Episode Title: "Children of the Force"
Written by: Henry Gilroy & Wendy Meracle
Tagline: "The first step to correcting a mistake is patience."
The Story: Season two of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" opened with the notorious bounty hunter Cad Bane absconding with a Jedi Holocron containing the names and locations of all known Force-sensitives/future Jedi in the galaxy. After giving his Jedi pursuers the slip, Bane sets out to kidnap baby Force-users for his shadowy employer, Darth Sidious. Meanwhile, Jedi Masters Yoda, Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, pool their talents to locate Bane's initial targets. Jedi Windu, Kenobi and Skywalker all set off in different directions, hoping to intercept the bounty hunter before he can do irreparable damage to the Jedi Order's future...
Bounty Hunter Rising: Cad Bane continues his run as principal villain that started back at the end of last season when he took the senate hostage in order to free Ziro the Hutt, last seen in the "Clone Wars" movie as a somewhat offensive stereotype with a Truman Capote voice. Why anyone would want to unleash that blight on the galaxy again is a question for the ages, but Bane's continued presence in the series is a welcome respite from stuffy Count Dooku and quick-to-anger, quicker-to-fail Asajj Ventress. Still, I kinda miss those badass lightsaber duels.
Jedi Making Babies: "Star Wars" fans are in near-universal agreement that one of the chief flaws of the "Clone Wars" movie was Jabba's son, the baby Hutt. The franchise as a whole has its share of cute, but little Rotta the Huttlet (aka "Stinky"... point made) crossed a line. Thankfully, this episode's children of the Force are used more as living MacGuffins. Cute starts to rear its ugly head towards the end of the episode, but the credits roll quickly enough to wash the faint aftertaste away. Note to "Star Wars": war is no place for children.
Fun Fan Nods: Obi-Wan's brief trip to Rodia -- homeworld of Greedo, the bounty hunter who didn't shoot first in "A New Hope" -- is overshadowed by return visits to both Naboo and Mustafar, where the man known as Anakin Skywalker will one day meet his end. The Gungun we see on Naboo are mercifully silent while Mustafar serves up plenty of lava lakes and crumbling facilities. Poor Darth Sidious. Dude must spend a fortune constantly destroying and rebuilding his secret hideouts. I have to wonder though... if the Jedi knew Mustafar was a point of interest for evil forces unknown after this episode, why weren't they keeping a closer watch on it in the aftermath? Seems like a lot of trouble could have been avoided if the arrogant order of mind wizards engaged in even the slightest bit of espionage.
The End?: In the end, Cad Bane does what a good "Star Wars" bounty hunter always does-- he gives his captors the slip but loses his prize in the process. Good boy, Cad Bane. That's a good "Star Wars" bounty hunter. Seeing as how the recent run of episodes has been decidedly light on the Light Side vs. Dark Side conflict, here's hoping next week serves up some cold, unfeeling lightsaber-on-lightsaber action.
What did you think of last night's episode?
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