Star Wars: The Clone Wars New Year's Day Double Featue

[Quantum]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Grievous Intrigue
Grievous captures Eeth Koth, a Jedi Master. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia launch a rescue mission but could play right into Grievous' hands.

The Deserter
Rex meets a clone deserter on a distant planet and the two begin to examine their motivations for fighting for their respective causes.

These two episodes will air on January 1, 2010 at 9:00pm and 9:30pm est respectively on Cartoon Network.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Thanks for the head's up. The Grievous episode sounds like it could be fairly formulaic, but the clone deserter one sounds interesting. I hope they touch on the fact that the clones are essentially slaves regardless of the fact that the Jedi are relatively benevolent masters, and don't come up with some silly alternate reason for the clone to want to desert that doesn't tackle that major issue head-on.

 

[Gaith]

^^ So much for that.

I saw most of both eps, and if that's on par with most of the series, I won't be bothering much with it again. The dialogue is flat, the stories are less dramatic than some videogame cutscenes, and there's no sense of fun overall.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Thanks for the head's up. The Grievous episode sounds like it could be fairly formulaic,

It was, and a bit of a throw back to last season, other than Grievous saying he doesn't care about politics, only killing Jedi. Most of us knew that already.

Despite their efforts to the contrary, Kenobi's fight with Grievous makes his defeat in ROTS actually seem less special. I mean, Obi-Wan almost had him there, with Grievous having droids as back-up.

I thought maybe Eeth Koth would die. Or we'd see Adi Gallia go the planet she eventually dies on, except that's Stass Allie who dies on Saleucami. Gallia dies in a comic book.

Instead, Koth is saved at the cost of more clones and another ship.

but the clone deserter one sounds interesting. I hope they touch on the fact that the clones are essentially slaves regardless of the fact that the Jedi are relatively benevolent masters, and don't come up with some silly alternate reason for the clone to want to desert that doesn't tackle that major issue head-on.

They touched on the "clones are slaves" in last season's episode "The Hidden Enemy", when a clone turns traitor (it was a prequel to The Clone Wars movie) out just such a motivation.

I think Kut deserted because he just wanted some tail. And he certainly got some.

Okay, they overused commando droids, which seem much more effective than other models, except when attacking a farmer and an injured clone captain. They really should've use regular battle droids...especially given the number of them. And how did the deserter even know about commando droids if he deserted after the events of AOTC? None were present there (I'm sure EU can retcon that, but that would be a bit whorish.)

The Deserter was still the better of the two episodes.

 

[JediKnightButler]

I thought that they were both pretty good episodes, particularly the first one although it was a bit anti-climatic given that we know that they aren't going to get Greivous and, of course, Kenobi isn't going to die either. I initially wondered if the Jedi who had gotten captured was going to die but, of course, he didn't. I thought it was humorous when the droid kept trying to grab his arm to kill the Jedi but eventually ended up getting sliced by Anakin.
The second episode was a little more interesting- seeing another clone deserter- although, as somebody already pointed out here, this had already kind of been touched on in S1 ("The Hidden Enemy"). I was a bit confused how the deserter's children already seemed so old given that the Clone Wars lasted for 3 years and that he apparently deserted following the events of AOTC which- AFAIK- was only 1-2(?) years prior to this episode. Maybe Twi'leks age faster?
Minor point but it's not like SW isn't riddled with continuity errors (doesn't make me like the movies/stories any less, however).
Does anybody know what's up for next week? They didn't have a preview after the episode.

 

[DarthPipes]

Good action there on the first episode. Nice to see the introduction of Adi Gallia and Eeth Koth. I do think though they need to have Grievous do a better job in these duels. Also, it was ridiculous to have younglings in the war room.

I really liked the second episode although there wasn't nearly enough time to address the whole "clones as slaves" storyline. You just can't flesh out that topic well enough on a twenty-two minute show. That being said, I'm glad the topic was addressed in this episode and liked the interaction between Rex (a Rex episode is always a good thing) and The Deserter. Love the design of Saleucami and the farm.

 

[DarthPipes]

Maybe Twi'leks age faster?

I thought they were his step-children. If they are his actual children, my guess would be that they inherited some (not all) of their father's accelerated aging.

 

[JediKnightButler]

Maybe Twi'leks age faster?

I thought they were his step-children. If they are his actual children, my guess would be that they inherited some (not all) of their father's accelerated aging.

Oh, I couldn't remember if it was said that they were his step-children or biological children although either way I guess there are ways to account for their age and appearance in the episode.

 

[Christopher]

"Grievous Intrigue" was excellent, with a terrific script by Ben Edlund. Grievous has never been more impressive as a character. He was actually an intelligent foe here, anticipating the Jedi's moves and keeping a step ahead of them, making him a worthy challenge. And he was given some motivation as well. He's not just a cardboard baddie now; we know what he wants, and that's the key to character. He hates the Jedi. He doesn't care about the politics behind the war; this is personal to him. It would've been nice to find out why, but that's hopefully to come in future episodes. It's good to reveal new things about a character, but it's also good to leave us wanting more.

The main thing that annoyed me was a perennial problem with the show -- introducing all these new Jedi and other characters and not naming them for a long time. Like introducing that female Jedi who went on the rescue and not mentioning her name until more than 2/3 of the way through.

"The Deserter" was more mixed. After seeing how well Ben Edlund handled Grievous, this Carl Ellsworth teleplay was a disappointment. Grievous was stupid here, squandering droids he might need by forcing them to walk and drain their power cells. Yes, I know one of his defining traits is his contempt for the incompetent droids he's saddled with, but given what we saw in the previous half-hour, he should've been smart enough to set that aside and not waste his resources in an emergency situation.

But the other plot with Rex and the deserter clone Cut was excellent. It's always cool when the show personifies the clones and explores their point of view and existential issues. It's actually kind of disturbing that the clones aren't allowed to leave the army.

The farmer's wife being a scantily clad Twi'lek was a bit gratuitous, though very nice to look at.

I was surprised by the voice credits on Starwars.com. I could've sworn Suu (the Twi'lek) was played by Jennifer Hale, but apparently it was someone named Cara Pifku. The young boy sounded like Tara Strong to me, but it was Kath Soucie. And I was beginning to suspect that the girl was Russi Taylor (of DuckTales and The Simpsons), but it turned out to be Nika Futterman, the voice of Asajj Ventress (and Catwoman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold). I'm used to mistaking Futterman for Cree Summer (who played Ventress in the prior Clone Wars animated series); I never thought I'd mistake her for Russi Taylor. That's good range. She's starting to impress me.

On the other hand, this episode underlined Dee Bradley Baker's limitations as an actor. I didn't really feel his performance as Cut and Rex brought as much emotion to the lines as they needed.

 

[DarthPipes]

The main thing that annoyed me was a perennial problem with the show -- introducing all these new Jedi and other characters and not naming them for a long time. Like introducing that female Jedi who went on the rescue and not mentioning her name until more than 2/3 of the way through.

Yeah, I thought it was odd Gallia didn't get called by her name until late in the episode but that's par for the course in SW. Leia is never referred to by her last name in the original trilogy, Palpatine is never referred to as anything other than The Emperor in the original trilogy, Boba Fett is not referred to by name in ESB and Bail Organa is never referred to by his first name in the prequels.

The farmer's wife being a scantily clad Twi'lek was a bit gratuitous, though very nice to look at.

I suppose they could justify that with shirtless Rex.

I pretty sure those were The Deserter's step-children. Remember how the point was made in this episode about choosing your own family.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Yes, those had to be step children. Humans and twii'leks crossbreeding? This isn't Star Trek!

Would've been really funny if they chose a less human-like species....Wookie, Gran, Ithorian, Rodian.

Oh, and what the heck was with the clone with the Republic symbol tattooed over his head and face? His helmet had the symbol, too. If that guy survives it to the galactic empire, he's gonna look like a wanker.

 

[Silvercrest]

"Grievous Intrigue" was excellent, with a terrific script by Ben Edlund. Grievous has never been more impressive as a character. He was actually an intelligent foe here, anticipating the Jedi's moves and keeping a step ahead of them, making him a worthy challenge.

But in the end he lost his ship and his Jedi prisoner. You know, the one he could have killed but chose not to. Just like almost every other time we've seen him.

In the course of this series, how many Jedi has he actually killed? One padawan? And how many ships has he lost? (Especially counting Malevolence.) How long can we take him seriously if he always gets his shiny metal ass handed to him?

But the other plot with Rex and the deserter clone Cut was excellent. It's always cool when the show personifies the clones and explores their point of view and existential issues. It's actually kind of disturbing that the clones aren't allowed to leave the army.

And now there's a new meaning to the phrase "Cut and run."

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I thought it was odd Gallia didn't get called by her name until late in the episode but that's par for the course in SW. Leia is never referred to by her last name in the original trilogy, Palpatine is never referred to as anything other than The Emperor in the original trilogy, Boba Fett is not referred to by name in ESB and Bail Organa is never referred to by his first name in the prequels.

But those are trivia. We don't need to know what Leia's surname is, but she's still given a name in the opening crawl of the film. And within the first few minutes, she addresses "Lord Vader" by name and C3PO calls out to R2D2 by name. Pretty much all the major characters are given at least some name in the first act.

In this case, it would've been easy enough to include a line in the first act where someone addressed this Jedi woman as Gallia. It's just good form to give your character some form of designation at the earliest convenient opportunity. Sometimes it seems like this show is being aimed only at people who are already intimately familiar with the Expanded Universe and already know who all these obscure Jedi and species and things are, and that's annoying to me, since I'm not familiar with it.

I pretty sure those were The Deserter's step-children. Remember how the point was made in this episode about choosing your own family.

I dunno, the younger one seemed to have humanlike coloration and diminished head-tail-thingies, suggesting a hybrid (never mind the genetic implausibility of that).

 

[Mr Light]

I assumed they were the clone's children since when Rex first walked in they said you look like our daddy. And didn't they have kinda tan faces? ... I also thought it was hilarious that they had children sitting around the war room while viewing footage of a hostage about to executed! WTF!

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I gave "Grievous Intrigue" a B+ for its fantastic action sequences. Put simply, the episode was one heckuva ride from start to finish -- though, of course, it's not without its faults. There was almost no depth to the story (aside from Obi-Wan taunting Grievous about commanding mindless droids).

"Deserters" rated a C+ from me. It's a much deeper, more meaningful and complex story -- at least as far as Rex and Cut were concerned. But the overall episode was very uneven. The dying droids were kind of interesting. But Obi-Wan's search was just plain dull. Worse, it took time away from the real heart of the story: the debate about *choice* between the two clones.

 

[nx1701g]

I assumed they were the clone's children since when Rex first walked in they said you look like our daddy. And didn't they have kinda tan faces? ... I also thought it was hilarious that they had children sitting around the war room while viewing footage of a hostage about to executed! WTF!

The episode guide suggests they are his biological children.

 

[adv1701]

I liked the episodes,the first one was the better of the two. I loved the new cruiser anyone have any idea what it's called. Hopefully they come out with a titanium one.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Just some thoughts:

They seem to continue to get more and more comfortable with camera work and lighting and the like. I was suprised by some of the close-ups of Greivous when he was coming after Obi-Wan.

You think Grievous would get bored with all these damn droids as companions. He does seem to take out his frustrations on them so maybe that is reflected.

Nice wife. You shouldn't have naughty thoughts over cartoon polygons....

Interesting to have some Ahsokaless episodes. I liked the voice of the Jedi chick (whatever her name was).

You'd think they'd manufacture a lot more commando droids and droidekas. I guess the assumption is that they are expensive/hard to manufacture.

 

[Christopher]

You'd think they'd manufacture a lot more commando droids and droidekas. I guess the assumption is that they are expensive/hard to manufacture.

According to a behind-the-scenes article I read recently (I think it was an interview with Matthew Wood, the Lucasfilm sound engineer who does the voices of Grievous and all the Separatist droid types), the idea behind the basic, stupid grunt-type droids is that they're cheap, mass-produced, and expendable, which is why their mental capacity is so limited. So I'd say you're right -- the more capable, smarter ones are costlier and thus less common.

 

[Sephiroth]

hmmm....why does Grievous hate the Jedi....it couldn't be because his body was destroyed so thuroughly that all thats left of him are a few organs in jars, could it?