For new readers, just a recap: As the Clone Wars finally wraps up and Rebels begins, I'd like to review individual episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars to prepare for Rebels; as in to highlight positive aspects for Rebels to follow and negative parts to avoid.
My Criteria For Each Episode:[]
- How well it develops the characters, both new and from the films
- Whether it managed to contain a spirit similar to the original trilogy, or had a story that could be compared favorably to it.
- If it improved on elements of the prequel trilogy or focused on its strong points
- If, ultimately, it is a good example for Rebels to follow.
The Review[]
After the weak series premiere which retained too many of the prequels' weaknesses, Rising Malevolence is a huge step in the right direction.
The story is about Plo Koon looking for a new Separatist superweapon that has made several Republic ships disappear, only to also be defeated by the superweapon. He and a group of clones then struggle to survive in space as Anakin and Ahsoka struggle with the decision to obey the council and leave him or defy them and save him.
Unlike "Ambush", it is the Separatists who have the upper hand in this episode, which is good to see. The Clone Wars, after all, went on for three years with neither side gaining much of an upper hand, but in the first episode as well as the movie, each battle resulted in a Republic victory. In this episode, the best the Republic can do is escape with four suviviors, though they do gain a small victory by gaining knowledge on what the superweapon really is. The actual superweapon, the titlular Malevolence, and its giant ion cannon which paralyses most ships, is also portrayed well. Most people watching it will automatically think "Death Star!", and it does make sense that this would be a stepping-stone to the planet-destroying battle station, from the laser shaft to the actual weapon, the ion cannon, which manages to turn the Jawa's familiar small ion blasters into a credible threat. After all, if one blaster can disable a droid, a giant cannon like the one seen in this episode can definitely wreck a star cruiser. And that's what it does, quickly following up with hordes of blaster fire that blows apart two of Plo's cruisers in mere seconds and forcing a quick evacuation of the third. The brutal reality of this situation was shown more as the escape pods jettisoned, and one of them didn't go very far before hitting a piece of wreckage and exploding.
Despite this being the television debut of main stars Anakin and Ahsoka, the episode also focuses a lot on Plo Koon, the victim of the Malevolence and a Jedi only briefly seen in the prequels. However, the episode manages to clearly give a decent story to all three of these characters; while preparing Anakin and Ahsoka for their long-term run, they also manage to establish Plo's personality rather well, and it is awesome. His cool, deep voice, radiating with confidence and power even in his bad situation, makes him instantly likeable. I did think Anakin and Ahsoka's portrayals were okay, but I don't think they were brought out all the way. Anakin at first seemed much too compliant with the Council's orders, which he clearly wasn't in the films, but it is eventually revealed it was a clever facade to rescue Plo without harming anything. Not bad, but I would have liked to see more conflicted emotion in him when he received the Council's orders. Ahsoka, however, fills in for what Anakin usually does: bluntly confronting the Council, which is both nice and awkward. It is nice to see how Anakin is influencing Ahsoka directly and indirectly, but then again we're only three installments into this series. If you never saw the film, then this is your first time seeing Ahsoka, and you might think that she is a tad too much like a "mini Anakin." Even viewers of the film might think this, and what I'm ultimately saying is that Ahsoka should inherit some of Anakin's traits gradually instead of showcasing a lot of them in only her second appearance. Still liked her performance, though.
I liked the portrayal of the clones with Plo Koon more than I did the clones in "Ambush", as their differing reactions to their bad scenario were interesting to watch. However, I still can't feel too much investment for these clones, as I doubt they will get much portrayal anytime afterwards. I want to follow the ongoing stories of individual clones, and Rex and Cody, the two main clone characters, haven't even appeared on this series yet. However, their situation was a lot more interesting than the three clones' last episode: They face the very real danger of being sucked into the oblivion of space, and we see quite dark images of clones being sucked into the vacuum of space. I lived the scene where Plo Koon and his clones finally made a stand against the droid search crew, as we've never had a gunfight in space before (although it was a little one-sided, but at this point I wouldn't have wanted the clones to die). Finally, Anakin and Ahsoka manage to rescue Plo via the Twilight, which with no explanation about it might confuse people who didn't see the film. Nevertheless, when the Malevolence discovers it, the Twilight must outfly its ion cannon in a scene quite reminiscient of Lando's escape from the Death Star. It is a little slow, but the danger was still there, and the Twilight's ultimate escape felt satisfying.
The Verdict[]
I still like this episode as much as I did five and a half years ago, which says a lot. I'm pretty sure that the Rebels cast will find themselves in situations similar to this one, and this episode sets a good example for it. Its flaws are minor, and it makes excellent debuts for both major and minor characters. I do hope that we can see "Plo's Bros" sometime later, or at least more recurring clone characters. Ultimately, this episode gets its lesson across well: Not every battle is a victory.
Rating: 8/10
Other Episode Reviews:[]
- Ambush
- Rising Malevolence
- Shadow of Malevolence
- Destroy Malevolence
- Rookies
- Downfall of a Droid
- Duel of the Droids
- Bombad Jedi
- Cloak of Darkness
- Lair of Grievous
- Dooku Captured
- The Gungan General
- Jedi Crash
- Defenders of Peace
- Trespass
- The Hidden Enemy
- Blue Shadow Virus
- Mystery of a Thousand Moons
- Storm over Ryloth
- Innocents of Ryloth
- Liberty on Ryloth
- Hostage Crisis
- Holocron Heist
- Cargo of Doom
- Children of the Force
- Senate Spy
- Landing at Point Rain