"A plan is only as good as those who see it through."

Those of you who have been following my reviews will know my mounting frustration at the extraneous opening onscreen quotes in Clone Wars, but this week’s at least makes sense. And it’s relevant.

The ‘plan’ here is the rescue of Padmé Amidala (complete with another new hairstyle – yummy!) and See Threepio – they’ve been led into a trap and tractor-beamed onto the Malevolence (the Separatists’ uber-ship containing their new and devastating weapon, the Ion Cannon) as it burns after the attack seen in last week’s middle installment of the mini-trilogy.

Destroy Malevolence kicks off immediately where the previous episode ended, but the entrapment of the secret Mrs Skywalker and everyone’s favourite protocol droid (voiced expertly and with precision by Anthony Daniels) means the attack has to stop. Even though she expressly forbade it (she’s a feisty one that gal). Cue Obi Wan and Anakin’s ‘plan’.

It’s a simple smash and grab tale (reminiscent of the Death Star rescue) that neatly displays the two Jedi, not to mention Padmé and the droids, acting as a top tight team. We get to see Skywalker tearing apart Battle Droids (he thoughtfully recalls when he used to put them together, bless) and a rather surprising use of The Force on his missus, lifting her into the air and then into his arms for a smooch! (Won’t somebody please think of the children!)

Not to be outdone, Obi Wan (voiced to within an inch of McGregor himself) does the same with Threepio – though the droid does get a bit of a beating (and no kisses). Kenobi’s showdown with Grievous is mightily impressive and geekoids will notice it is the droid general who offers “Hello there” (mirroring their encounter in Revenge Of The Sith) in this meeting (their first - from a chronological point of view).

More mirroring comes again in the shape of the Jedi-hating ‘head clanker’. Grievous utters the line “I will deal with this Jedi myself” (citing Vader’s line in Return Of the Jedi) and does the old hands behind the back while walking about routine first made famous by Luke’s dad back in the 80s. Elsewhere, there’s an odd sight - that amalgamates both trilogies - when we see a number of Jedi on the deck of a Star Destroyer surrounded by various staff in classic Imperial fatigues. It’s a bold visual statement that comes off rather well.

Humour-wise, there were some giggles to be found (though not from the ever increasing antics of the flippin’ Battle Droids), notably when Grievous steps off a transport and a recorded voice can be heard intonating “Mind the gap.” I also let a nostalgic guffaw when Threepio, after some time apart from his BF, greeted Artoo with, “You are a sight for short circuits.” Factoid fans may also want to study the last shot of this episode as it’s the only time the characters Obi Wan, Anakin, Padmé and the droids have all been displayed onscreen together at the same time.

The aforementioned visuals continue to impress but I’m already feeling a bit jaded about the ‘characters’ on show and this was made all the more obvious when we get a holo-glimpse of the rarely seen Jedi, Luminara Unduli; I wanted to see what she was up to, not these guys! But, this enjoyable mini-trilogy has come to an end and next week’s features none of the regulars as it concentrates on a troop of Clone Troopers. Some much needed fresh blood - as it were.

Check out Cameron's review of the episode 3 here.

Complete list of the DoG Clone Wars reviews