Star Wars the Clone Wars "Counterattack" TV Review

Somebody's in trouble...

Want to watch this episode?  Head over to Starwars.com or follow this link. http://starwars.com/video/view/001234.html.  Episodes are put on the website the Monday after they air on TV, and are taken down two weeks later.
     As a follow up to "The Citadel," "Counterattack" doesn't do much special.  All of the things that were great about the first episode are pretty much true with it's sequel, with only a few differences.  Just like last time, the plot is pretty straightforward; having rescued Master Even Piell, Obi-Wan and Anakin split up with their respective squads as they try to escape the surface of the planet.
     Just like the previous episode, "Counterattack" has several fun nods to the original Star Wars films.  The biggest one is, of course, the addition of Captain Tarkin to the escape team.  It was great to see the future Grand Moff of the Death Star join Anakin's group, leading to some interesting character development between the two, perfectly setting the stage for their alliance in A New Hope.  I liked how Tarkin got Anakin agreeing with him that the Jedi's peace-keeping methods were slowing the war effort, and how that mutual agreement managed to spawn their respect for one another.  It was also funny to watch Tarkin snub Ahsoka just because she was young.
     In terms of action scenes, this episode managed to deliver, although the majority of them weren't up to par with the shootouts in "The Citadel."  That said, one thing this episode did better than "The Citadel" was ratch up both the tension and the sense of peril.  To this end were three deaths, each bringing something new to raise the stakes.  For those sensitive to spoilers, I recommend that you skip to the end of my review.  The first death involved a clone trooper getting sliced in half - it was cleverly played, and managed to be grisly without actually showing it happen.  The second was carried out by Osi Sobeck, the warden of the Citadel, as he mercilessly executes one of the clones.  While his character was a bit annoying at times, this scene fortunately made up for that.  The final death is the one that I want to talk the most about.  You know how I complained about the lack of tension in the previous episode do to the overuse of "redshirts?"  This episode managed to break that crutch by killing off Echo, a clone trooper that we've gotten to know over the series, most notably from one of the best Season One episodes, "Rookies."  His death did seem a bit contrived, but in the end the effect was the same.  Everbody is vulnerable.
Conclusion:  In many ways "Counterattack" could be dismissed as just more of the same, but it managed to stand out for it's increase in tension, and the awesome inclusion of the soon to be Grand Moff Tarkin.
Rating: 8/10 "Great"
Favorite Moment (Spoilers):  With some reservations, I'm going to have to choose Echo's death.  There was a good sense of tragedy with his charred helmet lying on the ground and the background music, but it did feel a bit cheap, considering how he blindly ran for the ship even as he saw the turret fire coming towards him.  It's also a bit sad that Fives is now the sole survivor of the Domino Squad.  My heart's out for ya, buddy.