I feel like I should say this right off the bat: this is a disc of episodes in which people make really stupid decisions.  Like… really stupid.  But it’s okay.  Our heroes survive.  More or less.  We pick up with the story arc from the last episode of the previous disc which means… slavers.

Slaves of the Republic
I love this episode purely because it’s the reason why we get to hear Obi-Wan use the words ‘High Class Scum’ and also because Ahsoka got to throw some subtle shade at Anakin about him not being very convincing as a Master.

I would “never” question the wisdom or the judgment of the Jedi Council in all their… uhh… wisdom but could they really not find anyone better to send on this mission than Anakin Skywalker?  Why on earth would you put a former slave on a mission to a planet full of slavers?  Anakin is far from being the calmest Jedi out there and putting him into an emotionally charged situation like this is just plain stupid.

And while I’m on the subject on ranting, why did it have to be Ahsoka who was put into the slave girl role?  More specifically: why does it have to be the show’s lone female lead who is put into a slave girl outfit?  So help me, this had best not happen in Rebels too.

At least we got a fun parallel to Return of the Jedi with Artoo tossing lightsabers to the Jedi on command.  At least.

Other things happened in this episode such as the plan failing miserably but I’m honestly too off put by Ahsoka being dressed up as a slave girl and the Jedi Council putting Anakin into a situation like this to have really took notice.

Escape from Kadavo (DC)
Given the themes that sometimes pop up in this show, I do sometimes forget that this is actually a children’s show.  The idea the Slaver Queen has about breaking Obi-Wan is rather dark.  Messing with a person’s mind like that can be even worse than simply killing them.

As is to be expected, it’s a pretty action heavy episode when we aren’t watching Count Dooku backstab yet another partner or the slavers try and crush Obi-Wan’s spirit.  I’m glad that this episode let us see Ahsoka come up with the out-of-the-box way to save as many of her people as possible.  It somewhat helps make up for the previous wardrobe indignity.  Not much though.  Although I will say that I’m glad the art department took the first opportunity to get her back in her usual Jedi tunic and pants.  That was a relief.

I’m also glad that, you know, a lot of the slavers died.  Because they deserved it.  Jerks.

It’s not that the episodes weren’t well written as much as it is that there were things about them that just made me really really really mad.

A Friend in Need
This episode is already making me happy.  We get to see the Holy Political Triumvirate of Padmé, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma.  Trio is probably a better word than triumvirate here but I just really wanted to type triumvirate three times.  We’re also getting back to Mandalore with Duchess Satine and Lux Bonteri.  As glad as I am to see their return, I do wonder why Mandalore is worth so much attention.  What resources could they possibly have that makes them so valuable to the Republic?  I’m assuming that beskar isn’t a factor in this version of the Mandalorians and it’s not like they’ve got an army to export.

BO KATAN AND DEATH WATCH!!!

I’m sorry.  You don’t know how excited I am for this.  Like… all this flirting and stuff between Ahsoka and Lux would usually have my attention but… DEATH WATCH.  REAL MANDOS.  They might not be the nicest but this sect feels more like the overarching Mandalorian culture that was established.  To be clear, I’m not a fan of all factions of the Mandalorian culture.  I’m not a huge fan of when they kidnap people and make them servants.  However, the more military minded culture is way more interesting to me.

Also? Bo Katan is voiced by Katee Sackhoff.  How can you not love that?

I can’t talk about this episode and ignore the b-plot which involves Artoo Detoo: hero and savior of the droids.  He’s the only reason why any of our heroes manage to stay alive for as long as they do.  They would’ve died decades ago if it wasn’t for him.

The score for this episode was 100% on point so kudos to the composer.

Deception
Apparently the Jedi Council is hatching a plot to keep the Chancellor safe.  I don’t know, guys…. Maybe you should just let him get assassinated.  That might be beneficial for the galaxy in the long run.

Wait.  Wait, I’m confused.  Why is Obi-Wan dead?  This isn’t right.  We already know how he dies AND IT’S NOT HERE.

Oh wait.  It’s a fake out.  Wait, this is a terrible idea.  The Jedi Council is incredibly stupid.  And Obi-Wan looks fairly horrifying bald and shaved.  BUT GETTING BACK TO THE COUNCIL.  Why on earth do they make such horrible decisions in relation to Anakin Skywalker?  That boy is emotionally unstable to say the least.  Once again, they could’ve picked any Jedi for this mission and they go with Obi-Wan who has a very close relationship with the Rash and Impulsive One.  This is going to go so terribly for everyone involved.

“Just don’t blow your cover.”  That’s great advice, Mace.  I’m sure him sitting there with a transmitter in the open won’t hurt his cover at all.

Is every single bad guy in this prison?  Putting all the dangerous ones in the same spot doesn’t seem very smart to me but then again SO VERY LITTLE DOES ON THIS DISC.  Cad Bane isn’t even all that interesting without his big hat and his plan is the actual worst.  He didn’t anticipate that the code on the lock would change and he missed that the dead bodies could be sent to the crematorium?  Why is anyone paying him for this?  Bring back Hondo!

Worst. Prison Break. Ever.  Even if it did work

Friends and Enemies
Oh Cad Bane.  You can’t just get a new hat.  That’s like getting a new personality.

I’d like to point to the ten minute mark as the best reason for why picking Obi-Wan for the dead Jedi part and leaving Anakin out of the loop was A REALLY BAD IDEA.  Now we’ve got Palpatine manipulating Anakin into giving into the dark side to getting his revenge.  Oh look.  And now he’s Force-choking an Ithorian.

This episode plays out about how you’d expect.  Anakin (with Ahsoka in tow) goes chasing off after Obi-Wan’s supposed killer and then they fight and OH NO WAIT WHAT’S GOING ON IS OBI-WAN ALIVE?

Really, there’s probably more that happened here but I can’t get past the stupidity of the Jedi Council thinking that it was a good idea to fake Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death when his former padawan is the most unstable Jedi to ever Jedi.  Sigh.

And with that, we’ve reached the end of the disc although not the end of this current arc.  Prediction: things will continue to go badly with this plan.  As always, you can follow my real time tweets on Twitter @chaosbria or the hashtag #HondoCaravan.  Keep an eye out this week because we just might be having some double posts since the bonus content is being released in March.