Transcript
Speaker: Casual Nerdity is a podcast celebrating and discussing pop culture that we love. Movies, TVs, comics, books, games, you name it. Ari missed to talk about the good, what worked, and yeah, sometimes what didn't.
Speaker: All with an eye towards building up, not tearing down. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker: Welcome back to Casual Nerdity and the return of our Clone Watch series. yeah After a couple of weeks off, we're... we We had a couple of big movies that we talked about.
Speaker: even we We are back with Clone Watch, and ah as usual, i am Daryl. I'm Nick. And I'm Lauren. And this time ah we ah we we actually are going to have probably a ah pretty short show this time just because of how the Clone Wars episodes are arranged and real world scheduling and things like that. you know We're just looking at two episodes um and the other option that we had would be doing five and...
Speaker: No. No. The closest I'm around ever getting to that would be would be later next season. Well, we've done it before.
Speaker: we've done it before when there weren't eight gazillion other things happening in life at the time. But yes, we'll be rounding up the end of season three with episodes 21 and 22.
Speaker: Yep. ah Padawan Lost and Wookiee Hunt, respectively. Oh, yeah. So let's go ahead and dive right in ah with Padawan Lost Season 3, Episode 21. Ahsoka Tano and a group of abducted younglings are on the run.
Speaker: um So we open on Felucia with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Plo Koon preparing for an assault. And knowing where this episode and the next are going, I totally forgot about how it started.
Speaker: In my head, it was all the singular basic story elements and location from the bulk of the story. Yeah. And I'd just like to, of course, note that the environment design is still lovely. We have some excellent, cool, glow-in-the-dark foliage.
Speaker: and this is our Oh yeah, Felucia looks great. Oh yeah, this is the third time the show has gone to Felucia. We had a whole episode on it in the Bounty Hunters, and it was the starting of the Holocron arc.
Speaker: Holocron heist arc, where... two It's just in general, with this a great planet design and i'm glad that we get to see more of. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. it is a great design.
Speaker: ah love it. And then Ahsoka senses something and then she gets netted away. Yep. ah She she makes a rookie mistake. She says, I'll be right there.
Speaker: And then horror movie rules kick in and she's not right there. She gets camp captured by a Trandoshan. And these Trandoshans have other younglings, not Jedi younglings, but just younglings in general, held captive with Ahsoka.
Speaker: And there were they're going to hunt them down for sport. Yes, and very much the Trandoshans equal predators. And Fun side note there on making that connection.
Speaker: There is a fan film called Scorekeeper. Yeah. That is basically a Star Wars adaptation of Predator. oh neat. you Using Rebels...
Speaker: taking Dr. Aphra, a character from the comics, out of someplace where she's being held captive and they want her for information for themselves.
Speaker: And they're picked off one by one by a Trandoshan. I see. who Who serves as the predator. and And the title comes from the...
Speaker: the legend slash extended universe lore that was created around Trandoshans that their deity is called the scorekeeper. And the reason that they are hunters is, you know they, they compete against one another to rack up a higher score to impress and appease the scorekeeper.
Speaker: And if basically that's their way of marking their way in the afterlife. Yes. Yeah. if If they don't have a high score, They go to the bad place. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: But yes, the... Or their version of the bad place. Yes. Take them to a hunting reserve planet, thankfully not on an island. Yes, and she is going to be hunted down. Yep, and ah just jumping back a second, speaking of the Predator vibes...
Speaker: I definitely got predator vibes from the shot of the Trandoshan ship approaching the planet. yeah It looks like the opening of nearly every predator movie where you see the predator ship coming towards Earth.
Speaker: yeah Almost the exact same composition there. I see. But they they get to that preserved planet and the Trandoshans let them all loose, wait about two seconds, and then just start mowing them down.
Speaker: And Ahsoka, though, she escapes on into the jungle where she's found by others who say they used to be Jedi younglings.
Speaker: and And they introduce themselves thusly. We never stood a chance. They attacked us on a training mission. We were captured and brought here.
Speaker: Why would they take younglings? Because Jedi Knights are too powerful for them. I'm Khalifa. This is Omer and Jinx. Who are you? Ahsoka Tano.
Speaker: I was captured during the Battle of Felucia. I'm a Padawan learner. What's the situation here? You'd better sit down. We were taken by those foul lizards for their amusement.
Speaker: To be hunted, killed, and mounted on their wall as trophies. We've been stuck here for more rotations than we can count. No one has come for us. I doubt anyone is still looking.
Speaker: Chew on that, Padawan. Then rest. You'll need your strength.
Speaker: Yeah, so they've they've been doing this for a little while. and And they're not afraid to take Jedi... Well, they're afraid to take Jedi Knights. Well, yes. yeah they're They're not afraid to take Jedi kids. but then But then who isn't?
Speaker: yeah yeah The Jedi do the same thing. Yeah. yeah and it' very It's interesting to also think about. they Assumably, they said on a training mission, we don't know how long they've been here and how long they've survived. It could be since the start of the war, or it could have been before. Yeah, I got the impression that it was definitely longer, because they make the point of...
Speaker: calling themselves younglings while Ahsoka specifically points out that she is a Padawan, which means that they haven't been taken by a Jedi to serve as their master and train them, yet there they're you they're still in classrooms,
Speaker: essentially. also means that whatever this training mission was that had them all together for to be either all together cast or from separate training missions, it's clear that the Jedi didn't come after them.
Speaker: Yeah. It does make me wonder what, what kind of training missions are the Jedi putting like little kids through exactly? Well, we, we don't know for sure that they didn't come looking for them because that kind of segues into our next clip here, which,
Speaker: comes immediately after that. this is true general we've been over the same area a dozen times there' no sign of commander tano not good enough rex try again
Speaker: We have alerted our forces throughout the Outer Rim, and intelligence assets inside the Confederacy. If she is sported, we shall know about it. Good. Skywalker, our mission here is finished. We must return to Coruscant.
Speaker: I am not abandoning her. Your emotions are clouding your judgment. I will not leave her fate up to others. It's time to go.
Speaker: Call everybody in, Rex. We're leaving.
Speaker: So, you know, we look at, we listen to that, and not only do we hear that Anakin is having some more attachment issues, but to the point that we were just talking about, they looked for They couldn't find her because the Trandoshans didn't leave a trace because they're good hunters.
Speaker: So there's nothing to say that the Jedi didn't look for the other younglings, but there was no trace. The trail went cold. Okay, whatever happened to this training mission, everyone on the the younglings were lost.
Speaker: This is true. But I'm just going to bring it that up as it's goingnna I think it's going to help build towards something later on once we get to season five about certain perspectives.
Speaker: ah Starting of showing Ahsoka more perspectives on Jedi and their relationships with each other. You mean Ahsoka's certain point of view may change?
Speaker: Hmm. And this is one episode. It's a literary device. but Yes, this is one episode upon, in this specific rewatch, it's like helping me to grow to like where like certain elements of Ahsoka's later character go.
Speaker: But yeah, you know, the emotions clouding Anakin's judgment once more. Very exciting. It's an episode that ends with Star, ends with Clone Wars. So, uh,
Speaker: then we yeah Then we see a hunting lodge, and it has some pretty cool species in it. Yeah, i like like the ah I like the Wampa Throne. i i believe it has also the Crystal Skull from the aliens from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
Speaker: that That was out at this point? figured it out for a couple years now. Oh, okay. I'd have to go look at the dates, but I think so. I think so. and And then, you know, ah But then there's there's a long tradition. you know They're obviously going for Predator vibes here.
Speaker: Yes. There's a long tradition of Predator trophy rooms having nice little Easter eggs. ah you One of the earliest of which you led to a cross-franchise crossover that persists to this day.
Speaker: yeah we will be seeing a new entry in November.
Speaker: But yes, then one of the younglings has a conversation with Ahsoka saying, we're not saviors here. We're survivors. Really? Yeah, I'm...
Speaker: pitting down the tone for the episode. I almost pulled that clip because that is probably one of the weightiest lines in this entire two-parter.
Speaker: But it just, that short of a clip just seemed kind of isolated on its own. Good thing I brought up the quote myself. Yeah. It was on my list of things to bring up as well. It's like, it's, it, it recontextualizes the entirety. Like, no, no.
Speaker: Usually we're like, oh, Ahsoka's here with other force sensitives on her side. She's got this. It's time to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And they're all out of bubble gum.
Speaker: It's like, nope, it's the Sue's on the other foot. They are without their gear, without training and armies behind them, and they're on enemy turf.
Speaker: Yeah, and so Ahsoka goes running off to face the Trandoshans, because she's like, you to hell with that. I'm the main character here. Yeah, so she goes off to face the Trandoshans runs into one.
Speaker: transdoction and runs into one And then Khalifa nearly force chokes him to death. So we we get a clear indication here that you know and they've had to more than likely resort to what I guess we would call dark side methods to survive.
Speaker: In the end, though, Ahsoka does give the younglings hope. She does, but it's still a... It's still interesting to see that, especially considering how young they had to be before they got here. here And as you've we've mentioned said before, Jedi are trained extremely young.
Speaker: yeah So they've had to be here for a while to sort of give up on not only the sense of rescue, but also on what has been basically taught to them as dogma their entire lives.
Speaker: And go completely, I don't want to say pragmatic, but just you whatever tools at their disposal that they can and have to use to survive, they will.
Speaker: Yes. no No worrying about, in RPG terms, your morality score. Yeah.
Speaker: Use whatever force pips you get. Exactly. Exactly. So Ahsoka falls asleep and she has this spooky vision about a Trandoshan ritual.
Speaker: but so Even to this day, I find it an interesting choice. i kind of like to imagine that that's, as we've seen for especially this season, but throughout Star Wars media, especially as of late, the Force is connected to to everyone and they interpret it in different ways.
Speaker: So maybe it kind of gives credence to what the Trandosans feel about their sort of religious connection to their hunting? Maybe.
Speaker: Could be. Again, it's like poetry, so that they rhyme.
Speaker: You knew that had to be there at least once. think it's in our contract. Yes. well You have a contract? sure
Speaker: i think I think we just gave one to Nick.
Speaker: Oh, i and it's going to be horribly, horribly one-sided in my favor. Yeah. No, no, I got... Didn't you guys sign contract with that Mr. Louise Fair?
Speaker: No, no, can't say that we did. No, don don't remember anything like that. He smelled like sulfur. Oh, I see, I see. Oh, Louis Cipher.
Speaker: Unfortunately, my nose doesn't really work, so I can't smell sulfur very well. Or anything for that matter.
Speaker: In any case, so the Trandoshans, they have this giant flying fortress, and ah it attacks them in the morning.
Speaker: Yep, and it's... it it's the The Trandoshans talk about how they are honorable hunters and and this is a good hunt and all of that, but they they're not playing fair.
Speaker: yeah no. That does kind of go back to something that even might even my dad brought up in The Predator. It's like, yes, The Predator fights against like soldiers and doesn't that here kill those that it cannot fight, but It's also using solar mounted plasma cannons and cloaking technology.
Speaker: It's like, it's still an unfair fight to the advantage in their advantage. Hey, except when the predator fought Batman.
Speaker: When the predator fought Batman, forget it. That was fair. You know, you know I mean, you even Superman versus an alien had had a chestburster put in him and had to fly near a sun to burn the chestburster out.
Speaker: But when Batman fought a predator, forget it. And then the predators came back for more and were going after Robin since Batman had defeated them. it Well, that just pissed Batman off.
Speaker: So yeah, at this point... That's why the brother hunts in the Marvel Universe now. ever
Speaker: So yeah, at this point, Ahsoka kills Dar. rip Yes. r she She kills the the young Trandoshan who, this is his first hunt and he's supposed to be blooded and and be become an adult and all of that good good stuff there that societies you know fictional societies like this do and we'll have that work out for him.
Speaker: and like It's a pretty brutal kill. From the aesthetic of the funding from it, from not just the our main character, a Jedi, but also kind of for the show at this point.
Speaker: Yeah, and it's it's not just Ahsoka, it's Ahsoka and Khalifa together that are out there facing him. um and yeah They take him down, but his father you just flies into a rage.
Speaker: Understandable, but you know maybe don't send your kid out to hunt down sentient beings. And the father kills Khalifa. Another pretty shocking kill is like they were kind of building that up. like ah like Maybe if they get all rescued, that'd be a new character.
Speaker: But they're like, subvert your expectations. Nope, dead child. Yeah, you know, it's ah it's kind of interesting. so like, the series, it's its Star Wars.
Speaker: Wars are happening. Deaths occur all the time in this series. But the framing of it can, you know, change the impact of deaths worldwide.
Speaker: so much. You know, random soldiers on the battlefield can die, and we don't, we just sort of look past them. and You know, droids are basically sentient. They get destroyed all the time, and it's comedic, in a sense.
Speaker: But then, just depending on the framing and how things are perceived, even an antagonist character, like the, you know, Trandoshan kid there, can have pathos whenever they're killed off. It's just...
Speaker: that death is so frequent in this series, but sometimes some characters deaths matter more than others. And that's something to say for the series as a whole.
Speaker: And maybe about just like the nature of war. You could say that about just about any type of sort of large scale conflict. Yes. Yeah. And, you know, it's,
Speaker: Remember, this is a kids show. yeah we We say it all the time. Totally a kids show. And yeah we we're looking, once again, we're we're looking at child soldiers. We're looking at the younglings and Ahsoka and the Trandoshan son, all of whom are kids being pushed out literally to kill.
Speaker: but It's true. it it It's light, frothy kids show stuff. Exactly. This is totally not anything to think about the exactly like what you said, how the framing of a deaf can give pathos to clearly, ah like, Dar is not innocent in this situation. He's ready to kill those kids.
Speaker: Oh, yeah. Yep. But also we are able to see the pathos and pain of a father losing a son and then also the tragedy of our kid being being killed in retribution.
Speaker: Yeah. And then we we close out the episode back on Coruscant.
Speaker: What is Ahsoka's strength? She is fearless. That can also be a weakness. Is she a worthy apprentice?
Speaker: No one has her kind of determination.
Speaker: Except you. I'll find her. This may not be within your power. Whatever you're trying to say, Master Plo, just say it.
Speaker: I am suggesting that perhaps if you have trained her well, she shall take care of herself and find a way
Speaker: you. So, more attachment issues for Anakin. Plo kind of putting it in perspective. an important word that Plo Kuhn says in there, that it's going to come back come back constantly. and Betsy was probably saying it as well. It's the specific word he says, it's beyond your power to do this.
Speaker: Yes. Anakin's all about power to ah accomplish things. And power to accomplish things to protect the people that he cares about, specifically.
Speaker: So this is very much like, not just Jedi forces, tranquil wisdom. It's, Flo Koon's basically saying, you can't get, you don't have the power to do this, and you're going to have to accept that if you trained her well, she can do, she can get back to us.
Speaker: And he also very pointedly says back to you. Mm-hmm. Yes. Flo, Flo's kind of reading him like like a book with yeah big print and lots of pictures. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: Very readable. Because it's a kid's show. and Yeah. Because because it's a a light frothy romp. Totally.
Speaker: that That takes us on into the next episode. Wookiee Hunt Season 3 Episode 22. Ahsoka and the Younglings help get help from Chewbacca the Wookiee.
Speaker: Now, who remember the marketing for this episode? Oh, it was outrageous. Yeah, it the season three finale, and they went heavy into promoting Chewbacca appearing in this episode.
Speaker: and i like Like, big time. like ah yeah Like, they promoted Clone Wars heavily on Cartoon Network when it was coming out. And every bumper after every episode of anything that week was...
Speaker: Did you know Chewbacca's going to be in the next episode? He's going to be in the finale? Chewbacca's going to be in the finale. Hey, guess who's going to be in the finale? Chewbacca! On the bottom tab, because they were doing that at the time, it's like, Clone Wars season free finale has Chewbacca!
Speaker: Yeah, they they went really heavy on it. Oh, yeah. And the funny thing to think about is they went really heavy into promoting the appearance of character whose appearance is accomplished entirely through the animation and a soundboard.
Speaker: h Yes. And a character that's also well known for in well other media. It's like...
Speaker: Like, it's it's weird, but it's also part of this whole, like, this season, as I sort of call it, the cameo season. Because we had earlier, we had Greedo. We had, and of course, a Savazo press and that i said the hints of Maul's return.
Speaker: It was like, they were very much like sort of jingling the the Star Wars keys. Jing, jing, jing. Look, look at the shiny. Look at the shiny. You get to see what the ah the original trilogy characters were doing before you know all that stuff happened to them.
Speaker: ah they most of yeah Most of them weren't even born yet. but yeah Chewbacca is way older. like this is like a dick I don't think he would ever... If they ran into each other at some point, he wouldn't even know remember Ahsoka.
Speaker: It does bring me back to the idea that you know ah Han Solo doesn't believe in the Jedi, meanwhile his best friend worked alongside Yoda himself. Multiple Jedi.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. it's not It's not so much that he doesn't believe in the Jedi. He doesn't believe believe in the Force. Right, yeah.
Speaker: In any case... like He's like, the Jedi existed, but they couldn't be as cool as they sound. And but when we get there, and, you know, have to rename the... yeah rename our sub-series because we're done with with Clone Wars.
Speaker: ah When we get there, you'll kind of see why Han's upbringing makes him, you know, just you not believe in that kind of thing. Yeah. In any case, for this episode, we start out with a Trandoshan's chase sequence.
Speaker: And I like their there little hunting buggies.
Speaker: They're very much just like,
Speaker: cheap 4x4s that hunters use. Yeah, they're they're very functional for what their purpose is Like, they have camouflage netting on there. that They got high backs in case, like, sort of pseudo-roll cages.
Speaker: And a big ol' Gatlin gun! Yeah! Yeah, cause because nothing says, you like we were talking about before, nothing says... I am a skilled hunter, like, just mowing down everything in sight site ten taking the jungle with it.
Speaker: with it and With itself is also a reference to Predator. Yeah. Well, he ain't got time to bleed.
Speaker: So, yes. I wish I had pulled that clip, but...
Speaker: while While all the younglings are still focused on, you know, defense and perseverance, Ahsoka is going on the offensive, attacking the slave transport ship.
Speaker: Yep, she convinces those younglings to attack the dropship. But it crashes the doing. hey Not after it drops off a certain Wookiee, though.
Speaker: Chewbacca arrives. It's a point let the audience who may not be ah as versed in Star Wars. Trandosans and Wookiees hate each other. it's's It is a beef as old as time.
Speaker: Yep, because Trandosans hunt Wookiees. kill them and scalp them and wear their pelts and enslave them and all sorts of good things.
Speaker: And I say good, ironically. Yes, of course. ah So yeah, they they managed to capture a Trandoshan and begin building a transmitter in order to call out for help.
Speaker: Yep, and... so this is This is characterization of Chewbacca. He's kind of the... He's not just a big guy on the Millennium Falcon. He's also kind of the mechanic. Yeah, and that that's kind of something.
Speaker: A lot of that, you know of course, Chewbacca being the mechanic was there in the original trilogy. But there was a lot of, in the expanded media...
Speaker: backtracking a little bit after Return of the Jedi came out because by now a lot of people out there listening you know that in the original script for Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks were Wookiees.
Speaker: But they had started to establish that Wookiees were technologically savvy. They weren't as primitive as the Ewoks were being portrayed.
Speaker: So they started going really heavy into, oh, Wookiees are this technologically advanced species, but they're also one with nature living in the trees and and such and such. So the fact that Chewbacca is the one to work on the transmitter is an extension of that.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And so as we see more of, of, cacique later on and in this in our watching of things you'll see that sort of melding between the two sort of technology but they're closely connected to nature and sort of having a sort of nobleness to that that's very interesting they're called yes so yes then uh then i wrote down here force persuasion yep they mind tricked the prisoner to call a speeder so that they can hijack it.
Speaker: And, you know, where they once again, kind of like they did in an earlier episode that we talked about where, you know, Obi-Wan and Mace and Anakin were just like, like shoving the mind trick into Cad Bane.
Speaker: They kind of go hard on this Trandoshan too. And it makes sense, especially since how Obi-Wan first described the mind trick. The mind trick works on the weak-minded.
Speaker: So someone with a heartier mind can resist it. Yeah, at this point, is like it does raise up that same question we've had before. like How much of that is persuasion, and how much of this is mind torture?
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, the and... It's interesting that as we record this, there's kind of a a little mini debate going on in the fandom.
Speaker: Both sides trying to, well, actually, one another into submission. One of the recent comics had ah had someone, I believe it was Kylo Ren, mind-tricking Toydarian.
Speaker: Well, based on one line from one character in one movie, Watto in The Phantom Menace saying, you I'm a Toy Darian. Mind tricks don't work on me. Only money.
Speaker: It has been generally accepted, and you can even see this reflected in the RPG stats for Toydarians that, oh, Toydarians are immune to the Jedi mind trick. And so... I thought it was just Watto was immune to it.
Speaker: and It's not so much immune, and he's just strong-willed. Yeah. ah that Going back to that, famously, Jabba in Return the Head also does not fall for the Jedi mind trick.
Speaker: But that's not sort of replicated in our current RPG stats or, and it's sort of just assumed that, no, he's very old and and not easy to trick.
Speaker: And so as you can imagine, considering that so many All Star Wars fans are very reasonable about such things and can apply logic and media literacy to such events occurring in media.
Speaker: ah sorry. I was cleaning off my battle axe of the blood of um someone that disagreed with me. Yeah. As you can imagine, the discussions about this change in the mind trick and Toydarians is, is such a civil understanding discourse.
Speaker: Yeah, I mean, I never really saw any sort of immunity or resistance to the mind trick as, honestly, any sort of consistent in-universe factor. i always envisioned it more as a narrative, named character, necessary, you know narrative blockade sort of property. Oh, you're correct. that's that's entire That's actually, that is what it is on the metatextual level.
Speaker: Like, there are in-universe explanations for things. But, like, the real reason is just because yeah needs to be there for the story to happen. Well, that's the reason for everything in a story.
Speaker: But sometimes people forget that that, like, yeah, that just sort of has to happen. It's part of the suspense. Yeah, because it if Qui-Gon can mind trick Watto into accepting Republic credits...
Speaker: They just leave. You don't get the Padres scene. They don't take Anakin with them. Anakin never becomes Darth Vader. Man, what why does Watto have to be so pig-headed?
Speaker: We're to save the galaxy a lot of trouble.
Speaker: it's Watto's fault. Watto and Jar Jar are the reason the galaxy is in the state that it's in. Yeah. Yeah. It's all, it's all, but it's all them. Nobody else has any responsibility for it at all. Nope.
Speaker: no None whatsoever. None whatsoever. Uh, in any case, so the group decide to, uh, to attack the Trandoshan base, the giant flying fortress.
Speaker: Right. It's an interesting choice.
Speaker: I'd say maybe try and leave or build a bigger transmitter. But yeah, these these children and one Chewbacca, they got it. They got this. I mean, honestly, Chewbacca alone has this. Let's be real here. the Right. But but they they don't have to do it on their own because in response to Chewie's distress call, it's Wookiees to the rescue. Yeah, Wookiees arrived to save the day.
Speaker: yeah And of course, you the Wookiees help out. There's, there's... And that one bounty hunter chick from the bounty hunters episode. Yeah, they, you know, there is, ah you know, of course, being that it's Star Wars, the Clone Wars, there's there's plenty of combat here. you know, Ahsoka goes one-on-one with the the lead hunter.
Speaker: And you i think you've summed it up pretty eloquently with your notes. Yes. Yeet the final boss. Yes.
Speaker: And so to everyone... It works. mean, you what why mess with a working tactic? Yep. And so the Wookiees and Ahsoka head back to Coruscant, to the Jedi Temple, and reunions are had all around.
Speaker: is good to see you safe, little Sokka.
Speaker: Ahsoka, I am so sorry. For what? For letting you go. For letting you get taken. It was my fault. No, Master. It wasn't your fault. I should have paid more attention. i should have tried harder. ah You already did everything you could.
Speaker: Everything you had to do. When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive.
Speaker: And not only that, i was able to lead others to survive as well. I don't know what to say. I do.
Speaker: Thank you, Master.
Speaker: You're welcome, my Padawan.
Speaker: And we close the episode on Anakin and Ahsoka walking off from the Jedi Temple framed in light. And let's remember that visual, shall we?
Speaker: in that so that they rhyme Beautiful. But yes, yeah it's, these are some, they're solid episodes. Obviously, most of it is kind of part their own eyes.
Speaker: Yeah. But it's good Predator homage. There's wrong with that. Yeah.
Speaker: You know, I'm always down for a good Predator homage. But the bits that we did talk about are... A good Predator homage is better than some actual Predator movies.
Speaker: Yeah, that one. ah The Predator. Oh, no. Oh. it if a Since you've only seen the Alien movies, it's the Alien Resurrection of the Predators franchise.
Speaker: The one we don't like. Okay. To note, I haven't seen Alien Resurrection either, so...
Speaker: So, bit that means that that Nick will have to force you to endure both of those. Oh, no. No, no, no. i know I'm not going to force him to endure either of those. I'm not a monster.
Speaker: the The contract that you signed with that that a cipher guy says otherwise. Aw, damn it. and yeah He made me sign in blood, too. That's, like, double illegal.
Speaker: Oh, no, not blood signage.
Speaker: But, ah I mean, that's... That's pretty much, like we said, it's going to be short episode because you we were only dealing with the two and and while they were solid episodes, there wasn't a lot of meat to the bones. They're pretty simple episodes overall.
Speaker: One thing that I noted is that Daryl and I, our notes are almost exactly the same. Oh yeah, yeah yeah pretty much I had. That's why I didn't even add anything.
Speaker: The notes speak for themselves. we We wrote about everything that one mostly could reasonably write about at this point. Yeah. Which again, not to say that they're bad episodes. It's just, we don't need to spend three hours on this one.
Speaker: No. So we are we are, give or take, just because of the length of of some of the later seasons, give or take, we're about halfway through for you now, Lauren.
Speaker: Yeah. so what what are yours what are you thinking about Clone Wars about halfway through? Especially now that it's, I will say, i didn't say but I always say it when we were watching episodes, the animation just got,
Speaker: This episode especially was like a huge upgrade. you know Oh, yeah. light and ability The animation just keeps getting better and better over time. Oh, wait till we get to season seven. Oh, boy.
Speaker: So yeah, I'm definitely enjoying my time with the Clone Wars still. It's ah good to see these characters develop. Definitely getting a lot more of what I was expecting out of the series from the initial pitch for it.
Speaker: And yeah, still still looking forward to seeing what comes next, how everything connects. Because it seems like these next several seasons, they're going to get sir a little bit more plot heavy from what I can tell. Absolutely.
Speaker: Absolutely. It's going to get a lot more plot heavy. Like, we're we're on the cusp of starting eventually see and season five ah ah the rewants. Just a little peek behind the curtain there for y'all.
Speaker: Yes, I have seen all of season four at this point. That's been the case for a while now. But it's you would definitely say that that's one of the more tightly condensed ones, save for a couple episodes.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, one thing is that, Daryl, at the start of this ah episode, we forgot to mention the special fact that we're watching this series in a particular order.
Speaker: in In the in-universe chronological order. that is true At this point, though, it's pretty much a non-issue. Same for only one episode.
Speaker: that's ah that that's you know That's kind of and a notable thing, is that at this point, the chronological in-universe order and the release order are essentially the same. They basically lined up at this point. so There's only one change, and that is the first episode of season...
Speaker: Five actually goes closer towards the end. So we'll be starting on episode, the second episode of season five. But I've... But we have all of season four to get through before we get there.
Speaker: Yeah. yeah
Speaker: But yeah, overall, good times. Definitely. it's It continues to get better. The characters continue to develop. It's great going through this journey again because...
Speaker: We're we poking pins and things because like a lot of it is going to come around when we have our big like roundup of not just the Clone Wars, but like the Clone Wars prequel era.
Speaker: Yes. yeah they are definitely They're definitely at the point that now that they have chosen to not jump around the timeline and tell a sequential story, we're at a point where Filoni and company in the writer's room are intentionally laying seeds for not just future episodes, but in some cases, future seasons.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Everything's becoming much more connected. Everything's flowing much more directly from one idea to another. Exactly. yeah like And I appreciated that because as much as I did, there is a charm to the who of the jumping around round Not the Order thing. The Order thing still messes me up. But the idea that we get these vignettes of different types of characters and other Jedi was novel. But like you said, you came here for... One of the major selling points was Ahsoka as a Padawan and characters like Rex and Cody as clone troopers and stuff like that.
Speaker: Really... And if it does become like... Yeah, that it they're the ones on the marketing, so there it's their show. Mm-hmm. Yes. the the The focus is becoming more narrow, but also in turn we're getting more focused on like a core series of characters and ideas.
Speaker: And there's a depth. the Each arc is now a deeper depth than just like, oh, this is happening in a conflict. Yes. Very much so.
Speaker: Very much so. So I think that's going to wrap it up for this episode. And this season. Yep, and season three of Clone Wars in our Clone Watch.
Speaker: um Next episode up, we actually have another Clone Watch skip episode as um we will be joined once again by our friend Brev from the Movie Defenders, an idea that he brought to me where he and I and Betsy are going to be looking at the first year of the X-Men's comics kind of soft relaunch the from the ashes storyline and uh brev and i were were talking before i recorded on movie defenders over the weekend and we have thoughts oh go and uh speaking we're kind of in agree in agreement but we have thoughts and speaking on movie defenders i actually have some news in case if you haven't heard it already uh
Speaker: i I'm going to be scheduled to be doing an episode soon. Lovely. Nick's first movie Defenders is scheduled. Woo! Aw, yeah!
Speaker: i I will be totally surprised by the movie that you bring them. It's not like you joined as a patron just to bring them that specific movie or anything. No, no. That that that be that sounds psychotic. like someone that's a i mean ah for For what it's worth, Nick, Scott has told me several times, and he said on air on the main show and their Patreon-only backlot tour,
Speaker: That it's a movie that a couple of times when they've been stuck for a movie to do, he's thought about putting in there and he's like oh, no, no, Nick, Nick's bringing us that one. So we can't do it.
Speaker: So are they are all looking forward to this one. Oh, yeah.
Speaker: But yeah, yeah yeah it'll be since I'll be recording that the 23rd. So keep an eye out for that if you're moving better. Which means that given their normal their normal speed in Scott getting episodes done, it will be dropped on the 23rd or the 24th.
Speaker: Scott's fast. He is lovely. Scott is fast. I recorded with them this past weekend, Sunday morning. We got done recording around 1230.
Speaker: And while I was over at your house for our game session, Nick, at about three o'clock, I got a message from Scott. Shows up.
Speaker: But yes, ah so and be sure to catch that. That if you... if you Because I probably won't be at at the next recording. But if you want to hear more of me, which I don't know why.
Speaker: Well, check out Nick on Movie Defenders coming up. Check out me on Movie Defenders on the episode that just dropped where we had a great time talking about Galaxy Quest.
Speaker: Just check out the Movie Defenders in general. and Because they're awesome guys. And if you ever want more of me, there's there's always like 60 Let's Plays to go back and watch. Exactly.
Speaker: But I think we've we've pretty much hit everything. So we will thank everyone for listening. We hope to have you back next time when Brev and Betsy and I are talking comics.
Speaker: And the time after that when we're back talking Clone Wars. on Oh yeah. yeah So thanks for listening and have a great one. Hope everything goes wonderfully for everyone listening.
Speaker: Bye. but by
Speaker: This has been Casual Nerdity. We hope you've enjoyed your time with us and look forward to having you back.
