Star Wars: Droids Review, Episode 8

I can't say the Tammuz-an arc has been all that interesting, but this episode delves us further into that world and its weird politics. Apparently Mon Julpa has been having some trouble with Lord Toda and his warriors. Julpa is trying to negotiate peace so that they can focus on defeating Kybo Ren- who is still in prison at that point. Fortunately for the plot, C-3PO allows Kybo to escape and also to kidnap Toda's daughter right before Julpa has the chance to seal the deal. (If you know what I mean.) Kybo manages to take her in a two-seater A-Wing. Hasbro, make me a two-seater A-Wing! It's worth pointing out that a week ago Jann, 3PO, and R2 were all crammed into a single-seat A-Wing (twice). If only the animators had thought of this simple solution then.

For the second week in a row, Kybo has kidnapped a female to jumpstart the plot. In order to figure out where they went, C-3PO and R2-D2 put on a ridiculous ruse to extract info out of Kybo's big, dumb henchman. This sequence is notable because C-3PO actually manages to not screw it up. Usually anyone planning a scam has to leave 3PO in the dark (see: Return of the Jedi). So Jann, Jessica, and the droids travel to Kybo's secret base on the bog planet Bogden (really) to rescue the "princess" to ensure that Lord Toda will sign the peace treaty. They don't do a great job with this. Meanwhile, Kybo agrees to release Toda's daughter in exchange for his ship, his crew, and Mon Julpa. Toda agrees, but this is just a trap. Hidden inside his ship is the entire army of Tammuz-an! Or, at least 8 guys. The whole rescue attempt was just a distraction. These episodes are getting complicated. C-3PO finishes off Kybo in the most C-3PO way possible.

Kybo is defeated, and Jessica Meade decides to go pursue other opportunities. It's a shame that they weren't really able to do more with that character. I guess the world just wasn't ready for a strong, animated black woman in 1985. Or, probably, now, for that matter. Besides Jessica's abrupt departure, this episode works pretty well. Even though we're at the point where we know none of the characters are in any real danger, the action and plot devices keep things interesting. There are times when the droid-centric scenes get a little tired, but overall there's enough going on to keep the beats moving along. The Jann arc is pretty much at a close, and we still don't get much from him. He could have been left out completely and had Mon Julpa own the droids and there would be few changes to the plot. I guess they felt that a generic guy was necessary to appeal to young boys. This all leads us to next week when I will review my least favorite episode of the series. You'll see why.

Best Moment: (19:18) For some reason I got a big kick out of the Gamorrean hanging on the side of an A-Wing using the tail fin for cover.

Most WTF Moment: C-3PO accidentally covering his crotch with cake frosting is a close runner up, but I'll go with (8:57) R2-D2's confetti air bag. There doesn't seem to be many situations where that would be useful.

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