Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode 20 review

It's a big improvement over last week, as the Clone Wars gets under the skin of its characters a little...

Episode 20: Innocents Of Ryloth

WARNING: This review contains Spoilers that may ruin your enjoyment of this episode.

After last week’s Storm Over Ryloth, comes the second part of the mini story arc and a much improved story we get too. The Jedi are finally able to descend on Ryloth to help out the Twi’leks (Jabba’s sexy dancer – no, not that one, the other one – was a Twi’lek) who have been subjugated by Wat Tambor and his Battle Droid chums but it’s not going to be easy what with all the flippin’ guns shooting at them.

Kenobi and some Clones make it down in order to take out the weaponry that’s keeping the rest of the fleet in the sky. The General has some stern advice for the look-a-likes, informing them that they are here to help the indigenous people, not destroy their homeworld. I wonder who that could be referring to? *coughs* It’s an adult message and the pensive tone continues throughout Innocents Of Ryloth.

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After Kenobi’s words, one the Clones, called Boil, even refers to the Twi’leks as “Tail Heads” – a not very subtle dig at certain army types in our real world. But there’s more in store for Boil and his mate Waxer as we will see later. Continuing with the very real and Earth-like military tropes, the Battles Droids are going to use the Twi’leks as “human shields” – ouch!

As soon as the Clones are deployed we even see some beasts chewing on the dead remains (well, I hope they were dead) of some poor Twi’leks – a bit gruesome but kids need to learn, at some point in their lives, that they could be eaten by an animal. Boil and Waxer soon befriend a young Twi’lek who helps them out, returning them to their squad where she then further helps out destroying the Separatists.

Ever the clever little guys, the Battle Droids have beasts to unleash (steady!) on any unsuspecting troops in the form of gutkurrs – Rancor-like in their ferocity. But instead of killing them, Obi Wan shows off his skills, trapping them rather than destroying them – a true Jedi.

Innocents Of Ryloth is one of the more thoughtful installments of The Clone Wars and features some lovely character pieces and genuine emotional growth – notable in the two Clones, Boil and Waxer, and their interaction with the young Twi’lek, Numa. Through this controlled storytelling and dialogue we are presented with a beautifully told story that, although sits in a trilogy, could easily stand alone. It may not have the numerous action set pieces and glorious visuals (though they are present in smaller fashions) but the latest episode is a classic, demonstrating that characters and emotions can strike a chord just as devastating as a spaceship or lightsabre battle. Hopefully, this will be the default setting for the episodes to come.

Check out Cameron’s review of the previous episode here.