Wars has a way of slowly building to an amazing episode and I’m happy to say the most recent installment, “Tipping Points” proves my case.
In the last few episodes, the Jedi have been assisting the rebels of Onderon in overtaking their corrupt and false king who has allied himself with the Separatists, and allowed the droid army to occupy Onderon. It is important to make the distinction between the Jedi and the Republic here. Onderon never chose a side in the war; they tried to remind neutral, always leaning more toward the Separatists, thinking the Republic very corrupt. But by the time they discovered the Separatist where even more corrupt it was too late. They couldn’t pull out of their relationship with the Separatists, thus leading to Onderon’s occupation. For political reasons, the Republic cannot get involved.
But the Jedi lived by their own set of rules. They’ve been helping the rebels, but they can only do so much. “The [Jedi] Council will not engage or involve the Republic in an internal affair.” Obi-Wan tells Ahsoka.
In “Tipping Points” the rebels have made enough of a stink that Dooku has taken notice and declared “full scale war” against them. So he sends in the big guns. Literally. “A new gunship with a powerful ray shield”. Obi-Wan and Anakin want to help, but their hands are tied. But Anakin gets an idea of how to help the rebels without involving the Republic or the Jedi: employing a third party.
This episode really hits home. The new Separatist gunship actually gave me concerned. It would have been a lot for any Republic army to handle, let alone this small band of poorly equipped rebels. And the genius behind The Clone Wars creative team and their “slow builds” as I call them, is that in four episodes, you’ve learn enough about all the characters that you’re genuinely concerned for them. So the loss suffered in the end leaves you feeling what you know the characters are feeling; shame, guilt and regret.
On a separate note I feel like I’ve discovered something new about The Clone Wars. Something else that makes the creative team there so brilliant. They capture the love, imagination and excitement of the original trilogy and support the prequels, all at the same time. Anakin’s rise to Darth Vader is the ultimate “slow build”. He’s not the product of Obi-Wan’s failure or beginning his training to late or even the death of this mother. He’s the product of The Clone Wars. He was forced to do things, and make choices during the war that possible no other Jedi was ever faced with. It was simply really bad timing. Or good timing, depending who you stand with.
Keep tuning in. You might feel like The Clone Wars takes to long to get the point, but it’s worth it. Always.
