The Clone Wars

Episode 5.14: Eminence

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

We start the episode off with Maul and Savage on board an escape pod, barely conscious, and cold. Another ship piloted by Death Watch soldiers including their leader, Pre Vizsla, and his right hand lieutenant, Bo-Katan, board them. Vizsla orders their weapons to be taken off them and, curious about their stories, picks them up and revives them in their camp on planet Zanbar. Maul was first to fully heal and received new robotic legs from the medical droids at the camp. He then spoke to Vizsla and learned about the Death Watch, and their motives on “reclaiming” Mandalore and how the Duchess, Satine Kryze, was the cause of their downfall, and has powerful allies including Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul believes it was the Will of the Force that brought the two together as they both share the hatred towards that particular Jedi. They eventually decide to team up to help both kill Kenobi and take back Mandalore together.

Savage wakes with a new robotic arm of his own to replace the one he lost, and follows Maul’s lead to form an alliance with the Death Watch, but Maul still believes that their soldiers will not be strong enough to take over Mandalore by themselves. They quickly go to planet Mustafar to threaten leaders of the Black Sun crime organization and get supplies of off them. Word of their building army spreads in the underworld attracting members of the spice traders of Pyke Syndicate to also join them. Death Watch then travel to Nal Hutta to meet with the Hutt Grand Council for their resources but are rejected and have bounty hunters Embo, Dengar, Sugi and Latts Razzi set on them. This sparks a big fight between the two parties and all the Hutts apart from Oruba escape only narrowly with Death Watch letting the bounty hunters go free. Through Oruba Death Watch then know travel to Tatooine to seek Jabba and finally enlist him into their army. Tensions between Maul and Vizsla run high and it is revealed that Vizsla and Bo-Katan are planning to, after taking back Mandalore, kill off Maul and Savage, but the episode ends there.

This episode was pretty awesome, with the return of Maul and Savage teaming with Death Watch, and the appearance of some Bounty Hunters and underground organizations like the Black Sun.

Just to begin with the very idea of the deadly brothers pairing up with Mandalorians is a very cool enough thought as is, but then on top of that we have the standard leadership tensions and secretive plans against each other. Plus the enlisting and forming of an underground army, and some pretty slick Bounty Hunter battles, with some being one on one, it was more than enough to make a really exciting episode. It’s the first episode of the arc and I feel it really hints at something big happening in the near future and things really changing. I’m looking forward to it.

The only major fault I can complain about in the episode was how quickly Death Watch got the help of the Black Sun and maybe even Pyke Syndicate, just because of the little screen time they had, causing the episode to seem rushed, or bullet pointed. I, personally, looked well past this fault once I noticed it. The other positive aspects of the episode were too good to ignore even for a small time noticing the episodes flaws. It was really well done by the Clone Wars team, and I’m looking forward to the next installments.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.13: Point of No Return

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

In the last three episodes we saw the D-Squad successfully steal a Separatist decoding module, crash land on planet Abafar and find a vessel to escape the planet to finish their mission. Leaving the planet the team find a nearby Republic cruiser and board it, only to find out that the ship is completely controlled by Separatist droids. The ship goes into hyperspace however, forcing them all to stay on board, and the team to hide from the roaming droids everywhere.

The squad then figure out that the whole ship is loaded with the highly explosive rhydonium in lines of cannisters, and the intentions of the Separatists: flying right to and blowing up an important Republic Strategy conference, one with Jedi Council members and Republic officers. They then catch a rabbit droid spying on them, BNI-393, or Bunny for short, who explains to them that they are one of a very small numbers of other Republic droids in waiting for someone to save them by piloting them to safety. Bunny and his friends then join tag along with the team. As it turns out Bunny wasn’t the only one spying. The D-Squad soon give chase to a fast, Separatist buzz droid who is quickly backed up with a whole swarm of even more buzz droids. Surrounded, and trapped the D-Squad try to fend them off but there are too many of the buzz droids. M5-BZ opens the air-lock and causes the buzz droids to be sucked into space, as well as himself as a sacrifice for the mission.

As the ship comes out of hyperspace the D-Squad have already implemented a plan to save the day. R2-D2 rigs the bombs to go off earlier than expected and distracts the super battle droid on board while the others make a run for the ship they arrived on and get ready to escape. In the heat of the moment the ship leaves without R2-D2, and the whole bomb explodes as all the droids but R2 fly off to safety. They then contact the nearby Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi and inform them of all that had happened, causing Anakin to send out a search party that recovered R2 and fully repaired him again. In the end Gascon, the D-Squad leader, commends R2-D2 and his bravery, and says he would be proud to work with all of the droids another day.

This episode was a lot like most episodes of The Clone Wars with highlight points that were pretty neat to see.

The graphics in this episode need to be outlined yet again, this time for the use of light and shadow on board the Separatist ship, and also in its very pretty explosion of colour and metal chunks in space.

In this episode we also saw Tarkin again serving the Rebublic as a general beside Anakin and Obi-Wan, as well as a few other small cameo-like appearances including a cute gonk droid and the use of the signature line “It’s a trap!” by Gascon after being surrounded by Buzz droids. It’s very cool to see little things like this pop up on the show, and I really enjoyed it. My younger brother who I watch the show with in particular liked the gonk droid and built it out of LEGO to play with for hours after watching.

Point of No Return is the fourth and final episode of the droid arc before an arc with the return of Darth Maul and Savage Oppress, and to be quite frank I’m a little glad. This arc had it’s highs but the story seems a little dragged out for me, and I’m just waiting for the exciting new arc that comes next. I think that I’m glad the droid arc happened, but also glad its over at the same time.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.12: Missing in Action

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

In the last episode the D-Squad found a town after crash landing on the planet Abafar. Trying to find food Colonel Gascon and WAC were in the trash cans after they were kicked out of a diner run by Borkus, a mean Sullustan, they came across a kind human, Gregor. Gascon recognises him as a clone immediately, although Gregor has no idea that he is in fact one. The human then goes back into the diner to finish his shift as a dish washer under Borkus. Together the D-Squad follow the human back to his home he rents from Borkus higher than his pay, therefore being trapped on the planet almost as a slave.

Gascon explains how Gregor is a clone and how he was created to serve the Republic under orders. The droids scan his wrist for a code that identifies Gregor as not just a normal clone, but a clone commando, said lost in one of the Republic worst defeats in the Battle of Sarrish. Gregor agrees to help the D-Squad get off the planet, and help them complete their mission, but first looks for his old equipment. The search takes them to the diner where the over-looking Borkus reveals himself both to have the equipment and claim to have Gregor in a life debt. The team ties Borkus up and leaves despite his warning that they’ll never get off the planet. They head for a heavily Separatist guarded landing station, find a shuttle and formulate a kind of plan. Gregor, now full suited up in clone commando armour, shoots all the droids the D-Squad come across allowing them all to board the ship and escape. Gregor stays on the planet to cover the ship by shooting explosive cans of Rhydonium and promise the others that one day he’ll return to serve the Republic again.

This episode was advertised as the 100th episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and that’s super crazy, for me to think about at least. A small show with humble animation beginnings, all the way to now, with Darth Maul returning, Clone Commandos and other clone ranks fighting a war, Chewbacca appearing, Jedi and Sith fighting, bounty hunters being really cool, and even politicians… talking, plus there’s even more to come.

Fan of what’s portrayed in the series or not,  it’s an amazing feat and memorable contribution to the Star Wars franchise in a whole that can’t be ignored.

Back to your regular review. This episode was quite standard, but it had it’s highlights. Gregor, I’m not going to lie, was more than a little fantastic, especially at the end of the episode when he was in commando gear and shooting really accurately and rolling and jumping all over the place. Pretty much stealing the whole episode. His courage and loyalty is also worth the mention, with him not fully remembering his past but dropping everything for the squad was great of him. The scenes where he was in his small flat staring  at the face of Captain Rex with the light of the hologram bouncing off of dust particles, and when Gregor remembers slightly the Battle of Sarrish and all the men he lost, were both actually very touching.

Gregor’s fate at the end of the episode was portrayed very sneakily with him making a promise of return but then having the landing bay explode from the tins he was shooting. I do however, have my bets on him surviving that encounter. If he will return to the show, I don’t know, but will be very happy to see him if he does.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.11: A Sunny Day in the Void

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

Last episode we saw a group of droids, including R2-D2 and enthusiastic pit droid WAC-47, lead by Colonel Gascon- form the D-Squad, a team who together stole a vital decoding module from a Separatist vehicle. On their way back to Coruscant, however, their ship is caught in the middle of a storm of ice comets and damages the ship’s power. The astromech droids of the team fix the ship as much as they can from the outside, but can not repair it entirely, forcing them to crash land on the unusual planet Abafar, with a yellow-orange sky and white, dry, flat terrain. Gascon orders the squad to stay with the ship, but R2-D2, with the encryption module, decides to finish the mission himself and leaves them, and is soon followed reluctantly by the rest.

They journey for a long while and tempers rise as Gascon states his thoughts on being better than programming or droids and therefore can lead them. They find a similar shipwreck to their own with rusted droids and skeletons of the crew. It’s now that Gascon begins to loose both his mind and the will to live as is desperate to finish the mission. WAC appoints himself leader but R2-D2, with the other astromech droids and the module, moves on without the pit droid and Gascon. The pair are forced to work together and find a stampeding pack of striped, featherless, emu-like creatures which they ride on until they stop for water at a nearby city where they find the other droids had already found. The episode concludes with Gascon promoting WAC to Corporal.

The most predominant aspect when watching this episode was, without a doubt, the visual art.

Planet Abafar and it’s wastelands were such an odd match of colour and very curious to look at, especially with the use of sudden long shots in point of conversation and panning of the camera. The basic colours the episode used also made odd objects really stand out, like Gascon’s drink bottle, in specific times when viewing. According to Dave Filoni, the episode was a nod at Mœbius and his comic book art, and was very experimental.

The episode had underlining themes, it’s most predominant being what to trust, Gascon’s training, the droid’s programming, or the creature’s instincts; and which ones were successful. There were also mentions of things like suicide, insanity and life in Gascon, where the younger audience wouldn’t have really understood, like my younger brother who helped me review last episode. It was a very different approach from last episode where I said it was obviously aimed at this younger audience, so I wonder what the next will bring.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.10: Secret Weapons

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

In order to decode an uncovered message by General Grievous, the Jedi send a group of droids including R2-D2 into a Separatist ship to retrieve a decoding module. Mace Windu first briefs the four astromech droids and WAC, an overenthusiastic pit droid, on the mission before introducing them to Colonel Meebur Gascon, who is set to lead them. He starts off by showing the droids a plan of entry, and then, with Dr. Gubacher, fitting them all with upgrades like booster rockets and magnets, all apart from WAC, who is ordered just to fly the ship for them.

In order to prove himself a good pilot WAC sets their course right for the target ship. Because of this the group are forced to land on the ship and are immediately caught out by Separatist droids. Because of Colonel Gascon’s small size and the modifications to green droid M5-BZ, a compartment for him to sit, the group are able to be escorted out of the ship and sent down a corridor. When they’re alone with two Separatists they make their escape and start their mission.

They all solve many issues that arise with the droid’s new modifications, to move on, as well as solving arguments between the strict Gascon and over enthusiastic WAC when it was revealed that Gascon is a “map reader” and hasn’t ever been in a battle to “prepare him for a crisis”. They all end up getting to the  vault, however, and are about to retrieve the decoding module when the commander of the ship, Aut-O and other droids show up to investigate small issues coming from the level of the ship. After R2-D2 pushes a button that turns off gravity they all battle floating around aimlessly. However, the team works together and defeats the droids and successfully steal the module, and escape the place in time.

The episode was very basic. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped to.

The characters of WAC and Gascon really stood out in a bad way, and everything else was sort of standard of a television series. The episode just had so much more potential in it, I really believe in the series, but this episode just drained that energy out.

It’s obvious the episode was made for a younger audience, and this was proved by my little brother’s unfaltered love for the episode, talking endlessly after viewing about his favourite droid, QT-KT with pink paint, and drawing R2-D2 for me, who I said in turn was my favourite droid. Very cute. I realize the episode wasn’t meant for me, so I asked my brother on his thoughts on the episode directly to which he replied:

“I liked the robots and stuff and I wish I could make a robot too and there are a type of robot called a droid and are really cool, some are bad guys some are good guys and… yeah. That’s it. Full stop.”

So there you have it.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.09: A Necessary Bond

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

We take off from last episode with six Jedi younglings and Ahsoka escaping from the pirate’s base on planet Florrum in a stolen speeder.  Under the lead of Hondo, some pirates take pursuit and attack them as they try to contact Ganodi in their ship with droids R2-D2 and Huyang. In the end both crafts are shot down by the pirates and they are all captured and brought back to their base.

When they return however, they find the whole base overrun with Separatist droid forces led by General Grievous with orders from Count Dooku. Many pirates are captured, including Hondo himself, and the pirate’s belongings and crafts are all burnt down. Outside of the camp, Ahsoka talks the pirates holding her and the younglings hostage and explains there’s no reasoning with the Separatists. They formulate a plan to free Hondo and on board his secret fleet, escape the planet together. Using R2 as a distraction they sneak into Hondo’s cell to rescue him.

There he is persuaded by the younglings to join forces after they show him their finished lightsabers, all but Katooni’s whose weapon she never finished creating. With guidance from Ganodi and encouragement from Hondo she successfully creates and activates her own blade, and with it frees Hondo and his men. In a ground battle against the droids the pirates escape on speeders to Hondo’s secret fleet. The pirates are about to escape by themselves and leave the younglings behind when Hondo’s mind is changed after Katooni pleads with him and says she and the others trusted him to help them.

Ahsoka distracts General Grievous who followed them in a fight letting the younglings flee with the pirates. She herself only narrowly escapes jumping from a ledge to the safety of the ship. They fly to the nearest Jedi cruiser with Obi-Wan and Commander Cody on board and concludes the arc and an “eventful mission”.

This episode, being the last of the four-part arc, was quite entertaining. The music, chases and battles all stood out as being the best parts. The episode started in a heated pursuit and the eagerness of what would happen next ran through the whole episode, with the appearance of Grievous and his droids causing ground battles, daring escapes, and speeder chases, as well as the battle between Ahsoka and the General himself. So great to see.

When watching the episode I paid close attention to lighting and colours, as well as the dusty background of Florrum. It had an effect on the tone of the episode, and I really liked it. The secret fleet hidden in the rocks to the little nooks and cliffs of the terrain is something to take note of during the episode.

The character of Hondo, who we’ve been seeing a lot of now, has shown his witty and better side again, triggered by the younglings, namely Katooni, which was fun to see in him come back again. The younglings themselves had little screen time this episode but have visibly changed in little moments, like the shy Byph wanting to fight and being energetic, and the rebellious and impatient Petro take orders and fulfill them well.

I’m happy for the episode and the youngling’s mission. The ending scene really put their age into perspective, and I’m overall happy with this story arc.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.08: Bound for Rescue

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

With Ahsoka being held by space pirates led by Hondo, and the lightsaber-making robot Huyang in pieces, the younglings are alone with R2-D2 on their ship. They are able to briefly contact the nearest Republic fleet lead by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody. Kenobi tells the younglings to stay put and wait for them to be rescued and then they will retrieve Ahsoka from the pirates. They are however, cut short by a Separatist attack in space lead by General Grevious, who boards and takes over their ship. In return Kenobi evacuates in escape pods and sets the craft to self destruct, leaving Grevious, Kenobi, Cody and other clones in space.

Waiting for Obi-Wan are the younglings back on their ship, who pass time by creating their lightsabers, in which all succeed apart from Katooni. After the younglings vote down an idea formed by Petro to rescue Ahsoka themselves, Zatt tells the others of a malfunction with the ship’s cooling systems. They need to land and let the engines reboot or they risk exploding, so it is decided that they will land on planet Florrum where Hondo and his pirates live.

Landing and getting Ganodi and R2 to stay with the ship for a quick exit, the younglings walk to the pirates camp, formulating a plan on the way. On their travels they find the “Traveling World of Wonder” a traveling carnival troupe lead by Preigo which they manage to join using acrobatic skills they show using the force. The show goes to the pirates camp in preparations for performing for the pirates and Hondo himself.

Disguised in costume the younglings, in performing their acrobatic tricks, involved the drunk Hondo in the act, stealing Ahsoka’s lightsabers from his belt and flinging him off in the room. Only when Ahsoka is freed and the younglings turn to run do the pirates recognize the younglings. The traveling carnival group also flee on their own way by themselves. Ahsoka escapes in a stolen speeder though, with the younglings wielding their newly built lightsabers, apart from Katooni. As drive away to their ship Ahsoka thanks them all and after hearing that they broke rules tells them how her Master taught that “doing the right thing sometimes means bending the rules.”

This episode was a nice turn out. The arc, perhaps, is feeling a little bit stretched out and maybe predictable, maybe because of how little we hear of the younglings separately, but it was the only major flaw. This episode we see the lightsabers the younglings built in a little more detail, and most of them activated, some with green and others with blue blades, but not Katooni’s. Why, I don’t know.

The space battle with Obi-Wan, Cody versus Grievous was a nice breather from how the arc is telling itself. The battles in space are progressively getting better and I’m happy to see more of them in the future. Some of the shots next to ships sipping about reminded me of some of the original films, even.

The youngling’s costume and acrobatic skills were something to look at too. It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t remember it whilst watching the episode the first time. It was afterwards I saw the resemblance to the movie A Bug’s Life with bugs in leafy costumes jumping around in a carnival themselves, similar to the younglings.

Hondo in this episode was a bit odd. I thought him a bit creepy to Ahsoka, being his hostage, but he was very naive and drunk by the time the carnival arrived, and let Ahsoka slip right through his fingers. There is a part of me that wants him back again though in more Clone Wars, and I have a feeling it’ll be soon, since he has appeared in every arc of the season at least once.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.07: A Test of Strength

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

On the youngling’s journey back to The Jedi Temple on Coruscant with Ahsoka, they meet the droid Huyang, who will teach them how to construct their own lightsabers. Huyang instructs them to use the force to feel what kind of lightsaber they need, and with his memory bank of thousands of Jedi and their sabers, gathers the materials needed from a room of draws. Just as the younglings are assembling their sabers, the ship shakes as space pirates, lead by Hondo Ohnaka, attack the ship. Their aim is to board the easy target as they see it, and steal the valuable lightsaber crystals for profit. Huyang takes all of the lightsaber crystals but Petro’s, who hides his in the folds of his Jedi robes.

Quickly, as the pirates board the ship, Ahsoka hides in the ventilation system with the others and formulates a plan to split up. Zatt and Ganodi are to go to the cockpit with R2 D2 and secure it from pirates, while Huyang and the other younglings are to lock themselves in the hold where Ahsoka says she will re-rout the power to the engines of the ship and blast off, sending the pirates sucked into space with everyone else safe inside the ship. Zatt and Ganodi manage to fend off the pirates and complete their goal, with Ahsoka also managing to get to the engines without making a scene. The others, however, are found by the pirates in the ventilation and are cornered. Petro, with his crystal and the faulty lightsaber he made in a rush, tricked one of the pirates to activate it and knock them all back. The younglings escape, with only Huyang being slightly damaged.

Petro convinces the others that they should fight the pirates, not sneak around, and they work together to activate lightsaber training drones and set a trap for a few pirates. Walking away from that however they meet face to face with Hondo on their way to the hold. Ahsoka arrives though, to find the younglings, and protect them, fighting with Hondo and providing a distraction for the others to go. They go to the cockpit and Ahsoka gives the order to Zatt to fly from the pirate ship. The suction does suck pirates into space, but also a number, along with Hondo, onto the pirate craft. Ahsoka, who was at the entrance and made sure Hondo was sucked out, was knocked by another pirate and also brought onboard with the pirates, and now in their custody.

This episode, again, was quite different from the last. It was very well done where it made you think about what was going to happen next, and worry about the characters. We saw the younglings in action, using their skills and strengths for good, and putting differences beside them to work together without another thought.

With Hondo in the other episodes this season being depicted as Obi-Wan’s friends and a funny character, we were reminded here that he isn’t a good always a good guy, he’s just a greedy and harsh pirate and wants his pay. No matter who’s in the way, or who is the profit. This made it hard to choose a side between the two parties; the peaceful children who are learning any Star Wars loving kid’s dream to build a lightsaber, or a pack of rowdy men who’ve taken it upon themselves to attack and raid an easy target for a reward. But is led by Hondo.

I’d have loved to see more of the younglings individually have actions that effect the situation for good, but apart from that I have no complaints. The episode wasn’t as predictable as the last, and was very entertaining for me at least. My brother, who was a big fan of last weeks episode, loved and hated the pirates. He knows Hondo and how he helped the Jedi in a few episodes back, so was confused and angry at him for interrupting the younglings making their lightsabers, to which we may or may not have been taking notes on so we could build ours ourselves.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.06: The Gathering

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

With the raging Clone Wars being battled out, the need for new Jedi to become generals and fight in the war has become great. A group of Jedi younglings who are the top of their clan embark on an important training exercise to build their own lightsabers, called the gathering, on the snowy planet Ilum. Escorted by Ahsoka Tano, the six younglings include the reckless human Petro, the Tholothian Katooni, the tech-savvy Nautolan Zatt, the Rodian Ganodi, the Wookiee Gungi and the shy Ithorian Byph.

When they arrived on Ilym they came together and used the Force collectively to open a secret cave in the mountains where they met Master Yoda. He tells the children how they need to harvest their own crystals through in a large cave with its entrance being made of ice. He uses the Force to open a slit in the ceiling and moves a delicate contraption above them to focus the sun’s rays onto the entrance. Ahsoka warns the younglings that the door will freeze back over when the day ends, and with that they all depart.

Petro, impatient, splits from the group to search for his own crystal by himself. When he finds what he believes to be it he grabs it from the ice hanging of a cliff and returns to the exit. It melts, however, by the time he arrives to show it to Master Yoda, and is sent to return back into the cave. The other younglings have all slowly split up by now. Katooni finds the confidence to climb a ledge to reach her crystal. Gungi was forced to sit and mediate patiently for a path to freeze so he could find his. Byph struggled to push fears behind him and gain the courage to take his crystal from an opening that resembled a mouth of a monster, where Zatt learned to trust his senses rather than his technology to find his jammed in the wall. And finally, after almost losing hope, Ganodi found the right crystal in a secret cavern full of them using the Force. They are all together at the exit again apart from the wandering Petro and Katooni.

In the cave again Katooni falls into a small room, trapped by a layer of ice making one of the walls. The passing Petro sees her, and is forced to decide between helping her or himself. He returns after trying to find his crystal in vain and together they break the ice. Katooni escapes, but the ice door closes behind her as Petro stayed to harvest his crystal from the ice that the pair cracked. He smashes it, however, also revealing it could be broken with enough power and the younglings were in now danger. He also tells each of the learners the values they’ve learned, of courage, hope, patience, trust, confidence and selflessness. Ahsoka then guides them back into the ship they came from to return to the temple.

The most noticeable thing about this episode was that the tone of was very different. From the arc, with its rebels, battles and a major character death, we see a small peaceful group of Jedi younglings learning. It was clear the episode was aimed at a younger audience, and it succeeded at that. I showed the episode to my little brother and he couldn’t peel away from it. After I showed him he wanted to go on his own adventure to find his own lightsaber crystal in the backyard.

As expected, being an episode for younger minds, the plot and characters were very predicable, almost cliché. Knowing that this is going to be another arc, it’s not hard to come to the conclusion about what happens next episode.  I’m anticipating this arc to see how my brother reacts to what ever happens to our younglings.

This episode was adorable. It’s so interesting to see what children aliens from Star Wars look when smaller, plus they’re just too darn cute! In the prologue of the episode we even saw a baby Ahsoka being found by Plo Koon. The younglings weren’t the only things that caught my eye though. We obviously got to see the icy planet Ilum, which is great. The episode has a blue glow and white specks through the whole thing, showcasing the great animation over and over again. The small flakes of ice on the Wookiee Gungi’s fur to the huge caves full of ice stalagmites and stalactites the episode was as visually stunning as ever.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.05: Tipping Points

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

The rebels, with help from a hologram of former king, Ramsis Dendup, have completely earned the people of planet Onderon’s trust, and we see the city of Iziz especially start to rise up to the small Separatist droid patrols around the town. In response, super tactical droid Kalani sends a large group of droids and gunships to attack the rebels and take them out in one blow, and set the people in line out of fear. Steela, now leader of the rebels and general of the old Onderson forces, discuss their next move and location to attack. Saw wants to battle in the city, Iziz, but Steela argues lives will be in danger there. It is decided to lure the battle in the highlands to minimize risk. While everyone is departing Steela quickly kisses Lux, “just in case” with Ahsoka seeming unfazed, if anything, she’s happy for the two.

The droids arrive and a huge ground battle starts with the Separatist forces against the mix of military and rebels. The latter side seems to be winning until the gunships arrive. The powerful weapons easily shoot down enemies and have a ray shield that nothing the rebels have can get through. Ahsoka contacts Obi-Wan and Anakin pleading for the help of Republic. Obi-Wan says however that there’s nothing they can do to help an internal affair, and that it’s best to evacuate. After the hologram is cut off, though, Anakin introduces the idea of another party getting involved, Hondo Ohnaka, to help the rebels. Anakin travels to his base and, after paying the pirate, gets him to deliver rocket launchers to aid in the battle.

Still in a harsh battle, Hondo delivers the cargo at the perfect time, Saw goes right ahead and uses one of the rockets on a gunship and knocks it down from the air. One gunship however found the “nest” where Dendup and a few guards are hiding. Steela, Ahsoka and Lux race to protect him from the gunship and the droids it has. Steela manages to shoot the last of the droids just before it got to Dendup, but a nearby falling gunship shot down by Saw cuts their celebration short. The edge of the cliff falls of, and Steela manages to shove Dendup to safety at her own cost. She struggles to hold on and Lux tries to help, but he too would end up falling if it wasn’t for Ahsoka who force lifts him to safety. Ahsoka lifts Steela as is about to grab her hand when from the rubble of the fallen gunship, it blasts Ahsoka, hitting her in the shoulder. Steela is left to fall to her death.

Tactical droid Kalani sees no way out of the battle and receives orders from Count Dooku to withdraw the army. He also shoots the current false king Sanjay Rash, and marks the end of the battle. The rebels mourn the death of Steela, and a ceremony is held in front of the now free Onderon. There Obi-Wan and Anakin remark on Ahsoka and Steela’s journeys, as well and Lux revealing to Ahsoka that he’s joined the Republic and is the newly elected Senator of Onderon.

This episode was fantastic in its action and battles. We got to see Hondo again, proving to be quite friendly with the Jedi now, or a regular to the show, and it’s always a pleasure to see him. In the past we’ve seen the rebels acting as terrorists causing mischief in the city, but we’d yet to see them in battle until now, and it was a great way to end this arc. The episode was full of action, and was enjoyable that way.

Unfortunately someone spoiled Steela’s death for me before I saw the episode and at first I was shocked, but then I had high expectations of how her death was to be played out. Her death was shown as a gateway to free the people of Onderon, she was seen as a martyr and a great spirit, but also the cost of the war. It was nice to see, and a fitting end for the character and arc.

The characters we’ve seen for a few episodes now all change to work together in the end. Saw, especially, is still his active, straight-to-the-point self, but he’s proud of his sister Steela and even says so.

The minor things I was a little disappointed with was Lux, to begin with. He didn’t have much of a character change throughout the arc, and didn’t contribute too much over the average background rebel, even less than that. His relationship with Ahsoka and Steela towards the end was just getting confusing, but I hope Steela’s death and Ahsoka pushing her feelings aside means that he doesn’t get tangled up with anyone again.

But, the arc ended on a good, happy note. The people are free, the rightful king is back in place, and the planet is added onto the seat of the Republic, which is a win, but there’s always the cost.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.04: The Soft War

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

We left off in the capital of Onderon where the rebels are still in a continuous battle against the Separatist droid army and false king, Sanjay Rash. Rash still has the belief from last episode that the past king, Ramsis Dendup, who he has in hostage, is leading these attacks by the rebels or “terrorists”, even when Dendup repeats that the people themselves are rebelling. In response to the attacks and not being happy with Dendup’s reply, Rash orders his execution the next day in an effort to stop the rebels. Aiding the King’s decision was Separatist super tactical droid Kalani sent by Count Dooku to lead droids, and General Tandin who leads the Onderon army, and has since the fall and rise on the new king and introduction of droids on the planet. The pair have different tactics and ideas in dealing with the rebels, causing some tension between them.

News of the execution of Dendup comes to the ears of Dono, a rebel and a familiar face we’ve seen in past episodes. Ahsoka, rebel leader Steela and jealous brother Saw discuss what the next move will be, Steela wants to prepare and free Dendup the next day at the execution, where Saw wants to go and free him now. Saw and Steela argue until Saw leaves on his own accord. Dono, under Steela’s orders, quietly follows him from a distance. Ahsoka is worried for Saw, and the others in the morning and looks to Obi-Wan and Anakin for help, but decides to follow their orders and only help them if it’s needed. Steela is starting to make plans for the next day when Lux joins her. She starts to explain her plan but is distracted by Lux. She asks him to “stop looking at her like that”, and after repeatedly apologizing, Lux leaves to fetch the other rebels for a discussion.

Meanwhile, using a grappling hook, Saw breaks into the prison and finds Dendup. After brief discussion with him telling him of the rebels and gaining his trust, their conversation is cut short when Saw tries to land his grappling hook on the ceiling to escape, but is stopped by a one-way shield. Alarms immediately go off signalling to droids and the nearby Dono of his capture. The rebels were speaking to each other about the plan and Ahsoka was revealing her decision not to interfere where possible when Dono runs in and tells them about Saw’s capture. When Lux and some rebels get ready to go save him, Steela stops them, telling them that they don’t have the resources to help him and Dendup. Ahsoka agrees, adding the comment that Anakin told her earlier  “purpose must come before feelings.”

Saw is then tortured by Kalani and Tandin for information on the location of the other rebels. Saw doesn’t say, and when Kalani is about to almost kill Saw, Tandin gives the order to release him. Tandin and Saw talk about the Separatists, the latter making a note about not the rebels being terrorist, but patriots, and not simply causing havoc but resisting the droids that have been left to take over. The city then gathers for the execution of Dendup by orders of Rash by droids, with Tandin looking on from a distance. Just as two droids are about to hit the lever of the machine that’s about to kill, Steela gives the signal and shoots them with her sniper. Lux throws two smoke grenades that cause chaos on the platform and there’s an intense battle between the rebels and droids forces. Just when they’re about to escape, Dono is shot in the torso by a super battle droid, one of many that surround the rebels. They are all held captive now, and are all about to be executed, much to the town’s horror, when Tandin and a few of his men come and hold back the droids letting them all escape, but Tandin. Ahsoka pushes the droids around him over and allow them to flee. The people then rise up and destroy the droids who try to follow them in pursuit.

The rebels under Steela’s rule, and the army under the rule of Tandin unite under the guide of Dendup, and are preparing for more Separatist attacks from Count Dooku. Ahsoka reports back to Obi-Wan and Anakin, and is told that any decisions on sending help from them will be up to the Council.

This episode showed a number of themes and a growing amount of build-up to the end of the arc, and was very enjoyable. I found there to be a lot more action and politics than the love triangle or any sort of relationships between characters, but a good mix. Things are getting a lot more complicated between a whole range of difference characters at this point in the story line, and a lot goes unanswered. I’m hoping for a satisfying finale where we finally hear what Lux is feeling to get it out there, the rebels to conquer and win back the planet, and for the Separatists to leave the planet.

What stood out for me in this episode was the breaking down of a “good” and a “bad” side. It’s more complicated than that. The Separatists and the Republic were both mentioned by Dendup to be corrupt, which is true, so the whole ordeal, with the Jedi and their little involvement, makes it seem like it’s not an ordinary battle between good and bad, rather, a battle between the people of a planet and what’s best for them.

I was interested in the advice that Anakin and Obi-Wan gave to Ahsoka, and her attitude towards the whole thing. Anakin, for one, has said to stay focused on the task at hand, and that purpose comes before feelings, when he himself is married and will soon let his emotions turn him into a dark lord, but he seems to be a great teacher for Ahsoka, who is a lot like her Master. Ahsoka was obviously worried about the rebels, mostly Lux and Steela, since she trained and has been with them, so not being involved in the battle to release Dendup would’ve been hard for her. She’s made some great progress in the arc so far.

The arc is getting better at building up for the finale, and I have high hopes for the conclusion of the story about the rebels on Onderon.

The Clone Wars

Episode 5.03: Front Runners

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

In the city of Iziz, on planet Onderon, a group of rebels, under the guidance of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Clone Captain Rex,  and Ahsoka Tano, conduct pockets of attacks on droid forces around the city in front of the public. King of Onderon, Sanjay Rash, referring to the attacks as terrorist crimes, fears for himself as calls upon the mistreated Ramsis Dendup, who was king before Sanjay, and blames him for the attacks. He, however, actually has nothing to do with the attacks or the rebels, and tells the king this, saying that the cause of the uprisings were caused by his decision to bring Separatist droids to authority on the planet.

In a meeting with the Jedi and rebels for discussing their next move, it is decided that the rebels must win the people’s trust in order to continue. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex leave the planet to report to the Jedi Council on the progress, leaving Ahsoka as an adviser with a quick word from her Master to stay focused. To win the people’s trust Lux suggests attacking the city’s main power source to stop the droids in order to progress in their endeavour. Saw sneaks around and steals a droids head for the plans to the centre and they all formulate a plan on hijacking a tank and using it to blow up the power source.

The rebels conduct the plan successfully, taking out droids and droidekas and finally Lux and Saw take over a tank with ease. Steela has to help Saw to start-up the tank again however, even though Saw claims he could to it himself. The tank takes out several layers of defense around the generator, and the rebels shoot special commando droids before they take out the generator and cause no energy to go to the city. In darkness the rebels take out more droids they find and finally earn the people’s trust. A win for the rebels, they celebrate and elect a leader: Steela. Saw doesn’t seem to approve and walks away from the others, but Steela follows even when Lux objects to her seeing him. Steela simply remarks that he is her brother. Ahsoka, perhaps becoming aware or jealous of Lux and Steela’s relationship has to be reminded by her master again in a hologram to stay on task. The Jedi also warn the rebels via the hologram about Count Dooku and how his involvement in the battle could now become reality. This is true as in the temple, the King Rash contacts Count Dooku for more droid reinforcements. Dooku agrees and also promises to send Kalani, another droid who will act as general and “do well where Rash has failed.”

This episode was generally a good one, with a focus on the battle the rebels and the droids are facing rather than mostly drama between characters, but it finds a good balance between the two. I thought it was an improvement from last episode, and hope the next has this similar balance. The episode ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger, with the introduction of Kalani, a droid general.

It was interesting to see the guidance and relationship between Ahsoka and Anakin, especially when he told her he understands her, and I think that was worth noting for future episodes. It was revealed late in the episode first time on-screen that Steela and Saw were siblings, which was shown as a shock to some characters, but I already know that the two were related, and thought it was easily assumed. Very similar to Luke and Leia from the original movies, this perhaps provided a little more drama, especially to do with their relationships between Lux and Ahsoka.

We also finally got to see the current king of Onderon and just how naive he is, especially when it comes to the Separatists. The new droid to take up the role of a general might lead to problems later on, but all will be revealed soon. The wise Ramsis Dendup also made an appearance, and it seemed like he was a good leader just by his great advice to the current king in his position of being mistreated and kept in the palace after being kicked off his throne. I really wish we see more of him.