In “Downfall of a Droid” we saw Artoo captured by a droid smuggler and ferried to General Grievous.  Artoo’s data banks have never been wiped, so he (as opposed to “it”, I always felt Artoo was a boy) would be very valuable to the Separatists.  Anakin’s first attempt to rescue Artoo failed and now Obi-wan orders him to find a Separatist listening post and destroy it.

It so happens the smuggler is taking Artoo to this same outpost.

Anakin, Ahsoka, R3-S6 “Stumpy/Goldie” and a squad of clone troops sky dive to the enormous sphere outpost and begin their operation to bring it down.  Anakin goes off on his own to find Artoo leaving Ahsoka in charge of the troops.  Grievous has killed the smuggler, left Artoo in pieces surrounded by several Magna guards.  Ahsoka and the troops plant charges around the stations gravity controls but are attacked by Grievous and several dozen battle droids.  Thanks to some “droid poppers” (mini EMP bombs) they survive and Ahsoka distracts Grievous while the remaining clones finish the mission.  She and Grievous fight, Artoo puts himself back together as Anakin beats up on the Magna guards.  A blast from the clone troops’ detonators distracts Grievous and allows Ahsoka to escape (she was getting her cheese handed to her.)  The R3 unit locks the hanger and we see him listening to a holo-message from Grievous calling him his little spy.  (Told you.)  The only one that can open the hanger is Artoo and he and the R3 fight on a catwalk as the station plummets through the atmosphere.  Artoon wins, opens the door and the Twlight escapes.  Anakin jumps in his fighter and swoops back long enough to save Artoo.

For which we are all grateful.  Artoo isn’t so much a favorite character among Star Wars fans, but he’s a constant.  He and Threepio have always been there – they are our Everyman, our Shaggy and Scooby.  Robots or not, they’ve been the eyes through which we were told the Star Wars story.  Seeing the droid splayed out on the table as the droid smuggler riffled through his data banks was surprisingly discomforting and it’s in large part to the iconic nature of the little droid.

Meanwhile I was rooting for Grievous to end Ahsoka.  She fought well and showed maturity in leading the clone troops, but I’m still not sold on her being a Jedi.  For a group that belies stoicism, gravitas and mystery, she’s a carnival ride.  In fact they’ve all become a bit of a sideshow attraction with their one line quips and ham handed approach to delicate situations.  (We’ve secretly replaced the Jedi you know with the cast from “Everybody Love Raymond.  Let’s see if you notice.)

Next week’s episode looks positively abysmal, but this week was a bit of meh.  Three green light sabers.