Bombad Jedi (The Clone Wars - S01E08) - Animated Series

Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Title: Bombad Jedi

Season: One

Episode: 8

Chronological Episode: 13

Original Air Date: November 21, 2008

Runtime: 22 minutes

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

Heroes are made by the times.

An episode that features Jar Jar clumsily knocking things over this much doesn’t really need in-depth analysis, so I have a feeling this will be a pretty brief review. Padme, Jar Jar, and Threepio traveled to Rodia to convince the system to remain loyal to the Republic. Padme was greeted by Senator Onaconda Farr who was an old friend that she called Uncle Ono. However, the people of Rodia were starving and Farr was forced to make a deal with Nute Gunray. Farr’s storyline was a little too reminiscent of Lando’s in The Empire Strikes Back. Paying homage is one thing, but this was almost a beat for beat retread. I don’t think his storyline has worked, but I liked Farr’s relationship with Padme. The connection felt genuine and it provided a glimpse into Padme’s past. I’ve never liked Padme as a character. I don’t think her character worked in the prequels and I’m not a fan of Catherine Taber’s portrayal of her in The Clone Wars. With that being said, I think the portrayal of Padme in this episode was an improvement. She was intelligent, levelheaded, and a skilled warrior. Her escape from the detention tower later in the episode was actually a lot of fun. I’m still not a fan of the character, but this was definitely an improvement. This probably highlights how weak the central storyline was, but my favorite part of the episode was seeing Rodia. I’m glad we finally got to see the Rodian home world and I loved the design of the planet. There were some very impressive visuals in this episode and I loved all of the wide shots of the city. In particular, I really enjoyed the underwater sequences and the architecture of the city.

The entire episode was built around the idea of Jar Jar being mistaken for a Jedi and teaming up with Threepio. Jar Jar discovered Anakin’s cloak and when he put it on the battle droids thought he was a Jedi. It at least made Jar Jar’s survival more believable because the Separatists were reluctant to engage a Jedi, but it didn’t really result in any amusing or funny moments. I think Jar Jar works better in animation than he does in live action, but it’s still Jar Jar. The annoying dialogue and cringe worthy slapstick humor were still there. Most of the episode can be summed up by “Jar Jar clumsily knocks things over”, which is just lazy writing. As expected, Jar Jar was a detriment to the episode. To even work a little bit, Jar Jar needs a character to play off of. In this case, he was paired with Threepio. It sounds like a decent idea on paper, but the execution wasn’t really there. The Jar Jar and Threepio duo yielded a few funny moments, but it fell short most of the time. It at least worked better than the Jar Jar and Bail Organa paring from “Supply Lines.” I did laugh at Threepio’s exasperated tone when he explained to Padme that it was Jar Jar who destroyed their ship and not the battle droids. Jar Jar’s inability to remember Threepio’s name was a fairly amusing running joke. It’s Jar Jar, the bar is pretty low. Nute Gunray arrived and wanted to execute Padme in retaliation for his defeat on Naboo. I never had a problem with Gunray, but his portrayal in this episode was too over the top for my liking. With the help of Senator Farr, Padme captured Nute Gunray and the Republic agreed to supply aid to Rodia. “Bombad Jedi” was Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ first true misfire.