***I must confess that, despite being a huge Star Wars geek, I have yet to see the landmark Clone Wars animated show in its entirety. I’m aiming to rectify that to a large extent here, as we look at pivotal episodes of the series in, “The Essential Clone Wars.”

SERIES: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
EPISODE: S2:E13 – “Voyage of Temptation”
WITH THE VOICE TALENTS OF: James Arnold Taylor, Anna Graves, Matt Lanter, Greg Proops, Phil LaMarr
WRITER: Paul Dini
DIRECTOR: Brian Kalin O’ Connell
PREMIERE DATE: February 5, 2010
SYNOPSIS: Buried feelings between Obi-Wan and Satine come to the surface as a traitor is revealed.

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This is the episode where we learn about Obi-Wan and Satine’s history together. That they developed feeings for each other years ago, but Obi-Wan remained devoted Jedi Code. Obviously, this provides an interesting parallel between Obi-Wan and Anakin, who of course is secretly married to Padme. Obi-Wan made the choice that Anakin theoretically should have made.

Unfortunately, “Voyage of Temptation” falls into the same trap that Attack of the Clones did as far as Star Wars romances are concerned: It tells instead of shows. We don’t see that spark develop between Obi-Wan and Satine. Instead, we’re told about it via anecdotes. The best we get is a little banter between them.

“Voyage of Temptation” might actually have been better as a flashback episode, taking us back to a young Obi-Wan as he meets Satine for the first time. That way we could actually see some of these memories they recount, as opposed to having them exposited to us.

Still, Obi-Wan confessing that he’d have left the Jedi Order for Satine is a powerful moment. But imagine how powerful it could have been…

This episode was written by Paul Dini, who rose to prominence writing for Batman: The Animated Series, and is widely known as the creator of Harley Quinn. This would be his third and final episode of Clone Wars.

At one point, Anakin asks Obi Wan, “Were you and Satine ever…?” The obvious implication being that he’s asking if they slept together. Yeesh. In the last episode we had a suicide, and now a sexual reference? This arc was a little edgy for Cartoon Network. I won’t complain, though. I’m of the mindset we shouldn’t always shy away from that kind of thing when writing for kids. Granted, it should obviously be done tastefully, and with a certain amount of restraint. Clone Wars checks both those boxes with these instances.

Incidentally, Obi-Wan doesn’t actually say no…

Tal Merrick, the turncoat senator, is voiced by Greg Proops. That’s an interesting casting choice, as Proops is a comedian widely known for his performances in shows like Whose Line is it Anyway? Over a decade prior, Proops also voiced the podracing announcer in The Phantom Menace.

When he’s in that stand-off with Obi-Wan, Merrick asks who’ll strike first and become a cold-blooded killer. Anakin then strikes from behind, killing him instantly. I can’t decide if that’s a little too on-the-nose or not.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.