“Brain Invaders”

“Attachment is not compassion.”

RECAP: Geonosis has been captured by the Republic. Its droid factories have been destroyed, and Poggle the Lesser is being brought to Coruscant for trial and interrogation.

While Anakin and Luminara travel to Coruscant, Ahsoka and Barriss will deliver medical supplies to Mace Windu on Dantooine. With a sneaky crack, one of the brain worms seen in “Legacy of Terror” emerges from an egg and wriggles into a clone trooper’s nose. Shortly after, the clone commander arrives to gather the troops for the mission. The infected trooper fails to wake up when the other troopers get up; the other troopers take notice of this odd behavior, but shrug it off. Aboard the ship, Ahsoka wakes up and notes, “It’s too quiet.” This foreboding line sets the pace for the rest of the episode. Ahsoka and Barriss go to the galley to distract themselves from the ominous feeling aboard the ship. They discuss the possibility that being a “defender of the peace” and not a warrior might be paradoxical. Ahsoka admits that Anakin’s views on the future are “radical,” reminiscent of Padme in Episode II. She says that he will do what he thinks is right no matter what, a statement that will come to fruition at the close of the episode.

While the Padawans have their discussion, the infected clone trooper releases a basketful of eggs into the troopers’ quarters. Two newly-infected clone troopers ambush Ahsoka and Barriss in the galley. Soon after they knock them to the floor, two more clone troopers arrive who appear not to be infected. One is left behind, while the other accompanies Ahsoka and Barriss to the bridge. The bridge is blocked off by energy barriers (similar to the kind seen in the battle with Darth Maul in Episode I). As suspected, the clone trooper with Ahsoka and Barriss is actually infected. After slaying the trooper, Ahsoka laments the action, and she and Barriss run to aide the other trooper. But, it’s too late. They arrive as he is being infected, pitting the young Padawans against a shipload of troopers.

Meanwhile, Anakin, Luminara, and Obi-Wan attempt to contact the ship, to no avail. Ahsoka and Barriss, now hidden in a ventilation shaft, contact Master Kit Fitso at the base where they will pick up the medical supplies. Master Fitso says that he wants to study the parasite, while Ahsoka insists that they should be quaratined, using that oft-quoted line, “I have a bad feeling about this.” (In Star Wars or LOST, we all know something bad is coming now)

Barriss and Ahsoka separate. Barriss attempts to regain control of the bridge, and Ahsoka heads aft to establish communication with Anakin’s ship. Rex tells Ahsoka to find Barriss and isolate themselves from the clone troopers because the weakness of the brain worms has not yet been unraveled. Barriss has been infected by the brain worms and finds Ahsoka before Ahsoka can find her. Ahsoka immediately recognizes something is wrong with Barriss. As they duel down the hallways, Ahsoka knocks Barriss down and flees up the air shaft.

Frustrated with their lack of information about the parasite, Anakin goes to interrogate Poggle. After attempting a Jedi mind trick, Anakin resorts to force-chocking to loosen Poggle’s answers, with the imperial march playing in the background. Anakin discovers that the brain worms (official name, no lie) are sensitive to cold. However, Anakin does not reveal this method to the other Jedi masters. Anakin makes contact with Ahsoka through her wrist comlink and instructs her to rupture the coolant system, to take advantage of this weakness.

As Ahsoka ruptures the coolant system, filling the air with a thick fog of gas, the ship comes out of hyperspace. Although the clone troopers are falling to the ground, writhing in pain, Barriss makes it to the bridge and attempts to attack Ahsoka. Ahsoka holds her off as the brain worm emerges from her nose. Barriss, now writhing in pain, begs Ahsoka to kill her, telling her it must be done. Instead, Ahsoka slices the brain worm in half. When Master Fisto boards the ship a few minutes later, the two Padawans are frozen together on the floor of the bridge.  When Ahsoka awakes, Anakin tells her that the Geonosian brain worms were probably at fault for when the Separatists recaptured the planet the first time.

In this episode, it again came down to the sacrafice of one life for thousands. Barriss asked Ahsoka to kill her because it would save others, just like in the “Weapons Factory” episode.

I give this episode 4.5 out of 5 for the idea of the brain worms, but it lacked something in execution (or maybe it was just because i watched it on my laptop). I was expecting more from this episode and it didn’t fulfill. The battles were sparse and shorter than expected. However, it was still enjoyable, and I’d like to see it on the TV instead of a russian website O_o. This episode also gets points for weaving the brain worms’ role into the whole plot (the loss of Geonosis and the warnings issued to clone troops in light of this incident).