Broken Frontier

Picking up where “Downfall of a Droid” left off, the latest episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars begins with Anakin Skywalker’s droid navigator and pal R2-D2 en route to General Grievous’ secret Separatist listening post. When Artoo sends a distress beacon, Anakin, Ahsoka and a squad of clone troopers embark on a sabotage mission to reduce the space station to scrap metal and, Anakin hopes, wrest the droid from enemy hands.

The second half of a two-part storyline, “Duel of the Droids” is one of the better episodes of the Cartoon Network series. Ahsoka proves herself by not only taking a leadership role in the sabotage mission aboard the listening post, but also by crossing lightsaber blades with Grievous. Most fans who were unsure about the decision to give Anakin a young, female Padawan in The Clone Wars may reverse their judgment of the character after this episode. She’s still inexperienced, but it’s clear that the series’ writers have big plans for her. In addition to being a great foil for Anakin, Ahsoka is developing into an interesting character in her own right.

This episode also features the first-ever onscreen battle between astromech droids as Artoo matches wits with R3-S6, Anakin’s replacement droid that turns out to be a Separatist spy. There’s a certain surreal quality in watching two squat little robots go at it, and thankfully the scene is played for laughs for the most part. However, the revelation that R3-S6—referred to lovingly as “Goldie” by Ahsoka and disdainfully as “Stubby” by Anakin—is working for Grievous is a testament to a problem that has plagued the Star Wars franchise since the prequel films. In this story arc, the Jedi have once again had the wool pulled over their eyes in not recognizing an enemy in their midst until it is too late. The entire prequel trilogy is based on the fact that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is actually a Sith Lord, and is pulling the strings of a galactic civil war underneath the Jedi Council’s collective nose. The original trilogy painted the Jedi as the “guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic,” yet they are continuously portrayed as easily-tricked bureaucrats.

Each week, The Clone Wars seems to become more and more comfortable with itself in striking a proper storytelling balance to appease fans of all ages. The series stays true to the original spirit of Star Wars in ways that the prequel films—given the heftiness of the material and the accompanying weight of expectation—simply could not. Sure, the Clone Wars might not be a period that needed fleshing out, but without the added pressure of expository necessity it can instead focus on being purely fun. And thus far, it has succeeded.

However, fans may want to brace themselves, as the next episode features the series debut of Jar Jar Binks—the most reviled character in the Star Wars saga. Can The Clone Wars redeem this floppy-eared, orange pariah? Tune in to find out.