Good Star Wars should not consist of discussion about bank deregulation, interest rates, caucuses and bill voting. But it's a fact that the prequels made politics a central part of Star Wars lore.
Remarkably, this episode works. The political discussions themselves are immature and simple, but in the context of telling this story it's fine.
I just can't imagine kids being glued to the screen here. A brave choice to include these kind of episodes in the show.
The episode is notable, as the ending seems to show Chancellor Palpatine dropping his charade for the first time.
It's really hard to judge this episode overall because half of it was quite good and half of it was falm-palmingly bad. Ironically, "Pursuit of Peace" featured some of the best action in the show. Padme's run in with the bounty hunters, and the ensuing speeder chase through Coruscant had excellent direction, from the point of view shot behind Padme as she starts to feel nervous, to the claustrophobic blocking as she's being cornered in the alleyway, to the neat way the chase itself developed in the nitebright dollhouse of the city. Even Senator Organa's scrape with the bad guys had some cool moments in it.
But for the rest of the episode, we're dealing with heavy-handed ruminations on what a good politician is and the power of a good speech, and suddenly it feels like we're in "Baby's First Aaron Sorkin show" territory. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the idea and the lesson, that Padme listens to the people, and that's what distinguishes her, but the episode does a poor job of setting that up. This is one of the very very few times we've ever seen her conversing with a commoner from Naboo, and even then, it's some random handmaiden who, to my knowledge, has never spoken on the show before.
Plus, the episode makes a big deal about Padme making her big speech in lieu of the tremendously respected Senator Bail Organa, as though she is taking some massive step in her maturity as a politician. The problem there is 1. we've seen Padme give big speeches constantly on this show, so what makes this one so special? and 2. It seems like, for the most part, Bail is following Padme not the other way around, so the idea that he's this hugely impressive Senator who everyone would follow just because of who he is rings false.
The conflict about raising banking interest rates to pay for more clones is really really facile, and Padme's speech against it, with the swelling music and shots of applause afterward, seem sillier for how shallow the ideas presented are. Again, I get that this is a kids show and you have to simplify the ideas somewhat, but having Padme come save the day with a grand bit of oratory requires the oratory to actually be grand to be believable, and it's a far cry from where I thought they were heading -- Padme letting her handmaiden speak to the Senate and explain the plight of the common people in her own words. Overall, there's some excellent action and creative designs at play here, but the ideas the show is dabbling in are just beyond its ken here.
I was trying to enjoy this episode but I kept getting distracted as to why Ono was in this episode when he died last season lolll where does this ep fit in the timeline
Exciting and fun, as usual.
Shout by FinFanBlockedParent2020-05-19T19:45:14Z
Rule of Acquisition #34: War is good for business.
I know, wrong franchise - it still works.