The Skywalker Saga Recap

Episode 2: Attack of the Clones Recap

    In date order, this is the fifth Star Wars film and the second film of the Prequal Trilogy. Cronalogically, this is the second episode of the Skywalker Saga and takes place 22 years before A New Hope.

    The film opens with the opening crawl saying that about 10 years have passed since the Battle of Naboo. The galaxy has been divided into two; one side is the Republic and the other side is the Separatists, who form the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Separatists are led by Count Dooku, a former Jedi who had left the Order. Now a Senator after her time of serving as Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala heads back to Corasaunt to vote against a creation of the Grand Army of the Republic; there aren't as much Jedi in the galaxy to keep the peace. Upon arrival, the ship suddenly explodes thanks to a bomb being placed there. Disguised as one of the pilots, Padme narrowly escapes the danger; she's been under an assassination attempt (and not for the first time either). Luckily, she survives, but ends up losing her body double Corde. After hearing, Chancellor Palpatine requests that she be put under the Jedi's protection.....specifically under the protection of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Apprentice, now 19-year-old Anakin Skywalker, who has grown strong in the Force over the years and has also developed feelings for Padme.

    That night, a bounty hunter, Zam Wessel, tries another attempt on Padme's life, but Obi-Wan and Anakin thwart it. Pursuing her through the streets above on a speeder, they both eventually lose her, but with perfect timing, Anakin jumps off with a curt "If you'll excuse me." for Obi-Wan and proceeds to fall down several feet before landing on her ship (Obi-Wan quipping, "I hate it when he does that.", hinting that this isn't the first time Anakin's pulled off that kind of stunt. What a show off).

    After meeting up at a bar, Obi-Wan and Anakin soon capture her, and since she was injured in the chase, they gently interrogate her, only for her to be shot with a dart by a mysterious person wearing Mandalorian armor. As she dies, her form changes, revealing herself to be a shapeshifting Clawdite. Therefore, the Jedi Council assigns Obi-Wan the task of tracking down the mysterious bounty hunter. In the meantime, Anakin is assigned the task of escorting Padme home to Naboo, where she'll be safer, and despite the Jedi Code saying that Jedi should form no bonds, Anakin and Padme end up falling in love.

    Meanwhile, Obi-Wan's investigation leads him to a mysterious planet called Kamio, which had been erased from the Jedi archives. There, he discovers a secret clone army being developed for the Republic and learns that Jedi Master Sifo-Dias (sorry if it isn't how it's spelled), who had been rumored to have died almost a decade ago had ordered this clone army and meets the clone template Jango Fett and his son Boba Fett. Believing Jango to be the killer he'd been looking for, Obi-Wan places a tracker on his ship Slave 1 after a failed attempt to capture him and follows him and Boba to the planet of Geonosis (again sorry if I spelled it wrong).

    Meanwhile, back on Naboo, Anakin has visions of his mother Shmi in pain and danger. Even though he's breaking strict rules to stay on Naboo (and he knows this), he nonetheless asks Padme to come to Tatooine with him. When they arrive, they meet up with Anakin's former slave master Watto, who reveals that he sold Shmi to moister farmer Clieeg Lars, who later not only freed her, but also married her. Arriving at the Lars homestead, Anakin and Padme encounter C-3PO, who's grateful to see his maker again after 10 years, and are introduced to Anakin's stepbrother Owen Lars, his girlfriend Beru, and Clieeg Lars, Anakin's stepfather. Clieeg reveals that Shmi had been kidnapped about a month ago by a band of Tuskain (again sorry if I made a spelling mistake on this) Raiders and is most likely dead about now. Determined to find her, Anakin searches for her, eventually arriving at a Tuskian settlement at nighttime. Arriving at one of the huts, he cuts through the wall with his lightsaber, and upon entering, finds his mother, all tied up and beaten badly; she's clearly in poor condition. He frees her from her bonds, and she's clearly happy to see her little Ani again after so long. But despite Anakin pleading her to stay with him, she dies in his arms, struggling out her last words "I love you." Enraged, he slaughters everyone at the camp-men, women, and children alike. He arrives back at the Lars place with his mother's body, and after confessing what he did to Padme, he vows to find a way to prevent the deaths of those he loves. Shmi's funeral is later held, and Anakin promises he won't fail his mother again.