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Supply Lines (The Clone Wars - S03E03) - Animated Series

Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Title: Supply Lines

Season: Three

Episode: 3

Chronological Episode: 5

Original Air Date: September 24, 2010

Runtime: 22 minutes

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

Where there's a will, there's a way.

A world under siege! The Separatist have launched a massive offensive against the planet Ryloth. A blockade of deadly battleships has cut off any support for the dwindling Republic defenses. Though they have fought valiantly with the help of Twi'lek freedom fighter Cham Syndulla, hope is fading for Jedi Master Di and his men as the droid army closes in....

This had better be important. SPOILERS.

Perhaps more the any other episode of The Clone Wars, “Supply Lines” is a tale of two halves. This episode featured two distinct storylines, one taking place on Ryloth and the other on Toydaria. By trying to fit both into twenty-two minutes, the writers ended up shortchanging both storylines. Although one had a lot more potential than the other to begin with.

Let’s go ahead and get the bad out of the way now. After receiving a distress signal from General Di’s forces on Ryloth, the Republic dispatched Jar Jar Binks and Bail Organa to Toydaria in hopes of convincing the government there to allow the Republic to use Toydaria as a launching pad to deliver supplies to the people of Ryloth. Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds. The one compliment I will pay to this half of the episode is that this was probably one of Jar Jar’s better outings. I found him more tolerable than normal. He was still obnoxious but Jar Jar works better in animation than he does in live action. Jar Jar was annoying throughout most of the episode, but the limited screen time coupled with the animation style at least made him tolerable enough to get through the episode. For Jar Jar to work even a little bit, he needs another character to play off of. Unfortunately, the duo of Bail Organa and Jar Jar Binks fell flat. There was a complete lack of chemistry between the two. Overall, this was a rather lifeless portrayal of Bail Organa. While the Republic sent Binks and Organa to Toydaria, Dooku sent Lott Dodd. The scenes with Organa, Binks, and Dodd vying for the support of the Toydrian King focused on trade restrictions and political minutia to the determent of the episode. Politics does have a place in the Star Wars saga, but watching characters bicker over political minutia and trade restrictions for fifteen minutes is not Star Wars. It feels out of place, isn’t compelling, and in this case its unnecessary. The whole episode suffered due to the thin central story. I walked away from this episode asking, is this a story that needed to be told? Did we need to spend time on Jar Jar spinning plates so supply ships could get to Ryloth? Probably not, but I must admit that I laughed at the one Trade Federation official who clapped a little too enthusiastically for Jar Jar’s performance.

The second half of the episode took place on Ryloth. Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di and his forces had to hold off the Separatists long enough for the Twi’leks to escape and the supplies to arrive. Ima-Gun Di is either the worst name for a Star Wars character or the best name for a Star Wars character. You be the judge. Despite the silliness of his name and his limited screen time, I really liked Master Di. He was selfless, compassionate, and brave. Everything a Jedi fighting in the Clone Wars should be. All the battle scenes on Ryloth looked fantastic and the last stand of Jedi Master Di and his forces was not only the highlight of this episode but one of the highlights of season three (this episode originally aired as part of season three). My main issue with the Ryloth portion of the episode is that it felt like an afterthought. It seemed like the writers needed to fill time and created this battle when the Toydaria storyline wasn’t enough. Which is a shame because this could’ve been a really compelling story if it was given more time. Would you rather see Jar Jar Binks talk about trade restrictions and spin plates or a Jedi Master and his soldiers give their lives protecting civilians? What I really liked about Master Di’s last stand was that it was an honest, more realistic representation of the Clone Wars. The Jedi are not indestructible. The Republic isn’t always going to win. The battle droids can defeat a Jedi without Grievous, Dooku, or Ventress. Master Di and his Clone Troopers knew they weren’t going to survive, but stayed behind anyway to ensure the safety of civilians. It’s important to show the consequences of the Clone Wars. More than anything, this episode felt like a missed opportunity. The main storyline on Toydaria with Jar Jar Binks was unnecessary and misguided, while the Ryloth storyline just wasn’t given enough time.