Star Wars: The Clone Wars S4

[Temis the Vorta]

Great bunch of episodes (although I don't know why they had to be split up with the Xmas break - better to show them on contiguous weeks). I like this show best when it mixes the action with societal and psychological elements. Bet the Queen's dying words to Anakin - "you're a slave, too" - will come back to haunt him.

After the rescue, Palpatine contacts them and tells them he wants to keep the slave facility around for prisoners or something to that effect. Everyone, including Anakin, decides to disobey the order and destroy the facility. It would have shown that despite his increasing darkness, Anakin wasn't there yet and would actually defy a Palpatine order.

Interesting twist, but it might not work, character-arc-wise. Anakin is going from being an obedient "slave" of the Republic to being someone who questions whether authority figures like the Republic, the Jedi, etc should have his unquestioned loyalty. As long as he thinks Palps represents the established order, he should be obedient now, and less so later, that is, as long as he doesn't know the truth...

However, for a "good" authority figure to propose something "bad" like that, would increase Anakin's growing sense of frustration towards all established forms of order, especially since it's not the first time something like that has happened. So in that regard, that twist might work to push Anakin further along the path. It would be clever of Palps to plan it that way.

Are some of these episodes being taken from previously published sources?

 

[Christopher]

Am I missing something? If Obi-Wan and Ahsoka could Force-pull those collars off at any time, why didn't they do it sooner?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I wondered about that too. Some "anti-Force" gizmo introduced before the Xmas break and long forgotten now in a fog of eggnog?

 

[Disruptor]

Are some of these episodes being taken from previously published sources?

This is the first story that was, I think. This arc was originally a storyline from the Clone Wars comics. Some other things that were changed were the Zygerrian's appearance (a big difference), and Ahsoka being older in the toon version and wearing different slave attire.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Kadavo

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zygerrian

 

[Marc]

Am I missing something? If Obi-Wan and Ahsoka could Force-pull those collars off at any time, why didn't they do it sooner?

Depends if the slavers made threats against the others than directed at Obi Wan.

If he pulls the collars off, the slaves suffer.

 

[Christopher]

^But that doesn't explain Ahsoka, who was sitting up there alone in her cage.

And in the scene as shown, there were only one or two overseers. Obi-Wan could've easily taken them.

All I can think of is that they had to wait until the rescue fleet arrived for an escape to be effective. But if that was the idea, the episode failed to sell it.

 

[Caliburn24]

Pretty good episode. I thought the visuals were particularly good during the attack on the slave platform.

But yes, from a dramatic sense it was greatly weakened by not showing the audience exactly why Anakin/Ashoka/Obiwan were so passive for such a long time. Jedi powers need to be more consistently depicted!

Was the cruiser captain someone we have seen before or are supposed to know?

 

[lennier1]

Doesn't hurt that we finally got a better look at their version of the Z95 Headhunter.

 

[Marc]

Pretty good episode. I thought the visuals were particularly good during the attack on the slave platform.

But yes, from a dramatic sense it was greatly weakened by not showing the audience exactly why Anakin/Ashoka/Obiwan were so passive for such a long time. Jedi powers need to be more consistently depicted!

Was the cruiser captain someone we have seen before or are supposed to know?

Well we got one for Obi Wan - when the Queen was explaining to Duku her plans and it showed how others were punished for his infractions, true about Ashoka, but Anakin - well the queen had the others to hang over his head.

 

[JD]

Pretty good episode. I thought the visuals were particularly good during the attack on the slave platform.

But yes, from a dramatic sense it was greatly weakened by not showing the audience exactly why Anakin/Ashoka/Obiwan were so passive for such a long time. Jedi powers need to be more consistently depicted!

Was the cruiser captain someone we have seen before or are supposed to know?

I just looked the episode up on Wookieepedia and it says that was Coburn, and his only other appearance was in Citadel Rescue.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

some really great eps coming up if the synopsis' are anything to go by.

 

[Dac]

some really great eps coming up if the synopsis' are anything to go by.

Just looked through them, and the eps with descriptions do sound rather great. How come The Clone Wars tends to keep the good stuff for the back end of a season?

Also, SPOILER:

Spoiler: Upcoming Episodes

With the synopsis indicated a plan to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine in the works, Season 5 looks to be the end of the show for good. Or perhaps with the last episode of the series being titled "Revenge", we're in for something more interesting? Although chances are that title refers more to the return of Darth Maul than any retelling of Revenge of the Sith.

 

[timothy]

I would love to see a retelling of revenge of the sith with the new changes due to tv show.

 

[JD]

While it would be interesting, I don't see Lucas doing that. Unless we get a concurrent story focusing on some of the side character who either weren't in the movie, or only played a small role, that could be interesting.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I would love to see a retelling of revenge of the sith with the new changes due to tv show.

They should end the series with the events of ROTS, told from the perspective of Ashoka. Just because she's not in ROTS doesn't mean she wasn't alive.

And after that, they should launch a new post-ROTS series starring Ashoka as one of the very few surviving Jedi. They can keep that going for 20 years if they like, bringing the story up to ANH.

Of course, Anakin's motivations have already been vastly altered from what ROTS implied, regardless of whether the events are ever re-hashed-over. He now knows a hell of a lot more about the dark side and his potential role as The Chosen One, being uniquely able to bring order to a frighteningly chaotic and upsetting situation, which in turn is being described in far more convincing detail.

Rather than wonder whether the Republic really is hopelessly corrupt, the series actually shows us details that imply that might be the case and give Anakin good reason to question it. The Separatists are not just greedy dupes, they also include people with valid concerns, which has disturbing political implications. Those sorts of details make Anakin's rebellion seem much more vindicated and not simply a product of naivete.

The old story, about a stupid punk kid who fucked everything up when he got suckered by a Sith, is now defunct. Good riddance.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

some really great eps coming up if the synopsis' are anything to go by.

Just looked through them, and the eps with descriptions do sound rather great. How come The Clone Wars tends to keep the good stuff for the back end of a season?

Also, SPOILER:

Spoiler: Upcoming Episodes

With the synopsis indicated a plan to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine in the works, Season 5 looks to be the end of the show for good. Or perhaps with the last episode of the series being titled "Revenge", we're in for something more interesting? Although chances are that title refers more to the return of Darth Maul than any retelling of Revenge of the Sith.

yea, i'm looking forward to seeing grevious barge in and run through the jedi to take palps.

 

[Christopher]

yea, i'm looking forward to seeing grevious barge in and run through the jedi to take palps.

We already saw that in the last few episodes of the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars "microseries." Is that about to be definitively superseded?

 

[Set Harth]

Of course, Anakin's motivations have already been vastly altered from what ROTS implied

No, they haven't. It's still going to be about Padme. TCW is not a divergent timeline.

He now knows a hell of a lot more about the dark side and his potential role as The Chosen One

Not really. The Chosen One material was already there in the films, just without a cute visual metaphor. It wasn't Anakin who learned anything "new" about the dark side due to Mortis, it was Force-revisionists in the audience who failed to understand that their revisionism was contradicted by the balance plotline. In-universe such knowledge would be considered old news in Jedi circles.

The Separatists are not just greedy dupes, they also include people with valid concerns, which has disturbing political implications.

Also known as "heroes on both sides".

The old story, about a stupid punk kid who fucked everything up when he got suckered by a Sith, is now defunct.

ROTS is still canon. TCW doesn't change the events depicted in the film, doesn't aspire to, and wouldn't have the power to do so even if it wanted to.

 

[ReadyAndWilling]

I found the first 2 parts a little boring (probably because it aired after the excellent Krell arc) but I really liked this one. I like Clone Wars more when it's fast paced and actiony.

the first two were definitely boring, but this one wasn't all that great.

they never mentioned how dooku was able to flee the planet?

 

[Christopher]

they never mentioned how dooku was able to flee the planet?

He arrived in his trademark sailship; I assume he left the same way.