Warning Full Spoilers for the Episode “Supply Lines” are below

The Liberation of Ryloth has began, the Twi’leks are fighting for their freedom from the Separatists Alliance with the help of Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di and his Clone Troopers. However, instead of focusing on the battle upon Ryloth, “Supply Lines” chooses to put the main story on Senator Bail Organa and Representative Jar Jar Binks, as they travel to Toydaria to use the planet as a supply base to transport supplies to the people of Ryloth.

”Supply Lines” took the decision to put more emphasis on the political aspects of Star Wars instead of the action, and I think that worked well. It is a nice palate cleanser, since for the past four weeks we have been thrown into action set pieces with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the clone troopers. Spending time away from these characters and looking at how other people view the war was a nice change of pace.

That is not to say that there isn’t any action in this episode, it is just peppered in. It is used sparingly to show how powerful the separatists armies are, and how dire the situation on some planets can get. Ryloth has especially been susceptible to war throughout the years. We also see hints of how the Twi’leks are treated in the original trilogy, as well as in future stories seen in Rebels and novels, that they are forced into slavery.

On Ryloth there was always a feeling of dread as Cham Syndulla and Ima-Gun were constantly on the defensive side of retreating. Every time Ryloth was on screen, I just prayed that Organa could get the supplies they needed in time. As complications arose during the talks with the king of Toydaria, Count Dooku intercepts a transmission calling for aid and sends the trade federation to intervene with the negotiations.

The Trade Federation are close with Count Dooku and will do nearly anything to help the separatists, remembering that if the Toydarin people were to involve themselves in the war on Ryloth, that would negate there independence. Thus the trade federation will consider Toydaria an ally to the Republic. To counter this, the King and Bail Organa decided to secretly launch ships filled with supplies to Ryloth.

This is where the episode lost a bit of its more mature tone and a bit of focus as well. During a formal dinner, Bail tells Jar Jar Binks to keep the trade federation distracted long enough for the relief ships to leave the planet’s orbit. Jar Jar decides to take plates and do a little dance, acting like a complete fool. I guess that was the point though, as it did keep the attention on him.

Jar Jar is infamously annoying in the prequel films, and I didn’t really find him that bad until he made appearances during The Clone Wars. Thankfully, besides the one instance I mentioned above, he wasn’t as cringe-inducing as I remembered him from my earlier viewings.

The last five or so minutes of the episode are where everything really comes together. It does a great job at showing the horror and sadness of the Clone Wars, and also the hope. On Ryloth, Ima-Gun and clone Captain Keeli are desperately fighting to protect the Twi’leks. Surrounded by droids, Captain Keeli is gunned down.

With his captain dead, Ima-Gun is heavily wounded. He is fighting his hardest, waiting for the ships to fly over head, giving the Twi’leks food, medicine, and the hope to survive another day. This gives Ima-Gun a sense of satisfaction, and the peace of mind that Ryloth will survive to fight another day. He also dies knowing the good he helped bring to the planet and its people.

I think this was the perfect way to end the episode, as we mostly follow the main cast and we know what happens to them in future installments. It was nice to see that the war claimed important lives and we see sacrifices throughout the rest of the series. ”Supply Lines” may have not been extremely deep or lore heavy, but it does a great job at setting the stage for more Ryloth episodes. This also sets the tone for future stories with Cham and the Twi’leks, as well as reintroducing us to Bail Organa and fleshing out his character just a bit more than what was shown in the prequels.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Political intrigue
• Introduction of Ryloth
• Ima-Gun’s Sacrifice

Cons

• Jar Jar’s Dinner Party