The Clone Wars review round-up: ‘Supply Lines’ and ‘Sphere of Influence’

Welcome to Star Wars geometry! Today, we’ll be looking at lines and a sphere. Or more precisely what our esteemed colleagues on the internet have to say about two recent episodes of The Clone Wars, ‘Supply Lines’ (Bail and Jar Jar convince Toydaria to sneak some relief supplies to a Ryloth under siege where Jedi Master Di has his last stand) and ‘Sphere of Influence’ (Baron Papanoida, Ahsoka, and Chuchi track down the baron’s daughters after Greedo kidnaps them).

Waiting in ‘Supply Lines’ (which I gave an A here, though it appears that this was a minority view):

• IGN gives ‘Lines’ a 7/10, with too much going on, and the middle getting bogged down in the talk of blockades and trade routes.
• Big Shiny Robot liked the action, and seeing the Republic in a defeat, and Jar Jar’s character, but was bugged by poor audio quality.
• Den of Geek calls the episode a bit of a snoozefest, but highlighted Master Di’s role as showing the true price of valor.
• Dauntless Media gives ‘Lines’ a D, with the endless talking-while-standing-around dragging it down, and only Di’s memorable ending adding value.
• SW Clone Wars Reviews gives it 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling it ho-hum with its ‘kid-friendly version of diplomacy’.
• TheForce.net enjoyed the ‘thought-provoking politics’ as well as the battle scenes, and was pleased with Jar Jar’s role as well.

It seems that with ‘Supply Lines’, it really came down to which side of the line you were on: is all the politicking a dull tangent, or an acute angle of interest?

Now to round out ‘Sphere of Influence’ (which earned a C+ here from Stooge):

• TheForce.Net has a ball with ‘Sphere’, liking its balance of talking and shooting, and takes a look at the Greedo canon issue (Greedo the Elder vs ANH Greedo).
• IGN gives another 7/10, liking Ahsoka showing off her growing but still not perfect Force powers, but was not invested in the Papanoida clan.
• Dauntless Media passes it with a B, liking the many connections to the films (trade blockade from TPM, Greedo, Baron Papanoida), and points out a few key developments, including Anakin sending his padawan off on her own without consulting the Council first.
• FilmEdge finds the episode enjoyable but not necessarily memorable.
• Den of Geek likes Ahsoka’s development, and the return to the cantina for a firefight, but finds the story to miss the mark.
• Big Shiny Robot calls ‘Sphere’ a tale of political intrigue and all-around fun, really liking the Baron’s quest.
• Mania was left disappointed in both characters and storyline, and Greedo not living up to the hype.

As ‘Sphere’ went, it seems to the reviewers to end up a little flat.

Tune in later for more Star Wars geometry, when we visit the planet of Pythagorean basic solids, aka the cityscapes of Mandalore. Not since Donald Duck went to Mathmagic land has animated geometry been so much fun!