Clovis treats himself like a tragic figure while playing into Dooku’s hands. One of the better scenes in “The Rise of Clovis” shows Anakin’s room, filled with toy models and posters of the Boonta Eve podrace. The activities he chooses to de-stress – and the fact that a Jedi has a hobby that emphasizes the acquisition of possessions – feel true to his character. Other details in the animation really sell the characters too – Clovis shakes when Dooku suggests the banks might fall, Anakin’s expression twists just before he attacks, Clovis shifts his cheeks around when he drinks. The scene of an almost-breakup between Padmé and Anakin seems meant to make viewers think Padmé might actually end up with Clovis, and at least features Padmé putting her foot down and letting Anakin know that his behavior crossed a line. However, the viewers know that their marriage will survive until an even worse conflict in Revenge of the Sith, which leaves it feeling out of place. “The Rise of Clovis” was very much a middle piece of the story and left the final episode with a lot of drama to wrap up, but I have trouble rooting for the players here – Clovis risks everything to get the Separatists to pay their interest, Padmé is on the defensive, and Anakin practically seems like a worse husband here than in the parts of Revenge of the Sith where he wasn’t actually strangling his wife. Read all of our Star Wars: The Clone Wars coverage here!
