Full Series Discuss/Regrade the Episode: S03E04: Sphere of Influence

Episode 3.4!! Sphere of Influence
Trade Federation is in da house!



"A child stolen is a hope lost"

Chi Eekway and Che Amanwa, Chairman Papanoida's daughters, are kidnapped and held for ransom. Ahsoka Tano teams up with the Senatorfrom Pantora, Riyo Chuchi, to aid the new chairman in recovering his family before the Trade Federation can unduly influence the future of his planet. The Chairman and his son, Ion, track down the kidnapper --Greedo -- on Tatooine, and rescue Che Amanwe. Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Chuchi find Chi Eekway held captive aboard a blockading Trade Federation battleship over Pantora, and expose Trade Federation officer Sib Canay as a Separatist conspirator.​

http://starwars.com/explore/the-clone-wars/ep304/#!/about

Now that you've rewatch the episode lets regrade it. Feel free to discuss as much as you like

 

I dont get it, what do we grade here?

 

I give this April Fools thread a 1/10.

 

0/10 for this Prank

 

And Darth Vader gives his first non-10!

 

Awesome.

 

Okay now I know what to review. damn april fools prank

Positives

+Pantorans and seeing Chairman Cho if only for a brief second
+Tan Divo and the Robo Cops
+GREEDO. He was pretty cool in this episode
+Jabba and his son again
+Trade Federation dudes, theyre always so epic
+Nemodian guards
+George Lucas' character
+Ahsoka and the mind trick

Negatives

-Trade federation being "Neutral" yet still on the galactic senate -_-
-Tan Divo being an idiot and finding no evidence.. he should have found something
-Something felt off about this episode, like it was too short and not too much happened

Overall I'd give this episode a solid 8/10, however the whole neutral stuff really grinds my gears. So it gets a 7/10.... good episode, however could have used many improvements. Greedo was really good in this episode he redeemed it forsure.

 

6/10

+Papanoidas were a good addition
+Padmé reminded of the Naboo crsis
+"I still can't believe they let you teach..."
+Ahsoka learning the Mind Trick
+Trade Federation interior was well-designed

-Ahsoka and Chuchi are now friends?
-Blood device, a bit of deus ex machina
-Trade Federation's neutrality is a bit stretched here
-Greedo's inclusion felt a bit unnecessary
-Tan Divo

Average episode, good and bad moments. Nothing too memorable.

 

I don't even remember this episode.

 

Yeah he makes a short cameo... he's seen leaving the crime scene with his robo cops but he says theyres "no evidence of foul play"... then leaves.

 

I really enjoyed this one. One of the better standalone episodes, with quite a bit of fanservice. We got George Lucas with an Orson Welles inspired voice, his kids, Greedo, a return to Jabba's Palace and Mos Eisley. I also liked seeing Jabba's Palace upgraded from when we last saw it in the series, and several OT aliens. Trespass was a favorite of mine in season 1, and I see this one as a semi-sequel, so another plus there. We also get Ahsoka and Chuchi sneaking about a Trade Federation ship, which was a nice nod to the beginning of TPM.

What I also really liked was the use of cameos. I mean, yes Greedo appearing makes it a small universe, but at the same time he really wasn't interacting with any of the main TCW characters aside from Ahsoka. Even then, Greedo's conflict was with Papanoida. I'd rather not get into that whole "Greedo the Elder" business, because I think it is nonsense to assign human aging to GFFA aliens. If GL says Greedo was always a punk hired gun based on Tatooine then so be it. Makes him all the more pathetic in ANH, which is how I've always seen him.

8.5/10 from me.

 

Repressed this episode successfully. Until now.

 

When I'm skimming through the thread titles, this one keeps blurring together as "degrade the episode" in my mind.

It sucked...

Actually this episode was one of the ones I re-watched - which I don't usually do - because I wanted to remember what was said regarding TF neutrality in the episode.

I didn't hate it as much as I did upon first viewing, but it was still fairly poor.

I'd give it a 4/10

 

I gave it a 7.5/10, but a 7/10 for this poll.

I thought it was a pretty good episode. Having the Papanoidas was a good idea, but it would've been even better if George Lucas did the voice for Baron considering he played him in ROTS. There was some good action with the shoot out in the cantina, and the Papanoidas seem really well trained in combat. Seeing SpongeBob, I mean Greedo was cool, I never really liked him that much in ANH, but he was alright in this episode.

 

This episode was a mess.
First of all, I like Chuchi, and truthfully I wish they'd given her more of an overarching role in the series instead of constantly shoehorning in Padme into anything remotely involving the Senate or general politics. However, the sudden, and rather random introduction of a friendship between her and Ahsoka without even the slightest hint of foreshadow was jarring, to say the least. It would be one thing if the story of their meeting and subsequent bonding had been told in another source such as one of the series' webcomics, or even alluded to in a moment of offhand dialogue, but instead we're just given a situation of "It is what it is because we say it is, and we're moving along..." Definite minus one.

We've got more of this Trade Federation neutrality business, out-of-place Anakin humor about a starving planetary population―which given his personal experience, he should have felt much more strongly about, instead of just using it as a chance for a "smooth" one-liner―too much strange plot convenience that took me out of the story, and more Tan Divo. Is he the only detective in the Senate District? Sorry Todd, but I hate this guy. Maybe I've been spoiled by Republic Commando's portrayal of a competent CSF, but when I heard the show was bringing in CSF, I was hoping for more Jaller Obrim-level of effectiveness instead of Star Wars' own Inspector Clouseau. Altogether an additional minus two.

Separating my general dislike of Lucas from Baron Papanoida, I don't have any problem with his character or his family. At the same time, however, the plot was essentially a less interesting version of Taken and while the Baron was admittedly pretty cool, the show failed to evoke any real emotion. Unlike with Taken, I never felt the same strong desire to see the protagonist succeed other than a general "That's wrong and kinda sucks" feeling. His daughters were too bland, and even Seth Green seemed to be phoning it in. For the lack of true engagement with and entertainment value in that storyline, minus one. And then we have yet another unnecessary tangle with canon by way of Greedo. Immediate minus one for that mess.

Summarily, a meager 5 out of 10 for a boring, largely cliche and contrived, and often annoying episode.

 

10/10

Really liked this episode. Having Greedo appear was a nice touch. Tan Divo's cameo was nice too. I love how incompetent he is at his job.

 

It's an OK episode; nothing great and nothing bad. The kidnapping plot was in itself alright; I liked Papanoida and his family as focal characters and Greedo was a nice inclusion (I'm not gonna talk about the retconning of his past). I have to admit that I liked Tan Divo's little cameo in this one (he's a pretty fun character) and Riyo & Ahsoka's little rescue story aboard the Trade federation ship wasn't all that bad. I liked the Jabba's palace stuff and the cantina gunfight was probably my favorite part; it was like a good ol' western saloon shootout. The episode is definitely not perfect by any means but it's still quite enjoyable.

6/10