Well, folks, this is it. It's been a long road, getting from there to here. Been a long time, but...sorry, wrong franchise (yeah, bet you forgot that theme song ever happened). Here we are, the end of the road (sort of, there's The Clone Wars Legacy, but we'll get into that in a second), the final episodes of Clone Wars. Only 13 episodes were fully completed, and they never aired on broadcast television, instead being purchased by Netflix and put under their "Originals" banner. The season is comprised of only four story arcs, as those were all that were completed fully, with two arcs had finished and other scripted that would later be released as animatics, a comic book and a novel, all under the banner of Clone Wars Legacy, which I hope to address in another post before we get to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Due to both the limited episode count, and quite frankly the insubstantiality of the stories themselves, this post will be a fair bit shorter than the others, but will provide us an opportunity at the end to take a look back on the series as a whole. So without further ado, lets strap in for the conclusion of The Clone Wars.
The first arc of the series (The Unknown/Conspiracy/Fugitive/Orders) sounds like a masterwork on paper: After Tup snaps on the battlefield and shoots a Jedi point blank in the head, the Council launches an investigation into his sudden murderous rage, and Fives discovers the cause is a chip implanted in every clone's brain, which unbeknownst to him will be the cause of the Order 66 assault
that will {spoilers}eventually kill all the Jedi. Doesn't that sound awesome? It should be, and there's flickers of greatness, but the arc suffers from sub-par writing, and is far, far too drawn out, as though after years of steadily finding its footing the series fell back into the trappings of its first season. The revelation that the Kaminoans believe Darth Tyrannous (aka Count Dooku) to be a Jedi, and its under his orders that the clones are implanted with the chip to begin with is an interesting twist, though its confusing considering the Separatists, which are led by Count Dooku, would attempt to steal the Jango genes in Season 3 if the existence of a large army of clones is necessary to a plan Dooku is instrumental in. Typically, I'd go point by point through the arc, but the story drags its feet through pointless diversions and a somewhat exorbitant amount of expositional dialogue that, while occasionally building on the universe (primarily by expanding on the mythology of Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi who started the clone army, who was merely name dropped in Attack of the Clones and never outright discussed), but ultimately takes so long to get to its conclusion, an ultimately ineffectual one, that Five's death due to his wild-eyed (and justified) fear appearing to be madness to his fellow troopers who shoot him on the spot when he tries to capture Anakin and Rex is rendered cold and emotionless. The idea of clone troopers discovering plans for Order 66 or the implant in their brain early is a really engaging one, and perhaps some story in the vein of Season 1's Rookies or The Hidden Enemy, the idea of several clones in an isolated base discovering the chip, perhaps causing them to abandon the cause or even spark some existential debate on whether such an action as Order 66 is truly evil , that could have been amazing, and both seem plausible from the sharp writing and clever, deep, emotional heart of the series we've seen demonstrated time and again. Instead, the moment the Jedi themselves become strong factors in the arc, you know (if you've already seen Episode III) what you're watching will be ultimately futile, that the Jedi cannot become aware of Order 66, and therefor the whole affair will be explained away as a trifle (Palpatine claims a virus caused the clones to malfunction as they did), and will ultimately not effect the overall saga in any way at all.
On the plus side, the next arc (An Old Friend/The Rise of Clovis/Crisis at the Heart) does a lot more with its premise, and crafts a surprisingly captivating story out of banking regulations and interest rates, but once again overstays its welcome by an episode, resulting in yet another significant death losing its impact. Padme Amidala arrives on the planet Scipio to find out why the Republic hasn't been receiving its due from the Banking Clan, where Clovis, who'd previously been abandoned by Anakin to his presumed doom after he'd poisoned Padme, has been employed. Clovis takes the opportunity to tell Padme that the Clan has been committing fraud, and conspires with her to get the proof from within the Clan's vault. Though at first she rebukes him, after he saves her life during an attack by a bounty hunter, she's inclined to believe his story, and recruits her handmaiden to help. In a turn of events that results in the Clan's facilities losing power and Padme's handmaiden's death, Amidala obtains proof that the Clan has no money, and has been fooling both sides. Palme manages to get the information to Clovis before being arrested for espionage. Anakin arrives and negotiates her release, but is furious to discover Clovis is involved (I won't harp on every moment of Anakin's jealous rage in this episode, but I assure you, they're all great), almost refusing to take her with him. However, the two make a cautious reconciliation and arrive at Clovis' home to obtain the materials, only to find the place ransacked, and Clovis hiding. The three attempt to escape, but are pursued by the same bounty hunter who first made an attempt on Padme's life on the planet, and just barely escape in a ship piloted by R2.
Back on Coruscant, Clovis explains to Palpatine how the members of the Banking Clan have been embezzling funds, and therefor the monetary stock pile all the Republic's transactions have been founded on is non-existent. Palatine is cautious to believe Clovis due to his past, but when Padme takes his side, Palpatine assigns the two to investigate the conspiracy, a plan Anakin implores her not to follow, but she refuses to listen to him (and to be fair, he was being kind of a d*ck. Like, in this arc, he comes off like the kind of guy who'd use the term "friend-zone" like a girl is obligated to b**w him because he held a door open for her or something). All at once, Count Dooku and Darth Sidious conspire to get control over Clovis by helping him rise to the top of the Banking Clan, Obi-Wan mirrors the sentiment Anakin expressed to Ahsoka last season about letting emotions cloud judgement, and Padme and Clovis enjoy a nice dinner in which he explains his past. Afterwards he attempts to kiss Padme but right at that moment, wouldn't ya know it, Anakin shows up and immediately Force chokes him, and a rather intense fist-fight ensues. When Padme tries to break it up, Anakin turns to her with rage in his eyes and shouts "You don't have a say in this!" and its genuinely scary (seriously, Matt Lanter really nails it every time with this show). Eventually security arrives which breaks up the fight (Clovis attributes it to an assault, and claims Anakin was protecting them), which is followed by a surprisingly powerful and emotionally honest break-up scene between Anakin and Padme.
The Senate, after an endorsement from both Palpatine and Padme, agree to elect Clovis to the head of the Banking Clan, but unbeknownst to any, Clovis has been recruited by the Separatists (Dooku appeared to him via a hologram delivered by the droid that healed him after his fight with Anakin). It's here the story begins to fall apart, as Dooku is soon drawn personally into the mix, a battle breaks out on Scipio, and the plotting becomes both congested and incoherent, but ultimately Clovis in an act of redemption that still feels too little too late sacrifices himself for Padme's sake, and the ultimately corrupt Banking Clan is dissolved, and full control over the banks is ceded to Plapatine and the Galactic Republic. Perhaps its the financial talk that makes this hard to follow (there's not much of it besides raising interest rates, which admittedly likely lost the younger viewers, but wasn't terribly complicated. I'm honestly just trying to find the reason it came apart), or it was meant to be four episodes and was condensed poorly. Either way, the highlight of the episode is its conclusion, seeing how the Empire built up its strength and dominance through Palpatine's machinations. I just wish this otherwise thrilling arc had stuck the landing a little better.
Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope. Look, folks, I don't get paid to do this. But even if I did, there is not enough money in the world to give this arc the minutes of my life it would take to write a synopsis of The Disappeared Part I and Part II. Even setting aside the premise, that the only representative of the Galactic Senate the planet of Bardotta will permit to help them is Jar Jar, nope. Hell, let's even set aside the reasoning behind that, that the Queen of Bardotta is in love with Jar Jar, and yes, they have "romantic" scenes together, including a kiss. This is two episodes of utter nonsense. Genuinely incoherent storytelling seemingly cobbled together from unproduced episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Gungan fan-fiction, that randomly incorporates Mother Talsin and Mace Windu in just a mess of plot lines and mythologizing, resulting in a set of episodes that beats out the Gulliver's Travels knock-off as the laziest writing, and is irksome even for someone who, to this day, is a Jar Jar defender. Just no, we're not doing this. Nope.
Anybody ready to get weird? Cause we're about to get real weird. After the lightsaber of Sifo-Dyas is discovered on a desolate planet, the Jedi Council launch an investigation into his death. Though records say he died on Felucia, the details of his mission there have been sealed by the office of the Supreme Chancellor. When questioned by Yoda, Palpatine reveals the records were sealed when he was a Senator, on the orders of then Chancellor Valorum, who informs Yoda that he did indeed send Sifo-Dyas on the mission with his assistant Silman. Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive on Felucia and find Silman, but Count Dooku also lands on Felucia and executes Silman with a Force choke before he can provide the Jedi any information. In the ensuing battle between the Jedi and Dooku, they discover that Dooku is also Darth Tyranus, and that Tyranus was the one who convinced Sifo to assemble the clone army in the first place, meaning the entire Republic army was created by their greatest enemy. Back on Coruscant, Yoda reluctantly accepts that Dooku is merely a puppet of the Dark Lord of the Sith, as they all are.
During his meditation, Yoda hears the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn (once again, Liam Neeson is back to do the voice), but the other Jedi don't believe him. They treat him to a battery of tests, but Yoda eventually breaks free (with the help of Anakin) and arrives at Dagobah, as instructed by Qui-Gon. Once there, Jinn explains that he had partially learned how to preserve his spirit after death, and that Yoda can learn the technique properly. Yoda wishes to know the identity of the Sith Lord, and is treated to visions of all that is to come. Qui-Gob encourages Yoda to seek out the Origin of All-Life, where he can begin the next stage of his journey towards ultimate knowledge.
Now here's where it starts to get wacky. Yoda arrives at the planet which is likely the Origin of All-Life, where he is set upon by five spirits, each with a mask of an emotion which reflects their demeanor (think the villainess from Reboot) who offer to put him through a series of tests to train him, as he himself will one day train someone great. They tell him his first test will be overcoming his fear, which he claims he has. However, he is confronted by his dark side, a shadow manifestation that appears like a mix of Gizmo from Gremlins and the final villain of Zelda II, and no matter how much Yoda denies him, he only grows stronger. It's only when Yoda acknowledges the darkness within him that the visage disappears. Afterwards, he's treated to two visions, one of all those he cared about slaughtered, including Ahsoka Tano, who reminds him how he cast her out. Another where the Clone Wars never occurred, and Dooku is still his pupil. When Yoda rejects the latter vision, recognizing it was false, it dissipates, along with the spirits, who tell him he has a final challenge to face on Moraband.
Count Dooku is called to Coruscant by Darth Sidious, while Yoda wards off the spirits of dead Sith on Moraband on his journey for truth. He's confronted by the spirit of Darth Bane, the originator of the Rule of Two, but is unafraid, and therefor dismisses the visage as the illusion it is, and proceeds into the Sith Temple for his final test. Just then, Sidious uses Dooku's blood and their collective Force lightning and...things get weird. Like, really weird. Like that amphetamine episode of Mad Men weird. Yoda is in a vision where he has to attack Dooku and Sidious, but Anakin beheads Dooku, and Yoda and Sidious fall off a cliff, but Sidious is just a robe...yeah, it goes there. Yoda awakes, proving he's stronger than Sidious anticipated, and one of the spirits tells him he will learn to retain his spirit after death, and is treated to a vision of the future, even hearing his eventual last words "There is Another Skywalker". Back on Coruscant, Yoda tells Obi-Wan and Mace Windu that the Clone Wars is a lost cause, but that there is another way to ultimately win the war for the fate of the Force.
I can see why the showrunners felt that was a better ending for the series. Indeed, it hints at the original trilogy, ending on as positive a note as it can within its restraints, and putting a neat little bow on the series. However, for my money, the conclusion of Season 5, bleak and ambiguous, leaving Anakin distraught and the Jedi Order in disarray after expelling one of their own unjustly, forms a much better bridge to what's to come (Revenge of the Sith, which depicts the rise of the Empire and Anakin's fall). This season reveals a lot of what's to come to its characters, from the chip implanted in the clones to Yoda's visions of what's to come and his assurance that the war is futile, that it almost ruins the prequels in a way the rest of the series had otherwise redeemed them. Instead of showing how much more three-dimensional and intelligent these characters were than what we saw in the previous two films, this season makes them look either negligent or ignorant for ignoring all that has come to light and allowing Order 66 and the rise of the Empire to occur. Wise Jedi like Yoda and Obi-Wan, who without this season were blindsided when the troopers turn in Episode III are now to blame for merely accepting Palpatine's excuse about a parasite and never looking further into these chips. Indeed, everything that transpires in Revenge of the Sith is partly Yoda's fault. Sure, he never found out who the Sith Lord was, but he had plenty of visions of other things, including vivid visions of Order 66, and yet allows it to occur ion favor of some "grander plan" that occurs to him. But if the Clone Wars is hopeless, like he concludes, why keep fighting it? Why continue to let lives be lost in a ruse?
So, for the last time for this series, we ask, is it worth watching? As for Season 6, I have to say no. There are some interesting ideas, but they're mostly squandered by unnecessary revelations to characters who seemingly forget them in the next installment of the saga, and sub-par writing that feels rushed and devoid of some of the humanity imbued in previous seasons. The Clovis arc is the highlight, and the Yoda story has some interesting additions to the mythology that are fun for the curious, but the show really takes a step back from where it had gotten to in terms of overall quality.
However, as for the series as a whole, there's no question its worth watching. Sure, there are some rough patches, but The Clone Wars is on par with, say Led Zepplin's discography. Is there some bad stuff in there? Sure, there are some real rough patches (Jar Jar's love story is the equivalent of "Candy Store Rock"), but when its good, it's really, really ****ing good. From Rookies and The Hidden Enemy to the Umbaran and Mortis arcs, there's some absolutely amazing, thrilling stories in here, and just like you wouldn't want to deprive someone of "Black Dog" or "Stairway to Heaven" just because Presence kinda sucks, you don't want to miss out on some of the most exciting Star Wars stories in decades just because you hit a few patches of average. For those who have been watching along with us, I'll see you next week for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (if I don't see you sooner for something extra). For those who have been waiting to see if the series is worth the time, I implore you, dig in and enjoy; you're in for one hell of a ride.
Oh, and that "something special" I mentioned? Keep checking, cause even though its not on the schedule, just maybe I'll have time before Episode III to dig into the Clone Wars Legacy. Here's a little taste:
Well, here it is. The final season to air on broadcast television, the last season to have completed production on all its episodes, and some could say the last "real" season, since Season 6 is regarded as "The Lost Missions" whose finished episodes were relegated to Netflix while several unfinished works popped up elsewhere online. Indeed, the finale of Season 5 feels like a series finale, there's a sense of gravity and finality to it that I question whether additional episodes were even necessary, or whether they might diminish the impact of such a powerful final moment. And it's that sublime swan song for a certain character, and the shadow it casts in both directions, that encapsulates what makes assessing Season 5 so confounding.
Swan song for a certain character? Does such a succinct sentiment suggest spoilerific subsequent sentences (Forgive the alteration, I've been reading a lot of those early Lee/Kirby books as of late, and that stuff sticks in your brain)? Yes, even though its been a while since I've tossed up the spoiler tag, this season really does have a huge, game-changing twist that could ruin some of the fun of the series and everything moving forward if you know it, so turn back now, true believers, lest your fun be foiled.
Ever since I undertook this project people have been telling me "Season 5 is the best". Anyone I knew who watched Clone Wars, anyone I met who wanted to talk about it, they all said the same thing. Season 5 was the peak, the pinnacle, the crowning achievement its all been building towards, and after finishing it, I'm inclined to agree with them. My instant reaction when it finally ended was a series of "wows" and gushing commentary on its cinematic nature, stellar visuals and sharp writing. But unlike those that championed the season to me, I have notes. Real-time notes charting my progression through the season and my opinion of it as such, and they hardly echo my final feelings. While the season never dips as low as the two-parter last season with 3PO and R2, its clear the final two arcs of the fifth season over-shadow an otherwise average collection of episodes, and its clear they knew that as well, transplanting what should have been the first episode of the penultimate arc to the beginning of the season, as though to assure the viewer if they just make it through the rough patches, the best is yet to come (strangely, the DVD release of the season replaces the episode in its initial placement at the start of the penultimate arc).
But lets not waste any more time fretting about episode orders and dive right into the episodes themselves, shall we?
As stated above, Revival is actually the first episode of a much later arc, but its a hell of a way to kick off the series. It makes sense, after all. You finish up last season with the reunited Dathomirian brothers, it would be a bit rough to have to wait the majority of a season to see them again. We start out seeing the Sith duo robbing a space station, like a lightsaber wielding Butch and Sundance. Maul, now refusing to call Savage his brother anything but apprentice as "there can only be two Sith, a master and an apprentice", recruits a small group of Hondo's pirates and when Hondo himself refuses to aid them, make plans to attack Hondo's base on Florrum. Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia make their way to the robbed space station and are directed themselves towards Florrum. The Jedi manage to reach Hondo, and they agree to work together to fight off the Sith. When the sith arrive, Obi-Wan takes on Maul while Gallia challenges Opress. Unfortunately, he proves to be far too powerful for her, running her through with his horns before piercing her body with his blade in an even at this stage shockingly brutal murder. After a brief retreat, Kenobi instructs Hondo to allow the Jedi to pursue the Sith brothers alone, and to blow the section of the tunnel they enter, so that they might be alone.
In a rather epic bout, Obi-Wan takes on Maul and Opress wielding both his and Gallia's lightsabers, finally managing to sever Savage's arm. The brother retreat outside, only to face a full on assault from all of Hondo's men, the initially traitorous of whom have been reaccepted into the group after they realized the Sith have no sense of loyalty. Maul's leg is damaged in the shoot-out, and though they manage to reach their ship, one of the engines is damaged in flight, and they're forced into an escape craft as the ship crash lands on the planet. Honda and Obi-Wan search the crash and find no sign of the duo. Honda tries to assure Obi-Wan that they simply disintegrated in the crash, but Obi-Wan leaves the planet with trepidation. In a meeting with Chancellor Palpatine, Yoda and the Chancellor agree that Obi-Wan should forget about Maul, that its a personal matter, and he should instead focus on the larger Separatist threat, with Palpatine assuring Kenobi should the Sith brothers rise again, they can handle it. Of course, when the two Jedi depart, Palpatine bridges his hands and casts an ominous, knowing smile.
Epic is the only way to describe this arc (War on Two Fronts/Front Runners/The Soft War/Tipping Points). Ok, more accurately, epic with a slight hint of discomfort, but the show's writers can hardly be blamed for that. They were just...awkwardly prescient. How? Well, they called a city Isis. Now, that's not awkward in itself. Everyone from Archer to Wonder Woman has used that name in some form or another, its just now been co-opted by an evil, vile organization. It's like seeing a swastika on a Kipling book from 1914. So we begin the arc with Anakin, Yoda, Mace Windu and Obi-Wan discussing whether to arm and train rebels to overthrow Isis, or whether doing so would mean they'd be arming terrorists and creating more problems in the region. I'm just gonna, just gonna repeat that last sentence. On September 21st, 2012, we had a show discussing whether to arm and train rebels to overthrow Isis, or whether doing so would mean they'd be arming terrorists and creating more problems in the region, and it was The Clone Wars. So everything that transpires over the next four episodes has an overtone of discomfort, as it hits astoundingly close to home in a modern context. The Jedi council relents, knowing that if they themselves can't take out the region's corrupt leader (which could disrupt many political alliances they have), they have to risk the possibilities of creating a terrorist cell by arming and training rebels to rise up against the leader in Liby....I mean, Onderon.
So Anakin, Ahsoka Obi-Wan and Commander Rex head to Onderon, and begin to train the rebels, led by brother and sister Steela and Saw Gerrera and, to Ahsoka's surprise, Lux Bonteri who to her even greater surprise has romantic tension with Steela. The group train the rebels in both strategy and subterfuge, explaining that a slow-rolled grenade can penetrate a destroyer droid's shield where projectiles can not, and improving their marksmanship. This comes in handy when a swarm of battledroids falls upon the camp, and the group manages to take out a tank. Realizing they have little time to lose, they sneak into the city of Isis disguised as merchants and forage for supplies, prepping for an assault.
The rebels launch a series of attacks on the droid forces in the city, endeavoring to avoid civilian casualties, but their efforts are still met with caution and fear from the public. The planet's new king, Sanjay Rash, brings forth his deposed predecessor Ramsis and accuses him of creating this rebellion, which Ramsis denies as he'd been imprisoned, and informs Sanjay that it is the people themselves who are rising up. Meanwhile, the Jedi decide the rebels have to earn the public's trust, and therefor must act on their own. Leaving only Ahsoka behind as an advisor, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex depart, but not before Anakin reminds Ahsoka not to get distracted, implying her unspoken feelings for Lux will cloud her judgement (we needn't harp much on the hypocrisy there, as I'm sure its apparent to all). The rebels utilize a tank to destroy the city's power generator and begin to stealthily take out every droid they can find. Regrouping, they realize they need a public face to unite the citizenry behind, especially since Count Dooku will seek retribution for the destruction of his army. Much to Saw's dismay, the group unanimously elects Steela.
Feeling Rash has failed, Dooku sends his droid general Kalani to fight back the rebels. In a move of desperation, Rash and Kalani determine they must promptly and publicly execute Ramsis in order to dissuade the public rage. The rebels get word of the execution, and while Steela makes plans to rescue the king direct from the gallows, as it were, Saw goes rogue and attempts to rescue the king that night, only to be captured and tortured himself. When word gets back to the rebels, the group want to launch a rescue, but Steela and Ahsoka, the latter of whom is wrestling with her duty to her superiors and her compassion for the rebels, advise them to wait, as rescuing the king is the priority. They manage to halt the execution with help from the Onderon army, who seeing their leader upon the chopping block decide to rise up as well, and they manage to escape when the public starts a riot. Realizing they need unanimous public support, expecting a large scale Separatist attack, Ramsis creates a holo-transmission broadcast to the entire planet rallying them to battle. Meanwhile, Ahsoka must report to the Council that her participation in the rebellion is public knowledge.
With a massive assault on the horizon, Ramsis promotes Steela to general of his full forces while Ahsoka pleads with the Jedi for back-up. Though they refuse, Anakin, further disappointed in the Jedi's inability to enact change, hires Hondo and his band of pirates to deliver rocket launchers to the rebels. With the weapons, the rebels fight back the droid army, but in a stunningly gorgeous sequence, Steela hangs for her life from a cliff and Lux, running to save her, falls. Ashoka manages to use the force to save Lux, she is wounded by a droid canon before she can save Steela, causing her to fall to her death. In the end, the droid army is defeated, the people take back Onderon, and Lux decides to follow in his mother Mina and represent Onderon in the Senate, bringing it back to the Republic.
Though Revival was a more exciting single episode, this rebellion arc was a hell of a way to kick off the season, drawing influence from everything from Munich to Lawrence of Arabia. Enjoy it, hell, rewatch it. Get your fill. Cause its about to get real slow after this.
This is four painfully long episodes about Padawan finding their lightsaber crystals and tangling with pirates (The Gathering/A Test of Strength/Bound for Rescue/A Necessary Bond), whose one saving grace is David Tennant (everyone's favorite Doctor on Doctor Who and everyone's nightmare on Jessica Jones) as a droid who works with the Padawan. Really, though, this is where this season hits perhaps the worst drag of any (save R2 and 3-PO doing Gulliver's Travels). If anyone wants a synopsis, much as I hate to sacrifice my sense of duty and professionalism, they'd be best off heading here, as I've honestly forgotten everything short of the first Scottish Doctor, and I have even less to say about it.
Oh boy. So, in a quadrilogy of episodes (Secret Weapons/A Sunny Day in the Void/Missing in Action/Point of No Return), there's only one that's worthwhile in the batch. Now, these episodes aren't as forgettable as the previous arc, but they're pretty unremarkable. A team of droids are put together by the Republic, almost all of whom are astromech, but they throw in a bumbling, sassy pit droid and a tiny alien general because who would watch a whole story about robots who can't talk, right? In Secret Weapons, the droids infiltrate a ship and steal an encryption device. It's a cute little story that could have ended there, but they drag it out for three more somewhat grueling episodes where they get stranded on an empty planet, stumble upon an amnesiac Clone Trooper named Gregor (in the one good episode, that packs an emotional punch as Gregor, finally understanding his purpose, sacrifices himself so that the droids and their general may flee) and finally prevent a Jedi cruiser loaded with explosives from crashing into a Republic meeting. There's a lot of potential in each one of these stories, but other than Missing in Action its squandered by a disinteresting cast, sub-par writing and a lack of purpose.
Well, after two underwhelming arcs, we return to what kicked things off (Eminence/Shades of Reason/The Lawless). Maul and Opress' escape pod is intercepted by the Death Watch, who take the brothers aboard their ship in order to interrogate them. After providing the two Sith with new limbs, Maul regains consciousness and explains that it was Obi-Wan Kenobi who put them in their current position, peaking Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla's interest. Vizsla explains to Maul the current situation on Mandalore, and how its also the fault of Kenobi, and the two agree to form an alliance, each with the intent to betray the other when the opportunity is right. Maul advises Vizsla that they will need reinforcements, and they seek out the Black Sun crime syndicate. Though Ziton Moj is willing to join, the Black Sun council refuses, resulting in Savage throwing his lightsaber down the long table, beheading them all in one fell swoop (perhaps the coolest moment in the entire series thus far), leaving Moj the sole leader, and he naturally offers the Black Sun's resources to the group. After also recruiting the Pyke Syndicate, the army makes their way to the Hutt council and attempt to recruit them. Instead, Jabba sets his bounty hunters on them, leading to a long and exhilarating firefight, ultimately resulting (after some Hutt murder and a trip to Tatooine) in the Hutts offering their allegiance to the Shadow Collective as well.
Maul initiates a plan to have their army commit criminal acts throughout the city, making the current administration look weak and allowing the Death Watch to swoop in as "heroes" to stop it. They do, and quickly depose Duchess Satine, with public support. When Maul suggests they spread their conquering to the Council of Neutral Systems, Vizsla refuses, saying Mandalore is enough. Enraged, Maul and Opress seek someone to act as a figurehead, and find former Prime Minister Almec imprisoned next to Satine. Freeing him, Maul finds Vizsla and challenges him to a duel, and the bout between dark saber and lightsaber is thriving piece of combat, resulting in Maul's victory, and Vizsla's submission to his own execution (by his own blade, no less). As Maul claims control over Mandalore, Bo Katan (the fantastic Katee Sackhoff again) and several other Death Watch members refuse to kneel before him and instead flee. Maul instates Almec as leader of Mandalore, and Almec presents himself before the people and declares that Satine killed Vizsla, turning the public even more against her.
Satine is broken out of her cell by her nephew Korkie and members of the Death Watch, including Bo Katan (who, in a genuinely surprising twist, is Satine's sister). They flee, pursued by Mandalorian soldiers, and Satine manages to send a message to the Jedi temple before being recaptured. Yoda refuses to help without the Senate's permission, but Obi-Wan disregards this, donning Rako Hardeen's armor and taking Anakin's ship to Mandalore, where he steals a commando's armor and heads to Satine's holding cell, escorting her out and onto an elevator, when another Mandalorian enters. There's an incredible moment of tension before the other soldier inquires about Obi-Wan's authorization code. Their cover blown, Obi-Wan knocks the soldier out, and they two flee, pursued by several Mandalorians and eventually Maul, so destroy Anakin's ship before they can get away. In his chambers, Maul proceeds to force-choke Satine in front of Obi-Wan to torment him, chiding him to give in to his hatred. When Obi-Wan refuses, Maul pulls Satine forward onto Vizsla's darksaber, killing her. Here, in a beautifully brutal moment, the pain in Obi-Wan's face is enough to elicit tears, and in a wide shot, we see him cradle her in his arms, as she tells him "Remember my dear, I loved you always. I always will" it's so operatic, one can almost hear the finale of La Boheme play beneath it. As Maul's soldiers bring Obi-Wan to the prison below, he's rescued by Bo Katan and her men, who get him safely to a ship and implore him to alert the Republic to the situation on Mandalore, risking a Republic invasion that Maul may die, certain that Mandalore will survive. Meanwhile, Palpatine himself arrives on Mandalore in the guise of Darth Sidious (or Darth Sidious finally removes his disguise of Palpatine, whichever you prefer). Words cannot do justice to the glorious, insane fight that ensues between the two brothers and the Sith master, and thankfully, I don't have to:
Yeah, that happens. That ****ing happens. And it is glorious. That's also, how the episode ends, so its a hell of a cliffhanger (one that's apparently resolved in the Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comics from Dark Horse that appear to still be canon, according to Wookiepedia, and as such I'll endeavor to cover them within the timeline if possible). This is quite possibly the rewatch arc of the season, for its seemingly endless memorable moments, though the final arc may take the title.
This is a four episode arc (Sabotage/The Jedi Who Knew Too Much/To Catch A Jedi/The Wrong Jedi) that doesn't pack a whole lot in like the last one does, opting instead for one simple, singular story, but manages to avoid the trap most of the series falls into of being too long, wasting episodes, etc. Someone has bombed the Jedi temple, and Anakin and Ahsoka look into it, though it appears as though a Jedi was behind it. What follows is a brilliant blend of CSI, Homeland, Hitchcock and a very obvious nod to The Fugitive, and stands as perhaps the best piece of straight up storytelling the series has done thus far, as well as being the closest thing to a "game-changer" the show has ever done. Given that Anakin and Ahsoka were off-world at the time of the blast, they're entrusted with investigating the blast, and find a suspect in Jackar Bowmani, a janitor who died in the explosion. Interrogating his widow, she insists her husband could not have done it, that he was a good man who worked hard to get a job at the Jedi temple (which is weird the Jedi, being a militant and insular organization with many enemies and a strong sense of discipline, would hire outside maintenance help rather than function more like a monastery. With negligent hiring practices like that, they're practically begging for things like this to happen). Upon examining what remains of Jackar, his hand, they find nano-droids in his bloodstream, indicating that he didn't plant a bomb so much as he himself was one. The two Jedi search Jackar's home and find more nano-droids, as well as Jackar's widow, Letta. They attempt to bring her back to the temple, but she flees. When they track her down, Anakin is in a rage, and his anger frightens her into a confession, at which point she is arrested.
At the funeral for the Jedi killed in the explosion, Ahsoka notices her friend Barriss Offee is grieving, and discovers one of Barriss' friends was lost in the explosion. Determined to see Letta suffer for her crimes, Ahsoka is frustrated to find out that Admiral Tarkin will be undertaking the trial, wishing Letta had been left in Jedi custody, and expressing her desire to see her punished. Though Ahsoka leaves to comfort Barriss, Tarkin soon calls her back, saying Letta wanted to speak to her, and refused to confess to anyone else. However, one the two are alone in Letta's cell, she reveals to Ahsoka that she was put up to the bombing by a Jedi who was dissatisfied with the Council's current role as pawns for the Republic. However, before she can say more, she is force choked to death in the cell, and though Ahsoka raises her hands in panic, to all observers it appears she herself is doing it. Ashoka is promptly placed under arrest and quarantine by Tarkin, who even tauntingly replays the security footage to Tano to try and force a confession from her. Anakin tries to visit his Palawan, but he is refused entry. Several days later, Ahsoka finds a key card near her cell and uses it to escape, reclaiming her weapons and fleeing the temple, while Anakin and the clones pursue her (with Anakin's instructions "Set weapons to stun. I want her alive!" which is a nice piece of foreshadowing). Finally, Ahsoka reaches the end of a sewer pipe, and Anakin catches up to her. In a moment mirroring that immortal scene between Tommy Lee Jones and Star Wars legend Harrison Ford, Anakin implores her to surrender before she leaps from the edge of the pipe, and makes her escape.
Ashoka must hide within the seedy streets of Coruscant, bribing a homeless man for his cloak and destroying her commlink. In an alley, Ahsoka is set upon by Asajj Ventress, now acting as a bounty hunter seeking the price on Tano's head, but after Tano explains that they're both people betrayed by their order and their master, and offering her a full pardon from the Senate should she help Ahsoka prove her innocence, the two flee to Ventress' underground residence, where Ahsoka uses a public commlink to contact Barriss, who gives her the location of a warehouse where Letta supposedly obtained the nanodroids. When they reach the warehouse, however, they're set upon by an ambush of clones, and the two must incapacitate them all, without killing them, a request which Ventress complies with, much to Ahsoka's surprise. Feeling she's kept up her end of the bargain, Ventress leaves, only to be knocked out by a cloaked Force-wielder who steals her lightsabers and helmet, donning it themselves and attacking Ahsoka, battling with her before eventually knocking her into a crate of nanodroids to be discovered and stunned by Commander Wolf and the clone forces that were pursuing her.
Due to the circumstantial evidence, the Jedi Council vote to expel Ahsoka from the order, despite Obi-Wan demanding they stand by her as one of their own. Anakin convinces Amidala to act as Ahsoka's representation during the Senate trial, where Tarkin will be the prosecutor, while Anakin tracks down Ventress. He does so, attempting to Force Choke and torture her into confessing, but Ventress tells him the truth, that she was knocked unconscious, that whoever took her blades still likely has them, that she agreed to help Ahsoka when it was clear they'd both been betrayed. Anakin fears the investigation is hopeless until Ventress mentions Ahsoka speaking to Offee to get the lead on the nanodroids. When Anakin confronts Offee, he tells her what Ventress had said, and Offee expresses shock Anakin would believe her story, asking who could have done it if not Ahsoka and Ventress. Anakin then ignites Offee's own lightsaber and attacks her, at which she defends herself with Ventress' blades, and the two do battle, falling out into the training grounds, where Tera Sinube helps Anakin, now wielding both his and Offee's blade, to subdue the young Jedi and bring her to justice. Once she is arrested, Anakin enters Ahsoka's trial with her, forcing her to confess. Off explains that she caused the explosion because she was disgusted by the state of the Jedi Order as nothing but pawns of the Republic, that the whole order is succumbing to the dark side. The charges against Ahsoka are dropped, and the council offers her a place back in the order, declaring this her greatest test. However, to everyone's surprise, Ahsoka refuses and leaves the temple. What's remarkable, though, is the show could have easily made her refusal an angry one, or just indignant. Instead, they make her motives complicated, they make her refusal a clearly difficult one. Anakin chases after her outside the temple and asks her to reconsider, telling her he himself has questioned leaving the Order at times. She responds that she knows he has, but that this is something she must handle on her own. The show hits its final notes perfectly, as Anakin watches, pained, as his Padawan walks away, having just hours earlier shouted at the council "You've already made your decision", seeing now all his passion, all his work, it couldn't save her, that the council and the Republic had failed her so greatly that this arc more than anything else makes clear why he will later turn his back on it all. Ashoka, shedding a single tear, walks down the steps of the temple, seemingly into the sunset, as silence creates a void where the usual burst of orchestration usually ends an episode, slowly being filled instead with somber music as the credits roll. Its a hell of a way to end a season, and indeed, makes for a brilliant and powerful series finale (possibly explaining why the sixth season is treated as "lost missions" rather than a direct continuation of the show).
Overall, Season 5 is....well, like I said above. It's a perfect demonstration of the series as a whole: it can be really pointless, kiddish and slow, but when its good, it's absolutely extraordinary. This season benefits from swapping out single episode stories in favor of 5 four-part arcs, and considering they're 3/5 in terms of gripping, clever, vivid storytelling, its fair to say this season is well worth the watch. Check back next week as we see the very last of the Clone Wars with Season 6: The Lost Missions.
Here we are, guys, Season 4. This season has the distinction of being the last full (re: 22 episodes) season of the show, and the penultimate season to air on Cartoon Network, and even if it hadn't been likely been from the network untimely ripped due to Lucasfilm's acquisition by the great and glorious Mouse, you can see why the network mightn't have felt the show was suitable for their non-Adult Swim block for much longer. Sure, I've commented on the show's darkness before, and this season matches it and pushes further, but hey, Samurai Jack could get dark. Hell, CN's most popular show had its protagonist lose his hand and grapple with father issues. But this season wasn't just dark, it actually got creepy. Like, scary creepy, in a way I'm sure probably disturbed some younger viewers. The season starts with adorable Mon Calamari fighting a villain straight out of Shark Tale, and by the end they're watching an emaciated half-machine blood-red and horned creature cackle madly in an underground lair. Some of the imagery this season, while not likely to keep any adult up at night, are some of those childhood-scarring visages that linger forever in the back of the mind (a la Freddy Kreuger's stretching arms, the exploding "dog" in The Thing, or whatever is lodged in your particular brain from your single-digit decade that still makes you shudder).
That said, from a storytelling perspective, the season starts out rocky, around the level Season 3 let us at, and hits a two-episode drag, but then promptly lifts off in a huge upswing to provide some of the most mature, stunning and entertaining stories of the whole season. I know for me, there's a few stories this season I'll be returning to time and time again, even sooner than I will the prequel films that proceeded the series. But before we get to any of that, let's start off under the sea...
Remember how Season 1 gave us a string of standard cutesy cartoon storylines of little consequence to the overall saga of Star Wars? And remember how those storylines could have made fine one or two episode arcs, but were almost always stretched thin into three? Well, if you've become nostalgic for those days, they're briefly back again with Water War, Gungan Attack and Prisoners. Basically, after the assassination of King Kolina of Mon Cala, the Mon Calamari and the Quarren are at odds over whether the King's son, Prince Lee-Char, has enough experience to maintain the strenuous coexistence between the two races. The Republic and the Separatists both have a vested interest in who takes power, one sending Anakin and Padme (which is weird, right? It's weird they keep putting a single Senator's life on the line for diplomatic missions that could easily be carried out by...other diplomats? Or the many, many decoys she once had? That's weird, right?) the other sending Riff Tamsen, a humanoid shark because it's a water themed episode, get it? Tension grows, and over the course of three episodes, civil war breaks out. There are some really inconsequential twists and turns, Gungans arrive as back-up for Lee-Char, and a pre-Admiralty Akbar (for those following for the first time canonically, Admiral Akbar is perhaps the greatestabsurdcharacter in the original trilogy) supplies some good entertainment, but all in all, you know where this goes. Lee-Char learn to lead and unites the people against the obviously corrupt Tamsen, and the day is saved. We good? Ok, let's move on.
Ok, so at its core, the episode deals with the Gungans, and particularly with Jar Jar dressing up as the king who he looks a great deal like. Jar Jar's Prince & the Pauper, in a sense; and while I'll agree that sounds awful, and I was bracing myself for crap, the above image of Grievous and his sabers in the rain and the episode title Shadow Warriors should instill a little faith in you.
Anakin and Padme seek out Jar Jar to confirm a rumor that Boss Lyone (I guess somewhere along the line Boss Nass bit the big one) plans to attack Theed. Once confirmed, they confront Lyone, who they discover has been possessed b y a magical necklace given to him by his new aide, Rish Loo. Anakin removes the necklace with the force, and Lyone goes to confront Loo, who's working under the orders of Count Dooku, only to be stabbed by his one-time advisor. Panicked, Anakin and PAdme don't know how to call off the attack until Jar Jar inadvertently inspires a plan; it seems Jar Jar strongly resembles Lyone (he puts on the Boss' hat just to ease carrying his garments as the Boss undergoes treatment for his injuries). Anakin takes off after the fleeing Loo while Jar Jar must carry on the ruse of being Lyone under the scrutiny of General Grievous and his droid army, who intend to join the Gungans in the fight (when Jar Jar first sees Grievous, he's frozen in fear, a moment they play for slapstick humor, and somehow it works. I laughed. I'll say it, I like this character). Jar Jar stalls to the best of his abilities, while General Tarpals disables Grievous' droid army as per Padme's instructions. Eventually, though, Grievous becomes wise to the ruse, and Tarpals gives his life in order to get close enough to Grievous to disable him.
Darth Sidious, furious at the capture of Grievous, devises a plan to reclaim him by luring Anakin into a trap. When Anakin tracks Loo to a lair, he enters to find Count Dooku, who slays Loo and shocks Skywalker into unconsciousness. Offering a trade, one general for another, Padme is torn, but ultimately relents, and Grievous is returned to his side, Anakin returned to his, but at least planetary civil war has been avoided. Overall, Shadow Warriors is a much more engaging story than you'd think from the outset, and shows the potential the Gungan race has for captivating storylines. Now, on the opposite end of the "good story" spectrum...
This might have been the low point to the series. Yes, even lower than a Hutt baby named Stinky. Ho-ly hell. I mean, within the first few minutes, a trooper remarks "Great, it's gonna be another one of those planets", which serves as a meta-commentary for the tedium you experience over the course of a needlessly two-episode arc Mercy Mission and Nomad Droids. I feel bad speaking ill of an episode that was likely well intentioned, designed to entertain younger viewers with the bumbling, Hidden Fortress-esque antics of C-3PO and R2-D2, but at the end of the day its so ill-fitting with the rest of the series, and bereft of any sense of originality or purpose that its almost undeniably nothing but filler. The two droids fall down a hole at the start of the mission, and we're treated to little more than "homages" to the Lilliputians of Gulliver's Travels and the "man behind the curtain" from The Wizard of Oz, dragged out to a snail's crawl of predicability and inconsequentiality that the only memorable moments are the points of recognition when you recall the better works these episodes are lifting from. Ultimately, the droids escape their predicament unscathed, unchanged, and ultimately the viewer is left unfazed. But if we didn't lose you yet, strap in, cause its about to get ****ing amazing. I mean it.
For a series that tends to stretch stories out too far, this quadrilogy (Darkness on Umbara, The General, Plan of Dissent and Carnage of Krell) earn every ounce of their run time, by seemingly forgoing all the elements of the fantastic not inherent to the immediate story and casting aside all effort of "kid-friendly" in favor of telling a gritty, down to earth war story, pulling from dark explorations of human desperation and valor like Paths of Glory, Platoon and Apocalypse Now. Pretty hefty ambition for the series, and it pulls it off brilliantly.
The reason for the extended run time is in part to treat us to the most brilliantly realized battle sequences in the entire saga thus far, where lighting and camera angle are treated with attention and care, crafting a brilliant ambience, some amazing POV shots that drop you right in that action, and an impressive sound design that captures both the scope of the battle and the intimacy of a single soldier striving for survival. Battle sequences like this are scattered throughout the story arc, and I don't intend to harp on them so each time one occurs, but so much care and detail went into these exquisitely cinematic sequences that I'd be remiss not to pay them their due attention.
Anakin is forced to return to Corruscant and a different Jedi, General Krell, is left in charge of the 501st. Krill, its clear, loathes clones, and feels them all inferior to himself. His arrogance, though, is masked in just enough authoritative reverence to by-the-book commanding that a fair amount of the troopers are willing to accept the change in leadership style and fall in, though Fives makes his trepidation clear from the start. Charged with taking the capital of Umbarra, Krell demands the troops attack in a full frontal assault from the main road, though Commander Rex suggest an alternate strategy more likely to succeed with far less casualties. Krill ignores Rex's plea, and the troops follow orders, marching to their death until Rex finally orders a retreat, which earns him chastisement from Krell for his cowardice. Fives comes to Rex's defense, and eventually Krell leaves the matter lie.
Obi-Wan contacts Krell and advises him to assault an airbase located close to the capital in order to put a strain on the Umbarran's supplies, and while once again Rex suggests a strategy that would produce less casualties, Krell once again orders a full frontal assault, an order that this time divides the troops, with Fives the champion of the dissenters. Though they all follow orders initially, with three squads commanded by Rex, Fives and Hardcase (who also opposes Krell's reckless strategies), after an almost undefinable wave of caterpillar and spider tanks, Rex concedes the endeavor hopeless and presents an alternate plan to Krell where Fives and Hardcase would sneak into the airbase and steal some of their ships. Krill rejects the plan, but Rex commands the two to do it anyway after Krell also refuses Rex any reinforcements or permission to retreat. Fives and Hardcase succeed in their mission, and utilize the ships to wipe out the forces opposing Rex's squads. Krill confronts the trio about disobeying orders, and disregards the loss of life suffered as a casualty of victory, planting even deeper the seeds of dissension within the three.
The third episode is where the dramatic elements outweigh the action, the characters become even more three dimensional and honest, and the tension becomes more palpable than most animated shows can muster. After being informed that the Umbarrans are now receiving supplies from a heavily guarded ship orbiting the planet, Krell once more demands a full frontal assault. The troops argue amongst themselves, with a trepidatious Rex and a fiercely loyal to Krell Dogma arguing for the virtue of chain of command, while Fives and Jesse counter that whatever military acumen Krell possesses, its clouded by his own arrogance. Eventually, Fives proposes an alternate strategy, which Rex brings to Krells attention, ultimately for it to be shot down like the others. However, Fives, Jesse and Hardcase are determined to see it through, and plan to test their skill at piloting the Umbarran ships. Their plan is to fly the Umbarran ships to the orbiting supply craft, utilizing security codes in the crafts to bypass security and destroy the supply ship from the inside, but their "test flight" is so disastrous it alerts Rex to their plan, and the captain is forced to lie for Fives to prevent a curious Krell as to why the hanger in which the ships are help has been destroyed. Krill then orders the ships to be locked down as a "safety precaution", but Fives is determined to see the plan through. Feeling he owes Rex the respect to come clean, Fives tells them of their plan, but rather than order them to stop, a hurt and torn Rex tells them "I can't help you when you get caught" in a line delivery thats imbued with so much mixed emotion and conflict it stands out as the single best piece of acting thus far.
The group being their mission, but Dogma and Tup become wise to the plan and intend to tip off Krell. Rex intercepts them and prevents them from doing so, but Krell finds Rex and inquires as to why the ships that were meant to be locked down were launched, which Rex explains as a reconnaissance mission. Meanwhile, the group have successfully boarded the ship, but after being spotted by a battle droid, their initial plan falls apart, forcing Hardcase to improvise by carrying a missile by hand to the ship's reactor, sacrificing himself for the sake of the mission. When they return, Rex is thrilled with their victory, but Krell demands to see the three of them. Rex immediately tries to take the fall for Fives and Jesse, and Fives endeavors to do the same, but Krell disregards them all, commanding that the two rogue troopers will be court-martialed, found guilty, and executed for their crimes.
Rex later tries to appeal the execution, but Krell declines, stating their rebellion could lead to more if not dealt with. Dogma stands the two convicted troopers before the firing squad, but Fives loudly makes an appeal to them, reminding them that as soldiers, they aren't just expected to carry out orders but to think for themselves; and the clones demonstrate just that as they intentionally miss their ordered shots and refuse to fire anymore. Rex commands that the two be released, and before Krell can chastise him for disobeying orders, a call comes in warning of Umbarran forces who have donned clone armor, and Krell orders a preemptive strike. In a battle sequence thats as beautiful as the ones described above and as chaotic as the best D-Day scenes, its a slaughter on both sides until Rex finds an "enemy" corpse and discovers a clone inside. Frantically, he runs across the battlefield, commanding every trooper to take off their helmets; the "enemy"was really the 212th Attack Battalion, another clone force operating under the same orders, believing Rex's company to be Umbarrans in disguise. Fed up, Rex decides they must arrest Krell under the charge of treachery, and we get a gorgeously lit and wordless sequence of ominous intensity: troopers, backlit in bluish-green, marching back towards the base with quiet rage. Fives and Jesse being handed blasters with but a nod, all understanding what must be done. Its so tense, so expertly crafted, you really do believe they might kill. That they might not just mutiny, but indeed massacre the reckless Jedi. Its as though whispers of "the horror, the horror" can be heard blended in the score. They confront Krell, who flees, and they give chase, stopped only by Dogma, armed with a blaster, calling the arresting troops traitors until he's finally talked down and apprehended himself. After imprisoning Dogma, the group once more pursue Krell, eventually utilizing a local carnivorous plant to ensnare and stun him. Once imprisoned, the group discuss how to move forward after interrogation reveals Krell has abandoned his Jedi ways after foreseeing a new order overtaking the galaxy. Though Obi-Wan's troops have overtaken the capital, it appears the rest of the Umbarrans are headed for the airbase, and the troops know they're doomed if Krell gets loose, as he knows too much about the Republic and its strategies. Knowing what must be done, Rex returns with Fives to the prisoners, releasing Dogma and commanding Krell to face and wall on his knees (at which point we all go "Holy shit, are the good guys about to murder a man in cold blood execution style on the same channel that runs Bugs Bunny cartoons?"). Krill taunts him for his hesitation, before being cut off mid-sentence by a ****ing blaster shot through the back from Dogma, who stole Fives' blaster, because yes, yes we did just see someone get murdered in cold blood execution style. because this show goes hard. Obi-Wan secures the remainder of the planet, and it seems everything is safe, but Fives and Rex seem shaken by the events, and are left questioning for what reason the war even started, and where their place in the world will be when it ends.
Brilliant writing, beautiful animation, and one of the most harrowing and honest stories about the horrors of war this show or any show has ever done.
Following that, we're treated to another expansive arc, if admittedly perhaps an episode too long, that digs deep into the emotional well of our balance-bringing protagonist. Kidnapped, Slaves of the Republic and Escape from Kadavo finds Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka attempting to free a pacifist planet from the clutches of slavers. The episode's storyline itself isn't anything to write home about, but their are some great character and thematic moments, like when the slaver queen explains that Jedi are themselves a type of slave, since they've "forsaken their ideals in order to serve a corrupt Republic" (and she's not wrong). It's also peppered with Anakin's smoldering rage, tipping ever closer to the dark side, as he force-chokes the Queen and fiercely battles Count Dooku armed only with a laser whip. In the end, everything resolves itself, like it always does, with the once-pacifist planning even considering joining the Republic. It's a truly enjoyable arc that admittedly loses steam in its final act, but is worth watching if just for the little moments of character, especially seeing Anakin finally start to give in to his hate as we know he's destined to do.
We're then treated to a one-off, and a surprisingly endearing one at that. Ashoka accompanies Padme to a meeting between the Separatists and the Republic on the supposedly neutral planet of Mandalore (even though the Republic and the Jedi have intervened there a s**t ton, so I'm not sure how neutral it really is). This meeting is disrupted by Lux Bonteri, who Ahsoka first met in Season 3's Heroes on Both Sides, and now finds him to be A Friend In Need (see what I did there?) when he declares his mother had been killed by Separatists, and is dragged away by security. Fearing for his safety, Padme grants Ahsoka permission to stealthily follow him (accompanied by R2-D2), and after Lux is sentenced to death for treason by a hologram Dooku, Ahsoka swoops in to rescue him. She offers to take him to safety on a Republic world, but Lux instead holds her at gunpoint and forces them both deliberately into the clutches of the nefarious Death Watch (one of whom is voiced by Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff). Lux traced the coordinates of Dooku's hologram, and intends to use the death Watch to kill him. Ahsoka knows the Death Watch are evil, and will turn on Lux, and she tries to get him to see the light, which he does eventually, in this case the light being a fire. Oh yeah, the Death Watch burn an entire village to the ground, and burn its citizens alive, simply for saying "Hey, could you maybe give us our daughters back instead of keeping them as vague implied sex slaves?". You know, because re-introducing us to the Death Watch by showing them using droids are target practice while the droids scream "Why?" as they're dismembered wasn't disquieting enough. Those droids come into play again, though, as R2, being commissioned by the Death Watch to repair the droids so that they may be used for target practice again (and being crept upon by those droids calling out for healing like Luke 17:11, and by that I mean the biblical Luke, not the future son of the absent-from-this-episode Anakin), he instead gets them to unite against the Death Watch, giving Ahsoka, Lux and R2 enough time to flee. They get back to the ship and take off, but Lux runs to an escape pod, refusing once more to align with the Republic, because Lux refuses to join either side in the conflict, remaining independent but not neutral, assuring Ahsoka they will meet again (where, judging by his political stances, he'll bore her with a diatribe about his "libertarian views" and how everyone else are just "sheeple"). She puts her hand to the glass as the escape pod flies off, and suddenly it dawns on you that Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka all have found love while in the Jedi order, and are made indeed more emotional being deprived of it than they would have been had they just pursued their desires. Man, the Jedi code is flawed. It's as though Clone Wars exists just to go "Yeah, this whole Jedi Order and Republic thing...these needed to go".
So, this next arc (Deception/Friends and Enemies/The Box/Crisis on Naboo) is awesome. There's no other way of putting it. From a clever premise to brilliant set-pieces to their most obscure homage yet, it packs a hell of a punch, and I'll provide simply a brief overview rather than dig into it and risk dissecting the magic. Right off the bat, Obi-Wan is shot and killed by a sniper. From there, we see Anakin grieving at this master's funeral, as Mace Windu and Yoda conduct a private meeting with...Obi-Wan??!?! Who saw that coming? Ok, we all did, because we knew Obi-Wan had to live a long enough life to make Alec Guinness miserable. Turns out Obi-Wan is going to go undercover as the sniper who the Jedi Council themselves hired, utilizing a facial morph and a voice changer that both cause him such great discomfort you feel like its a Cronenberg movie, to uncover a plot to kill Chancellor Palpatine from within a prison. So, yeah, this is amazing already.
In disguise, Obi-Wan lands in jail under the pretense he "killed Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi", and after besting the imprisoned Bosk in a fight because an also imprisoned Boba Fett claims he'd "stolen one of his bounties", Moralo Eval (the laziest named scoundrel since Halle Burtoni) gets him as a cell mate. Obi-Wan is stunned, however, to discover their cell is a trio, as Cad Bane has also gotten himself deliberately caught in order to break Eval out of prison. Inciting a riot, the three flee, and after obtaining weapons and a ship, two acts of betrayal, and a scuffle with Anakin and Ahsoka, they make their way off the planet and assemble with several other bounty hunters for what Eval and Count Dooku decide are "tryouts", by showing them The Box.
Brief time out here, since I'm about to go for a bit of a cinematic deep cut: I love Cube. I'm sure some younglings tuning into this episode would think its a vague reference to Saw or something (you know, cause kids love the Saw movies) but its based in something so much better, I assure you. Cube is a Canadian indie sci-fi/horror movie about a group of people trapped in a large cube, whose interior is a series of different cubes, identical save for their color, interconnected by portholes, and each containing a different trap. It's not the most well acted, nor the most well written. It was made in 1997, and looks like it came out in 1981. But all that can't drag it down. It's spellbinding, and so is this episode, as it does very little alteration to its inspiration, merely adapting it to fit the characters and series tone. Eventually, Dooku and Eval became wary of the way Rako Hardeen (Obi-Wan's disguise) keeps saving the other contenders and mastering the traps, and eventually, in the final challenge, Eval even tries to plunge Obi-Wan to his death, but Cad Bane catches him, snarling that Eval if he's going to kill him "do it like a man", because Cad Bane is insanely cool. Dock concurs, and Obi-Wan and Eval battle until Obi-Wan has a shot at a fatal blow, refusing because "he just wants his money" (reminder: he saved a bunch of bounty hunters this episode. Innocent people are most definitely going to die because of this). Dock, disappointed in Eval, makes Bane the leader of the operation.
The team on Corruscant, but Obi-Wan has been able to warn the Jedi and Republic and ensure Palpatine's safety (even though there's no stakes to this operation, we the viewer know, since Palpatine can't be killed, considering his running both sides and likely ordering the operation himself). Bane and Eval get away with the unconscious Palpatine, knocked out from the missed shot, but Obi-Wan tracks them to the render-vouz point. The captors, however, are stunned to find Dooku absent. Obi-Wan prevents the other two from killing Palpatine, and the Jedi eventually arrive to arrest them and return him home. Its here that Anakin finally discovers his master is still alive, and argues with Obi-Wan that if the Jedi Council could lie about this, what else are they lying about. Palatine argues he no longer needs so great a security detail, that he's fine with just Skywalker, and we soon see why: Anakin leads Palpatine to a meeting chamber only to find Dooku there. The two battle (and there's a glorious shot of Palpatine grinning as he watches the two spar) before Obi-Wan intervenes and the two chase Dooku to his ship, which he leaps into and flees.
Overall, this arc was perhaps the best of the entire series, second maybe only to the Father/Son/Daughter one last season. The writing is sharp (Eval abandoning Obi-Wan with a flippant "And also, he despises you" is the most Star Wars-like piece of dialogue thus far in the series), the set pieces are brilliant (the myriad of traps in The Box are thrilling), the humor is strong (The Parwan's reaction when Obi-Wan explains his expertise in Parwan anatomy is "I used to kill Parwans for a living" actually merited a full laugh), and we really get to see Anakin begin to turn his back on the Jedi order. This is definitely the highlight arc of the series, though what follows does give it a bit of a run for its money.
The final four episodes aren't an arc so much as a series of stories connected by a single thread. Massacre features a return of the Nightsisters, to whom an alienated Asajj Ventress appeals for acceptance. They magically baptize her just in time for Genral Grievous to arrive at the instruction of Dooku, and a titanic battle between machine and magic occurs, with Talzin calling on the tribe elder, Daka, to revive every dead Nightsister on the planet, because zombies now exist in the Star Wars universe, and I'm so on board. Unfortunately, the battle ends in a titular massacre after Grievous slays Daka, ending the resurrection magic, and the droid army apparently wise out every Nightsister besides Ventress and Talzin, who appears to Ventress in a vision encouraging her to move on. It's Ventress' tragic tale we follow into the next episode (and for my part gladly, as her storyline is the most interesting of the series by far).
In Bounty, Ventress falls in with a group of bounty hunters led by Boba Fett (and containing a female bounty hunter named Latts Razzi who she has a palpable romantic tension with). They undertake a mission to deliver a piece of cargo to a wealthy crime lord after it has been stolen, but that cargo is revealed to be a young girl, intended to be a child-bride. Ventress has a bit of a dilemma on her hands, and realizes she's no longer the wicked sith she had once been, so collects her bounty from the crime lord, but turns over a bound Boba Fett in the container meant to carry the child bride, and instead turns the girl over to her family. Though, just in case you thought she'd completely turned herself around, she collected a ransom from them as well.
The next time we see Ventress, in Brothers, she's sitting in a bar with Razzi (meaning I wasn't reading too deep into those glances last episode). A group of bounty hunters are checking out the list of open bounties, and they stop on an intriguing offer, which Ventress says she'll undertake personally. The name? Savage Opress.
Opress is on his mission from Mother Talzin, arriving on Lotho Minor in search of his brother, Darth Maul. The planet's design is something to behold, complete with Mad Max-esque masked figures, metal fire breathing dragons, and a snake-like guide who functions as the sinister mirror image of The Worm from Labyrinth. The snake eventually leads Savage into a trap, claiming when his master has devoured Opress, he'll be back to eat the leftovers. Savage makes his way through the underground tunnels, haunted by the clinking of metal on stone until the creature stalking him reveals itself. Savage battles what appear to be a large mechanical spider until he lures the creature into the light, and he sees, as we see, the most disturbing image in the entire series: an atrophied and incongruously rambling Maul torso atop mechanical spider legs. Press finally gets Maul to reveal his deep desire for revenge against the Jedi who nearly killed him, and Opress offers to help his kin seek revenge. All of this creates a great disturbance in the force, one sense by Anakin, Asajj and Yoda, the last of which decides he must reveal to Obi-Wan that the slayer of his master has returned.
In the series finale, Revenge, Savage and Maul return to Dathomir to seek out Mother Talzin, who uses her magic to create new robotic legs for Maul and fix his mind, restoring his sanity. The two then head for the planet of Raydonia, finding a group of children. When Opress asks why, Maul tells him the only way to get the Jedi's attention is a slaughter. They send a filmed message of their mass execution, demanding Obi-Wan come to them alone or more will die, and despite Mace Windu's insistence of reinforcements, Obi-Wan complies. Meanwhile, Asajj decides to pursue the bounty, leading both her and the Jedi to Raydonia. When Obi-Wan arrives, he's immediately set upon by the brothers, and knocked unconscious, but before they can torture him, Asajj distracts them and runs off, forcing the two to give chase. Asajj outruns them and returns to Obi-Wan reviving him and giving him one of her sabers, and the two engage in such brilliantly Beatrice and Benedict dialogue that you almost wish they called the episode "It Happened One Night In A Galaxy Far, Far Away". There's an amazing four person, all red lightsaber duel, and feeling outmatched, they ditch the cockpit of the ship they're on board, stranding the brothers in space and barely escaping with their lives. Maul, however, is undeterred, assured that he will encounter the jedi and echoing his sentiment from Episode I that at last, he will have revenge.
So, overall, setting aside a slow opening, Season 4: Battle Lines is well worth watching, even if the subtitle doesn't make as much sense as the last two did. Next week, we're taking on the last episode to air on cable television, The Clone Wars Season 5. Check back then, and in the mean time, feel free to weigh in in the comments.
So what can we say about Season 3 from the outset? Well, if we were charting quality, S1 would look like a mountain range, S2 would be a steady incline (save one episode), and this season? Well, the incline is much more gradual, but solely because its reached a level of quality and maturity that successfully honors and at times surpasses the franchise its a component of. Of course, near the end of the season, there's some movement, as there's a swift swing upward, and then a steep, steep decline, but we'll get to all that in due time.
Overall, the first thing to note is just how dark this show is willing to go. For two seasons, we've been enjoying a show at times too dark for mere children's entertainment, yes, leaning towards straight-up drama. But this? Right from the get-go feelings were felt, tears may have been shed, and we witnessed an arc so unique and enthralling I for one immediately wanted to rewatch it. The subtitle of the season is "Secrets Revealed", and it really is filled with revelations both great and small, inconsequential and groundbreaking, tragic and prophetic; and it all stars with episode one, and with a bang.
Remember those troopers we met in Rookies? Cutup, Hevy, Echo, Droidbait and Fives? Well, get ready to see their origin in Clone Cadets. Decked out in training uniforms but proving to be anything but uniform in their tactics, the so-called Domino Squad fail a practice test miserably under the watchful eye of their instructor Bric, a bounty hunter hired by the Republic who states he only cares about getting paid, which is just one more bullet point in my ever growing list of why the Republic really deserved to lose this war. While Jedi master Shaak-Ti and fellow bounty hunter El-Les convince Bric to give the recruits another chance, he suggest they'd be better suited in the maintenance division with someone called 99, presumably another clone who failed the test.
You would presume that its a clone that failed, because you probably still think of the Republic as the "good guys". But you would be wrong. Oh so wrong. You see, after Domino Squad fails their test, in the privacy of the locker room, El-Les tries to convince Bric to let them retake it, while Bric once more expresses his doubts, except this time 99 himself is there to hear it. Except 99 isn't in maintenance because he failed the test. He never even got a chance to take the test. 99 came from a bad batch, or was perhaps simply a one-off glitch. Whatever the cause, he doesn't match his clone brethren. He's deformed; a wrinkled face, a hunched back, and likely a non-existent sense of self-worth after being ruthlessly relegated to being the ****ing piss boy of the Republic army. I mean, Cut Lawquane can whine all he wants about being forced to fight, being given only one option for his life, but 99 doesn't even get that. He's robbed even of the artificial purpose. I mean, just look at that sad little bastard.
So, obviously, **** the Republic. But not the troops, they're good dudes, even if Bric doesn't see it. In fact, we learn that Bric is a bit of a dick. You see, after Fives and Echo (the latter of which received his nickname for constantly repeating people on the simulation battlefield) convince Shaak-Ti to let them retake the test, Bric confronts another member of Domino squad, the wise-ass of the group, in a hangar and tries to god him into attacking, in order to get the trooper and his squad dismissed, but the trooper won't take any of it seriously, even embracing Bric's snide description of him as a "cut up" to heart, claiming it as his nickname. Meanwhile, Hevy attempts to flee the base altogether, but is stopped by 99, who delivers a passionate and somewhat moving (to both Hevy and maybe the viewer...ok, at least me) speech about having brothers, having a purpose and when asked why he continues to call him "Hevy" when he's just known by a numeric code like the rest, 99 tells him "To me, you've always had a name" and your heart breaks at this sad puppy of a trooper.
Well, Hevy takes the advice to heart and leads his squad to victory, even after its revealed that Bric actually stole the ropes needed to climb to the top of the course because he's a dick, and Shaak-Ti allows it because she's also kind of a dick, and the Republic doesn't fire Bric over this because they're all dicks, and 99 remains a saint among monsters. After the men are awarded their medals for passing the test, Hevy makes sure to find 99 before leaving to thank him for his advice. 99 is saddened to see him go, but Hevy assures him he'll return, handing 99 his medal and saying he has to come back for it. 99 is touched, and finally feels like he has brothers, Hevy is touched that someone believed in him, and we the viewer are touched to see these clones exhibit the most humanity of anyone in the series.
The credits roll, and you almost wanna go back and rewatch Rookies to see what happens next with Domino Squad. I think...I think one of them died, right? Which one was it? Was it...no...no no no....no....
After intercepting a transmission between General Grievous and Asajj Ventress about an intended attack on Kamino, Anakin and Obi-Wan travel to the planet with Rex, Cody, Broadside, Echo and Fives. Echo and Fives reminisce in the hallway when 99 hobbles up to them (because he hobbles, because they just want to break my heart with the ****ing hobbling and the sad eyes) and he greets the two clones, eager to find Hevy and return the medal, which he promptly shows them, forcing the two to reveal Hevy's fate, which clearly brings a hurt to 99's eyes. Spoiler alert: This is not the only time ARC Troopers is going to shatter your soul with sadness.
The assault on Kamino begins and Anakin takes to the skies to combat the Separatists with seemingly great success as a torrent of debris falls into the water. Obi-Wan is suspicious, and his suspicion is soon proven correct as its revealed that Ventress has used the debris as an opportunity to sneak into the base fro below with a droid army, and she's soon joined by General Grievous as their troops storm the facility to destroy all in their path while the Sith apprentice hunts down the DNA sample of Jango Fett from which the clones are made.
Obi-Wan ends up facing off against Grievous, and Anakin facing off against Ventress, and obviously there's no victor or loser in the fights, so really there's no need to go over it (I'll admit there's a pretty boss moment where Ventress uses the force to pull a guy into her lightsaber blade and then kisses him, though). At the end of the day, this episode is about one guy, one wonderful, caring, hobbling little trooper. After helping Fives and Echo fight off some droids by bringing them weapons, the trio take it upon themselves to get a group of young clones to the barracks for safety, and 99 equips them all from the armory, encouraging them that though they're inexperienced, they can fight back. When a group of droids infiltrates the barracks, that's just what they do, and when they run out of ammo, 99 valiantly offers to get more. The two eldest troopers try to dissuade him from risking his life, but he insists he's a soldier, and even though he's gunned down as he hobbles with an armload of supplies, the glimmer in his eyes seems to have never shined brighter. He was, at last, a soldier. Victory is secured for the facility, and Fives and Echo are promoted to ARC troopers. But its a bittersweet victory, as they remember those they lost, both now and in the past.
So, remember the very start of this series, the first episode, Ambush? Bet you didn't expect there'd be a prequel to that, but you would be wrong. Remember the planet of Ryloth from that overly long story arc in season 1? Did you know we'd get a prequel to that too? And did you know that this prequel, while very entertaining, is so non-substantive that I'd have to stretch to fill a whole paragraph about it? Look, Supply Lines is an engaging enough episode where Senator Organa has to persuade the Toydarians to help them get supplies to Ryloth, which is currently under attack. He's accompanied by Representative Binks (Ahmet Best is back!) and has to argue against representatives of the Trade Federation, both trying to sway Toydaria out of its neutrality. In the end, the king agrees to turn a blind eye if Organa wants to use Toydaria as a midway point to deliver supplies to Ryloth, and Jar Jar performs an "art piece" to distract the Federation representatives while the ships fly past the window. There's also a Jedi defending Ryloth who dies both before the supplies get there and before the audience has gotten enough attached to him to care he died.
Just like Supply Lines, Sphere of Influence is a lot more fun to watch than to describe. Baron Papapnoida (who in the live action films is played by George Lucas, and in the "Legends" universe is a playwright) attempts, with Riyo Chuchi (who you'll remember from that "eh" episode in season 1), to seek Senate help with a blockade the Trade Federation has set up around their planet of Pantora (a planet populate by blue humanoids because **** you James Cameron). The Separatists respond to this pushback by sending Greedo (who, if you're watching this all for the first time along with this blog, means nothing. Otherwise...holy s**t you guys, its ****ing Greedo) to kidnap his daughters, one of whom uses a religious statue as a weapon, resulting in the kidnappers placing it on a table instead of on the mantle, which tips Paranoid off that she's been kidnapped. While the Jedi council intervenes, Anakin imposes his sage "**** the council" advice to Ahsoka, who goes with Chuchi to try and rescue one daughter from the blockade fleet, Baron Papanoida goes full Taken on the denizens of a Mos Eisley bar, straight up murdering everybody except Greedo himself and rescuing his kid. There's some cool moments of Ahsoka's force powers, but the long and the short of it is they rescue the other daughter and end the blockade in an ending that feels a bit rushed and anti-climactic. That said, seeing cartoon George Lucas dual-weilding guns is as badass as Papanoida having two daughters and a son to correspond with that at the time was the number and genders of George Lucas' kids (at the time)) is adorable.
Next up is two episodes set on Mandalore. Corruption plays like a weird homage to Season 2 of The Wire as Padme and Satine uncover corruption in their shipping industry. It's kind of a set-up episode, as they debate whether the Death Watch is behind the smuggling, and in a surprise to no one, they're not. They discover the warehouse where the smuggled toxins are located, Satine demands they burn it to the ground and implores a departing Padme to send a Jedi who can investigate further into this conspiracy.
That's how we end up at The Academy, where Ahsoka has arrived on Mandalore in order to "teach", though really, she's there to look into the source of the corruption. "Corruption", by the way, is a word Ahsoka apparently needs to teach teenaged students at the Jedi academy on Mandalore, because I guess that word hasn't come up in their diplomatic/warrior education where people being literally corrupted by the dark side of the force is a very real thing. Sure, we'll go with it. Inspired by Ahsoka's speech, these kids go out on a night time investigation into the rationed food supplies on Mandalore and stumble upon a group of Gotals, Mandalorians and a hooded figure all discussing something so blatantly nefariously that even these semi-Amblin innocents recognize it. The dubious group is alerted to the presence o the kids, but thankfully (for their sake, not the viewers) they get away. They bring the info to Satine, who urges caution and patience, advising them that they are too young to take on the task, so of course they decide to ignore her (and Ahsoka, who later appeals to them to e patient as well) and reach out to the prime minister, who orders their arrest. Ashoka, however, must have guessed these kids would ignore her and arrives to rescue them from the arresting officers, only to discover Satine has been kidnapped. After studying video from the warehouse and realizing the prime minister was the hooded figure, Ahsoka devises a plan to "arrest" the kids in order to infiltrate the prison, which seemingly works. She even Jedi mind tricks one guard into taking her to the imprisoned Satine, but doesn't notice that a second guard who has;t been mind tricked also follows her, because apparently peripheral vision is a talent only Sith possess? Anyway, long story short, it was a trap, but Ahsoka and the kids manage to fight back and save the day, as you knew they would. The prime minister is arrested, Satine is freed, and Ahsoka leaves Mandalore. Day saved. Sure, does this two-parter teeter on the Amblin? Yeah. Is it predictable? Yeah. But at least you get some good Ahsoka moments (ok, beyond the not noticing second guard). The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for the next episode.
I'm gonna be honest, when writing my introductory paragraph, I declare this season a steady incline to a point, but I'd forgotten about this pointless, illogical, all around "eh" episode. So, here's the deal with Assassin: Padme has to make a big speech, Ahsoka (ad nauseum) gets visions of the future concerning an assassination attempt on Padme's life during this speech. At firs they don't believe her, then they do, and take precautions like first trying to secure the room Padme's speaking in (but the assassin, Aurra Sing, manages to get off a shot anyway), then using a robot in a hooded robe to stand in for Padme while she hides in her room (which Aurra gets to and attempts to kill her again before Ahsoka intervenes). Now obviously Padme doesn't die in the episode, suspense kinda doesn't exist for it, leading us instead to ponder the strange choices they make. I mean, if there's a threat on her life, why don't you go straight to a hologram? You can't shoot a hologram, and its not like the technology isn't in ample supply of Coruscant. I mean, the fact that Padme puts her life on the line when she, even as a senator, had been using decoys (and not robots, actual human decoys) for such banal tasks as disembarking a ship, and consistently proven right to do so. Did she just one day decide to stop using decoys? When was this day? Will we get a prequel episode in, like, Season 5 explaining this? I'm usually against the kind of criticism where one faults a script for its characters not choosing the best, most thought out option because we real people don't always do that. Hindsight being 20/20, decisions being made in the heat of the moment and all. I get that. But in this case, we had a character not only make less than optimal decisions, but did so well outside the typical strategy we've seen her employ thus far in the canon, making the whole episode feel a bit inauthentic.
Oh boy. Ok, I forgot about this one too. Turns out, before Hostage Crisis in season 1, Cad Bane needed the schematics of the senate building in order to carry out his Evil Plans, so he kidnaps C-3PO (and subsequently R2-D2), who are out on a supply run for a special fruit to top a dessert for a dinner Padme's throwing in honor of Senator Aang. Bane manages to ensnare the droids by making them think they're going to a "droid day spa" which is just....eugh. After finding 3PO has nothing useful, and getting the schematics off of R2, he wipes their memories so no one will ever remember this happened which is....eeeuuuuggghhhh. When the most memorable thing about your episode is the sheer dickishness of Senator Aang preemptively toasting to his cake, you done goofed.
In the events following Hostage Crisis, we discover Jabba the Hutt and the Hutt council had hired Bane to "rescue" Ziro solely that they might imprison him themselves. This rogue individual, you see, has a file full of their organization's secrets, and they need to secure him in order to ensure the safety of the information, but it turns out he intended to get captured and already has an escape planned (this episode was apparently later remade as a hit film). While imprisoned, Ziro's girlfriend Sy Snootels busts him out and they hit the road together like Bonnie & Clyde if instead of Warren Beatty they'd cast Rip Taylor. Cad Bane is sent on the Hunt for Ziro, while the Jedi Council sends Obi-Wan and a new, more edgy, cool jedi named Quinlan Vos (basically just imagine if there'd been a Star Wars comic back in the time of X-Force and the clone Superboy, picture what Jedi they would have made up for that, take out the skateboard he obviously would have had, and there you go) to track down Ziro as well. After a detour to Jabba's palace and Ziro's mother, whose name is Mama the Hutt, they finally track Ziro down on Teth, but not before Sy, to whom Ziro has revealed the location of his diary containing all the Hutt secrets, murders him in cold blood and escapes with the intel (by the way, when I say murders, I mean shoots in the chest in a full and glorious wide-shot where you even see his burned flesh upon impact, so good looking getting the kids to bed after that). We're treated to a fabulously Western quote when Bane discovers the body ("I hate it when someone does my job") and a gloriously Star Wars-y bit of banter as Obi-Wan and Quinlan hang from a ledge ("I never did enjoy hanging out with you") as the trio duke it out. Bane escapes, of course, and we end with Sy delivering the information to her true employer, who naturally is Jabba the Hutt.
Season 3, as I've stated above, is full of episodes that are much better viewed than explained. On the surface, Heroes on Both Sides is a very simple story of Padme and Ahsoka sneaking across enemy lines to appeal to a Separatist friend of Amidala's, with both appealing to their respective factions for peace, until the double-dealing Palpatine (through his Sith channels) has the Separatist ally killed. In the end, the only real change that happens that impacts the war is the Banking Clan being deregulated in order to better finance the war, but this episode isn't a story so much as a meditation. For the kids viewing, and even some adults, its hard to understand, really, that there really are heroes on both sides. In the fog of war, lines are drawn not just on the battlefield but in our minds, and Ahsoka is our Alice, who falls down the rabbit hole into enemy lines, meeting a young counterpart she can't quite conceive of as a Separatist, since he's not the bloodthirsty warmonger she'd always cast them as in her mind. While at its core, the Clone Wars are merely a ruse to amass power for Palpatine, those fighting the war re truly just at ideological odds, and there's validity to both sides' claims. This episode, and indeed this whole season, show a great shift in the motivations of the three main characters: Padme becomes a crusader not for Republic victory, but merely an end to the war, and both Ahsoka and Anakin become disillusioned, Ahsoka in the cause, and Anakin in the Jedi Order. These slight drifts now will likely become seismic shifts in the seasons and films to come, shaping the fate of the entire galaxy; and all it took was a little change in perspective.
Pursuit of Peace is definitely an atmosphere episode. The plot is minimal yet labyrinthine to describe in detail, but essentially Padme, Bail Organa and Onaconda Farr's efforts to curb military spending raw the ire of the Banking Clan (who they discover are gorging prices for the Republic while also funding Separatist ships) and thereby Count Dooku, who sends two thugs to attack Farr, then Padme, the Organa, none of whom decide to back down and eventually, with the help of Padme's handmaiden providing a plebeian perspective, persuade the entire Senate that the rampant wartime spending is bad. There's some great set-pieces in this episode, and a thrilling speeder bike chase. The neon city of Coruscant provides a great backdrop for the intrigue and action. Sure, it's not the high point of the series (but don't worry, that's coming) but its definitely an enjoyable episode in its own right.
Ok, so...ho-ly s**t does this show go off the ****ing chain at this point, in the most glorious way. The first of two epic trilogies, the Nightsister/Monster/Witches of the Mist storyline is hands down the best thing the show has done so far, expanding the Star Wars mythos, drawing from the Expanded Universe (now dubbed Legends) and recalling past iconic figures, this has it all.
Darth Sidious, fearing Asajj Ventress has grown to powerful, commands Count Dooku to cut his apprentice loose, which he does by abandoning Ventress in her wrecked ship (damaged in a firefight with Anakin and Obi-Wan) and ordering his own pilots to attack the wreckage, seemingly ensuring her demise. Of course, cunning as she is, she escapes. Rescued by a salvage crew who intend to ransom her, she slaughters the bunch and flies their ship to the planet Dathomir, lorded over by the powerful Nightsisters (the clan from which Ventress originally hails), the leader of which offers to heal Ventress while inducing a dreamlike state that evokes images of Ventress' past (a clever device allowing us to see her Jedi origins without bogging down the plot with afull narrative of it). She awakens healed and swearing revenge, which the head Nightsister, Talzin, agrees to help with, supplying Ventress with two assassins and some invisibility potions which turn the three into some kind of mist ninja (because this is now Game of Thrones, and I love it). Utilizing stolen Jedi sabers lest Dooku survives and traces the assailants back to Dathomir, the trio initially does overtake Dooku, but just when he seems finished, the Count unleashes a powerful attack of force lightning, ensnaring all three and forces them to flee. Though the mission seems a failure, Talzin sees another opportunity and contacts Dooku. After the attempt on his life, Dooku desperately seeks a new apprentice to guard him, and Talzin offers him a Zabrak warrior from her planet, and Dooku accepts.
When Dooku arrives on Dathomir, Talzin encourages him to consider a Zabrak warrior after evoking the memory of Darth Maul. Dock consents and even proposes an alliance with Talzion, which she rejects. Upon Dooku's departure, Ventress heads to the other side of Dathomir in order to submit the Zabrak males to a series of trials, whittling them down until she's found a warrior to her satisfaction. These tests are a visual delight, from straight combat against the agile Ventress to an evasive defense against Ventress in the shadows to a labyrinthine maze navigation which narrows the plethora of warriors down to two, the timid Feral and his protective older brother Savage Opress. Ventures attempts to kill the frightened Feral when Savage jumps to his aid, offering himself to her instead. She defeats Savage but spares his life, seeing enough in him to select him as their operative. Back amongst the Nightsister, Savage is possessed, granted greater strength and power, but becoming more animalistic (reminiscent of the silent, brooding Maul in Phantom Menace, successfully justifying the regal yet beastly posturing during Qui-Gon's meditation in the film's final battle). His submission to Ventress is proven when he kills his brother on command, and he's sent on a mission to prove his worth to Dooku, where he slaughters an entire Jedi Temple on the planet Devaron, earning Dooku's trust and admiration. Dooku takes Savage into his chambers (to the satisfaction of the Nightsisters, aware they now have a sleeper agent within Dooku's inner-sanctum) and expounds to him the power of the dark side, and his goal of building up both his own power and that of his new apprentice in order to overthrow Darth Sidious.
Anakin and Obi-wan investigate the massacre at the temple, saying that since Ventress is presumed dead, this must be the work of another (which bugged me, and it may seem minor, but they're saying "presumed", as though they themselves don't fully believe it, and then upon studying the crime scene just go "Well, guess its gotta be someone else" instead of giving thought to Ventress not actually being as dead as she's presumed). When they finally uncover footage of the killer, Obi-Wan is shocked to find his appearance strikingly similar to that of Darth Maul, and is promptly sent by the council to Dathomir to investigate further. When Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive on the planet, they're immediately set upon by the Zabrak, until Anakintakes their leader hostage and they concede that Talzin is the person they seek. Upon confronting Talzin, she reveals the identity and location of Savage Opress (though she doesn't mention Ventress or their plan) and, upon their leaving, presses Ventress to enact the plan now.
Meanwhile, Count Dooku has been demonstrating the dark side of the force to Opress, having him levitate boulders and punishing him with force lightning at his failures, encouraging him to feed into the hate (at one point of canonical foreshadowing, Dooku even traps Opress in the same dual-lightsaber scissor at neck move that will later be employed by Anakin to kill the Count himself). When he feels Savage is ready, he sends him to Toydaria to kidnap King Katuunko. Savage arrives at the palace, slaughters the guards and gets to Katuunko without hinderance, but Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive on the scene, causing Opress to have to fight them back and destroy their ship while inadvertently force-snapping Katuunko's neck, killing him quite brutally (as usual for these mid-season, in full view). Before Dooku can properly punish Savage for his misdeeds, Ventress arrives, revealing not only her survival but the entire ruse, and orders Opress to attack Dooku in tandem with her. Once again, however, Ventress has underestimated Dooku's power, and he continually beats them both back. Savage's two masters continually berate him for his weakness, driving him to such a fury he abandons them both, and after squaring off with the two jedi who he'd battled before (they'd stolen a Toydarian ship to get there, and Opress then damages that one as well, leaving the viewer to imagine a scenario where they awkwardly have to ask Dooku for a lift). Eventually, Ventress too flees, and Opress seeks the comfort of mother Talzin, who advises him to seek out his brother to further train and grow his strength, and through some crystal ball we see....holy s**t, you guys. It's Darth Maul. Darth Maul is still alive lying low in some Outer Rim, and I for one can't wait to have him back (spoilers, though: we have to wait at the very least the duration of this season, cause nothing comes of that revelation in season 3).
So not only does the Overlords/Altar of Mortis/Ghosts of Mortis story arc far exceed the previous stellar storyline, it's easily the mot intense and hands down best aspect of the Star Wars mythos in the entire canon thus far (in terms of where we are in the timeline, I can't speak to every piece of the canon yet) and it's gonna be a really tough storyline to beat.
Answering a 2000 year old distress code, Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are drawn into a strange crystalline structure which seems to contain a planet. When they disembark, after observing that the "planet" is strong with the force, they're greeted by an ethereal figure seemingly made of pure light who identifies herself as Daughter, asking Anakin is he is the chosen one, and offering to take them to Father. On the way, a boulder falls along a mountainside, cutting of Daughter and Anakin from the group. Daughter fears tis is the work of her brother, and Anakin sends the other two Jedi to send a distress signal while he carries on. The two find the ship missing and are confronted by the Son, who asks whether Anakin is the Chosen One. A storm brews, and we see all three Jedi take shelter as the Son retreats. From his cave, Anakin spots a light in a monastery and seeks it out when the storm passes, finding an old man, the Father, meditating. He explains to Anakin that he will have to endure tests on this planet to see if he is the chosen one and invites him to stay the night. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is greeted by the ghostly visage of Qui-Gon Jinn (actually voiced by Liam Neeson in the coolest thing to happen thus far in the series because Liam Neeson) who warns him that the trials Anakin shall endure on this planet may cause him to stray from his destiny, and Ahsoka receives a vision of her future self advising her to avoid Anakin for fear t will corrupt her and drag her down with him. Back at the Monastery, Anakin is visited by a vision of his own, this one of his mother Shmi (actually voiced by Pernilla August, the original actor from the prequels, though she's actually quite good here, proving she was hampered by a bad script rather than a lack of talent) to whom Anakin confesses the source of his guilt. The vision of Shmi briefly transforms into a monster before disappearing, causing Anakin to seek out Father, who he now believes to be a Sith. He explains, however, that he and his children are neither Jedi nor Sith, but rather "Force Wielders" who through their heightened sensitivity to the force cannot stay in the material world and sought refuge within the crystal vessel, and that Anakin must endure the trial before he and his companions can leave. The trial, it turns out, is that the Son and the Daughter, each transformed into a creature, have kidnapped Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and Anakin must choose who to save. However, drawing upon the force around him, he dominates both the Son and Daughter (clearly the personifications of the light and dark side of the force), making them both return to human form and release his friends. The Father instructs Anakin he has passed but still needs to discover himself, imploring Anakin to stay and take his place balancing the Son and Daughter. Anakin refuses, however, leaving in his ship while the familiar tune of the Imperial March plays.
As they're about to leave, Anakin is plagued by a dream of the Son asking him to come to the dark side, and upon waking, discovers the Son has indeed made his way onto the ship. The Son kidnaps Ahsoka and flies away (taking the form of some winged beast), and in their attempt to catch up with him, Anakin and Obi-Wan crash the ship before a large glowing structure. Anakin disregards Obi-wan's warnings about it being a trap and charges in, leaving Obi-Wan to seek out the Father to consult him. Meanwhile, the Son has now taken the form of a small creature who preys on Ahsoka's fears and insecurities, trying to goad her into giving in to her anger. When she refuses, he releases her from the chains that bound her and bites her arm, infecting her with the dark side as he regains his human form. The Son then seeks out his father and sister, and after Father warns him of his descent into the dark side, the Son attacks him with force lightning as Obi-Wan arrives. Over the body of the weakened father, Obi-Wan implores the Daughter to help him and Anakin defeat the Son before he brings chaos to the galaxy, but she refuses to fight him, claiming its simply his nature, conceding only to showing Obi-Wan a blade made of pure Force energy, which could be used to kill the Son. Anakin attempts to find the Son, only to discover the corrupted Ahsoka, who tells him he must join the Son or she will be killed. When Anakin refuses, she attacks him. Soon Obi-Wan joins the fray as the Daughter battles the Son before the Father arrives and easily the most insanely epic battle since the Jedi swarmed the arena on Geonosis occurs, before Ahsoka obtains the Force blade and brings it to the Son. He then exclaims Ahsoka is no longer of use to him and drains her of her life force before attempting to attack his father with the blade. The Daughter, however, dives in front of her father, sacrificing herself that he may live. Horrified at what he's done, the Son flees as Anakin runs to Ahsoka's side, desperate to help her. In her final moments, the Daughter (using Anakin as a conduit) transfers her life into Ahsoka, reviving her, as the Father commands them to leave before the Son can steal their ship and spread his darkness throughout the galaxy.
Ahsoka repairs the damaged shuttle (because apparently they just decided Ahsoka was good with ship engineering even though that's never been demonstrated thus far, while Anakin, who built pod racers and droids at 9 just chills because plot convenience) while Anakin seeks out the Father to express his doubts at stopping the Son. The Father tells him to look inside himself for the answers, a sentiment echoed when Anakin is visited by the ghost of Qui-Gon, who advises him to seek out the Well of the Dark Side. As Anakin journeys there, Obi-Wan worries and, when the Father tells him of Anakin's journey to the well, sets off after is one-time apprentice. Upon his descent, Anakin is treated to visions of his future by the Son, in a gorgeous sequence that reveals in glimmers and flickers the events of Revenge of the Sith and finally envelops Anakin in a dark cloud with a familiar helmet shape. Anguished, he agrees to join the Son if it means he can prevent the future he's seen, and once Obi-Wan arrives, he realizes its too late. Swiftly, Obi-Wan tells Ahsoka to disable the ship she's just finished repairing, which she does right before Anakin arrives. Desperate, the Son arrives at his sister's tomb to obtain the Force blade while Anakin is stranded with the failing ship. The Father seeks him out and erases his memory of all the visions of the future (though its good to know if Anakin had known what path he would take, he would do anything to change it, but then again that's a demonstration of how fear could turn him to the dark side, which is what leads him down that future path in the first place), and soon the Father and the three Jedi confront the Son. The Son proves too powerful for the three Jedi, and the Father takes the only measure that might succeed, driving the blade through himself (so Shakespearean, as are lines like "And so you have betrayed me, father". I'm telling you, guys, this was the point where I knew I was gonna rewatch this trilogy) to rob his Son of some of his power. The Son runs to his dying father as Anakin spears him with his lightsaber. In his final moments the Father tells Anakin he brough balance to the Force on that planet and will do so again. A crystal pierces the top of the monastery and a light envelops the trio, who awaken back aboard the ship, with Commander Rex calling in to check on their status, saying only a brief flicker of a moment has passed since they'd set off after the distress signal.
Everything about this trilogy is a masterwork, from the classical storytelling to the brooding visuals, and it's highly recommended. If you watch nothing else of the series, give these three episodes a view.
Oh boy. I'm gonna level with you folks, its all downhill from here, so we're gonna wrap this post up quick (after all, it's Comic Con weekend, we all have things to do). The Citadel trilogy (The Citadel/Counterattack/Citadel Rescue) is an overly long prison break story whose only redeemable highlight (besides being continually name-checked in Tarkin, a novel that bridges Episodes III and IV) is watching the relationship build between Abakin and Tarkin, both of whom acknowledge the Jedi are ineffective as a force of order in the galaxy due to their unwillingness to achieve victory, law & order by any means necessary (and they're not wrong). This trilogy is followed up by easily the most pointless arc in the series, Palawan Lost and Wookie Hunt, where a bunch of Padawan are captured (including Ahsoka) with the intent of them being hunted for sport (you know, the plot of Predators, but way more boring). Somewhere along the line, Chewbacca becomes a thing for some reason, and after a really convoluted series of events there's no point in even summarizing as it doesn't advance the general plot of the saga at all, we end on a final shot of Yoda (who has been of no consequence for the entire back half of this season) nodding to Chewbacca, who as far as he know he hasn't met yet, but I guess this was their attempt to explain why he knows him in Episode III? I don't know. It was a really awkward way to end a really awful arc that was part of a pair of really weak stories which followed up the best story the series has told thus far. So, you take the good with the bad in Season 3: Secrets Revealed. The bright side: in terms of both quantity and quality (how good is the "good vs. how bad is the "bad), the good far outweighs the bad this season.
Alright, check back next week for the last 22 episode season of Clone Wars, Battle Lines.
