The Clone Wars continued its slump this week in the lackluster political conspiracy centered episode, Corruption.

Mandalore has fallen into debt. Standing as a neutral system in the growing war between the Republic and the Confederacy, the planet has found itself without trade and falling into a deep lack of supplies. Hoping to assist in this matter, Padme Amidala arrives to assist Ducchess Satine of Mandalore. Meanwhile, a group of black market criminals smuggle supplies into the planet.


Once again, this episode suffers from poor handling of an interesting scenario. The political aspect of the war is once again given attention, which while welcome feels tired after three weeks of similar material. By this point the audience has become tired of watching a series centered around trade dealings and political conspiracies. While these plots can be interesting, the episode must deliver on well executed characters dialogue and set peices. Unfortunatley, Corruption fails to do so.

The subject of the conspiracy in this episode seems incredibly out of place. When there are dozens of battles being fought across the galaxy, why is it that the audience is relegated to watching a story line that essentially follows a bunch of aliens poisoning tea.

Perhaps the strangest aspect of this episode is its portrayel of Duchess Satine. Satine made an incredible impression in the original three episode Mandalore arc in season 2. A well written and intriguing character, Satine's pacifist values and her past with Obiwan Kenobi made her a fan favorite. In this episode the Satine we follow seems like a different person. Here behavior, especially for a pacifist, seems incredibly rash and even brutal. This sudden change in character is attributed to the stressing situation seen in Mandalore, but even then Satine seems to behaving irrationaly, something that has left numerous fans confused and even angry.

However, the animation in this episode is particularly superb. Characters are now incredibly vibrant and fluid in movement, and Mandalore is a beautiful location. There is also a creative and well realized action sequence.

These do little to alleviate an overall lackluster installment to the series in an increasingly disappointing third season.


Score: C