The Clone Wars: Season 4 -- speculation/discussion/spoilers

[Cold Fuzz]

Season 2 final three episodes

Spoiler:

Young Boba Fett tries for revenge against Mace Windu, murders clones and takes down a cruiser. And is ruthlessly manipulated by Aurra Sing. Dark, dark stuff. And I loved it all

That was some of the darkest material for the series. I originally thought, "Wow, goading a boy into murder. That's pretty heavy stuff for this series." I too loved the material. I'm hoping we'll see Boba again this season.

[DigiFluid]

4.08 The General

Spoiler:

....wow. Holy crap. Dark, very disturbing at times, incredibly violent, and almost completely clone-centric. This arc so far is easily among the best in the series to date IMO.

Nice little appearance in this one that I'll share in case anyone missed it: one of the clones was Sgt. Appo. This marks his first chronological appearance on screen, but he previously appeared/will appear in Episode III, a commander by that point, overseeing the assault on the Jedi Temple--he's the one who points his blaster at Senator Organa and tells him he needs to leave.

[mandogater]

4.08 The General

Spoiler:

....wow. Holy crap. Dark, very disturbing at times, incredibly violent, and almost completely clone-centric. This arc so far is easily among the best in the series to date IMO.

Nice little appearance in this one that I'll share in case anyone missed it: one of the clones was Sgt. Appo. This marks his first chronological appearance on screen, but he previously appeared/will appear in Episode III, a commander by that point, overseeing the assault on the Jedi Temple--he's the one who points his blaster at Senator Organa and tells him he needs to leave.

Spoiler:

I caught Sgt. Appo too!! Wonder when he'll be getting commissioned.

Rex and his boys are really showing how free thinking the clones are, didn't they? I wonder how much longer before one of them says Krell has to go before he gets them all killed for no good reason.

[Cold Fuzz]

4.08 The General

Spoiler:

....wow. Holy crap. Dark, very disturbing at times, incredibly violent, and almost completely clone-centric. This arc so far is easily among the best in the series to date IMO.

Nice little appearance in this one that I'll share in case anyone missed it: one of the clones was Sgt. Appo. This marks his first chronological appearance on screen, but he previously appeared/will appear in Episode III, a commander by that point, overseeing the assault on the Jedi Temple--he's the one who points his blaster at Senator Organa and tells him he needs to leave.

Spoiler:

I caught Sgt. Appo too!! Wonder when he'll be getting commissioned.

Rex and his boys are really showing how free thinking the clones are, didn't they? I wonder how much longer before one of them says Krell has to go before he gets them all killed for no good reason.

I just watched this earlier tonight. Like Digi said, this is really dark... and I loved it. I liked the interaction between the clones--very reminiscent of some scenes in Band of Brothers and The Pacific, I thought.

I don't want to get sidetracked but the episode definitely hearkened to an intensely serious private discussion a coworker and I had today. He and I are basically the loose cannons at work and in an arena where there's a clearly defined chain of command, people like us are considered a problem. However, our position has been firm: We have no problem respecting authority. My coworker friend is ex-military and understands following orders to a T and so do I. But he and I are NOT drones. We are of a mindset where if an authority figure demands respect from us, that authority figure better be damned well worthy of that respect otherwise we will not only openly question that authority figure, we will undermine that authority behind the scenes as well.

If the general called the shots at our workplace, we would have been fired long ago. Thankfully my friend and I are virtually immune from that kind of retaliation as our new bosses are protecting us while all our old bosses can do is make us miserable.

I wouldn't be surprised if the clones decide to ice the general in the next episode. Hell, I probably would if I were a clone and the casualty rates in that battalion got extreme.

[Teddybrown]

Wow, this story arc is absolutely bloody amazing!
Its like a full on film, the effects are amazing, theres a good story line with strong characters and I cant wait to see the conclusion.
Really nice to have a clone centric story too, I dont think the clones will kill the general, maybe just ignore his orders.
Also, nice new set of weapons being used in this storyline, they are pretty badass. Can see why the Republic dont really want this planet in the Separatist hands, apart from the supply routes.
This is Star Wars The Clone Wars at its best!

[mandogater]

Just a thought about Krell

Spoiler:

If I remember right in the last one towars the end, they showed the flames from the battle reflecked in his eyes. Could that be a little foreshadowing of him going dark side because he likes the conflict too much?

[DigiFluid]

Weakest episode of the arc so far tonight, IMO. Not awful, but not as good as the others. And I really laughed at the one battle droid telling the others that break time was over--what do droids need a break for?

Chilling preview clip for next week's episode.

[mandogater]

Weakest episode of the arc so far tonight, IMO. Not awful, but not as good as the others. And I really laughed at the one battle droid telling the others that break time was over--what do droids need a break for?

Chilling preview clip for next week's episode.

That was absolutely an LOL moment. I wonder if there's a droid labor union that demands a 5 minute rest for every 24 hours of activation or something.

Next week looks really interesting.

Spoiler:

I really want to know if Fives lives or not. He's really growing on me. Or importantly, will Rex do what Krell wants?

[SaberBlade]

I really enjoyed this one. It was nice to see the Droids put a tiny bit of humour in the episode, the visuals of the ships breaking the atmosphere and seeing the battle looked great and it was a nice to nod to the Episode I.

Spoiler:

I loved Krell's final line, "For crossing me, you will pay the price" but I really expect Anakin to show up, commend the Clones and let them return to duty because the plan is exactly something Anakin would do. It adds a nice dynamic to Anakin and his command of the 501st because they do act a bit like him

I must say this arc is amazing, but it makes Episode III somewhat disappointing. We're seeing how independent the Clones can be by disobeying orders because they believe something is wrong and not pointlessly waste life, yet the 501st and the other Clones wipe the Jedi out without so much as a second thought.

If Lucas is interested in tinkering with the movies, then perhaps he should consider through in a single scene in III involving Clones allowing a certain Togrutan Padawan escape.

[DigiFluid]

I must say this arc is amazing, but it makes Episode III somewhat disappointing. We're seeing how independent the Clones can be by disobeying orders because they believe something is wrong and not pointlessly waste life, yet the 501st and the other Clones wipe the Jedi out without so much as a second thought.

I completely disagree. The clones are loyal to the Republic and, as we've seen in this current arc, get the job done regardless of morality or consequence. Pair that with clones having bad experiences with Jedi generals like Krell (and I believe the clones insult and make fun of Ki-Adi-Mundi in the RC novels as well), and it's a pretty easy step to make.

That, and that Order 66 is one of 150 emergency contingency orders. And if the Chancellor gets on the horn to tell you that your boss's cult has committed treason and tried to take over the government, well. There you go.

[SaberBlade]

I completely disagree. The clones are loyal to the Republic and, as we've seen in this current arc, get the job done regardless of morality or consequence. Pair that with clones having bad experiences with Jedi generals like Krell (and I believe the clones insult and make fun of Ki-Adi-Mundi in the RC novels as well), and it's a pretty easy step to make.

That, and that Order 66 is one of 150 emergency contingency orders. And if the Chancellor gets on the horn to tell you that your boss's cult has committed treason and tried to take over the government, well. There you go.

I won't go into the novels because I've not read them, but on screen it's like we're seeing two different sets of Clones. Movie Clones are like droids, mindlessly following orders. Series Clones are more free thinking. They obey, but they also question. They'll fight for the Republic, they'll die for the Republic, but they also live for it as they won't just throw their lives away needlessly. Yes they hate Krell, but I doubt it's the same for Obi-Wan or Kenobi, or Ashoka. We've seen these three and even Yoda form a connection with the Clone Troopers, yet despite all the development Clones are getting, III still shows them as blindly following orders (which this episode has shown they won't do). It's a bit unfair I know as III came before all of this, but still, I can't help but seen III Clones losing something because of how well they are being developed.

[DigiFluid]

And I still completely disagree.

Emergency Contingency Orders are for...emergencies. The orders they follow without question because it's been decided in advance that these are the circumstances in which disaster is not just impending but imminent, and if those orders are not carried out immediately and effectively, it will be catastrophic.

General or no general, the leader of the galaxy gets you on the line and gives you an order that in effect says, hey this order has to be carried out or else everything you've been fighting for will be lost....probably not going to hesitate.

The enacting of Emergency Orders not in any kind of conflict with character development or developed loyalties to immediate commanding officers, it's about 'we have to carry out this order, or else by this time tomorrow the Republic we've fought and bled so hard for since birth might be destroyed.'

[Cold Fuzz]

I just finished watching "Plan of Dissent."

I agree with Digi that it's not quite as strong as the previous episodes in this arc, but it's pretty good too, especially...

Spoiler:

Hardcase taking out the main reactor and saying, "Live to fight another day."

I'm also wondering whether Krell is falling to the dark side.

Addendum: I also liked the nod to Episode IV. I was waiting for one of the clone troopers to say, "We had a slight weapons malfunction." I definitely laughed when Krell barked, "Who is this?! What's your CT number?"

[mandogater]

I completely disagree. The clones are loyal to the Republic and, as we've seen in this current arc, get the job done regardless of morality or consequence. Pair that with clones having bad experiences with Jedi generals like Krell (and I believe the clones insult and make fun of Ki-Adi-Mundi in the RC novels as well), and it's a pretty easy step to make.

That, and that Order 66 is one of 150 emergency contingency orders. And if the Chancellor gets on the horn to tell you that your boss's cult has committed treason and tried to take over the government, well. There you go.

Having read the RC novels multiple times I can tell you the only comments I can think of about Ki-Adi-Mundi are from Kal Skirata complaining about him being aloud to be married and the fact that Etain would most likely get tossed from the order for sleeping with Darman. There is also a quote at the beginning of a chapter from Bacara saying something to the effect of "If I'd known they were going to betray us, I'd have shot him sooner."

I also have to agree with you about the Clones and Order 66.

[dosed150]

ive always thought with order 66 there was some form of mental conditioning going on, like a sleeper agent being completely normal until triggered

[Teddybrown]

Pretty good episode tonight, nice to see the droid comedy coming back, and also nice to see the clones disobeying orders.
Is next weeks episode the last in this arc? Really hope the clones dont get executed, Im liking Krell cause hes a good character and not your average Jedi, but Im also not liking him because his treatment of the clones.

Looking forward to next week.

[DigiFluid]

I believe next week is the last episode of this arc, yes.

[the fifth man]

I believe next week is the last episode of this arc, yes.

I have enjoyed this arc thus far. I can't wait to see how it wraps up.

[DigiFluid]

4.10 Carnage of Krell

Spoiler:

Not really thrilled that they wrote Krell to be changing sides--I liked him better as just a callous general.

But with that said, I enjoyed the crap out of this episode. Krell knocking off all kinds of clones, clones hunting down a Jedi, a Jedi being executed--great stuff.

Shame to see Waxer die, he's been around a while now.

[mandogater]

4.10 Carnage of Krell

Spoiler:

Not really thrilled that they wrote Krell to be changing sides--I liked him better as just a callous general.

But with that said, I enjoyed the crap out of this episode. Krell knocking off all kinds of clones, clones hunting down a Jedi, a Jedi being executed--great stuff.

Shame to see Waxer die, he's been around a while now.

Spoiler:

Ya, Waxer buying the farm, especially like that, sucked royally.

I kind of wondered if Krell was going all Dark Jedi at times and I really liked the fact Rex decided to go after him. What was even better for me was the firing squad refusing to kill Fives and Jesse.