Crooked Table Podcast: Episode 121 — Pete Langhelt / Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones

In the second installment of our retrospective on the Star Wars saga, Pete Langhelt of The Pete & Fran Podcast helps us separate the pains and joys that lie within Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. As the middle chapter in the divisive prequel trilogy, this entry remains one of the most polarizing among fans. But, aside from its romantic subplot, does George Lucas’ 2002 space opera hold up? Shake off your sand, and let’s hop onto the nearest speeder. Begun the Clone War has.

Every month for the rest of 2019, we’ll be discussing the next episode of the Star Wars saga, building up to the release of Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker in December. Check back next month as Jackson Smith joins us to talk Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones synopsis, courtesy of StarWars.com:

Ten years after the invasion of Naboo, the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of a renegade Jedi named Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), thousands of solar systems threaten to break away from the Galactic Republic. When an assassination attempt is made on Senator Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former Queen of Naboo, twenty-year-old Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is assigned to protect her. In the course of his mission, Anakin discovers his love for Padmé as well as his own darker side. Soon, Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) are drawn into the heart of the Separatist movement and the beginning of the Clone Wars.