Broken Frontier

In one of the rare intersections between Star Wars and Star Trek outside of questionable fan fiction, George Takei—Mr. Sulu himself—guest-stars in the latest episode of The Clone Wars as the slimy Separatist general Lok Durd, who wishes to test out a devastating super-weapon on a harmless village of cute, furry creatures. You can probably guess how it all turns out.

“Defenders of Peace” picks up where “Jedi Crash” left off, with Ahsoka Tano, Aayla Secura and a wounded Anakin Skywalker stranded on the planet Maridun with a colony of Lurmen, a peaceful race of creatures that want no part in the Clone Wars. However, the Lurmen’s pacifist ideology is threatened when Durd literally brings war to their doorstep with his “defoliator,” a weapon that wipes out any organic life in its path while leaving machines unscathed. Clearly, with an entire army made up of battle droids, such a device would give the Separatists an advantage against legions of flesh-and-blood clone troopers. Unfortunately, they hadn’t counted on three Jedi and a handful of clones being on hand to protect Durd’s would-be test subjects and reduce his new toy to scrap metal.

Like the previous episode in the two-part story arc, “Defenders of Peace” dissects the nature of war and the value of non-violence in times of conflict. For the most part, this ethical exploration has tremendous value, however Lurmen elder Tee Watt Kaa’s stubborn adherence to pacifism even if it means the destruction of his village grows tiresome and dilutes much of the message the episode is attempting to get across through the character. It’s one thing to cling to one’s beliefs, however it’s quite another to lack any sense of self-preservation and put one’s people at risk in the process.

In a nice nod to Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai—continuing Star Wars creator George Lucas’ tradition of paying homage to the iconic Japanese filmmaker—the episode builds up to a face-off between the Separatists and the small band of Jedi, who must protect the otherwise defenseless village from certain doom. Of course, led by Kaa’s son Wag Too, the Lurmen soon join the fray and help the Jedi lay waste to Durd’s forces. Predictably, no Lurmen are harmed in the battle. The Ewoks are impressed.

“Defenders of Peace” is a fun episode, satisfyingly balancing exciting Star Wars action with the kind of contemplative moral discourse that is sorely missing from most animated series today.