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Clone Watch - Episode 9
28 Plays10 months ago
Daryl, Nick, & Lauren are talking about Lauren's first watch-through of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. The episodes up this time are:
- 00:00 Introduction
- 02:50 Grievous Intrigue
- 18:29 The Deserter
- 46:38 Lightsaber Lost
To follow along with your viewing, you can find the Clone Wars chronological viewing list at:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Pop Culture and Clone Wars
00:00:10
Speaker
Casual Nerdy is a podcast celebrating and discussing the pop culture that we love. Movies, TVs, comics, books, games, you name it. Are you missed to talk about the good, what worked, and yeah, sometimes what didn't. All with an eye towards building up, not tearing down. Thanks for joining us.
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome everybody to the latest installment of our Casual Nerdy Clone Watch. I'm Daryl. I'm Lauren.
00:00:40
Speaker
I'm Nick. And we're here. We're going to be looking at this time just three episodes of co Clone Wars. But why are we watching Clone Wars?
00:00:53
Speaker
because Because I've never seen it before. You've never seen it before. I've never seen it before. Why? Someone should remedy that. Yes, yes, somebody should. Oh wait, that's that's what we're doing. We're remedying that. Indeed, indeed we are. And we're doing it in a particular order, aren't we, Nick? Yes, we are. What order are we doing it in, Daryl?
Following the Clone Wars Order
00:01:18
Speaker
We're doing it in the devil's order, Nick. Devil's order.
00:01:23
Speaker
Well, you get that. that You can call me that is tell me that as well. We are watching it in chronological order rather than error order. Indeed. We are watching it in chronological order. And if you want to follow along with us, which we recommend you do, because this is is maybe a more difficult a trial of some order, it does have its benefits.
00:01:53
Speaker
No, it doesn't. But if you did want to, we'll include a link to the official Star Wars.com listing of the chronological order. Yes, it is in the notes. Indeed it is. And it's on Disney+. law Not sponsored. Definitely not sponsored, although it would be nice. Not yet. It would be nice if we got some of that sweet, sweet Disney shill money. It would be. I don't we're that yet.
00:02:24
Speaker
Yeah, yeah we we haven't been invited on to Star Wars Explained yet. yeah No, no, no, no.
Grievous Intrigue: Plot and Strategy
00:02:30
Speaker
Like I said, this time around, we've just got three episodes up on deck. We have Grievous Intrigue, which is season two, episode nine, The Desertor, season two, episode 10, and Lightsaber Lost, season two, episode three. So let's get right down to it with Grievous Intrigue, season two, episode nine. The official summary is,
00:02:55
Speaker
A Jedi master is taken hostage and tortured by General Grievous. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Adi Gallia devise a daring rescue plan, but they soon realize that General has a plan of his own. Oh no. ah Plan versus plan action. So, episode opens up. Straight into the action.
00:03:19
Speaker
Mm hmm. Grievous captures Jedi Master, Ethkoth. And right out of the original, right out of the opening crawl, like we're barely into the episode. I was like, oh, it happens. Mm hmm. And he captured Ethkoth. He contacts the Jedi and just threatens to kill him.
00:03:39
Speaker
after horrible torture. Yes. And in front of, there's like younglings and a social there. It's like, it's a terroristic threat. Yes. And it's just, it's completely, completely vicious. It's like, Oh no. Yeah. Yeah. no i Yeah. I'm going to kill him. But first I'm going to mess him up. and I'm going to mess him up bad. Remember this series was marketed to kids. Yes.
00:04:07
Speaker
But yeah, so like the the the process of ah capturing Ethkoth, is that right? Yeah, like ah he lines up his ships to board this guy's ships mid battle, which feels like it would be something very difficult to do.
00:04:23
Speaker
I mean, wait if you think three-dimensionally, sure. But like most like most science fiction... Specifically, Star Wars in particular. But most science fiction. yeah it it's like it's a two-dimensal play It's more like a naval ship than...
00:04:46
Speaker
But like thinking about what they would actually have to do within a three-dimensional space, that that would be a pretty difficult maneuver. And then, of course, Grievous comes in with the competent droids. Right. term For once, I'll agree with that, Sabin. We see more of the AET majoroids this episode. So again, first. So which one's Mr. T and which one's Murdock?
00:05:14
Speaker
o It's a mystery. A Mr. T would probably be the via ah your favorite, the Rollies. Ah, yes, of course, of course, the Bubble Boys. Yes. But yes, one of the one of the things I noted about Grievous's dialogue with Eth is ah he calls him Jedi Filth. And that's definitely going to be something that comes back up later on in the episode is Grievous's opinion of the Jedi is not so high. He totally digs the Jedi.
00:05:46
Speaker
Totally. And something about the fight between Grievous and Eth is that the anti-Jedi droids ensure lack of escape rather than going aggro themselves. Grievous wants to fight this guy himself. He doesn't want his droids to actually be doing all of the work. Oh, absolutely. yeah griev grievous Grievous has fun, you know.
00:06:11
Speaker
It's also the case of like going back to your earlier statement of Grievous being a Jedi wannabe. Yes, absolutely. Yes, his yes with his droids he could overwhelm Yvkov easily in this scene. They have weapons of training to to bat and overwhelm him there's like five guys surrounding him they're making certain that he's not leaving so it's a what quote fair fight for Grievous they're there to kick him back in if he tries to get out yes Grievous wants to defeat him himself but also recognizes that the Jedi can escape his grasp
00:06:56
Speaker
Yes, this was just, I feel like this scene in particular was a great element of characterization for Grievous overall. Oh yeah. He was showing why he is the Jedi Killer and that he wants to be the Jedi Killer more than anything. He he wants a he wants to fight and defeat Jedi more than just winning against them in general. Right.
00:07:16
Speaker
And then ah and then then comes the actual hologram scene, where he's threatening all of the other Jedi.
Rescue Mission and Character Dynamics
00:07:22
Speaker
And our boy, Eve, he uses some secret hand signs to to communicate his location. And so at that point, it's Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Adi Gallia to the rescue. And this kind of reminds me of the Star Trek trope, where no matter what else is going on in the Clone Wars, it's always like,
00:07:47
Speaker
Obi-Wan and or Anakin. We need you to go do this. Just like in Star Trek, it's like the Enterprise is the only ship in the sector. Which I do constantly remind when we're watching this. The Clone Wars canonically lasts only three and a couple months to years. Yes. yeah It's only about three years. Anakin and Obi-Wan basically went across the galaxy nearly over 100 times in that busy year period. Yes. And so they go in, Obi-Wan, the plan is for Obi-Wan to confront Grievous face to face and allow Anakin
00:08:36
Speaker
to once again conveniently not meet him to maintain continuity. yeah And they they do this by, you know, Anakin, you know, piloting a shuttle and landing underneath the ship. But before before they do that, though, really quickly, but let's let's take a quick look, listen to Grievous and Obi-Wan. One of the Republic ships is hailing us, my lord. Put him through.
00:09:09
Speaker
General, I knew one day I'd catch up to you. Kenobi, what a surprise. I assume you are here to bring me to justice. You know me too well. Indeed I do. Prepare to fire all cannons and be alert. Where there is Kenobi, you will always find Skywalker not far behind. Although you'll never Grievous will never see Skywalker even though he's not far behind. Yep. Also, so why is Obi-Wan starting with all of the bad guys?
00:09:44
Speaker
ah be Because he likes bad boys. great I mean, cant kenya can you blame them for not being able to resist him?
00:09:58
Speaker
No, no. He's initiating. Yeah. I understand. And he knows that they can't resist him. and i know General Grievous is is built to perfection. I could resist him.
00:10:16
Speaker
ah But yeah, so they they park that shuttle. upside down underneath Grievous' ship. Yes, and it has kind of a funny effect where um the the shuttle is upside down according to the camera, but we're in space. There there really shouldn't be an upside down in this scenario, but the lady's hair, Adigalia, her hair is still going upside down as though the camera's positioning is the orientation of gravity for some reason. Well, technically, inside star warships, there is artificial gravity. Yes, but it would be artificial gravity inside the shuttle, so it would be pulling to the shuttle's deck. This is true. not that the The camera's orientation should have nothing to do with gravity in this scenario, but it does. Whoops, there goes gravity. And so Anakin and Adi get aboard Grievous' ship while he fights Obi-Wan, but that's exactly what Grievous expected.
00:11:19
Speaker
Yeah. Insert Admiral Ackbar here. It's a trap. Yes. But also we at this point, it just becomes like some really sick accent sequences. Yeah. And so i I didn't take many more notes from this point on because it's mostly just, you know, like cool action. Yeah, that's right. That's what I was saying. At this point, it's like it's just some really sick accent sequences and Honestly, again, like we're now in season two, but we're getting way better like choreography and fighting stances and stuff like that.
00:11:57
Speaker
Yeah, one thing that I noticed is that, of course, Obi-Wan and Grievous are bantering at each other. And one of the lines that Grievous mentions is, a future where there are no Jedi. Further implying something about his backstory in that regard. Like, this dude really hates the Jedi for some reason. which I really wish we ever got that. Spoiler alert, in canon we don't. Yeah.
00:12:26
Speaker
that's unfortunate in legends yes in canon not so much yeah we get we get to see quadarb grievous which i always love and then we get to see spider grievous his gravity is going silly spider grievous spider grievous whatever spider grievous yeah what does he swing from a thread yes he can because he has a grappling hook There goes Spider Grievous. But still, like, that that that that whole his spider form is still, like, just gives me chills. It's so cool. ah It's not cool, but it's also like, ah this is an excellent showcase in Grievous's abilities on an animation standpoint. The one thing that I am kind of disappointed with with seeing Quadarm Grievous against Obi-Wan is
00:13:20
Speaker
And you haven't gotten there yet, because you haven't seen Revenge of the Sith yet. Right. But when that happens in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan has this look like, oh, he can do that? Oh. ah it Considering how how must they try to like adhere to the- Nick, we can't hear you again. Yeah, you you stepped away again.
00:13:53
Speaker
I literally stepped one foot away.
00:13:59
Speaker
So anyway, as you were saying, considering something... Considering how much they tried to adhere to like the canonicity of the prequel films. That's the one thing they don't do is like, yeah. When Grievous Reviews is for his many armed form,
00:14:21
Speaker
It's first in episode three and Obi-Wan is shown to be shocked and has to like adapt to that. Has to adapt to it. And you know here he is have you know dealing with it for three years before that. I think it's worth it though. Because what what is Grievous without the quad arms?
00:14:43
Speaker
It is true, that is an iconic part of his design philosophy. If we never got Quadarm Grievous in this series, that would be a shame. But I mean, he could have done it against other opponents, just not Obi-Wan. Yeah, but then we wouldn't be able to see him fight Anakin or Obi-Wan. Well, no, he could fight Obi-Wan, just not go Quadarm. Yeah, I guess so. you know But and the all of the links that they went to to keep Grievous and Anakin apart,
00:15:13
Speaker
because they won mine makes this actually more funny is like, because they probably worries one part of it to be like, I just matter if, if, if everyone sees him with the forearms. Yeah. It's just funny. It's like one took more priority than the others when, and I can't
00:15:39
Speaker
I said, I never thought about how much of an importance it is at that moment is kept. I said, I thought about that. Yeah. Is that Anakin never met Grievous because it's just for those results in a single quip.
00:15:56
Speaker
here Yeah. But yeah, then as the episode goes on, yeah they they rescue the guy, they get back. And then um as the episode is ending, the the force theme shows up, which I don't know why the force theme was there. It seemed like kind of an odd moment for it. It really was. I never noticed that. And this is like my third or either fourth or third Watts Clone Wars.
00:16:29
Speaker
like yeah It's a weird place to play such a significant theme. Because that's a Skywalker theme, that's a heroic theme. And and like this is the first time that it's showing up in the series, I'm pretty sure. At least within this animated series, specifically. Yes, because Kevin kind of does use a lot of his own original themes.
00:16:54
Speaker
And in season two, he started using more polling for more classical themes, sort of like hints at themes, like parts of the Imperial March or something. But this was like a full... ah this This was...
00:17:08
Speaker
the fourth theme. Yeah. And it feels, I don't know, it feels like kind of a weird place to have it introduced into the series. It doesn't feel like it's, I don't know, brandy-os enough. It's not an Anakin episode. It's not a it's not an-Wan episode. it's it's It's not an episode that emphasizes the force, the Jedi or anything. Honestly, they came off on like the back leg of this. They barely succeeded. Yeah.
00:17:37
Speaker
So, you know, kind kind of you close it. Yep. Pretty, all all things considered, the content aside, kind of a light episode because, you action set piece. And again, like I'd say that it's showing off how like in season two, the the accent and level of choreography for fight sequences has improved. Oh, yes. Greatly. Absolutely. It was great. But in terms of like content story-wise, it's pretty filler.
'The Deserter' Episode: Themes of Identity
00:18:15
Speaker
Now, if this episode was kind of light,
00:18:20
Speaker
the next episode very much not. oh you love bear ah Next up is the deserter season 2 episode 10 and a pretty short official summary while searching for General Grievous on a distant planet Rex encounters a deserter oh yeah boy does that that short description does not convey how much like the content that we're dealing with. Yeah. So Grievous escaped from the end of the last episode, and he's hiding on the surface of the planet Seleucami. Or as some people incorrectly say, Seleucami. Their name is Jeff.
00:19:09
Speaker
but I literally had an argument about that. It's like, it's the look of mine. They it on screen. They said it on screen. But of course, on screen, they also said Han and Han. They excuse that in solo. assault And on screen, they've said Twi'lek and Twi'lek. Oh, no. The mystery continues.
00:19:37
Speaker
um But yeah, you Grievous. I can hear Betsy screaming in the distance right now. But the the Grievous and his battle droids are are trying to make their way to an escape pod. ah The only thing left with a working signal beacon so that they can get rescued. Yes. And we see some Grievous leadership.
00:20:04
Speaker
but Yes, great Grievous is, you know, like, you know. Also, he totally has his cape back down. Oh, yeah, totally. The droids are are you like running low on power because he's making them walk and while he rides. Yeah. And he he's like, you know, why are why are you losing power? Well, because you're making us walk instead of ride ah to hell with you and, you know, cuts one of them down. Yeah. He's he sure is a leader, all right. Yeah.
00:20:35
Speaker
yeah that That's a word for it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. He is leading. Yep. But yes, the clones go out to search for Grievous and his party, and they end up running into some sniping droids. Yes. Yes. With an actual competent sniping team, because they actually have a spotter and a sniper. Yeah. And Rex gets wounded. Yep. And he's...
00:21:03
Speaker
And we also have Rex in this episode, and this is a Rex-focused episode. Yes. Yes. And we like Rex. Rex is a good boy. Yep. ah And his squad goes to patch him up, and they find a farm. And there's a Twi'lek named Sue who lives there. and Or a Twi'lek if you're uninitiated. And you know she reluctantly gives them shelter in the barn and one of her kids comes running into the barn, you know, sees Rex with his helmet off and says, you look like my daddy. Oh boy.
00:21:44
Speaker
I wonder what's going to come from that. Oh, I don't know. And so the the rest of the squad you know goes back out. the Rex wants to go with them, and they're like, no. Yeah. You got to hit by a sniper bolt. Yeah, you can't do that. you got You're injured right now. You're injured. You need to stay. yeah You got a critical hit. so and None of us have medical skill. And while the rest of the squad is out,
00:22:10
Speaker
Well, hold on, we've got we've got a bit of a cutscene here where we cut back over to Grievous and his droids are actually losing power now. like they're They're curling up into a ball because they have no more energy. And so things do not go well for him, but one thing that I noticed is that Grievous, we we saw the sniper droids earlier. They were like the commando droids. They were the competent ones. But all of the droids that Grievous is with are just the basic droids for some reason. And e ones yeah and it's like it's kind of interesting because it's almost like, you know obviously these droids are meant to be comedic.
00:22:49
Speaker
were supposed to be seeing how Grievous isn't that great of a leader, but I feel like it would have been more impactful if he had his actual competent droids with him, and he was making them lose power as well. so But it feels like the the the the writers didn't want him with the competent droids, because maybe they didn't want to write for the competent droids, like maybe they don't have voice actors for them or something. or I'm not entirely sure. It's like, we see a variety of droid types, but anytime the droids are interacting with each other as characters, it's always the basic droids. And- It's an observation. I'm not sure. Maybe I can think on that and see if I can do some like research, because there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff, so maybe I can see about that. But yeahs some its there's ways to like interpret that actually. Because you're right, most of the time when
00:23:45
Speaker
We have droids interacting with commanders or actual individuals. It's very rarely, as you'd call it, the sort of nebulous term of competent droid. But you're right. that it's Most droid interactions are your classic B1 comedy routine. Yeah. that is good I hadn't thought of that either. Yeah. So anyway, then the clone farmer arrives. yeah So then, Sue's husband shows up. Who are you? What are you doing here?
00:24:25
Speaker
You're a clone. So, I see the war has finally made its way out here. And I guess I can expect a visit from some droids soon. What's your number and rank? My name is LeQuane. Cut LeQuane.
00:24:42
Speaker
And I'm just a simple farmer. You're a de deserter. Well, I like to think I'm merely exercising my freedom to choose. To choose not to kill for a living. That is not your choice to make. You swore an oath to the Republic. You have a duty. I have a duty. You're right. But it's to my family. Does that count, or do you still plan to turn me in? Do I have a choice?
00:25:08
Speaker
hey
00:25:12
Speaker
Look what I drew you, Dad! Well, well, well. That's great, Jack. I see you two have met. He looks just like you, Daddy. I told him. Ah, you did, huh? I was just making our guest, Captain... um What's your number? Rex. I also have a name, believe it or not. He was injured. His men brought him here. I told him he could stay just for the night. Of course he can. We never turn away those in need, do we?
00:25:42
Speaker
No, we always help anyone we can. Right. You look hungry, Rex. No, I'm fine. I'll stay here. And you Rex is very clearly conflicted. He wants to stay away from the family. The kids beg him to come in and have dinner. Oh, there's a lot to unpack from here because. Yeah.
00:26:10
Speaker
There's a lot going on. Oh, yeah. yeah we The whole nature of clones and i their identities and how they live their lives. And we're going to get into that in a second. Yes, yes we are.
00:26:28
Speaker
um and Because this this is this scene is where we really start to get into the meat of this episode.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah, you've got Obi-Wan and the clones chasing down Grievous. but that's us That's the B plot. Yes, that's the B plot. and which is i also like to that Every time it cuts to that B plot, I'm like, get back, get back to the farm. Yeah. right here But it's also like, it's, it's also the first time we've had a firm clone B plot. We've had a couple clone focused episodes. No sense Jedi. But this is the first time we've had like a clone a plot with the Jedi being the B story.
00:27:21
Speaker
And so... And very much the B story, that it does not really matter a whole lot. And so, as we're about to get into that meat of the episode, I was gonna try to summarize it myself, but why bother when the episode says it so well? Yeah. Yes, well, you and I may be clones, but we're still individuals. You have a name rather than a number, Captain. Why is that?
00:27:51
Speaker
Perhaps our leaders feel it's a more efficient way of distinguishing us. More efficient than a number. Hmm. I doubt the Kaminoans think that way. Still, the name has to make you feel unique. Especially in an army where everyone looks like you and talks like you. Actually, I've never really thought about it. Yes, you have. Well, how would you know? Because I am as close to you as any life form can be. I've seen how you look at my family, our home.
00:28:23
Speaker
Come on Rex, admit it. You've thought about what your life could look like if you would also leave the army and choose a life you want. What if I am choosing the life I want? What if I'm staying in the army because it's meaningful to me? And how is it meaningful? Because I'm part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail, then our children and their children could be forced to live under an evil I can't well imagine. If you were to have children, of course, but...
00:28:53
Speaker
That would be against the rules, wouldn't it? Isn't that what somebody programmed you to believe, Captain? No, Cut. It's simply what I believe. It doesn't matter if it's my children or other people's children. Does that meet with your approval? Perfectly. To each his own. That's what I always say. What does that mean, Daddy? It means you can do anything with your life that you want to. So, again, this is a show for kids.
00:29:20
Speaker
And there's a lot to unpack from that. ah but that's our Lauren, what do you gather from this interaction between very much similar characters, but definitely very different perspectives?
00:29:38
Speaker
Well, you know, one of the things that, uh, that one of the quotes that really comes to my mind is the whole programmed you to believe thing, because as y'all know,
00:29:51
Speaker
I'm a Sonic fan, and one of the major plot elements of the game, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, is the fact that Shadow is a created organism. He's the ultimate life form made by science, and a lot of his a lot of his memories, a lot of his ideals were essentially programmed into him. And in fact, a lot of them a lot of his memories were overwritten by new ones in order to get him to try to destroy the world.
00:30:21
Speaker
And so, you know, it's just that idea of like being programmed to believe something, being programmed to think something, being programmed to, you know, do something you might not otherwise do. It's it's a very intense situation. That's a modification of the self, as it were. It's ah it's pretty extreme. It's very emotional, as it were. And it also looks at a lot of you programming versus free will nature versus nurture. And but what is the nature of the clones? Yeah. Yeah. The clones are are cloned from a a bounty hunter that they don't identify with. that In fact, they identify more with each other. That's natural. That's the nature. Yes.
00:31:21
Speaker
to a degree, they're programmed to serve the Republic. who they And possibly other things, spoiler alert. Yeah. But but at the very least, they believe fully that they're serving the Republic, that their lives they're willing to give their lives for their soldiers. yeah and And know nothing else other than that. Which makes- But they can.
00:31:48
Speaker
they can we've we've cut Lekwene proves that they can be he's a farmer yeah he's like he said no yeah done and walked away and found a a more peaceful life they made the choice but it's like and that means that they can make a choice but it's like at their very fundamental as they do believe that their service their entire life is to fight and die to fight against an evil that they cannot comprehend so that others can survive they're not thinking for themselves they're thinking for everyone else in the republic yes and let let's take one more listen to something you cut telling his story how he got here
00:32:49
Speaker
Yeah. So what was it? What made me decide to leave the call?
00:32:57
Speaker
Shortly after the battle of Geonosis, our troop transport got caught between two Separatist gunships. They fired on us with everything they had. We crashed. Most of us were either dead or severely injured. So when they started working their way through the wounded, killing us off, I knew there was no hope. I ran. It still haunts me.
00:33:19
Speaker
I'm sorry. It's the day I felt my life didn't have any meaning. Everyone I cared about, my team, was gone. I was just another expendable clone, waiting for my turn to be slaughtered in a war that made no sense to me. Can you understand that, Rex? I've been in countless battles and lost many brothers. They were my family, my home.
00:33:51
Speaker
Daddy, we finished our chores. Can we go outside and play? Please? Okay, only for a few minutes. Thank you, Daddy. Come on, Jack. And keep the house in view. We will. You have wonderful children. I know you think I'm a coward, Rex. But believe me, I'll fight to my last breath to keep them safe.
00:34:15
Speaker
And so, yeah, the disposable child soldiers aren't unthinking machines. you Again, they to go back to ah to episode two, they are more free thinking and therefore far superior to droids. Yes. And Cut was faced with a situation where who he realized I'm just I'm meat in the grinder.
00:34:45
Speaker
And I'm not going to be. There's got to be something else out there. Yep. And walked away. I mean, he was believed to be dead anyway. Yeah. You know, if if the rest of them were, if the rest of his, his unit were wiped out, who's to say I wasn't too, nobody's going to be looking for me in a sea of copies of me. I'm gone. Yep.
00:35:16
Speaker
And again, this is a show for kids. Of course. and And it definitely doesn't go deeper than this. Oh, no, not at all. ah Yeah, totally, totally. You will not become your favorite one of your favorite characters. yeah Not at all. No, yeah, definitely not. um So while out playing, the kids trigger the pod activating the commando droids and bringing them to them and you know that that kind of brings me to something that i noticed is that earlier on rex was hit by a sniper commando droid but where did those commando droids go because they're not with grievous they're clearly not supposed to be the ones that are in the pod these ones just activated
00:36:08
Speaker
ah the snake of them indo drs just really I believe the spotter got shot, but yeah the actual one that hit him didn't get shot. Yeah, they those guys just sort of disappeared from the narrative. I guess, you know, they're they are just sort of random droids, so it's not like they're super important, but... And there are multiple pods that came down. it yeah It does kind of bring me back to the point earlier, though, where Grievous is only with the the regular droids. He doesn't get to have commando droids with him during narrative moments. Nope. Nope. And so the commando droids
00:36:45
Speaker
and turns this into like a pseudo horror episode again. Yes, yes, an intense commando droid fight ensues. Especially how they're like damaged and sort of like zombie walking. Yeah, more zombies. The commando droids come to the farm and Rex wants to help cut, defend the farm, but since he's injured and can only use one arm,
00:37:12
Speaker
Cut tells him that he has to be the last line of defense for the family. And so but much action then ensues as the commando droids come after them all. Yes. They fight them off naturally. Because well, they're our heroes. Yeah. um and And as he's Rex is healed up enough to leave as he's leaving. um You know, he He agrees that, yeah, he's duty bound to turn Cut in. But decides that, well, you know what? I was pretty badly wounded. In my condition, I'm probably not going to remember anything. a And Cut invites Rex to stay with them. But Rex says, no, I have my own family that I need to take care of. Yes. So I do just want to take a moment here and
00:38:11
Speaker
give some love to Dee Bradley Baker because he gives a performance playing opposite himself as two copies of the same person who are both full and distinctly different characters.
Clone Identity and Free Will
00:38:29
Speaker
At no point does you feel like, I guess like, no, these are two fully developed individual characters not just in terms of writing but also voice acting yeah you know we're we're just audio here and you could tell the difference between cut and rex oh yeah those audio clips yep even though they're they're the same template the same technically the same person literally copies of the same dude but you can tell them apart
00:39:06
Speaker
It's beautiful. And he plays all the clones. He plays every clone. what What's funny, we'll probably get there next after we finish Clone Wars because we're going to make you one of us. Oh, of course, of course. um But in the Bad Batch, it's funny because in the in the credits of the show, it just says the Bad Batch, Dee Bradley Baker. Nice.
00:39:31
Speaker
um Now, the kids caused kind of a minor flurry of questioning a few different things among the fans. Because this is the first time we've seen, though it's been implied in the past, of humanoid species can get on with humanoid species. Well, yes. Well, and in the conversation, you know they cut and wrecks you know imply that yes, it's possible for the clones to have kids, but people weren't sure. you They're like, well, you know if they're bred to be soldiers, did the Kaminoans breed genetically engineer out the ability to reproduce? and um But if they can, is their engineered accelerated aging also passed down?
00:40:30
Speaker
You know, is is that modification made at the genetic level so that any offspring that they have age rapidly too? And people were wondering that because the the kids kept calling Cut Daddy. um And so they're like, that it's got to be that it's passed on because this episode takes place maybe about a year, maybe a little more into the Clone Wars.
00:41:00
Speaker
you know He says that he defected shortly after Geonosis. So that's roughly a year ago. But you've got you know kids that appear to be about you know somewhere between like six and eight years old. They look and behave around that age. yeah So you know that there are still people among the fandom who you insist that Those kids are Cut and Sue's biological kids. But the answer is easier than that. Sue already had them when she met Cut. Interesting. um And they've they've confirmed that that's the case. Oh, OK. Yeah, almost confirmed that's the case. No, no, they they were. She already had the kids when she met Cut about a year ago or less than a year ago. But he's already become so closely ingrained in the family.
00:41:56
Speaker
that they see him as daddy. Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. But yeah there there are still those out there who are like, OK, so there's a lot of them that do like the they're trying to use this thing called math, which which is which is evil. Oh, no. They're trying to determine like, you know, that they are his kids. And we're going to like pull up like these things called graphs and things like that.
00:42:24
Speaker
and statistics and and this and and algorithms. In every way that matters, yeah, they're his kids. They are not his biological kids. Yeah, that's not what matters. It's it's honestly, the that even makes more sense in that he's become something that he's never been trained to do. He's only been trained for combat. He's become a father, a farmer, a humble man of land.
00:42:56
Speaker
a a civil he he even he He kind of channels his inner Jango Fett when he says he's just a simple farmer, you know as opposed to a simple man just trying to make his way in the universe. yep But basically, he' he's showing that he can be free of the programming, that the what he was made to do. He can be himself.
00:43:24
Speaker
yeah And Rex is may not agree with what he's done, but in the sense that he believes himself to be a soldier. and You know, I think that obviously the the stuff between Rex and Cut is the main meat of the episode, but the elements with Grievous and Obi-Wan help to contextualize the way that the clones are treated, in particular kind in comparison to the way that the droids are treated.
00:43:54
Speaker
Grievous mistreating his droids and not allowing them to rest compared to the way that Obi-Wan and the clones all care for each other gives Rex a legitimate reason to want to stay with his own family. It helps give the impression that, yeah, being bred to be part of the army is ah not great, but Rex has a reason to go back. Rex has a reason to care for these people who, in turn, do care for him as well.
00:44:24
Speaker
This is true. Yeah, very much so. You you actually hit the nail on the head there that yeah, he he understand. That's why he's able to say like, maybe I won't remember when I would have it here. Yes. But he's like, he's like, I understand why you.
00:44:43
Speaker
are here, and I saw you fight for your family. I saw the fight for my family. Yes. whenever Whenever Cut gives the option to stay on the farm, there are reasons why Rex it decides to go back to the army again, and we see those reasons with the comparison between Obi-Wan and Grievous. They're happy to see him. They they were worried about him. Yeah. And Rex is usually associated with Anakin, but it's interesting to see that No, it's just in general Obi-Wan, Anakin, the clone army itself is a family. It's a unit. It's something that he does feel that he belongs. And I'm sure it will come as little to no surprise to you if I were to tell you that with this one appearance, Cut became a fan favorite character. Oh yeah, no doubt. And so did his wife. Yes.
00:45:41
Speaker
And people were like, we we want to see more cut. We want to see more of cut. who Do we ever see i so want to see more of his life of his wife? um We do not see more of cut in the Clone Wars. I will leave it at that. OK.
00:46:00
Speaker
um I'm not saying that we will or will not see more of him, perhaps in a different batch of episodes. but Perhaps ah of Rise of a Certain Skywalker?
00:46:17
Speaker
That's just false advertising there, Nick. fuck that That's even more false advertising than they gave us with Rise of Skywalker. Oh, no. So I was fired, but yeah. oh I guess that brings us on to the next episode. Yeah. The last episode of The Bats.
Ahsoka's Lightsaber Adventure
00:46:37
Speaker
That takes us to Lightsaber Lost, season two, episode 11. When a wily pickpocket steals Ahsoka's lightsaber, she enlists the help of an ancient Jedi to track down her weapon and reclaim her honor.
00:46:52
Speaker
Yes. As we start the episode, Ahsoka gets knocked down in an alley while waiting for Anakin, and her lightsaber is taken. But she doesn't want Anakin to know that her lightsaber is taken. So whenever she chases after the guy, she goes, I had a bad feeling about him instead of actually telling him, ah yeah yeah yes, somebody sort just stole my lightsaber. Yeah. And now here's what i what I kind of want to know.
00:47:19
Speaker
they they They're always sending, like we were just talking about earlier, Anakin and Obi-Wan out on the the big important missions, right? Yes. So why are they sending Anakin to the seedy part of town to find a black market arms dealer? Why are they pulling him off of the battlefield?
00:47:43
Speaker
to send him after a black market arms dealer. Well, I know why. It's so that the plot can happen. Oh, yeah. Oh, you beat me to it. You beat me to it, Lauren. Weirded out. I figured out the answer. It's so that the plot can happen. I'm proud of you. Headpats from beyond from the Internet. Yes. So finally, they're they're they're back at the temple and it can sneak in the arms dealer off to, you know,
00:48:14
Speaker
Wherever. Well, we we now officially know from the acolyte that there are actually jail cells in the Jedi Temple. Oh, well, OK. So yeah are they are a government institution that does deal with law enforcement. So Anakin's taking him off, I guess, to one of the cells. And it's like, can I go to the library? um And so with our lightsaber stolen,
00:48:44
Speaker
She goes to the library to talk to Jocasta New to, I guess the library's gonna help her find the pickpocket. I guess so. I mean, it's it's a Jedi archives. If it's not in there, then it doesn't exist. yeah I guess. The Jedi archives. Jocasta New. And then Jocasta New points her in the direction of Jedi Master Tarasanubey. Am I wrong? He sends her.
00:49:13
Speaker
her his way, and guess what? He knows what to look for. Yeah. If it's not in the archives, then it doesn't exist. Because the new rules. ah And Tara and Tara knows that ah this guy exists, apparently.
00:49:32
Speaker
or at least how to track him down. and Yes, it's cool seeing ah the young and old working together. And apparently, Terra makes a pun, but I don't remember what the pun is. Well, and, you know, he... Terra Sinube also becomes a fan favorite character with limited appearances. I believe it. Terra's great.
00:49:59
Speaker
He's great. Not to be confused with Terra Kingdom Hearts. We won't talk right now about his appearance in the Obi-Wan series. okay ah But he does make it a pretty prominent one. Yes.
00:50:14
Speaker
um but you know he ah He gives Ahsoka tips and you tells her that she needs to to be quiet to to figure out where where her lightsaber is. Yes, yes. She needs to stop for a moment and focus and let the force flow through her. Yes. She doesn't do that. She doesn't do that. She does for a moment. For a moment. And then she, they find the guy who stole it and she is clearly Anakin's Padawan. Yes. She, she jumped straight to wanting to rough him up. Yeah, she's using some, she's using some Anakin style interrogation techniques.
00:50:57
Speaker
I mean, she may as well, it warning for listeners, I'm about to go inside baseball with an inside joke in our role-playing group that no one listening will get. She may as well have wheeled a body into the interrogation room and said, you did it. Tell me why. ah Yes. yeah I know that one. I'm aware of that one. so they They follow you know his,
00:51:26
Speaker
his lead on who he gave the lightsaber to and then they find the guy uh dead yeah he's he's he's really most sincerely dead He's quite dead. And Ahsoka goes looking for what happened to her lightsaber, and there's a woman with the dead guy. She's Ione, and she has a cool species design. Yeah, I really liked the the vertical eye blanks. Yeah, those are cool. I really liked Ione's look. But then, ah yeah, Ahsoka finds somebody in in the building. Yes, there' there's a bounty hunter that has her lightsaber.
00:52:07
Speaker
chases off after her and they they go running through Coruscant on an obstacle course that looks like it's straight out of a video game. Oh yeah. Oh it's clearly Assassin's Creed coded. Jump jump jump climb a drain pipe jump jump run run jump climb Yeah, it it's straight out of a video game. But in the meanwhile, it's a fun one, though. Yes. And meanwhile, while they're all jumping around going through their platforming level, ah we've got, you know, Tara back in the the building with Ione and he's doing some Jedi master detective. Yeah, well, I would I would almost put it like Columbo level detective stuff. Yeah. Just one more thing.
00:52:54
Speaker
And he figures out that Ione was the one who killed the guy in the first place and she's actually working with the bounty hunter. And but get ah yep and so Ione tries to escape with the bounty hunter while ah Terra is flying very slowly in the slowest chase sequence ever, which Ahsoka is not very happy about.
00:53:20
Speaker
It's because it's it's all like a lesson. But they do eventually cut them off. And yeah he she's like, you're going really slow. He's like, well, we don't need to go fast because we're going to go. they're They're going a roundabout way to lose us. We're going straight to the train station. And so they meet them at the train station.
00:53:43
Speaker
And Ahsoka keeps chasing down the Bounty Hunter with her lightsaber until eventually the Bounty Hunter lady creates a hostage situation. As you do. Yes, yes. Using the lightsaber to threaten some, I believe it was a kid? Yep, yep. A mom and a kid. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
00:54:03
Speaker
And Ahsoka is trying to to cool things down when all of a sudden the train stops. Very unanakin material. Yeah, seriously. He's talking about the lives of others? Whoa. He would have gone straight through the child. The woman and the children, too. yeah Yes, he would have killed the women and the children. And Pat would have been very, very pleased with Ahsoka.
00:54:34
Speaker
But then the train stops, and at the train stop, it's Terra, and he brings out his own lightsaber. Which is hidden in his cane. Yes, and it's very cool.
00:54:47
Speaker
Silver is white? Blue-ish? Nick and I actually compared it to another blue lightsaber from like earlier in the episode. And it's it's definitely a bluish tinge, but the actual legit blue lightsaber was far more blue than it was. It's very unique looking. and A very light lightsaber. Yeah.
00:55:13
Speaker
And but the one thing that I kept asking as Ahsoka is chasing the bounty hunter down is she was clearly in range to use the force to like, you know, knock the pipe off so that the bounty hunter, you know, would ideally, you know, kind of be trapped hanging out there on the pipe. when Yeah. wow yeah Why didn't she just use the force to pull her lightsaber back? Well, that would stop the episode. I know. She's only a Padawan. And this is true. I understand. These are the questions that you're not supposed to ask. but yeah You're supposed to, in the words of Mystery Science Theater, repeat to yourself, it's just a show. I should really just relax. But if I had to give an explanation, it's the Anakin influence in her.
00:56:10
Speaker
She wants to, she wants to catch the bounty hunter to beat the crap out of her for doing it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, she's Daryl. Why didn't she just use force lightning or something? ah Well, she hasn't learned that trick yet. but It's because she wanted to beat the person up with her own bare hands. Obviously. She wanted the blood gripping off of her knuckles. Like, like how Anna can talk her. Yes.
00:56:39
Speaker
that's why she was like so against like terrorists and newbies like ah this is not how Anakin would top Tommy other things it means like at least at least some collateral damage and at least one dead person by now yes right yes we just left the temple yes exactly
00:57:00
Speaker
But then she goes back to Anakin, she's got her lightsaber back, and the episode ends, and everybody is happy. Except for the except for the people who tried to steal her lightsaber, they aren't particularly happy at all. They're probably in prison. If they're lucky. yeah If she didn't, if Terris Inoube turned his back, she could have gone Philanakin. She would have. It's like, whoops, I slipped.
00:57:27
Speaker
My fist slipped into her face about 15 times. like My hand slipped, and then I did a cool backflip. Naturally. And I decapitated her. Whoa. it It was a total accident, I swear. huhu yeah I mean, it looks really sick. Yeah. But that's the end of that episode. i i think I think it's pretty clear to anyone who has half paid attention to this episode But of the three episodes that that we talked about, we had a clear favorite. Yes, yes, obviously. I mean, I would say like of them, like I feel that there's not a whole lot to talk about. Lightsaber Lost, but it's a great episode. Yes, i like it's an Ahsoka episode, so obviously I love it. Because I love it whenever we have Ahsoka episode. There's new bit. It's like, it's usually, there's not a whole lot to analyze or discuss about it.
00:58:24
Speaker
Yeah, well all of the meat is in the deserter. Yes. Yeah. But I'd say of them, it's like ah first the first one ah grieve with Grievous, great action, a lot of fun. yeah The deserter has a lot of stuff that's going to have you thinking about and going forward thinking about. Yeah. And just a general lightsaber loss, it's just a fun episode.
00:58:54
Speaker
episode with some fun character development and great action and set pieces. Yeah. Lots of great episodes in total, even if the middle one was overall the best. Overall, the middle one was but it's very much the like, sink, you could sink our teeth into that one. We could really like talk about that one. But in general, like,
00:59:18
Speaker
Although I'd say, like, if I had to give a ranking of this, of this batch of episodes, it'd be the disorder, lightsaber loss, and then grievous injury. Yeah. Yeah, generally. Yeah. Yeah. Good of times. I'd say we're bad. I just say all, there's clearly like a, there and going forward, there'll be episodes of like, yeah, some of them have more to talk about. Some of them have less.
00:59:47
Speaker
And after this um after this episode of Clone Watch, next time we're looking at it, our next episode is gonna be, again, just three episodes of Clone Wars, but they are another single storyline and they are one of the most highly regarded storylines in the entire series. Oh, yeah. And we'll be joined by a guest. We will be joined once again by our friend Betsy, who ah threatened our lives if we did not allow her to. Yes, for this story. um Yeah, strong opinions, strong opinions, no no opinions whatsoever on these episodes. she Exactly. And we'll have plenty of notes from all sides of this one. Oh, yeah. but
01:00:46
Speaker
um Yeah, it it's one of the most highly regarded storylines and I honestly thought that it came later in the series. I really did. I thought it came later in the series. but It does not. It is. It's just before we even fizzes season one. Yeah. Which we haven't finished yet. We will be introduced to characters who not only show back up in the Clone Wars later down the line,
01:01:23
Speaker
but also have concepts that will be important in the future. We have concepts that will be important in the future. We have character development for regular characters that will resonate throughout the series and shed new light on them. we left a lot Mythology stuff and lore that given to me classical characters. We will be introduced to new characters who will appear much further down the timeline to much acclaim by the audience. This is some good stuff. Next episode, y'all. It's happening. and It's going to be big. and If you know what you know, you know what what we're getting into. and yeah and Hopefully, I did not just oversell it all.
01:02:20
Speaker
Honestly, I don't think considering Especially kids considering the time period of where we're watching it right now. I Think we're on this Ellen. Oh man. what This is ooh Cuz this is going to this leads into This is basically a key episode So that's gonna take people further in their Star Wars journey Yep. This, Darryl, Darryl, the thing is that this this next episode, we're gonna revolutionize the very idea of podcasts. Yeah, yeah, that's it. That's how good our next episode is gonna be. ah Sure.
01:03:01
Speaker
well but well well well We'll shoot right past that, like, ah the Hawk Tua podcast. Yeah.
01:03:12
Speaker
Anyway, thank you all once again for for joining us and join us next time when, ah ah what were the words again? We revolutionized podcasts. Yes, we're going to revolutionize the very idea of a podcast next time everybody. yes yes and yes i And we dont the women and the children too. And when we don't follow through on that but on that promise, all correspondence goes to Miss Gaming Cake. Bye!
01:03:46
Speaker
Alright, we will see you all next time and until then, have a great one and talk to you later. Bye!