Satine is pursued by a member of the mysterious Death Watch in “Duchess of Mandalore,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, February 12 on Cartoon Network. TM & © 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

This is the third episode of the Deathwatch story arc on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Duchess Satine Kryze is in more trouble than ever. As the dissident Mandalorian faction Deathwatch ramps up their efforts to assassinate her, Duchess Satine takes the investigation into her own hands.

Anna Graves, who voices Satine, admires her character’s stand for peace:

“Satine is struggling with many fires now, and trying to keep them from merging into one large inferno that can’t be put out. . . . She wants peace above all else, and will shout it as loud as she can. Historical pacifists are often met with more hatred and violence, but that seems to push someone like Satine to fight for peace even harder. I think with any culture that idolizes war and violence, some people will naturally rebel against that traditional way of thinking and focus their efforts on peace and tranquility. I’m sure a lot of people agree with her views, but I’m sure there are just as many who don’t. Her neutrality in The Clone Wars is such a beautiful cry for love and peace, which throughout history has upset those who idolize power and control.”

She does admit, though, that the real appeal of the Mandalore plot is less with the pacifist Duches and more with her would-be assassins:

“I see Mandalore as an old world, full of history and tradition. After years of glimpses into Mandalorian lore, it’s exciting to get new facts and faces. . . . Every fan has their own reasons for loving Mandalore, but Boba Fett opened the door with his intriguing armor and history as a bounty hunter. I know fans will want to hear more about Death Watch – and those who oppose them. To be a small part of that history is so exciting. Add a little Mandalorian-Jedi romance, and that’s good stuff!”

Here’s the clip:

It’s noteworthy that, as viewers, we’re in more or less the same position as Deathwatch: spoiling for a fight between the Republic and the armored warriors.

The episode premieres Friday at 9pm Eastern on The Cartoon Network

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore prepare to fend off an attack in “Voyage of Temptation,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, February 5 on Cartoon Network. TM & © 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars has long suggested that Anakin Skywalker is not the only Jedi to struggle with attachment. The relationship between a Padawan and master can produce attachments that must be overcome, as Ahsoka has been learning. The series has also occasionally hinted that Obi-Wan might not be wholly unsympathetic to Anakin’s predicament. (Readers of the Jedi Apprentice series will hardly be shocked at the idea of Obi-Wan in a relationship.) Those hints are dragged out into the open in this week’s episode, “Voyage of Temptation.”

It turns out that Obi-Wan and the Mandalorian Duchess Satine Kryze have a history, and their trip to Coruscant, dodging Separatist assassin droids all the way, provides ample opportunity to pick at old wounds:

Series writer Henry Gilroy explains that the idea of showing Obi-Wan struggling with attachment was a powerful one–in part because one would have to imagine a woman powerful enough in her own right to elicit his interest:

“I always wondered what would happen if Obi-Wan had been put in the same position as Anakin – specifically meeting and falling in love with a woman. . . . Would he be able to maintain his vow to the Jedi at the cost of true love? We know how Anakin dealt with this, but how would Obi-Wan fare against the same temptation? I think a lot of people have had relationships that never really got a chance to flourish, and there’s always that ‘what if…’ sort of feeling. Even people in healthy, happy relationships ponder their old flames and think about what might have been. I think it really broadens Obi-Wan as a character. He’s revealed as a man – someone we relate to because he has romantic feelings like the rest of us, even though he’s a Jedi.

Satine’s a formidable woman in all regards – extremely intelligent, incorruptible, passionate and beautiful, with a great devotion to peace. She might come off as stuffy, but that is because she knows she’s in a den of wolves and must appear powerful and unshakable. . . . Throughout history, some of the most powerful figures – like Gandhi and Dr. King – were pacifists who literally changed the world by refusing to fight. There’s so much fighting in The Clone Wars; when someone is brave enough to speak up to try and stop it, that voice becomes like a light in the darkness, strong and memorable. Satine’s resolved to always use peaceful means to end conflicts. The Jedi are peacekeepers, but they carry swords; if they have to use violence to end conflict, they will. That’s unacceptable to Satine; she believes that if you bring a weapon to negotiations, you don’t want peace. So, she’s upset that the Jedi have allowed themselves to be drawn into the war, because it is everything that they are supposed to be against.”

Despite all the talk of pacifism and of smoldering loves, there are also some excellent battle sequences. They’re small, but assassin probes are a difficult opponent for Anakin and the clones:

“Voyage of Temptation” airs Friday at 9pm on the Cartoon Network.

Ahsoka Tano realizes that her Jedi weapon has been stolen in “Lightsaber Lost,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, January 22 on Cartoon Network. TM & © 2010 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

The last several episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars have been jam-packed with high-quality battles. But it wouldn’t be the Star Wars Universe if you didn’t take a break every now and again for some pseudo-mystical spirituality, in which a galaxy far, far away starts to sound a bit like the home of California-style New Age gurus.

Enter this week’s episode, “Lightsaber Lost,” in which Ahsoka Tano’s lightsaber is stolen and she must turn to the much older Jedi, Tera Sinube, to navigate the criminal underworld of Coruscant and recover it.  Along the way, Sinube tries to moderate Ahsoka’s headstrong manner, which she’s been perfecting under Anakin.

Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni plays up the spiritual/psychological development angle in this episode:

“To a certain extent, audiences are coming to expect the combat storylines from the series, but there’s a lot more to Star Wars than the war itself; I think this episode really resonates because it captures a particularly nostalgic aspect. We got to focus on aspects that don’t get as much screen time when we’re in the middle of a battle . . . It’s also interesting to look at the various influences on Ahsoka from a different perspective. She’s being trained by Anakin, who eventually becomes Darth Vader. It’s an interesting dynamic, because we don’t necessarily know what happens to her – except for the fact that she doesn’t appear in Episode III. Because we see her in these high-intensity situations, it’s easy to forget that she’s still a child and that she’s impressionable. She’s definitely still learning – from Anakin, but also from her own experiences, from her mistakes, from those around her. She’s making her own choices, deciding her own values. How that will affect her ultimate destiny remains to be seen. When we screened this episode for the crew, almost everyone ranked it among their favorites for the season; I think it’s because it stirs up some of those questions, and in a way that has a distinct Star Wars feel.”

Meanwhile, the director of “Lightsaber Lost,” Giancarlo Volpe, stresses that the episode’s funny, as well as spiritual:

“Comedy belongs in Star Wars as much as anything . . . Filmmaking actually plays a lot off of contrast – such as the contrast between a wicked villain and a benevolent hero, or between slow, emotional scenes and really fast-paced action. The more you emphasize one side, the more extreme the other becomes. They work hand in hand. I think if Clone Wars always took itself too seriously, it would no longer feel like the movies.

[Tera Sinube is] efinitely a caricature of his own philosophy. He keeps telling Ahsoka she’s too frantic and moving too fast. She needs to slow down and really listen to her intuition, and trust her feelings.  We played that up in everything from the way he moves to the way he talks . . . To me, it’s very much like Obi-Wan telling Luke to trust his feelings, and to use the Force during the attack on the Death Star. Ahsoka is so anxious about getting her lightsaber back, her own anxiety interferes with her ability to track it down. When she stops and calms herself, the truth is revealed. That’s great stuff! It’s just one of those classic spiritual aspects of Star Wars that I can’t get enough of.”

Here’s the clip!

Ahsoka Tano faces a deadly threat in the form of mind-controlled clones in “Brain Invaders,” an all-new episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS premiering at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, December 4 on Cartoon Network. TM & © 2009 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

At the height of the last episode, Luminara Unduli is taken hostage by the Geonosians, who aim to make her their servant through the use of Geonosian brain worms. (A ripoff of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’s Ceti eels? Well, ceti eels enter the brain through the ear, whereas Geonosian brain worms go through the nose.  Totally different!)

This week,  Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee, along with some clones, head back toward Republic space–but it turns out some brain worms have hitched a ride.  As you see in the clip, this doesn’t bode well for the Padawans:

Ashley Eckstein, who voices Ahsoka, suggests that the Padawan’s loyalty to the clones repeats Anakin Skywalker’s well-known problems with attachment:

“Due to Anakin’s teaching, I do feel that Ahsoka is developing similar attachment issues. Only time will tell if those issues will play a part in her destiny. . . Over the course of the Clone Wars so far, Ahsoka has spent most of her time with Anakin, and she is really beginning to emulate him. She is becoming more and more like her Master in every episode; we’ll see if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

The opportunity to work with another Padawan, however, provides a useful corrective:

“Ahsoka has become a better, more well-rounded Padawan because of her friendship with Barriss. . . After becoming friends with Barriss, Ahsoka is now able to look at things from another point of view. She’s realizing that they each have different strengths, and as a team they work well together. When I think of the two of them together, I think Padawan Power!”

I’m not sure “Padawan Power” is quite as appealing as “Mandalorian Mayhem,” but breaking Anakin’s hold on Ahsoka is probably a good idea.

The episode airs Friday at 9pm Eastern/Pacific on The Cartoon Network.