Hello everyone and welcome to another dose of Clone Wars catchup with episodes 20 (Death Trap) and episode 21 (R2 Come Home). Starting with episode 20, it actually took me a while to even notice that the child was Bobba Fett. It kind of came out of nowhere as I thought that this episode was more of a focus on young clones. The story soon moved on to Bobba wanting revenge on Mace Windu who killed his father and it was nice to see this on-screen. It felt like a moment that would have logically happened in between the second and third films so it was fun to see it bought to screen. The story also has room to continue and grow as not all was revealed to Mace and of course Bobba wasn’t successful (as we knew he wouldn’t).

I thought that they also got the balance in Bobba’s character right. He wanted revenge and vengeance but hadn’t become completely consumed. He was being pushed and influenced by the other Bounty Hunters (was that Bossk?) and even though he left the other kids at the end, it wasn’t an easy decision and you could see him struggle with it. He was never suspected either: the clones just couldn’t concieve one of their own turning, especially a child. I know that Bobba isn’t really a clone in the same sense as the others but it was interesting that treachery never crossed their minds.

The one thing I found odd about this episode was the whole concept of child soldiers being completely encouraged. I know they are in war time but no-one had a problem with it. It seemed universally accepted: the Clones are there to fight and nothing else. I know that the Jedi treat them as individuals but they seem to have no choice but to fight. It is basically conscription-at-birth. You just felt a bit bad for the kids considering that they were all just born to be cannon fodder.

On to episode 21, and the story of Boba Fett continued (plus my Bossk suspicions were confirmed). They continued to build up his relationship with the other bounty hunters and it is still slightly unclear to who the leader of their group is. That should be taken as a positive as it definitely made the dynamics of the group more interesting; especially with the female member of the group who seemed to favour Bobba but was not afraid to side against him.

The episode was rather R2 centric and it is amazing how captivating that little droid can be. He doesn’t speak and he doesn’t show any physical emotion but you just find yourself so invested in him. It’s hard to explain but you just really find yourself caring about what he’s doing. I also found myself annoyed at Mace for not believing in him. We saw how like his relationships with Padme and Ashoka, Anakin is more emotionally connected with R2 than the other jedi are there droids, as emotional attachment and jedi duty do not normally go hand in hand.

With one episode left, I am unsure as to whether this story will carry on into the finale or not and I am fine either way. You could let the story breath and revisit it in a later season (maybe with Bobba sporting an early version of his famous armour) or it could come to a head with Mace besting Bobba in one to one combat, but obviously sparing his life unlike he did his father’s. Which way will they go? I’ll just have to keep watching to find out.

DD Rating: 8/10