by Kiki
We’re back for Season 2 of Clone Wars recaps. I’ve logged into Disney+, changed my icon to Captain Rex, and I’m ready to go. Let’s talk about those first three episodes of Season 2: “Holocron Heist”, “Cargo of Doom”, and “Children of the Force”.
We begin in a battle on Felucia, where our favorite Jedi trio isn’t doing so great, but thankfully Plo and his Bros are here to help them retreat. However, Ahsoka isn’t so on board with that plan.
I’m not here to argue Ahsoka and Anakin (and Obi Wan’s) relationship is father-daughter adjacent, I think a lot of these Star Wars relationships are their own special thing that doesn’t necessarily directly parallel real life. But I do think Anakin and Obi Wan are total Dads in the beginning of this arc (while Ahsoka is, as she should be, a total child).
Ahsoka doesn’t understand that retreating is their best option here, and is so driven to succeed that she insists on staying in battle until Anakin basically gives her a “I’m going to count to three, young lady” and Obi Wan a “she gets it from your side of the family”. Or you know, the Jedi version of that.
Ahsoka’s behavior is totally understandable, and sets her up for growth. At this point, she just wants to prove herself. She has a hard time accepting that you can work really hard and still not succeed, or that in war sometimes things aren’t as simple as what’s right in front of you. These are the lessons she eventually learns, and her outbursts early in the series allow for that growth.
Ahsoka’s disobedience gets her in trouble with the Jedi Council, resulting in punishment in the form of guard duty at the fancy Jedi library.
We are introduced to the holocron vault, a collection of secret Jedi information in the form of glowing cubes, which just so happens to be the target of this arc’s villain, Cad Bane. By the request of Darth Sidious, the bounty hunter is tasked with stealing a holocron needed to obtain a list of Force-sensitive children.
Equipped with a map, an adorable droid with security information, and a changeling companion, Bane infiltrates the Jedi Temple.
The Jedi, being the geniuses they are, seem to check every inch of the Jedi temple besides the Archives, and Bane gets away with the holocron. Oh, and he blows up the cute droid.
The next tool Cad Bane is after is a Kyber crystal that fits into the holocron to reveal the list of kids. He steals it from Jedi Bolla Ropal, in addition to Ropal himself, as a Jedi is needed to open said holocron. Anakin’s fleet intercepts Bane’s Separatist ships, and he has to get a little creative to figure out how to board one.
Between the quality battle droid banter, Captain Rex hitting his head on a pipe, and a battle in anti-gravity, there’s a lot of fun moments aboard the Separatist ship and I was thoroughly entertained.
After Cad Bane accidentally kills his Jedi hostage, he needs to manipulate Anakin into opening the holocron. Which of course Anakin does when he learns his overconfident padawan has been captured and her life is in danger. Ahsoka returns the favor by proving she’s learned from last episode’s mistake, seeing herself in Anakin’s desperation to catch Cad Bane when it’s a fruitless and dangerous pursuit. She convinces him to be patient and let Bane go for now as they need to retreat to safety, similarly to on Felucia.
We’ve now seen very clearly that Snips and Skyguy share many of the same strengths and flaws. They charge recklessly into battle, they refuse to give up, they would do anything for one another, and they each insist on taking the blame.
So Bane escapes once again, and this time he’s on his way to kidnap children.
Cad Bane’s interactions with this parent are a little heartbreaking, not just because he’s deceptively abducting a child, but because of the mother’s deep reluctance to give up her only child, even to a person she believes to be a Jedi. It reminds us that many Jedi were taken from kind, loving parents who never get to see their kids grow up.
Meanwhile, the Jedi play a fun game of Force-telephone to figure out which kids are in trouble, and manage to capture Bane before the third child is stolen. They use a powerful, painful mind trick on Bane, forcing him to give up information, something that clearly doesn’t sit well with Ahsoka.
Her mentors are essentially torturing a prisoner, and we quickly see her expression turn to concern and fright as it happens. Ahsoka hasn’t witnessed this side of the Jedi before. Maybe this is one of the early events that makes her wary of the Jedi Order’s morals during wartime.
As Mace Windu and Obi Wan retrieve the stolen holocron, Ahsoka and Anakin head to Mustafar, where we learn Palpatine is planning to raise an army of Dark Side spies — a plan you could say was actually realized in Star Wars Rebels through the Inquisitors. We hilariously see Sidious’ hologram looking over the children saying “There, there” as he attempts to condition them into his minions.
Our heroes rescue the kids, but we are left with the Jedi lamenting the fact that they have no information on who’s behind the plot, and the one person who knows (Cad Bane) has once again escaped their grasp (he’s very good at that).
This Season 2 opener is a fun chase that leads us to many interesting locations and situations. And there’s definitely something fun about a villain that’s always one step ahead of the heroes. The adventure is strong with this one.