A War on Two Fronts might well be the start of something new for The Clone Wars. The episode starts with a compelling debate about the difference between terrorists and rebels. These are shades of gray in the argument and such nuance to an issue so hotly debated isn’t something you’d expect to see in a kids show. It’s to the credit of George Lucas, Filoni, and team that they’d bring elements like this into the show.
Onderon is a planet taken over by the Separatists, making it a target for the Republic, but there is a sizable guerilla force on the planet who isn’t happy that their leaders have rolled over and joined the enemy. They’re led by a fellow named Saw Gerrera, which sounds startlingly similar to another guerilla freedom fighter, Che Guevara… Anakin goes to the Jedi council and convinces them to support the rebels, which is so logical for his character. We’ve seen Anakin, through the prequels and this series, use the most stunning leaps in logic to support bending and breaking the rules, ultimately to his destruction. Justifying the use of terrorist tactics in areas populated by civilians seems to be the direction this episode is heading and we’ll see how that goes for the Jedi who are reluctantly going along with Anakin’s plan.
Anakin brings Obi-wan, Rex, Ahsoka to Onderon with him, giving them each a chance to put their mark on the training of the rebels. Rex sports a new, non-Republic uniform that I’d love to see some members of the 501st legion rocking.
It’s important to note that the Jedi are now wearing hooded robes in the course of the episode, something that hasn’t been done before except for quick moments. The animators are proving once again how far they’ve come since the start of the show.
One thing that’s been lost a little bit in the last couple of seasons but seems to be coming back are small touches I loved. First, the humour of the droids. I might have been the only one who thought the droids on this show, voiced by Matthew Wood, were a vital tension breaker, giving us much needed laughs, but they were back to being goofy in this episode. I appreciated it. Another thing I liked that others didn’t seem to (but hopefully they’re into it now) is Anakin calling Ahsoka “Snips.”
After the initial moral question of terrorism, the driving conflict of the episode seems to be Ahsoka’s “love triangle” with Lux Bonteri and one of the other rebels during their training. It’s subtle. Which is where this episode didn’t hit home for me as well as I would have liked. There were very few surprises in the episode. They train the rebels in all the tactics they’ll need to fight the droids when they attack later in the episode.
And it’s important to note how cool the probe droids are. We can add that to the list of classic trilogy characters that appear on the show, right?
This episode really feels like act one of a set up. Until I see the rest and what this builds to, I’m nto sure I can capably say much else about how I felt about it. As a stand-alone, it was gorgeous, but a little dry.