Star Wars: The Clone Wars 2x13 Voyage of Temptation

[Christopher]

An effective episode, Paul Dini's second TCW script, I believe. The assassin droid puppeteering the corpse was very creepy; who knew droids had a nasty sense of humor? And yeah, Obi-Wan using the tribble test in reverse was a nice touch.

Why was a protocol droid in charge of cargo, though? Or is that design used for things other than just protocol droids?

P.S. I made that pic myself don't read to much into it....

What? It's a clip from the episode. And the logos at the bottom make it clear that it's an official promotional image. Why in the world would you claim to have "made" it yourself?!

So who else figured Anakin would be the one to kill the traitor after the clood blooded comment?

Yeah, that was predictable. However, I don't see why they needed to kill him at all. Obi-Wan could've just cut his hand off. That seems to be a very common tactic in the SW-verse.

Senator Merrick, wonder if that was a nod to First Citizen Merrick, in Star Trek Bread and Circuses.

Profoundly unlikely. It's hardly a unique name. There have been dozens of fictional characters named Merrick, Marick, or in this case Merrik over the decades (the most famous one is probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer's original Watcher).

What surprised me is that Tal Merrik was played by Greg Proops from Whose Line is it Anyway? Okay, I know he has a broader acting resume than that, including one of the pod-race announcers in The Phantom Menace, but it clashes with my expectations.

 

[DarthPipes]

Forgot to mention about the droid using the clone as a puppet. Very creepy scene.

Obi-Wan could have grabbed the remote with the Force just like Ahsoka could have used it to grab her lightsaber from the crook. I wish they would show a little more consistency with Jedi powers here.

I really hope Obi-Wan and Satine weren't going to let that guy off with the bomb. I don't see how letting the guy escape to blow up the ship is a better choice.

 

[Christopher]

Obi-Wan could have grabbed the remote with the Force just like Ahsoka could have used it to grab her lightsaber from the crook. I wish they would show a little more consistency with Jedi powers here.

A thought: Have we ever really seen the Force used to affect living beings telekinetically, other than Vader's strangulation gimmick? It seems to me that Force telekinesis is generally directed against inanimate objects. Is it possible that the bioelectric field of living beings interferes with Force TK somehow, so that only the strongest adepts can telekinetically affect a person or something being held by that person? (Note: I'm specifically referring to TK here, physically moving someone or something, not the Jedi Mind Trick. Affecting someone's perceptions or intentions is probably a lot easier than physically manipulating their bodies.)

I really hope Obi-Wan and Satine weren't going to let that guy off with the bomb. I don't see how letting the guy escape to blow up the ship is a better choice.

I don't think either of them would have let him go, but the point was that whichever of them did kill him would pay a grave personal cost for doing so. Anakin spared them both from having to make that sacrifice.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^^ It might have been moving if Obi-Wan had no choice but to dispatch him in her presence showing how much his commitment to the Jedi order and the greater good meant.

 

[Quantum]

An effective episode, Paul Dini's second TCW script, I believe. The assassin droid puppeteering the corpse was very creepy; who knew droids had a nasty sense of humor? And yeah, Obi-Wan using the tribble test in reverse was a nice touch.

Why was a protocol droid in charge of cargo, though? Or is that design used for things other than just protocol droids?

P.S. I made that pic myself don't read to much into it....

What? It's a clip from the episode. And the logos at the bottom make it clear that it's an official promotional image. Why in the world would you claim to have "made" it yourself?!

So who else figured Anakin would be the one to kill the traitor after the clood blooded comment?

Yeah, that was predictable. However, I don't see why they needed to kill him at all. Obi-Wan could've just cut his hand off. That seems to be a very common tactic in the SW-verse.

Senator Merrick, wonder if that was a nod to First Citizen Merrick, in Star Trek Bread and Circuses.

Profoundly unlikely. It's hardly a unique name. There have been dozens of fictional characters named Merrick, Marick, or in this case Merrik over the decades (the most famous one is probably Buffy the Vampire Slayer's original Watcher).

What surprised me is that Tal Merrik was played by Greg Proops from Whose Line is it Anyway? Okay, I know he has a broader acting resume than that, including one of the pod-race announcers in The Phantom Menace, but it clashes with my expectations.

When I said I "made it" what I meant was that is was a screen capture from the trailer for this episode. It wasn't an official promo image of any kind.

 

[DarthPipes]

I don't think either of them would have let him go, but the point was that whichever of them did kill him would pay a grave personal cost for doing so. Anakin spared them both from having to make that sacrifice.

Good point.

 

[Christopher]

When I said I "made it" what I meant was that is was a screen capture from the trailer for this episode. It wasn't an official promo image of any kind.

But my comment was about the body language between Obi-Wan and Satine, which is not something you were responsible for. So I can't for the life of me understand how your comment is in any way relevant to the observation I made.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^^ I think the point was the image selection was his not what Lucasfilm was trying to make necessarily.

 

[Christopher]

Well, of course any single image from a whole episode is just going to be a cross-section at best. I made my speculation with full awareness of that fact. However, I turned out to be basically correct. It wasn't the comedy I wondered about, but the romantic tension I read into that image was certainly a major part of the story, and it wasn't without its humorous aspects (which is pretty much a given when Dini's doing the script).

 

[JediKnightButler]

^^ It might have been moving if Obi-Wan had no choice but to dispatch him in her presence showing how much his commitment to the Jedi order and the greater good meant.

I agree that that would've probably been more moving for him to be the one to dispatch him. I think Obi-Wan was struggling about Satine's feelings for him and his desire to maintain her respect/affection for him ultimately won out- but in the end, of course, Anakin spared him from either of them having to take any action themselves and they were both able to maintain their personal integrity. I was a little shocked at Anakin simply stabbing him through the chest "Grievous-style" but, well, we all know where he ends up and it was probably the only "safe" way to stop him from activating the detonator.

 

[Booji]

Anyone else notice Anakin gets a brief migraine after going all Dark Side on the traitor peep? Side effects from using some bad shit?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Given Obi-Wan's penchant for "disarming" opponents maybe another way could have been found.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Definitely one of my favorite episodes this season. Hints of a side of Obi-Wan we never knew.

I also liked how Anakin threw his lightsaber "boomerang-style" at one point in a way not too unlike he would [as Lord Vader] against Luke in Episode VI...

 

[ALF]

This series is really delivering. I will never understand why Lucas is so steadfast in not having a series like this set during the original trilogy, or even the New Jedi Order. It would look fantastic. Leia becoming a Jedi... But I do enjoy the Clone Wars and this series is great upon repeat viewings.

And yes, as another posted commented I did see the Padme-senator similarity. I also did not see the Tribble reference at all. Would anyone be so kind as to point it out for us? I can't imagine it was when the captain said, "engage".

 

[Christopher]

I also did not see the Tribble reference at all. Would anyone be so kind as to point it out for us?

The way Obi-Wan found the traitor, by seeing which senator the mini-assassin droid wouldn't attack, was kind of the inverse of how Captain Kirk uncovered Arne Darvin as a Klingon spy by discovering that he was the only "human" in the room that the tribbles didn't like.

 

[ALF]

I also did not see the Tribble reference at all. Would anyone be so kind as to point it out for us?

The way Obi-Wan found the traitor, by seeing which senator the mini-assassin droid wouldn't attack, was kind of the inverse of how Captain Kirk uncovered Arne Darvin as a Klingon spy by discovering that he was the only "human" in the room that the tribbles didn't like.

Of course! .... I get it now. For some reason I was wondering if I missed a furry ball duplicating itself. Thanks.

 

[DarthPipes]

This series is really delivering. I will never understand why Lucas is so steadfast in not having a series like this set during the original trilogy, or even the New Jedi Order. It would look fantastic. Leia becoming a Jedi... But I do enjoy the Clone Wars and this series is great upon repeat viewings.

And yes, as another posted commented I did see the Padme-senator similarity. I also did not see the Tribble reference at all. Would anyone be so kind as to point it out for us? I can't imagine it was when the captain said, "engage".

Yeah, not having an original trilogy cartoon is such a missed opportunity.

 

[cbspock]

The little spider droids reminded me of the robots in the movie Lost in Space. The tribble reference was fun. Good episode. Senator Merrick, wonder if that was a nod to First Citizen Merrick, in Star Trek Bread and Circuses.


-Chris

There was a tribble ref? :S

As for episode itself, it was rather brilliant. Even though I knew Anakin would be the one to end that crazy senators life, the way they handled it with a touch of the imperial march playing was fantastic.

If the show keeps up this pace of self improvement, it may well become one of the best things on TV come the 4th season :P

The way Ben used the assassin droid to find the person who triggered it, was similar to the way Kirk used the Tribble to find the klingon. Also when the ship went to lightspeed, the commander said "engage" another star trek reference.



-Chris

 

[JediKnightButler]

Given Obi-Wan's penchant for "disarming" opponents maybe another way could have been found.

I agree but I think that the writers wanted to go for the "shock value" of Anakin stabbing the guy through the chest- hey, it gives Anakin some more "Vader Street Cred". Anakin's actions would've been even more potent had Anakin not felt the apparent need to blubber out what sounded like an apology/explanation to Obi-Wan for what he did IMHO.

 

[JediKnightButler]

This series is really delivering. I will never understand why Lucas is so steadfast in not having a series like this set during the original trilogy, or even the New Jedi Order. It would look fantastic. Leia becoming a Jedi... But I do enjoy the Clone Wars and this series is great upon repeat viewings.

And yes, as another posted commented I did see the Padme-senator similarity. I also did not see the Tribble reference at all. Would anyone be so kind as to point it out for us? I can't imagine it was when the captain said, "engage".

Yeah, not having an original trilogy cartoon is such a missed opportunity.

I know that I have said similar things here (and elsewhere) before but I'll say again that, while Clone Wars has been excellent- indeed remarkable- it still makes me pine for a series featuring the OT characters either during the OT timeline or post-ROTJ. Maybe if we bug George enough about it............
I know we're getting the live series sometime in the near future but, given its setting between ROTS and ANH it will likely feature a whole set of characters most of whom we probably won't know let alone care about and I believe that it's already been reported that characters like Darth Vader/Emperor Palpatine won't figure much into it (if at all) and there may or may not be any new Jedi characters involved either- in which case I have to ask, can they call just ANYTHING "Star Wars" (just as long as it happens to be set in the same "universe"), nowadays? If these reports are true, they'll be pretty much ripping out the "guts" of the whole franchise with this live action series.
Having more (CG animated) adventures with the OT characters has a LOT more storytelling potential IMHO- which makes Lucas' lack of desire to do more with the OT (except for continuously "tweaking" the OT movies, of course) that more frustrating/difficult to understand. Heck, I don't even know when (or if) we will get any of the movies on Blu-Ray and/or Digital Download.

O.k. I'm calming down now...................