When destiny calls, the chosen have no choice.
On the planet Mon Cala, tensions are rising between its two sentient species, the Mon Calamari and the Quarren, exacerbated by the recent murder of Mon Calamari king Yos Kolina, leaving his young son Lee-Char to take the throne. However, the Quarren are reluctant to accept him as monarch, believing him to be too young and inexperienced to lead. Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker arrive to represent the Galactic Republic in the hopes that peace can be maintained. However, the meeting goes poorly, as Separatist ambassador Riff Tamson, there at the request of the Quarren, inflames tensions, persuading them to swim out on any peace deal. Realizing that a civil war is inevitable, Anakin, Padmé and Captain Ackbar of the Mon Calamari guard call Master Yoda for reinforcements. As a force of clones led by Jedi Master Kit Fisto and Anakin's padawan Ahsoka arrive to assist the Mon Calamari, the Separatists also deploy reinforcements as the fight for Mon Cala begins.
Tropes:
- Alliterative Title: "Water War".
- Almost Out of Oxygen: Anakin gets jumped by a Quarren soldier who pulls his helmet off before Anakin kills him, and nearly drowns trying to get it back while fighting before Ahsoka returns it.
- Art Evolution: This is the first episode to use the Phase II clone trooper armor, even if it only appears briefly.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: Riff Tamson, representing the Confederacy of Independent Systems, is incredibly rude and demeaning to everyone else, especially Lee-Char. It's pretty clear he's there specifically to stir up conflict between Mon Cala's two peoples.
- Blatant Lies: When Ahsoka returns Anakin's helmet after he nearly drowns attempting to get it back, he says he had the situation completely under control. Her response is simply that she knew he was going to say something like that.
- Bloodless Carnage: There's a lot of people getting stabbed with bayonets and Riff Tamson swimming around biting people to death, but no blood at all.
- Call-Back: Separatist aqua-droids return from "ARC Troopers".
- Call-Forward: The head of the Mon Calamari guard is one Gial Ackbar. He even says "It's an attack!" in a nod to his famously memetic line "It's a trap!"
- The Cameo: Captain Rex has a brief appearance onboard the Jedi Cruiser that brought Kit, Ahsoka, and the scuba troopers to Mon Cala, telling Kit that everyone's ready for deployment.note
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Teenager Lee-Char is next in line for the throne of Mon Cala, but he's uncertain of whether he can be an effective ruler, something Riff Tamson preys upon during the council meeting. Lee-Char himself admits that he's not trained to lead an army.
- Dare to Be Badass: When Lee-Char notes that the Mon Calamari are cheering the Jedi reinforcements and not him, Ackbar hands him a rifle and tells him to make his people cheer for him, inciting him to join the action.
- Description Cut: Lee-Char tells the Mon Calamari "I do not believe that the Quarren will attack"... cut to the Quarren assembling outside the capital, ready to do just that.
- Electric Jellyfish: The hydroid medusas are colossal jellyfish whose tentacles constantly crackle with electricity and can induce fatal electrocution with a touch. In this case, this is justified due to them not being natural animals, but partly mechanical cyborgs created for war.
- Foreshadowing: It's made clear that Riff Tamson was sent to the Mon Calamari system to provoke conflict.
- Forgot About His Powers: When a Quarren pulls his helmet off, Anakin swims vainly after it instead of using the Force to pull it back.
- Guns Akimbo: Captain Ackbar, at one point during the battle, is seen wielding two rifles.
- Guns Firing Underwater: Blasters rather than guns, but otherwise played straight. Instead of the problem being drag the problem should be energy loss to the water, but the shielding around the bolt seems to block this effect.
- Honour Before Reason: Mon Calamari traditions demand that the inexperienced Lee-Char command the troops, even though he knows very little about what he's doing, something Anakin points out to him and Ackbar. Lee-Char also refuses to retreat to a safer position when Anakin insists he do so, since his place is with the soldiers.
- Immune to Bullets: The hydroid medusas are unaffected by blaster fire.
- In the Back: In the opening montage, Yos Kolina's corpse is seen floating in the throne room with a dagger in his back.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: During the second attack on the capital, Lee-Char is reluctant to retreat since he needs to be brave, but Ackbar stresses that being a commander means knowing when to press your advantage and when to sound a retreat — and right then isn't the time to be brave.
- The Mentor: Captain Ackbar serves as this for Lee-Char, giving him sound battle advice, spurring him into action, and consoling him that they did not fail in the end, but lived to fight another day.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: As stated above, this was the first episode to feature a clone trooper wearing Phase II armor. But Rex, who can be seen in the same shot, still wears his Phase I Armor, suggesting that not all clones have received their new armor yet.
- Pet the Dog: Despite being on opposing sides, Nossor Ri does offer his condolences to Lee-Char over his father's death.Nossor Ri: Your father was my trusted friend. I am sorry for your loss.
- Shout-Out: As the shark-like Riff Tamson swims about the battlefield after the Mon Calamari's retreat, for a moment the music sounds awfully familiar to the iconic Jaws theme.
- Tempting Fate: Lee-Char gives a speech where he says he doesn't believe the Quarren will attack. Naturally, the Separatist assault on the Mon Calamari capital begins moments later.
- Threatening Shark: Riff Tamson is a brutal, ruthless humanoid shark, and his preferred method of attack is to rush in and maul opponents with his jaws.
- Title Drop: "Water War" is the very first thing the narrator says in the opening of the episode.
- Unwitting Pawn: Count Dooku tells Tamson that Nossor Ri will be willing to deliver the planet into Separatist hands, and Ri doesn't know that the Separatists' plans involve leaving Tamson in control of the planet afterwards.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Kit Fisto doesn't wear a shirt at all for this episode. Justified as he is an aquatic alien himself and doesn't need diving gear to survive underwater.
