Fyraltari watches The Clone Wars (2008) for the first time

[Fyraltari]

Season 2, Episode 22: Lethal Trackdown

Spoiler: Recap

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We start right where we left last time. Boba has mixed feelings about the whole "using prisoners as bait" business and says so to admiral Kilian as he brings him water. Kilian tries to convince him that he doesn't have to do any of this and that he's not like the other bounty hunters, he's a good soldier. This upsets Boba who denies being anything like the rest of his clone. Aurra then comes in and starts beating Kilian to a pulp. Meanwhile Anakin and Mace are resting in the Temple's sick bay. Skywalker is rather upset by Windu's nonchalant approach to the whole Fett situation, since the Jedi Master has no intention of tracking Boba down as A) he doesn't see revenge as a cause worth pursuing and B) they've got a war to wage. They are interrupted by Plo Koon and Ahsoka who show them a message from the hunters. Sing threatens to kill their hostages one by one until Windu shows up. To prove she's not bluffing, she orders Boba to shoot one of the clones, CT-411 (Anakin calls him "Pawns"), Fett hesitates but can't bring himself to do it, so Sing does it herself. Off-camera she yells at him for that. Now that lives are at stake, Windu wants to go but Koon overrules him. He's too injured and Boba would be angrier at him, Plo Koon and Ahsoka will go instead. On the hunters' side, Castass has had enough and calls it quit. Sing decides to drop him off on the planet Florum where she's planning to meet a friend of hers. Bossk's still in, he needs money.

Tano and Plo are still on Corsucant instead of going to where the transmission was sent from since that's the one place they know Boba is not. Plo recognized Aura Sing as one of Jango's old acquaintances and so he decided to head to Coruscant's rather literal underworld to investigate. He leaves his speeder on a platform half above a pitfall which bothers me way more than it should. The hunters meet with Aurra's old pal: Hondo Ohnaka. Turns out they used to date and she snogs him. Which goes to prove that being a professional killer doesn't mean you have taste. Ohnaka spots Boba and inquires if he's his. I hope this is a joke because if it isn't then Hondo is even more stupid than I thought. Upon learning his identity, he offers his condolences for Boba's loss and calls Jango a friend of his (what did he randomly try to ransom him too?) and an honorable man. He invites Sing, Boba and Castass for a drink in his base's cantina. Aurra stops Boba from drinking alcohol and pretends to chit-chat while listening to Castass who's calling a friend of his (of the same species as Kit Fisto), when Castass starts talking about selling information, Aurra shoots him dead which saddens Boba.

Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano have gone through a few drinking holes without any results. Plo chides Tano on her lack of subtlety which he blames on Skywalker's influence. They enter another bar and Koon goes straight to the barman, puts his lightsaber on the counter and asks for information (That's subtle!? How direct has Ahsoka been?) the bartender says that the Jedi are usually to busy with the war to deal with the likes of them anymore and Plo says they always make time for the citizenry of the Republic. Ahsoka start listening in of the conversations, one guy complains that the war killed his business, one patron is talking about a... movie they saw, a quarren and a rodian are fighting over who gets to ask a twi'lek dancer out... and Castass's friend is talking about his death to a weeqay. The weeqay works for Ohnaka, by the way. Are all weeqays working for him on this show? The pair spots the padawan and attack with the bar's entire population siding with them. As the people are wondering if the lot of them can take on two Jedi, Ahsoka throws money on the ground and the Jedi use that distraction to escape. Plo starts chiding Ahsoka again but she reveals that she followed his advice and learned that Sing is on Florum. He congratulates her and callls her "little 'Soka" which I find cute.

On Florum, Ohnaka refuses to get involved because dealing with Jedi is a bad idea (third time's the charm, it seems). Bossk spots the incoming Jedi ship so Aurra has him move away from the pirate base (with the hostages) while she and Boba gets ready to welcome Windu. Hondo greets the Jedi and directs them to the cantina where "they" are waiting for them. He wholeheartedly agrees that it's most likely a trap but denies any knowledge of their plan. He's volunteering all he knows so that Plo knows he's not party to this. Plo walks in and sits across Sing. Boba springs from the shadow and points a gun at his head. They're not happy that Windu stood them up and Sing radios Bossk to be ready to kill the hostages on her say-so. Plo is undisturbed and tells them they can do this the "easy way or the difficult way". Nice variation. Sings says she's prepared to kill anybody necessary to get what Boba wants. Plo thinks this is rather what Sing wants. Ahsoka comes in, cuts Aurra's antenna implant and puts her lightsaber to her throat. Bossk decides that if he doesn't hear from Aurra soon, he's going to kill the hostages (why?) and bolt.

Aurra tells Boba to shoot, as Ahsoka won't have the guts to kill her. He disobeys her again as he doesn't want to risk her life. Ahsoka call shim a murderer, he says he only wants justice, Plo says the Jedi are justice (gonna need to work on you humility, master Jedi) and that no-one will be hurt if they just come quietly. Aurra arms some darts in her shoe and winks at Boba. Boab shoots Ahsoka who parries. Plo Koon flips the table which intercepts the darts (aimed at him) and Force pushes Boba to the ground. Sing shoots at Tano but Plo cuts her blasters in half. Boba throws a bomb on the floor. Aurra escapes but leaves Boba behinds even as he cries for her help. Ahsoka runs after her while Plo Koon tries to get Boba to tell him where the hostages are, pointing out that their life depends on him but he's too distraught to care. Aurra and Ahsoka each steal a speeder from the pirates and leave. Plo brings Boba to Ohnaka and asks the pirate to help talk some sense into him. Boba at first doesn't want to help anybody since "he's got no-one." Hondo says that helping the hostages is the honorable thing and what Jango would have wanted.

This does the trick and reveals to the Jedi that Sing is leading Ahsoka on a wild goose chase. Ahsoka gets to the hostages just as Bossk was about to kill them and they capture the trandosshan. Sing manages to get aboard the Slave One and take off but Ahsoka damages it so much that it crashes. Cut to Corsucant where Bossk and Boba are taken to prison. Boba sees Windu and says that he knows he's done terrible things but blames the Jedi for "starting it." And he says he'll never forgive him. Windu just replies that he's going to have to.

Spoiler: My thoughts

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This episode was rather good, even Hondo manages to not make a fool of himself. I've got to wonder what Aurra's plan was exactly. Did they really think they could have taken Windu down that easily? I'm a bit put-off by that episode trying to establish Jango as an honorable man when he shot his accomplice dead in AotC rather than let her talk (possibly as part of Sidious' plan depending on how much you think this film went according to his design). It's also a bit weird that Hondo is still just chilling on Florum after what he did to Dooku. These are just nitpicks though. So, it looks like Aurra really is doing this for Boba's sake, even if her understanding of what is good for a grieving teenager differs considerably form conventional wisdom. Boba's moral dilemma is interesting but we know he'll remain a criminal so it doesn't have as much punch as it should. Also I thought Castass was a trandosshan lat episode but having had a better look at his teeth and at Bossk this time around I have no idea what species he's supposed to be.

As far as finale goes that was better than last season's (not saying much) but it still lacks something. These three episodes would be great in the middle of the season but to conclude one, it should take some grave Separatist plot with an epic battle or something.

[Keltest]

Consider that "honorable" is being used within the context of criminals and professional bounty hunters. It almost certainly meant he kept to deals and kept his work clean instead of, IE, blowing up a starship to kill one person. Cough cough.

[Fyraltari]

Consider that "honorable" is being used within the context of criminals and professional bounty hunters. It almost certainly meant he kept to deals and kept his work clean instead of, IE, blowing up a starship to kill one person. Cough cough.

I'm pretty sure shooting your partners isn't honorable by any metric.

[dancrilis]

I'm pretty sure shooting your partners isn't honorable by any metric.

It could be.

For example:
If the contract says 'no one gets taken alive' and everyone signs up to that agreement.
If your partner specifically requests it that you kill them rather then let them be taken captive as it is a disgrace in their culture.
They weren't your partner in the sense that you worked together longterm merely were for this one job and you had been paid to eliminate them at the end of it anyway.
etc.

Obviously subject to various honour systems that might be in place.

[Fyraltari]

Well, it took me six months to watch season 2. I'm going to need to organize my schedule better (he said in every facet of his life).

This was definitely a step above season 1 both in terms of overall and average quality. the only episode I didn't actually enjoy was the one with the investigation and even then it's barely under mediocre. I do have issues with the general structure, though. In that there doesn't seem to have any. There isn't any overarching plot to either season 1 or season 2 but at the same time the show tends to focus on a group of characters (Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Anakin) in a specific time period (the three-year-ish length of the war) and has several multiple-episode arcs so it kind of sits awkwardly between being an anthology show and a show with an actual story. It isn't helped by the fact that we know how the war will end and that it was ultimately pointless, but still. They could have season-long plot about a specific campaign, Sith plot or political maneuver. Not as in every episode feeds in that but most episodes build towards something. Or they could have maybe some thematic links like an entire season showing the republic/Jedi getting their teeth kicked and barely hanging in there, or the growing corruption both political in the senate and spiritual/moral in the Order. As it stands episodes don't have any consequences outside of their own arcs (and these are still pretty disjointed) which means they could belong in different Star wars show for all that matter. And the anachronic order doesn't help, it even messes with character development. Not to ention certain plot points seem to be just abandoned like Ventress on Kamino, Watt Tambor and Poggle being prisoners and (I am told) the order to clone the zillo. This results in my engagement being overall pretty low and I don't finish an episode eager to find out what happens in the next (which may have been obvious from how often I post a review).


As for specific characters:

Ahsoka remains the strong point of the show (what can I say, she's grown on me) as she's the only main character to not have a preordained fate, the show is free to do as it pleases with her. I hope we see more of her friendship with Barris Offee and her doubts about the Jedi Code.

Obi-Wan's relationship with Satine has potential but I'm afraid it'll end up being too much of a rehash of Anakin and Padmé's. Speaking of which, it's good that they showed a difference between Satine and Padmé. I know Mandalore is going to keep showing up due to Maul and stuff so I hope they define her character more (with regards to her pacifism mostly).

Nothing much to say on Rex and Cody, they're good.

This show could use a good Seppie villain though, Grievous just keep failing, Ventress rarely shows up, Cad Bane is just a hired gun, Sidious can't act personally, Dooku could but doesn't and the various commanders are bland. It'd have been a great opportunity to show more of the Separatist Council, how they work and what they're capable of but apparently they won't. Shame, I always wondered what the blue lady from AotC's deal was. I'd also like some clarification on what Dooku's endgoal actually was, is he genuinely trying to win the war or not?

Boba is an interesting addition to the cast but I don't see him getting involved into the war per se and he can't succeed at his objective so I'm not sure how much I want to see him again (he has to escape of course, but beyond that). Maybe he could be a pawn in a Sith's scheme?

Anakin, Anakin, Anakin. Making a good Anakin was certainly the show's most considerable challenge from the onset. because Anakin as a character is weird and inconsistant. And for once, I don't think the problem started with the Prequels. In the original, Vader had limited screentime and was characterized as a powerful ruthless man who betrayed Obi-Wan and the Jedi at large for unexplained reasons but that we could guess at being joining the Empire. ESB keeps with this characterization (and reinforces his callousness by the summary executions of two underlings and forcing his fleet into an asteroid field) but then flips everything on its head with the famous twist, recasting Vader as a man looking to reunite with his son. At the same time it introduces the Emperor as a guy Vader is afraid of but also show that Vader is power hungry and wants Luke to help him take the emperor's place. Then in RotJ, to serve Vader's redemption arc he is transformed into a broken man who regrets his position but feels trapped into the Emperor's service even saving Sidious's life when Luke tried to kill him until he grows his spine back and rebels against his master. So there's already a tension there between his characterization as a power-hungry traitor and someone who didn't get there of his own complete free will. And the Prequels decided to show the backstory of the RotJ Vader rather than the ANH one. His darker traits are constantly undermined to keep him sympathetic which results in a rushed "fall" where he goes from zero to murdering children in an instant in the last act of the third movie even when he should arguably have been fallen from the end the of the second. And his fall wasn't even him giving into his darker nature but him essentially being tricked, he wasn't power-hungry, he was trying to protect his true luuuuuuuv'. If the Prequels were really interested into showing a shining knight become evil they should have shown him become more and more immoral, disregarding the lives of his soldiers if that can score him a victory, carpet bombing civilians, that kind of things.
So from there on how can TCW manage to show him slowly falling into evil? With great difficulty. So far I like what they're doing by making him more ruthless than cruel, with his willingness to torture Poggle (to protect a loved one, mind) and backstabbing the Mandalorian senator. That's a good starting point but I wonder how they'll keep going with this. Especially since he seems to get along swimmingly with the rest of the Order.

So these were my thoughts presented in a semi-coherent manner. I'll try to start reviewing season 3 in the week but I make no promises.

[Fyraltari]

Season 3, Episode 1: Clone Cadets

Spoiler: Recap

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So, remember those rookie clones from season 1 who had to defend an outpost from commando droids? Well, they're back. More precisely we're earlier chronologically, back when the five of them were a group of cadets named Domino squad.

We join them during a training exercise where they are supposed to breach a "citadel" defended by reprogrammed battle droids (including commandos, oddly enough) and wall-guns. They're doing horribly as 1 doesn't co-ordinate with anyone, 3 (Echo) can't adapt and just repeats the order they've all heard (hence the nickname), 4 and 5 (Fives) start arguing and forget about the enemy and 2 (Droidbait), the last one standing gets surrounded and surrenders. Shaak Ti is overseeing the training with the help of two hired bounty hunters* and is rather disappointed with Domino, a sentiment shared by one of the two, Bric, who considers them rejects while the other, El-Les still think they can pull through when they'll have to do this exercise for real and be integrated into the Army.

1 in particular is pissed, despite the attempts to cheer him up by a maintenance clone named 99. 99 is a clone but he is hunched back and visibly aged. I'm guessing that it's not so much a mutation issue as something having gone wrong with his incubator or whatever because else he'd probably have been aborted by Kaminoan QA. 1 is mighty pissed because he aims to join the elite corps of the ARC troopers and he argues with Echo, the two blaming each other. They are stopped by Bric who calls them a bunch of failures even worse than 99 who is a "bad batcher".

There's a short scene where Shaak Ti meets with Prime Minister Lama Su. It doesn't contribute much to this episode but Su says that ever since Jango Fett died they've been stretching his DNA pretty thin and he suggests they find another donor. He also thinks the Jedi show too much compassion when Shaak Ti is unwilling to "cast aside" Domino squad because she considers them living beings rather than objects.

Meanwhile an ARC troopers, commander Colt, comes to watch over the squads' final test and he asks for the squad with the best time, Bravo Squad, to go first. Of course, they work like a well-oiled machine and complete the course without much of a struggle, one of them using his grappling pistol to scale the "Citadel" and take the objective. Colt is impressed. Next up is Domino. "Time to watch the dominoes fall." That's mean but a good one.
They do a better job than usual, but Colt still finds them sloppy. Droidbait is shot down and 1 decides to leave him behind as he goes for the Citadel. And the exercise stops: "Broke formation, disobeyed orders, left a man behind." Verdict: automatic failure.

Bric and El-Les argue about Domino squad: the former only cares about getting paid and requested they be affected to maintenance, the latter believes they can be their finest trainees (for some reason) and has requested they get a second chance. Fives and another of Domino squad (I'm not sure which, Droidbait? 4?) ask Shaak Ti to be transferred to another squad. She refuses and tell them their squad need to solve its issues as a unit. But she's allowing them another chance. Bric summons 4 and tell him he thinks he's the reason the squad is failing. I'm not really sure what exactly he wants as he just spends the discussion antagonizing the cadet who starts snarking back. Eventually Bric punches him and calls him a cutup, Cutup decides to adopt that as his name. I guess calling him Joker which Bric also called him) would have been too on the nose.

All the clones go to bed, except 1 who decides to go AWOL (where? you live on an artificial island in the middle of an ocean, mate, what's your plan exactly?) but is stopped by 99 who says that he can't do that to his squad. 1 claims he doesn't care, that they (him included) are just failures like 99. 99 says he's never had a chance to begin with while 1 is throwing his away and that he should embrace the fact that he has a team that depends on him (and vice-versa) rather than try to carry on alone. During the conversation he repeatedly calls 1 Heavy, which the cadets first gets upset about but finally accepts when 99 says that for him the cadets aren't just numbers and always have had names.

Comes the morning and Domino Squad is a brand new squad. Heavy is optimistic and supportive, Echo doesn't reapet orders, Cutup and Fives look out for each other and Droidbait's injury doesn't hurt. They manage to impress the instructors by reaching the foot of the Citadel without issues. However Bric has stolen their ascenscion cables which prevents them from climbing the Citadel. Bric justifies himself by saying the best pass no matter what. El-Les pleads to Shaak Ti to stop the exercise as this is unfair. Shaak Ti argues that the enemy won't play fair either. I gotta say that, as much as Bric is being a jerk, Domino squad really should have checked their equipment before the test and they've already received a preferential treatment by being given a do-over for no reason, so it's not that unfair, really. Heavy has the idea to disable the wall-guns and scale them to climb, they decide to do that with Droidbait volunteering to draw the guns' fire. While he does so, the others take them out and start climbing with Echo eventually taking the objective. Bric admits to the clones' creativity while El-Les points out no other squad has been this creative.

Domino squad graduates and they are given a medal. Heavy gives his to 99 and says he's lucky to have a brother like him and he hopes to see him again soon. The brand new shinies are then sent out to fight the Separatists.



*Why bounty hunters? They usually work alone or in very small groups doesn't seem like they'd be very good at training soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Spoiler: My thoughts

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So, after this one I rewatched the one from season 1: Droidbait is (presumably) killed by the commando droids, Cutup is devoured by a giant alien worm and Heavy will blow himself up to protect Kamino so I guess 99 and him won't meet up again. Fives and Echo are integrated into the 501st, I don't know if they have ARC troopers in that battalion, though. I hope this means Echo and Fives will show up again this season.

It was a very good episode, and I was glad to see Echo, Fives and Heavy again. It was a nice touch to also give some more screen time to two of the redshirts and I understand why they didn't try to give some to the other two as well, episode already crowded enough as it is. Bric was fine as antagonist even though he came across more as a bully than an instructor, however rough. The bit about Jango's DNA being stretched thin is interesting, it makes sense and is another reason why the clone troopers would be phased out in favor of the stormtroopers, also maybe a future plot points if the Kaminoans start looking for a replacement donor?

[Dire_Flumph]

*Why bounty hunters? They usually work alone or in very small groups doesn't seem like they'd be very good at training soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Work for money, unlike a planetary militia commander would have combat experience but no particular loyalty to the Republic which might be important given what the true purpose of the clone army is.

But most likely it's just a holdover from Karen Traviss' Republic Commando novels where elite clone troopers were trained by Mandalorian Veterans.

[Fyraltari]

Work for money, unlike a planetary militia commander would have combat experience but no particular loyalty to the Republic which might be important given what the true purpose of the clone army is.

But most likely it's just a holdover from Karen Traviss' Republic Commando novels where elite clone troopers were trained by Mandalorian Veterans.

I mean, there are mercenary outfits in the Galaxy Far Far away, no? Most Mandalorians aren't bounty hunters, if they were "veterans" I would assume that means they had served in an army (their clan's specifically).

Also why wouldn't a planetary military officer not be loyal to the Republic? Yulmaren certainly is and he was in an army before the GA was founded.

[Dire_Flumph]

I mean, there are mercenary outfits in the Galaxy Far Far away, no? Most Mandalorians aren't bounty hunters, if they were "veterans" I would assume that means they had served in an army (their clan's specifically).

Also why wouldn't a planetary military officer not be loyal to the Republic? Yulmaren certainly is and he was in an army before the GA was founded.

Yes, but in Star Wars speak, "Bounty Hunter" is pretty much used for "Mercenary".

To the 2nd point, I probably wasn't clear, I meant that the lack of Republic loyalty would be an asset, where as a planetary militia officer would likely have a nominal allegiance to the Republic (and potentially the Jedi). Kamino wasn't a part of the Republic, and CW pretty much showed the Kaminoan leadership didn't have the Republic's best interests at heart. Thus mercenaries, which in Star Wars pretty much means "Bounty Hunter" most of the time.

[Sapphire Guard]

Jango got some friends of his easy, well paid work?

[Fyraltari]

Season 3, Episode 2: ARC Troppers

Spoiler: Recap

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Anakin and OBi-wan have intercepted a message between Grievous and Ventress plotting an assault on Kamino. What they don't know, however is that Ventress, as shown all the way back in season 1, is already on Kamino, in a calmar-like submarine and has the precise location of both of their targets: the clones' barracks and the DNA chambers. Anakin and Obi-Wan are greeted by Lama Su and Shaak Ti ("Masters Skywalker and Kenobi, yes that still irks me.) Since the 501st is back on Kamino, that means Echo and Fives are also back, and who should they run into but good old 99? It also means that they have to break to him the news of Heavy's death. Oh and that their home is about to be invaded.

Grievous then arrives with a massive fleet, though not as massive as the Republicans would expect to attack a world as defended as Kamino. Anakin and Yularen lead the space battle while Kenobi, Ti and Su are in the command center. Grievous's ships start taking heavy damage but it's actually part of his plan: the "debris" are picked up by Ventress and her crew and put together into more calmar subs and, of course, they are full of ground troops. That's a clever ruse, I like it. Obi-Wan however smells a rat and decide to go check on the debris. And they say Thrawn has OP deduction skills.

Obi-wan discovers Ventress' aquadroids (a cool fish-like design) at work but he's too deep underwater to radio anyone (I think that's the reason his comm aren't working?). The droids attack him and manage to force him out of his sub but he hitches a ride on the back of the local wildlife and escapes back to the city (the pressure gradient doesn't kill him because of the Force I guess). He's too late however to warn his allies before the calmsubs arrive. The Separatists, led by Grievous in person as well as Ventress drill into the city and start pushing the troopers back.

99 is running around bringing ammo to the spread out clones. As he reaches out Echo and Fives they meet a group of cadets who were separated from their unit and supposed to go the barracks so the three grown clones elect to escort them there and abandon their post I guess. Anakin and Obi-wan both meet up in the city but Kenobi figures out that the droids aren't in sufficient numbers to take the city so he orders Skywalker to protect the DNA chambers while he goes after Grievous. Grievous and Ventress meet. The assassin toys with a helpless clone by strangling him before pulling him into her saber and kissing the corner of his mouth as he dies. Why? This seems to be the two's first meeting and both claim to be the superior fighter/Dooku pupil (really Ventress? can you do the Windmill? I didn't think so). The General orders her to retrieve the clone DNA and not destroy it as they could have uses for it. He suggests a droid escort for her but she refuses, caressing his mask and saying he has nothing she could want. Does this feels weirdly sexual to anyone else? Because I find it weird.

The clones are being pushed back pretty hard, and 99, Echo, Fives and the cadets, now at the barracks, are wondering what to do. They are joined by Rex and Cody (shouldn't they be elsewhere leading the troops?) who inspire them to fight: "your training is in your blood. Ad my blood is boiling for a fight!" The cadets don't have guns but 99, who really got into the speech, says he can get all the guns they need from the nearby armory. There's a scene of Shaak Ti wiping the floor with half a dozen droids who reached the command center and she notes that they are spread thin. Ventress got into the DNA chambers and steals the soda can than apparently contains all of their DNA stocks (no wonder Lama Su said they were running short!) but Anakin reaches her and they fight. Cody and Rex, with their new guns attack Grievous' groups and quickly fall back.
"All too easy, says the cyborg.
-Define "easy", General, intervenes Obi-wan.
-Kenobi!"
Did... did Grievous just slut-shame Kenobi? They fight. Grievous disarms Kenobi but wastes time gloating (as you do) and the Jedi remembers he has magic powers and pushes him away, making him run.

In the barracks, Rex, Cody, Echo and Fives are slowly letting the droid advance while shooting at them and throwing grenades provided by 99. Until Rex orders the cadets hiding in the retractable bunk beds inside the wall to spring into action and shoot the droids from behind. As they run out of 'nades, 99 decides to go get more, leaving cover to do so. Rex tries to stop him but he says he's a soldier like them and this is what he was bred for. And he's shot down. Grievous ambushes Kenobi on a bridge and does the windmill at him. Before he can kill him, though, the platform starts collapsing and Obi-wan falls into the ocean. The cyborg general decides that's that and steals a Kaminoan shuttle. Of course Obi-Wan was caught by the same flying fish thingie from earlier. It can hover apparently. Shaak Ti and her clones finish mopping up the droids and destroy the calmsubs with some rocket launchers. Anakin and Asajj's fight took them to the hangars where they both start force-pulling the DNA vial from one another until a clone catches it. Anakin refuses her suggested surrender saying he's going to let the clone shoot her but she jumps on Grievous's pod and escapes with him. This is going to be an awkward ride home.

Echo (probably though that may be Fives) hugs 99's corpse while the cadets rejoice nearby (I think one of them is missing but he may just be off-screen) and Cody and Rex recognize their fallen brother as a true soldier and one of them. A bit later, Echo and Fives are being made ARC troopers for their actions today. Besides being next to Cody and Rex and not dying what did they do that was so special? Echo is shocked and Fives is proud, both are probably thinking of Heavy too.

Spoiler: My thoughts

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This was a good episode. I find it a bit odd that it and the one before were separated from the other third of that arc by almost two whole seasons, though. As it was mostly action-oriented I haven't that much to say. The action was rally good, both in terms of tactics (Grievous's trick and the clones' ambush) and the fact that this series give each lightsaber wielder something of a personal style: Ventress is acrobatic, Grievous makes full use of his abnormal number of limbs and fully rotative joints, Obi-Wan dodges a lot (though that may just be because he's facing Grievous) and Anakin I don't have a translation for bourrin but that's what comes to my mind, pure, straightforward, brute force.

The design of the droids in this series are still very inventive and varied and I consistently dig them. The B1s are insectoid so it only makes sense for the aquadroids to look like a cross between a B2 and a manta. I hope we see them again if there's more water battles. Ventress and Grievous work surprisingly well together, I was even surprised to see him apparently come back to help her escape. He may have thought she still had the DNA/not wanted to take the blame alone, though.

I'm of two minds about 99's death. I feel like he was a bit underutilized but I'm not sure how else they could have utilized him more as he was unlikely to ever leave Kamino. His death scene was handled well enough but I wish he had died achieving something rather failing to do something that wasn't needed in the first place. Like shielding one of the cadets from an explosion or something.

Next up: Supply lines

[Fyraltari]

Season 3, Episode 3: Supply Lines

Spoiler: Recap

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So, Ryloth is under a massive attack by the Separatists (I think this is before the Ryloth episodes of season 1) and the Republicans, lead by a Jedi Master Di and Cham Syndulla are getting an ass-kicking. They also seem to be protecting a group of refugees who are running out of supplies (food and medical as well as ammunition). They send an S.O.S. to the Jedi Temple through an admiral who claims that the entire Outer Rim garrison isn in danger (which seems unlikely) and is killed-off mid conversation. The Jedi contact Bail Organa who was doing a thing in the Outer Rim and explain to him their plan: the Republic has blockade runners that can pierce the Separatist blockade of Ryloth but they don't have the range to operate such distances, they want to use the planet Toydaria as a waypoint where the runners can pick up their cargo, but Toydaria isn't a republic world (so I guess this is before the very first episode of the show as well) so Organa will have to negotiate with the Toydarians for their help. On Toydaria he will meet with a first shipment brought there by a Representative from Naboo... Representative Binks. Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh boy.

Bail arrives on Toydaria and meets with Binks, Toydarian border controls tries to have them remain on their ships because the planet is "closed to off-worlders", something that is never explained, but Bail powers through, missing a golden opportunity to have Jar Jar confined to a place where he can't screw anything up. Of course, since it is Jar Jar, Bail might consider screw-up inevitable and prefer to have his eye on him? In any case he gets to have Jar Jar leave the talking to him (and surprisingly, he does) and exposes the situation to the Toydarian king (leaving the exact nature of the "humanitarian crisis" vague). The king is receptive but they are interrupted by Lott Dod, senator for the Trade Federation who's here because Dooku intercepted Bail and the Jedi's conversation. Turns out Toydaria is in business with the TF so they're willing to listen to him. Organa tries to have Dod dismissed as a Separatist but the Neimodian denounces Gunray as an extremist who does not represent the Trade Federation which is neutral in the war (yeah, and I have an hyperlane to Tython to sell you). Dod reveals that the crisis on Ryloth is actually a siege and the Toydarian collectively balk at the idea of helping the Republic in a matter of war and the meeting is adjourned. Did Bail really hope to slip that by them unnoticed?

On Ryloth, the situation is becoming desperate as the Republicans are trapped in some kind of valley and Cham thinks the Republic is abandoning them. On Toydaria, the king asks Bail and Lott to argue their points: Bail simply states that they intend to bring purely humanitarian aid to the twi'leks and brings Orn Free Tah on the line, the twi'lek senator makes an impassioned speech about the vow of the "twilight people" (odd name, I thought that had retconned Ryloth into not a ring-world?). Then Lott Dod claim that the Republic will uses Toydaria to bring weapons to Ryloth, the Separatist Senate will perceive this as a breach of Toydaria's neutrality and decide to attack the planet forcing the Trade federation to stop their business there pre-emptively. The Toydarians start weighing their economy against the lives of the twi'leks and the king dismisses the senators until he's taken a decision.

On Ryloth, Master Di decides to turn their one remaining gunship into a bomb to collapse a pass leading to their position, this will force the Separatists to come from one direction alone, allowing the clones to hold for long enough for the twi'leks to evacuate with the refugees through the mountains. On Toydaria, the king decides against helping the Republic much to Dod's satisfaction. However, as they leave, the king privately meets with them and says that he will allow them to use Toydaria once, for the supplies they have already brought, on the condition that the Trade Federation can't prove a thing. To do so, Bail Organa makes an excuse to avoid attending a formal dinner (which Lott Dod loudly complains about, what diplomat) to go oversee the transfer of cargo while Jar Jar distracts the guests. The dinner is happening on a floating table that reminds me of Quatre ?. Jar Jar improvises a gungan traditionnal art piece by juggling plates and drinks and creating a structurally-improbable pile. What happened to his clumsiness? Dod's aid gets way into it, which I found funny.

On Ryloth, Di puts his plan into action. Even though he and the clones all die, he lives long enough to witness the blockade runners arrive and die knowing the twi'leks will survive. Yes, Di dies. Bye, Di. The twi'leks are happy to get some food and medicine but Cham still looks upset. On Toydaria, Lott Dod catches Organa and Binks just before they leave to confront them about what just happened on Ryloth. Organa says that if Lott Dod has any evidence to show the Senate, he is welcomed to do so. Dod realizes the senate takes forever to decide anything and throws a wordless fit that is so ridiculous to watch, it's a wonder it hasn't been memed to death. The toydarian king says he's reconsidering joining the republic and is willing to meet with the Jedi, leading into the first episode.

Spoiler: My thoughts

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That episode was rather mediocre. The plot was mostly okay but not very interesting either. Di (a name rather on the nose) had a cool look but not much besides that. I do hope we get to see more of his species. Lott Dod is still a better TF vilain than Gunray, but that's a low bar. Jar Jar was tolerable which is impressive for Jar Jar but still not much.

Next up: Sphere of Influence

[Keltest]

As far as jar jar goes, they need to make him at least somewhat competent sometimes to explain why he keeps showing up. If he actually just botched everything he touched, the senate would have thrown him out.

[Fyraltari]

As far as jar jar goes, they need to make him at least somewhat competent sometimes to explain why he keeps showing up. If he actually just botched everything he touched, the senate would have thrown him out.

This implies that the Republic Senate has standards which I do not believe.

[Trafalgar]

As far as jar jar goes, they need to make him at least somewhat competent sometimes to explain why he keeps showing up. If he actually just botched everything he touched, the senate would have thrown him out.

If only real world legislatures could throw out their incompetent members.....

[Fyraltari]

So I've watched a couple episodes forward and is it me or are these episodes and the one just before really lackluster?

[Peelee]

So I've watched a couple episodes forward and is it me or are these episodes and the one just before really lackluster?

It's not just you.

[Jasdoif]

So I've watched a couple episodes forward and is it me or are these episodes and the one just before really lackluster?

Season three's kind of sad; it feels like only one out of every three episodes is above average. Some of those are really good, mind you....

[Sapphire Guard]

I can't remember what comes where, but IIRC I started skipping episodes somewhere around this point if they didn't seem important.

Spoiler: full series

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Most of the long arcs outstay their welcome or could lose an episode. I feel like they were better at concise storytelling early on, then it starts to drag a bit as the arcs get longer. My memories are dim so I could be mistaken

[Fyraltari]

Well, shoot.

[Jasdoif]

Well, shoot.

I suppose I should elaborate, without overdoing it on spoilers....

• Spoiler: Episode 4 (Sphere of Influence)

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  Admittedly, the fanboying over Baron Lucas feels a little more tolerable after seeing Star Wars run by people who actively hate it....Still, the episode would be better served if it was devoted to Ahsoka and Chuchi, if only because that would avoid relegating Ahsoka to guest star status in her own series....
• Spoiler: Episodes 5, 6 (The Middle Mandalore Arc)

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  Poisoning kids because it's cheap? Seriously? Was diluting tea with water too arduous a long time ago in a galaxy far far away? It's an uphill struggle from there, and I do mean struggle. There are a few good moments...between both episodes. "Accountability in the face of corruption" is of course a great theme, but a great theme with a lackluster implementation is still lackluster storytelling.
• Spoiler: Episode 7 (Assassin)

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  This one's good; it's a sane take on Force-as-mysticism, Ahsoka-centric, and contrasts Ahsoka with Attack-of-the-Clones-Anakain despite all the parallels the two understandably have.
• Spoiler: Episodes 8, 9 (The We Can't REALLY Retcon Ziro Can We Arc)

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  These look like filler episodes because they are. Even killing off Ziro doesn't raise the bar above mediocre.
• Spoiler: Episode 10 (Heroes on Both Sides)

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  A great one; this episode really hits the point that the Separatists are people like the Republic, not just an army of droids and their commanders. And also, that Dooku publicly supports pursuing peace while privately sabotaging it; to the same extent that Palpatine does. (This episode also debuts new 3D models for the main cast, in case that's a deciding factor for some reason.)
• Spoiler: Episode 11 (Pursuit of Peace)

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  This episode is forgettable. As in, I forgot about it until I reread a synopsis....I'm sure the episode thinks it deserves to be considered an arc along with the great episode before it. It's wrong. Padme's speech at the end is good, don't get me wrong; but nowhere near enough to make up for the bloat that meandered its way there.
• Spoiler: Episodes 12, 13, 14 (The Nightsisters Arc)

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  This is almost entirely setup for interesting stuff that won't happen until later seasons. Whether it's worth watching on its own merits depends entirely on how much you like watching the development of minor fallout from Dooku's betrayals.
• Spoiler: Episodes 15, 16, 17 (The Mortis Arc)

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  This is the worst arc in the entire series, though I understand I'm in the minority on that opinion. (I'm not watching the recent relaunched seasons, so I guess it's possible there's worse now?) I appreciate the whole intent of getting characters to talk about things they'd never say out loud in their usual state of mind, but that's like two scenes in the middle episode; the rest of it is overwrought over-symbolic psychedelic garbage that relies on a series of reset buttons....
• Spoiler: Episodes 18, 19, 20 (The Citadel Arc)

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  Back to good. This is a fairly standard military breakout mission that's filled with enough sudden complications and turnarounds that it fills three episodes without feeling like it's being padded for length. This is what all adventure stories should aspire to be!
• Spoiler: Episodes 21, 22 (The Trandoshan Moon Arc)

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  While it starts kind of slow, this one is great: It's all about Ahsoka being forced to fill Anakin's shoes, and both of them coming to accept just how much she's learned from being his apprentice. This is still the most insightful depiction of mentorship that I've seen.

[Fyraltari]

The Mortis Arc

Oh.

I've heard about this. Ooooooooh boy.

[dancrilis]

Oh.

I've heard about this. Ooooooooh boy.

Personally I don't think it is bad in terms of 'can I watch this without hating every second of it' it is more bad in terms of 'what? why? what? ... no just no - I am going to ignore this unless I want to annoy someone on the internet by using it as a reference'.

It effectively messes with things that didn't need to be messed with should be left alone.

[Dire_Flumph]

Oh.

I've heard about this. Ooooooooh boy.

Ah, the Mortis Arc. Honestly, taken *completely on its own* it's not that a bad story. As a bigger look into the "mythology" of Star Wars however, yeesh. Hard to complain about midichlorians quite as much afterwards.

Spoiler: I mean, I'll take "The Force is an Energy Field we access through microscopic organisms" over..

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The Force is three guys on an asteroid somewhere. And then that last old EU novel series tried to add to it by basically throwing Cthulu into the mix.

So yeah, Jasdoif, I'll back you up on your opinion. I'll take Ziro or Padme's latest "I trusted you and you let me down" arc over this nonsense.

Hadn't thought about it in awhile, but I guess season 3 was a dip in quality. Hang in there, season 4 was an improvement and quite possibly my favorite arc (The Krell/Umbara arc) was in there.

[Peelee]

Spoiler: I mean, I'll take "The Force is an Energy Field we access through microscopic organisms" over..

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And then that last old EU novel series tried to add to it by basically throwing Cthulu into the mix.

We don't talk about that series.

For reals, I've never seen anyone discuss it. And after this, I'll need to add "organically" to the end of that sentence.

[Dire_Flumph]

We don't talk about that series.

Thanks Peelee, I'll add "Fate of the Jedi" to the list between "Ewoks" and "Holdo Maneuver"

[Fyraltari]

Season 3, Episode 4: Sphere of Influence

Spoiler: Recap

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So, we're checking up on the Pantorans from season. They've elected a new Chairman, Baron Papanoida, since the previous one's death but they've got another problem: the Trade federation is blockading them. Since the Republic doesn't seem to be willing to take action, the people is starting to turn against it. Especially since Dooku has offered help if Pantora joins the Separatists. Senator Chichu is pleading to the Senate to intervene but Lott Dod claims this is just an internal affair, they'll leave once Pantora has paid its debts (easy when you can' trade with anyone, right?) and they're totally neutral, they just do business with the Separatists (how he keeps getting away with this crap is beyond me. The Republic doesn't recognize the CIS so if you supply them with anything you should be charged with treason). There's a short scene of Chichu assuring Padmé that the Pantorans are never going to join the CIS and then she meets Papanoida who's just arrived. He introduces her to his children, two daughters (one of whom is wearing an entire carpet on her head. A bold statement) and a son in a military uniform. While the daughters leave the baron and his son tell Chichu (who seats without offering her boss a chair. Cultural thing, I guess) that the blockade is doing more damage than predicted and they don't have much time before their people force them to join the Separatists.

Papanoida's daughters are attacked in their own apartment by a Rodian and an alien from a species I don't recognize who knock them out and kidnap them. Your security personnel needs training, Pantorans. A bit later, Anakin and Padmé are comparing this plot to TPM the Pantorans' situation to Naboo's previous one and Anakin cracks a joke that that blockus wasn't so bad since it's how they met (weren't there talks of death camps a that point?), anyways, the couple is interrupted by Ahsoka telling them of the disappearance of the baron's daughters. Anakin states that the Jedi can't get involved because this is a job for the local police (why, of course! the immediate family of the head of a Republican planet come to petition the Senate getting kidnapped, of course this is a job for the Coruscant police! Of course!) so he agrees that Ahsoka helps but only if she isn't found out, while he gets the council not to notice her absence. Padmé still can' t believe they let Anakin teach. You and I, Padmé, you and I.

Ahsoka offers her service to the Pontarians who are glad to have her. She suspects the Separatists and the son intervenes that Dooku has already offered his "help" to find the daughters. He doesn't think they've been kidnapped but are held hostage... What's the difference? Ahsoka guesses the daughters are held on the flagship of the blockade, which would be the last place to hide them, but given the Separatists' usual competency level, whatever. Papanoida sends her and Chichu to "pay them a diplomatic visit" while he and his son follow the investigation.

The rest of the episode is split between these two groups, so I'll do both sequentially. Papanoida & son are told by the detective from last time (who thankfully doesn't appear further) that the police hasn't found anything in their quarters. The baron however notices an icon in the wrong place and spots green blood under it. He correctly deduces that his daughter used it to fight off their attackers who later didn't know to put it back in its correct spot. He uses a doodad to match the blood against "known galactic criminals" and immediately gets a positive match for Greedo from ANH (Holy Police State, Batman!). Rather than inform the police, they go themselves to Tatooine since his file says that's where he's based.

They get to Jabba's palace to look for him and elect not to talk to Jabba until they know if he's involved (I guess anyone can just walk into Jabba's palace). The baron's plan is to ask around for him so that he comes to them. One of the twi'lek they ask turns out to be Greedo's girlfriend. When he hears about Pantorans looking for him he decides to kill them (weird hearing Greedo talk in Basic). Greedo and his friend attack the baron and his son. The Baron overpowers Greedo and makes noise so they have to talk to Jabba. Papanoid appeals to Jabba as a fellow father (Jabba's adorable baby is here) and asks to be allowed to take a blood sample from Greedo to prove his guilt. This terrorizes Greedo apparently who admits to have been hired by the Separatists. He also confesses that one of his daughters is in Mos Eisley.

Greedo leads them into a cantina and tells a random goon to get the prisoner. His accomplice is also there and completely fails to recognize the Papanoidas as being the same species as his prisoner even though he's suspicious of them. However when the daughter comes in and exclaims "Father!" the shooting starts. Despite being seriously outnumbered the family guns down the entire bar save for Greedo (who won't always have such luck in cantinas). The Baron noticeably can apparently dual-wield like a maniac.

Meanwhile, Chuchi and Ahsoka (pretending to be Chuchi's servant) land on the flagship of the TF's blockade. The senator pretends that the Baron is willing to join the CIS in exchange for the end of the blockade so the local TF ambassador invites them to stay the night to discuss the details. They sneak inside the ambassador's office and eavesdrop on him arguing with the ship's captain who is indignant about having a kidnapee on his ship. The two narrowly avoid getting caught (including a nice moment where Ahsoka levitates Chuchi out of sight).

They get in the detention area thanks to Ahsoka performing her first ever mind-trick, though she has to do it twice for the guard to let them both pass. Ahsoka explains that she can't sense where the daughters are because "It's not something I can turn on and off" (that doesn't answer the question...) but the security systems can definitely spot the trespassers. They do end up finding her through the good old technique of trying every door. The captain tries to stop them by sicking half a dozen B2s on them but.. well... Jedi. The ambassador arrives with some more guards and Chuchi threatens to disclose the Trade Fedearation's part in the kidnapping. Unless they call off the blockade.

Back on Corsucant, Dod blames everything on the captain which he claims was working for Gunray and that the TF has returned Papanoida's daughters and, in a gesture of good faith, they are dropping the blockade. So they're even milking some good PR out of that?

Spoiler: My thoughts

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A rather run-of-the-mill episode with a bit of action and a little of intrigue but it doesn't really stand out. It's nice to see that Greedo was always a lousy criminal. The Baron is weirdly hands-on for a head of state and a surprisingly good fighter (especially for his apparent age). Chuchi turning the situation to her advantage by blackmailing the Trade Federation was nice political-savy moment, the kind I wish Padmé had more of.

Next up: Corruption.

[Devonix]

Thanks Peelee, I'll add "Fate of the Jedi" to the list between "Ewoks" and "Holdo Maneuver"

Spoiler

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Gonna be very hard not talking about it in a couple episodes

[Fyraltari]

season , Episode 5: Corruption

Spoiler: recap

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Padmé is making a diplomatic visit to Mandalore at the behest of Duchess Satine. Turns out that because of the war, Mandalore faces various shortages and as a result the black market is booming which is never good. Padmé and Satine together is bit like a duel of improbable hairstyles, what's weirder? Fashioning your hair into horns or sticking some penne inside? There's a whole crowd of people cheering Padmé on her way from the spaceport to the palace which is apparently a "typical Mandalorian welcome." Huh. Also, turns out that by "diplomatic visit" Satine meant "not talking politic but taking you sightseeing." That's not in my dictionary.

At the same time a group of smugglers arrive and unload crates full of bottles as well as bribe a custom officer. The leaders of the smugglers are snakemen in nifty ancient Egypt-inspired get-ups and the henchmen are of the same species as Greedo's accomplice from last time. They are smuggling in tea but they decide to dilute it with "slabin" to double their margin. One Mando scientist wonders about the slabin's toxicity but the head smuggler says that if the dosage is right, it shouldn't pose a problem. Meanwhile, at the palace, a group of ministers are arguing about the situation, and by arguing I mean throwing names. Padmé intervenes to try to convince them to (re?-)join the Republic to solve their supply problem, but they answer that the Senate is even more corrupt than their planet and start arguing again until Satine sends everyone to their rooms adjourns the meeting.

Satine and Padmé discuss politics over dinner. Apparently Palpatine claims that the war is going much better than it actually is. We get a nice moment of Padmé wistfully thinking of not having to meddle in the war and the less pleasant side of galactic politics. We also get a cringe-worthy line from Sabine "The contamination of greed reaches deep and far within the Republic." The Duchess decides they'll go visit a newly opened hospital tomorrow, as seeing "true good at work" would lift their spirits. However, said hospital is already overcrowed by children, victims of a so-called epidemic, though the head doctor suspects poison but doesn't know which. There are similar situations planet-wide but all the children in the hospital come from the same school.

Satine and Amidala inform Prime Minister Almec who immediately suspects Death Watch to have moved from government targets to full-on terrorism. His grand plan of action is... talking to the ruling council about it. Satine mobilizes her personal guard and sends it to investigate various places while she, Amidala and the doctor head to the school. The doctor hasn't identified anything nocive in the food of the last few days, however once Satine points out the bottled tea many children are drinking, he says that he hasn't tested those as they're not part of the menu but sold by an independent vendor. They bring a bottle to a lab inside the school (holy education budget, batman!) and discover that the tea is laced with slabin, it usually isn't lethal but such a concentration mixed with the tea would cause the children's condition.

They ask the superintendent to show them the school's import log but discover it has been tampered with: there's no record of the buying of the tea. The superintendent tries to leg it and fails. Satine makes an implied threat of torture and he admits to everything. However he doesn't know whether Death Watch is involved as he only dealt with a middle-man. The middle-man, named Sadik, is utterly nonchalant about having accidentally poisoned children, he has apparently not done anything illegal, or at least so illegal that his "corporate contract" can't protect him, but he coughs up the dates and places of the shipments of tea to Mandalore. Oh look there's one scheduled for that very night!

As the Senator and Duchess sneak to the delivery they bound around the fun they're having compared to the usual politicking. They witness the custom official taking his cut from the smugglers. The next day, Satine summons the captain in charge of the customs who refuses to believe any of his men are corrupt or that smugglers could operate on his dock, even when Satine and Padmé tell him they saw it with their own eyes. How did this guy get that job? Anyway, Satine orders him to come with them to arrest the criminals. At the warehouse two of his men refuse to let them pass and attack Satine without any success. A shoot-out ensues between the smugglers and Satine's guards (plus the captain and Padmé). Random thugs versus Mando can you guess who wins? Satine orders the warehouse burnt over the captain's objection that there's evidence inside. And they burn it. What the hell, Satine? Aslo, do they carry flamethrowers at all time?

Satine and Padmé explain to Almec what happened and that supplies of the antidote should be there soon enough to save the children. Satine is enraged by the widespread corruption in her government. Almec decides to set up a comitee to look into it. As Padmé leaves, Satine says that while she trusts Almec she doesn't trust whoever he'll put in charge of the investigation and asks Amidala to arrange for a Jedi to be sent to investigate undercover.

Spoiler: My thoughts

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This wasn't a very good episode. I can't really pinpoint anything overly wrong with it except maybe the heavy-handedness of the "corruption bad" message which isn't even a message I think anybody would dispute. Oh and that the episode is structured around an investigation we are told the answer to almost immediately. The snake alien had a neat design and I wonder whether that's the only time in Star Wars where smugglers were portrayed as shady criminals rather than rogueish heroic Han-Solo types. I think the Mandalorian guards are the most tactically minded people in the show (using shield as cover and moving a big containers to come into the warehouse while still being protected) which didn't stop the fight from being rather so-so. Basically, this isn't bad as much as it is boring.

Next up: The Academy

[Keltest]

I... think... part of the point of the episode is to remind you that the republic has real, verifiable issues even without the separatists, and that even without Count Dooku and Palpatine stirring up the conflict into open war, something was going to come to a head. The Trade Federation isnt even a system, but they still had (have?) their own senator. Mandalore is probably right to not trust that the republic would be able to help with its problems much, given that they havent even solved those problems in their own territories.