Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 2 episode 5 review

2.5 Landing At Point Rain

“Believe in yourself or nobody will.”

After the subterfuge of last week we jump right back into the action here as the Jedi try to restore order to the Republic, set up an all out assault on Geonosis to stop the mass production of droids from the newly created factories, and a fair bit more on top of that.

On the bridge of a proto-star destroyer, Obi Wan is pondering with Kai Mundi why the war is taking so long, being drawn out and why, once again, the Jedi are heading to Genosis.

His quiet contemplation, however, is spoilt when Ahsoka and Anakin’s bickering spills into the command room with their taunts about one-upmanship regarding the training of the clone squadron and the amount of ‘kills’ they got in shattering the peace.

This hyperactive brother/sister rivalry is a portent for the kinetic battle to come for the rest of the episode, with the duo continually sniping back and forth as to who is doing best in the battle and how many droids have been taken down.

In a scene reminiscent from Star Wars, the now in-orbit Jedi onboard the star destroyer contact the Jedi council, with Yoda and Mace front and centre to plan tactics and to knock out the droid factory force field generator.

However, what they did not expect is another body on the holo-projector as Chancellor Palpatine also looks on and takes in everything the Jedi are doing (ready, of course, to pass that information on to Poggle on Geonosis). Palpatine has yet to reveal himself as the Sith Lord and every move, idea and plan the Jedi have is being openly given to the very person they intend to stop.

Launching from the star destroyer we get a little nod, once again, to the movie version of trilogy as the ships used to attack Geonosis are uncannily similar to snow speeders and Y-wings. This homage to the attack on the Death Star and Hoth is also present as the massive laser cannons used to try and bring down the force field are the same shot into the atmosphere from Hoth at the star destroyers as the rebellion try to escape the ice planet in Empire.

With reluctance, Obi-Wan leads his troops down to Geonosis, recalling that the last time he was there he was chained up in the arena, being attacked my monsters for the pleasure of a baying crowd who wanted Jedi blood spilt. In a beautifully rendered scene, the clones make their way to the pre-determined rendezvous site while under fire from the bug-like Geonocians.

One thing about The Clone Wars cartoon is the battle scenes. It’s very evident that the designers, artists and directors of the show love choreographing battle sequences. From ship to ship battles with ships dog-fighting to ground attacks and sieges, every aspect of the battle is high on impact, with explosions everywhere, continual movement and fluid cuts between scenes. Each and every frame shot is meticulous in its detail and the obvious love for the work the crew of this show does is here for everyone to see.

It’s even the little details like the clone troopers painting insignias on the side of their ships and the fact the battalions attacking Geonosis are not the usual dressed troopers in white, but rather brown-hued armour. All things that add to the geekiness of the entire show.

With the siege in full swing, the clone troops launch the ground offensive, using the tank AT/AT V1.0s to attack the factory. However, the front attack is not as successful as planned, as the melee causes both Kai-Mundi and Obi-Wan’s ships to get damaged, meaning both Jedi generals and their battalion of troops are stranded and injured away from the main battle leaving only Ahsoka and Anakin involved.

Stranded, Anakin’s attitude for being let down by Obi-Wan shows no compassion for his master, and while he takes the matters of continuing the battle into his own hands, his feelings for the fate or predicament of everyone else lost on the battlefield show, once again, Anakin’s path to the dark side. His selfishness supersedes helping others and it’s up to specially-trained troopers to track down and rescue the stranded Jedi.

Being treated for injuries, Obi-Wan is told the situation is not good, with the clones out-gunned, surrounded and no air-cover. It seems the bugs on Geonisis knew the attack was imminent and that they knew every move that the Jedi were going to make.

With Obi-Wan stranded and Mundi lost in a petrified forest full of bugs who are slowly taking apart his battalion, Anakin, who is the only general active, makes his way across the surface of Geonisis towards the factory, coming up a huge Hoover Dam-style barrier which is guarded by hundreds of droid troops.

Outmanned and out-gunned, Ahsoka and Anakin are at again at each other’s throats about who got them into this mess. However, the young team finally stop bickering enough to plan an attack on the barrier, with both Jedis climbing the wall to try and stop the droids and topple the wall, but still have time to have a running tally of the most droids killed.

With numerous droids destroyed and the usual comical droid one-liner, the Jedi successfully bring down the heavily fortified wall, allowing for the splintered parties lost on the battlefield to be rejoined.

With Mundi going all Aliens with a flamethrower in the petrified forest and Obi-Wan recovering, all three Jedi generals are able to reunite to take control of the battle. And with even some assistance from some re-enforcements, are able to turn the tide. However, the main objective of taking down the factory still lies ahead of them.

With Anakin in the lead, a small team of troops lay siege to the force field generator, using electrical jammers to shut down the troops and weapons guarding it, allowing Mundi and Obi-Wan to then follow with the rest of the ground troops for the final push on the factory. We find that it is actually Master Mundi, rather than Anakin or Ahsoka, who has had the most ‘kills’ that day.

As the ‘winner’ and Obi-Wan leave, Ahsoka and Anakin are left, for the time being, anyway, to begin plans for the assault on the droid factory…

Read our review of episode 4 here.Star Wars: The Clone Wars is showing every Saturday on Sky Movies Premiere and Sky Movies Premiere HD.