A big thanks to Heather at TELETOON for providing me with the opportunity to see the season four premiere of The Clone Wars ahead of it’s transmission date this coming Friday.
Whilst I’ve taken every effort to keep this review spoiler free, I do apologise in advance if I’ve let anything slip inadvertently….
“Water War”, the opening episode of Season Four of The Clone Wars starts with a splash as we are thrown back into the conflict between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren on the planet of Dac. Viewers of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars series will already be familiar with the strife that exists between the planet’s two indigenous species, from episode 5 of season one where we first witnessed a battle under the sea. As he did in the original series, our favourite Nautolan, Kit Fisto once again takes the fight to the Quarren and their Separatist allies, lead by shark-headed creature Riff Tamsen. To say that Tamsen embodies the characteristics of a great white is something of an understatement; the episode could have had the tagline “just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water” and is not suited to the squeamish or faint-hearted who may want to look away as he literally tears through his enemies.
Thrown into the mix is an old/young favourite in the form of Captain Ackbar who demonstrates the leadership qualities that will serve him well later on in his career, as he aids the heir to the Mon Calamari throne. Whilst Obi-Wan is notably absent from this episode, the rest of the gang are present, Ahsoka arriving with reinforcements to aid Anakin and Padme as they conduct “aggresive negotiations” with the Separatists. The episode also includes a cameo from another Mon Calamari that we’ve encountered before, that of Senator Meena Tills, although her appearance has the potential to stir up a hornet’s nest. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions…
The first of a three-part story arc, “Water War” does a fine job of showing The Clone Wars at its best, combining great action with snappy dialogue and amazing animation. Supervising Director Dave Filoni had voiced concerns in the past about the ability to animate water to the high standard that he continually strives to achieve, and judging by what we see in this episode, I doubt that anyone will have any complaints about the quality.
One point of interest, tying in nicely with Hasbro’s current mailaway offer for a prototype Boba Fett, is that the episode was directed by Duwayne Dunham, who was the man wearing the Supertrooper costume in the screen test video.
So whilst you’ll undoubtedly be glued to the TV this Friday, poring over the contents of the Star Wars saga on blu-ray, maybe with a little interlude of LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, don’t forget to tune into TELETOON to catch this episode. You won’t be disappointed!