This Friday marks the return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network, and it will be a day of great rejoicing in our house. And not just by the 6-yr-old: Because the show will emerge from reruns, my wife will be spared shot-by-shot dissections of the first season when the kid wakes up every morning. There will again be peace in the family.
But not in a galaxy far, far away, where the new season brings a complication in the interminable war between the droid armies of the Separatists and the clone troopers of the Republic. Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord who has wrapped himself in the mantle of legitimate authority, mobilizes bounty hunters, led by the notorious Cad Bane. Judging from the trailer for Season 2, the Mandalorians will also come into play, to help bridge the gap between Jango and Boba Fett.
The bounty hunters, though, have their own agenda and methods. George Lucas points out that Bane is "a classic gunslinger - mysterious and also merciless. It's been a thematic part of Star Wars since the beginning." Bane's enigmatic ferocity unsettles the Jedi–he's a much better foe than the droids, who only really pose a threat from their numbers.
LucasFilms has provided a clip from Friday's season premiere to ratchet up the anticipation even more:
Season 2 also features Seth Green as the voice of Cad Bane's sidekick droid, Todo 360. Green says that he likes the show's willingness to raise tough issues: "It talks about what it's like to be a soldier and to fight in something you don't necessarily believe in. All these moral, ethical and theological questions are getting raised, and it's also a kid's show. So it's kind of amazing."
Friday's premiere should be fun. Maybe the kid can stay up late!
