Dooku Captured (The Clone Wars - S01E11) - Animated Series

Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Title: Dooku Captured

Season: One

Episode: 11

Chronological Episode: 16

Original Air Date: January 2, 2009

Runtime: 22 minutes

Credits: Review & Text: Mike Taber; Page layout & Design: Chuck Paskovics

The winding path to peace is always a worthy one, regardless of how many turns it takes.

“Dooku Captured” may not rank among the series’ best, but it was another fun episode. Besides, this episode introduced us to Hondo Ohnaka. When the episode began, it was actually Anakin who had been captured. He had allowed himself to get captured by Dooku so the Count’s location would be exposed. Obi-Wan arrived and freed Anakin, so the two of them went to confront Dooku. Dooku’s escape through a secret tunnel in the ship was a brief but entertaining sequence. It also demonstrated that Dooku is normally thinking two steps ahead of his opponents, even Jedi as talented as Anakin and Obi-Wan. Following a brief chase, Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan crashed on a desolate planet. Dooku made quick work of the Jedi and trapped them in a cave. However, Dooku didn’t account for Hondo Ohnaka and his band of Weequay pirates. Hondo is one of the best characters to come out of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and this was a good introduction. Hondo is a cunning adversary for both Dooku and the Jedi. Jim Cummings is simply fantastic in the role. Hondo and his theatricality never fail to entertain. I also really like the design of his character. The greatest compliment I can give is that it feels like Hondo could be sitting just off-screen in the Cantina or Jabba’s Palace. He’s a natural fit for the Star Wars galaxy. The introduction of Hondo and his gang of pirates also worked because it injected a third party into the war. It wasn’t just clones and droids. Opportunistic men like Hondo used the war to their advantage and grew wealthy in the process. The war allowed the Underworld to thrive. I think that’s an interesting idea and I’m glad they began to explore it here.

Hondo agreed to transport Dooku to Florrum, for a price of course. I know some have complained that Dooku should have simply killed the pirates and taken their ship, but it worked for me. Dooku isn’t Darth Vader or Darth Maul. He may be a Sith, but Dooku has always been portrayed as a calm, collected diplomat. Like Sidious, Dooku is a master manipulator. It makes sense that he would try to talk his way out of this conflict. What didn’t work was the way Hondo was able to steal Dooku’s Lightsaber. The event was too important to the plot to occur off-screen. Yes, Hondo is clearly very cunning but I still find it very hard to believe that he could steal Dooku’s Lightsaber without him knowing. That moment made Dooku look foolish. By the way, the design of Hondo’s ships really bothered me. It was just the prototypical UFO design. It immediately took me out of the episode. While Dooku was dealing with the pirates, Obi-Wan and Anakin had to deal with a massive Gundark. That’s right, we finally got to see a Gundark. I liked the design and Obi-Wan and Anakin’s battle with the Gundark was a lot of fun. This episode also did a great job establishing the interplay between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Their banter was a little much in some moments, but overall it was entertaining and clearly established the friendship between these two characters. We don’t see Obi-Wan and Anakin as friends very much in the films, so it was nice to see that side of their relationship on full display in this episode. Anakin and Obi-Wan insisting that they had everything under control when Ahsoka recused them was a particularly amusing moment.

Hondo contacted the Republic and said he would turn over Dooku…for a price. Anakin and Obi-Wan then traveled to Florrum to authenticate Dooku’s capture. I loved the moment when Hondo said even a Sith Lord wasn’t a match for his warriors and then it immediately cut to a shot of two of his men passed out. There were actually several funny moments in this episode like Hondo’s obviously exaggerated story about Dooku’s capture or a Jawa getting into a bar fight. Dooku warned Anakin and Obi-Wan not to underestimate Hondo and his pirates. After Dooku’s capture was confirmed, the Chancellor sent Senator Kharrus and Jar Jar Binks (ugh) to deliver the ransom. The episode ended with Obi-Wan and Anakin joining a feast hosted by Hondo. It was an abrupt end to the episode. The transition from “Dooku Captured” to “The Gungan General” was awkward at best, but more on that in the next review. This episode introduced Hondo, that’s a win.

What Worked

• Hondo Ohnaka
• The interplay between Obi-Wan and Anakin
• Battle with the Gundark

What Didn’t Work

• Hondo stealing Dooku’s Lightsaber
• Abrupt end

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary