Full Series Grade Episode 6.06: The Rise of Clovis

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Grade the sixth episode of Season Six: The Rise of Clovis. Have fun!​

 

Should be The Fall of Clovis

 

A humble 9/10 for me. We've really needed to see Anakin and Padme's relationship challenged for once, besides distance from one-another.

Clovis is just such an uninteresting character though..

 

I felt that The Rise of Clovis was a marked improvement over the previous episode, but at the same time the overarching narrative about banking and the character of Clovis himself, as noted by the post above, were generally uninteresting. Nevertheless, the highlight of the episode was Anakin's emotions coming to a head as he loses control of his jealousy over Padmé fraternizing with Clovis; this episode really shows how Anakin's unhealthy attachment to Padmé would come to undermine him in RotS, causing his fall to the dark side, and I appreciated how this was expanded upon.

Clovis was a little more interesting here than in the previous episode, but that's not saying much. I didn't enjoy his character, even though his backstory was meant to elicit sympathy for himself (the deaths of his parents and being raised by the Muuns). I appreciated that Clovis seemed to have the best interests of the galactic economy in mind, but at the same time, he was as much a slave to his ambitions for power as Anakin was to his attachments and emotions. When it was clear that he could expose the Core Five's corruption to the Republic and subsequently take over the IGBC's operations on Scipio, he leaped at the opportunity, even though it meant selling out to the Separatist leader Count Dooku. What sympathy I might have developed for him then instantly evaporated. Also, even if his heart was in the right place regarding the Banking Clan, it was clearly in the wrong when he tried to woo Padmé, with the full knowledge that she had feelings for Anakin (and vice versa). This of course causes Anakin's emotional turmoil to come to a head...

Speaking of Anakin, his attempts to cope with his emotions were the parts of the episode I found most fascinating. This arc did much to establish the insidious nature of Anakin's "dragon" within (from the RotS novel). Torn between his protectiveness of Padmé and his understanding of her need to work with Clovis personally to deal with the banking problems, Anakin's emotional turmoil was on full display here. I especially enjoyed the scene between him and Obi-Wan in his quarters in the Jedi Temple. That room was very much reflective of his character, his past and his personality. We see a poster of famed podracers like Ben Quadinaros and old arch-nemesis Sebulba, harkening back to a much simpler time in Anakin's life. It also reflected his past on Tatooine, including the loss of his mother, which only served to strengthen his fear of losing Padmé, which in turn fed his anger and hatred over Clovis―"Jealousy is the path to chaos", as the fortune cookie notes, which was highly appropriate. He tries to keep these emotions in check by working with his tools, much like he did in AotC following his mother's death. Obi-Wan discusses this issue regarding Clovis, trying to get Anakin to let go of his anger and jealousy over Clovis' "working relationship" with Padmé. I liked that Obi-Wan brought up his feelings for Satine, in an attempt to relate to what Anakin was going through (curiously, the way it was phrased suggested the episode should have taken place before the Mauldalore arc, but since then Leland Chee has insisted it took place afterwards). Obi-Wan's conversation served to further highlight the tragedy and fall of Anakin Skywalker that would take place at war's end.

The scene where Clovis and Padmé talk following a night at the opera―seriously, is she wearing that same dress from the fireplace scene in AotC?―was pivotal to Anakin's rage coming to a head. As much as I'd like to sympathize with Padmé in this episode, her poor decision-making (is she subconsciously trying to seduce Clovis, even though that's not her outward intention?) and her naivety made me SMH at times. When Clovis attempts to put the moves on her, Anakin storms in, angry as can be, and immediately attacks Clovis with a Force choke. That was a powerful scene, seeing Anakin really lose it over Padmé. Despite her protests to stop, Anakin insisted on fighting with Clovis, who inexplicably challenged the Jedi to a fistfight―without the use of his "Jedi tricks"―and Anakin proceeds to really kick his ass. Really, while the scene was initially entertaining, it was quite disturbing and revealed how much of a slave Anakin was to his emotions. He even insisted that Padmé had "no say in this", highlighting the unhealthiness of their relationship and his inability to trust. When Anakin does come to grips with what wrong he was doing, and Captain Typho and the guards burst in, I was almost surprised to see Clovis invent a lie to absolve the Jedi Knight of blame. He must have realized that what he did to provoke Anakin was wrong, and this was his way of making amends. My respect for Clovis actually went up briefly, until he proceeded to later willingly work with Dooku, who had obtained the info on the Core Five's corruption from Darth Sidious and Nix Card. Sigh. But this scene really drove home the fact that Anakin and Padmé's relationship was built on a colossal "deception", as she calls it, and I appreciated that she began to see and fear what Anakin could become when he allowed himself to become a slave to his "dragon". Nothing good would come out of this forbidden romance.

In the end, the biggest (and only) winners in this episode were the Sith, Darth Sidious and Tyranus, both of whom masterfully manipulated the political situation to bring themselves one step closer to gaining control of the banks, which would of course further the Grand Plan. Palpatine was cleverly playing the Jedi while slyly manipulating Anakin by the end of the episode. In plain sight he was initiating his plan, while the Jedi were distracted by Anakin's personal issues. Well played, Palps. Well played.

Overall, a solid but unspectacular episode. Still one of the best political episodes in the show, however. I gave this a 7.5/10.