Kristin Baver is a journalist who loved science fiction before she could even write her own name. (Seriously, she was a card-carrying member of the Star Wars Fan Club when she had no other real reason to own a wallet.) Now she gets paid to pen stories and book reviews, interview fellow fans, writers, and other interesting people, and aspires to one day craft a Boushh disguise and join the ranks of the 501st Legion.







To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the all-new episodes coming thanks to #CloneWarsSaved, we’re undertaking a full chronological rewatch of the five original seasons, The Lost Missions, and the theatrical release. We’d be honored if you would join us and share your thoughts on the award-winning series.

53: “Heroes on Both Sides” (Season Three, Episode 10)

“Fear is a great motivator.”

Synopsis:

When the Senate begins debating a bill that would eliminate government oversight of the Banking Clan’s activities in order to fund the war, Padmé and Ahsoka travel in secret to the capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and gain fresh perspective on the conflict in a meeting with Mina Bonteri and her son, Lux.

Analysis:

War is complicated.

The Separatists were part of the Republic, but they believe that government is corrupt. Those who remain loyal to the Republic believe it’s the Separatists who are in the wrong. And caught somewhere in the middle are the peacekeepers of the galaxy, the Jedi, now acting as generals in the conflict fighting for the Republic.

But it’s harder to believe sweeping generalizations — for example, that all Separatists are evil — when you put a face to the war. When Ahsoka meets Lux Bonteri and his family, seeing the warm way Padmé greets her old friend and hearing the story of the sacrifice Mina Bonteri’s husband, Lux’s father, made on the battlefield, she begins to see things differently.

Lux challenges her perspective. Instead of black and white, she’s getting older and starting to understand the gray areas surrounding the conflict.

Mainly that there can be heroes on both sides, from a certain point of view. And while it’s tempting to fit the galaxy into tidy labelled boxes — good and evil, right and wrong — it’s impossible to maintain that limited thinking once you begin to see the nuance in the war.

And even with peace briefly on the table, the corruption flowing through the veins of the senate all but ensures that the war will drag on, the seeds of distrust firmly planted once more amid the droid bombing. The Republic and the Separatists aren’t so different. They both have misplaced their faith in an unscrupulous leader who stands to benefit from the war.

Intel:

The title of this episode is pulled directly from the opening crawl for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below and share on social with #CloneWarsRewatch!

Next up: Come back next Thursday when Padmé takes a stand in “Pursuit of Peace.”

Associate Editor Kristin Baver is a writer and all-around sci-fi nerd who always has just one more question in an inexhaustible list of curiosities. Sometimes she blurts out “It’s a trap!” even when it’s not. Want to talk more about The Clone Wars? Hop on Twitter and tell @KristinBaver what you thought about today’s episode.

Site tags: #StarWarsBlog, #CloneWarsRewatch