Hello and welcome back for another Clone Wars review! Today we’ll be reviewing not one, but two episodes since I never released a review last week. So watch for a second review for Mercy Mission on the site today as well. And with announcements aside, let’s jump into the episode! Below is my review for episode 404 Shadow Warrior.
Going into this episode I was aware that it was going to be another Jar Jar episode. I had flashbacks in my brain of Bombad Jedi and the Gungan General. So naturally I was expecting a comedic episode, one extremely light in tone. This was not the case for a good half of the episode. This episode started out with lots of Jar Jar type jokes, (most of which I thought were hilarious) from Jar Jar being forced to impersonate a high ranking official in the Gungan government, to having a conversation with none other than General Grievous aboard a separatist ship. Then the tone suddenly darkened with an awesome fight which had a few surprises. First, Tarpals dies, which once again shows how willing they are to kill off characters, even from the films which kind of shocked me. Then, General Grievous actually gets captured! This was a nice change from seeing Grievous running and escaping, of which he seems to do a fair amount of. To be honest, I felt this episode had way more impact than any episodes we’ve seen so far on season four, and I had been expecting this episode to be a lighthearted comedy!
And the surprises don’t end there! Anakin is in pursuit of the episodes supposed villain, Minister Liu, when he finds out the true schemer behind the failed war between the Gungans and the Naboo. Turns out Dooku was behind it the whole time, big deal, Dooku is always behind this kind of stuff. But it’s what Dooku reveals that perked my interest. He mentions that he was part of the first battle of Naboo, which would be around the same time he left the order. Was he really part of the planning behind the events of the Phantom Menace, or was he representing the Sith in general? Was he already Sideous’s apprentice at the time of the battle of Naboo? It brings up so many questions about how far back Dooku really goes in the history of the Clone Wars. On a side note, I noticed that the hologram of Sideous was animated to be far less sinister than previous versions in terms of facial expressions and voice, it seemed a lot more true to the movies instead of overdone with evilness.
And lastly, the trade. I totally expected that, but was it good for the overall story? When confronted with the dilemma to trade Anakin for Grievous, I think it would’ve been better for Padme to have had someone advising her against the trade. Both Jar Jar and Boss Leone were there to tell her it was the right thing, but I think there needed to be a part of her the represented her inner sense of duty to the Republic, which meant refusing the trade and serving justice to the droid general, which would in turn end the war. But what if that had happened? What if Anakin had been taken prisoner by the Separatists? I think that would’ve sparked another story of how Anakin (and Grievous) escape their captors instead of finding the quickest way to tie up the episode.
All in all, I thought this was a great episode. We certainly learned a lot about Dooku, the Gungans, and the fate of a somewhat important character from the films. Leave your thoughts below and let us know what you thought of the episode! Thanks for reading, and may the Force be with you…always.
–Ryan
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