Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Clone Wars -- "The Lair of General Grievous" (Ep. 1.10)

-- Most powerful is he who controls his own power.

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Generally speaking, we travel through the Clone Wars with Anakin and/or Ahsoka. Frequently, Obi-Wan is around, although he isn't so often the focus, though we do get some of those episodes. Only rarely do we depart from those characters entirely. This was one of those episodes.

The Jedi are still after the escaped prisoner from the previous episode, but it's Kit Fisto who has picked up the trail... right to Grievous' lair. Like his own private hideout. Which is, not surprisingly, mostly a monument to himself. Seriously, Grievous has statues of himself in his lair. And all the trophies from all the Jedi he's killed.

Of course, it's a trap.

But who's the trap for?

Continuing with the theme of betrayal, we get to see it from the other side in this episode. But, then, that's how the Sith operate.

We also get to meet the former Padawan of Kit Fisto, Nahdar Vebb, now a Jedi Knight. Vebb is also Mon Calamari, so the only thing that could have made this episode more complete would have been for Vebb to have said, "It's a trap!" Alas, he did not say that. He does provide us with a lesson of why Jedi strive not to give into the lust to use power, though.

As what amounts to a standalone episode, this is a very good one. Not only do we get to see Kit Fisto in action, but we get some pieces of Grievous' backstory. And we get to see him at his toughest, when he's cornered. There is a reason he's killed so many Jedi.



"Wait. Where's the other Jedi? ...oh, no."

6 comments:

  1. I like this one, too. Kit Fisto is fun.

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    1. TAS: He can be fun. I like him best when they put him in his element.

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  2. I'll get caught up, eventually. I like the idea of actually seeing other characters beyond Anakin and Ahsoka, neither of whom I find all that likeable.

    Here's my story on this one. When Oldest got pregnant last year we were talking about what she might name her son. Mr Bunches suggested "Kit Fisto," That would've been GREAT.

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    1. Briane: I don't think we're supposed to find Anakin completely likable. We're seeing his development toward becoming a Sith.

      My oldest wanted to name his little brother Hotspeeder.

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  3. Hotspeeder Leon.

    Has a nice ring to it.

    I know what you're saying about Anakin but there are characters who are unlikable and yet can still be compelling to watch. Han Solo isn't particularly likeable in the first Star Wars; he's simply a mercenary who flat-out shoots a collection agent. But he was fun to watch even before they revealed that he has a heart of gold underneath. Remember he only rescued Leia to get a reward, and he was going to leave the Alliance and head out to pay off Jabba before he turned around to help Luke out.

    On the other hand, I find Anakin just unlikable in an "I don't really want to watch him" kind of way. But it's still early in the series. Maybe they'll make him more interesting. So far his whole thing is just "I'm going to do it my way," which, as a personality, is simply not compelling.

    People complain about Hayden Christensen's Anakin but I felt like he was a bit more interesting in the movies than he is in the series. Either way, they could and should do more: here is a guy who didn't have a father and who is destined to 'bring balance to the Force' and at least some of the Jedi didn't even WANT him around, and he's got this temper and feels all these emotions that Jedi are not supposed to feel, and they reduce him to a cookie-cutter "I'm going to do things my own way" character. Star Wars tends to try to dumb things down like that.

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    1. Briane: I think he has some interesting story arcs, and his relationship with Ahsoka is, actually, compelling toward the end. But I can't tell you about that, because SPOILER.
      They do also eventually get around to dealing with some of the stuff with him and Padme, and that's interesting, too.

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