Clone Cadets

This was the show that really gave the Clone troopers their time to shine, and this episode put them firmly in the spotlight with a great story about a group of soldiers who learned the values of teamwork. It is a prequel to another episode from the first season, but the fact that it comes after adds a lot of emotional weight to the episode, mostly because of things that were teased. There is something powerful and inspirational about these stories, and even though it is animation, it still brought out all the feelings that I had inside. Giving the troopers life was the best thing they could have done with this show, and this episode stands out as a great example of what can be done if you have the right idea and the passion behind you.

This episode is about a group of clones as they train to be approved for battle. It is quite strange watching a drama about brotherly camaraderie and personal journeys of clone troopers when you know that the clones end up serving the Emperor and wiping out the Jedi but it all makes sense when you watch the rest of Clone Wars. In fact that makes this quite sad and touching.

I find the way it is written is engaging and you feel sympathetic towards several characters. All the clone depth adds to the horror of order 66 when it comes.

It could be termed rather cliched as we have all seen this training scenario with an overly harsh commanding officer, squabbling 'recruits', self doubt and battling adversity in numerous forms before. But it is done well.

It is interesting to see how clone troops are developed for battle. The commanding officer seems overly angry and bullying but serves his purpose as the antagonist.

It is really interesting how the idea of Jango's DNA beginning to be overstretched and requiring new subjects for cloning. That is a big plus in terms of the overall story I think as is the deepening mystery of the clones destiny. It helps explain why they get decommisioned.

This is a good story.

My rating: 8/10.

After seeing Domino Squad in the very first episode of the series I knew that they would be a regular appearance, and I was right.

This episode features strong themes of brotherhood and resilience that are played out perfectly through the lenses of Fives, Echo, Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait. Having a detailed backstory to Cutup, a clone who died pretty early on, is a nice touch to show that all clone troopers have seperate personalities and interactions.

The highlight of the episode to me is not only the fast paced action scenes that go from sloppy to superb (showing the progress made by the squad) but also the relationship between Hevy and 99.

It may make you think critically about the Republic's treatment of clones, but this episode will still entertain you from start to finish.

This is one of my favourite episodes of this show.

It's hard to put in to words, but this episode was the first one where I felt like this show has potential. As I have stated in some of my other reviews, I have only persisted with the first two seasons because I have heard that the show gets much better later. The first two seasons were tough and I rarely felt engaged. Most of the plots teased political/moral complexity or character development but then would not follow up on it. Most of the episodes featured some kind of straightforward good guy vs. Bad guy plotline where the Republic has to defeat some kind of Separatist baddie. The episodes are often more concerned with the mechanics of that then exploring anything character-related or thematic. That would be fine if the action scenes were dynamic, but they also often feel flat (they did get a little more creative in season 2, however).

This episode featured clone cadets learning to work together as a team. It's a very classic kind of plotline and doesn't pull too many surprising stops. But I think it was just fresh to follow characters who are not consummate professionals or red shirt chump bait. You can feel the tangible frustration that the trainers feel with the cadets and that the cadets feel with themselves. Seeing an older clone who had been relegated to janitorial duties for the rest of his life reminded the audience that these clones ARE people with their own desires and thoughts and personalities.