The Clone Wars Season 4 Episode 16 Review

Hello and welcome back to another The Clone Wars review here on the Star Wars Report! This week Moralo Eval, Cad Bane, and Rako Hardeen (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi) desperately evade authorities after escaping a Republic prison, encountering hutt thugs, Jedi, and double crossings in Friends and Enemies!

Immediately in this episode we notice tension. As Obi-Wan tries harder to gain the trust of the two galactic terrorists by helping cover their tracks on Nal Hutta, Cad Bane either is becoming more suspicious, or more worried that he might not get his cut of the bounty as promised. A lot of this episode is centered around the rivalry they have developed from the first episode. It leads the group to not only have to avoid the Republic and the Hutt’s they’ve upset, but also avoid upsetting each other a bit too. I loved seeing Obi-Wan using the tactics of his fellow bounty hunters to make sure they didn’t get away without him, and by the end of the episode, Bane doesn’t have much choice but to bring him along. Although he may not like his fellow bounty hunter, I think Bane’s suspicion that there’s more to Rako Hardeen than meets the eye has substantially decreased from when they first met. That’s what this episode for me was about, allowing Obi-Wan and Cad Bane to let go of their problems and suspicions with one another so they can move on to the real task at hand, kidnapping the Chancellor. I think it was done marvelously too that in an arc about the low life of the galaxy, backstabbing and bribery are the best way to solve problems.

Another pivotal part of this episode was the role of the Chancellor himself. I think we can say with surety now that he’s behind this plot, it could be another attempt by the Chancellor to get rid of Obi-Wan as an influence on Anakin. Now, I’m not too sure that the Chancellor knew the specifics of the Jedi’s plan, so that confused me a little, and how he could know to set up a plot just so Obi-Wan would go undercover is an unknown. But I thought it was good all the same to have another factor working into this plot, it really shows how complex these episodes can get where there’s so much going on behind the scenes rather than just showing a simple “Letssave-the-chancellor!” type mission.

While the rivalry between Obi-Wan and Bane was well done, and the Chancellor’s plot to deceive Anakin was intriguing, what made this episode was the climax! The Jedi have caught up to the bounty hunters and the two forces clash in a duel with cruisers, lightsabers, blasters, and rocket boots. The fight was choreographed wonderfully and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This is the Cad Bane we saw in season 2, but a thousand times better! Also, I’m curious as to how much Anakin knows now about Obi-Wan, other than that he’s alive, and what he’ll do now that he knows Rako Hardeen didn’t kill his former Master.

And that wraps up my review this week! All in all, Friends and Enemies was a vast improvement from last episode, the characters have all been set up, and now we’re developing them for what’s to come. I can’t wait to see the next episode, The Box, it already looks great! Now what did you think of this episode? Love it? Hate it? Let us know by leaving a comment below! Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you… always!

Ryan

 

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One Reply to “The Clone Wars Season 4 Episode 16 Review”

  1. Fortresstakes says:

    This was a good arc, but too bad Obi Wan did not get to look like Obi Wan for it.

    Here is our take on Season 4 with a lot of pics and a little humor (helpful) if your are interested:

    http://fortresstakes.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/star-wars-the-clone-wars-2011-season-4-22-episodes/

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