Rebels: "The Protector of Concord Dawn" (Ep. 2.13)

-- "It looks like diplomacy won the day for once."

"There was a time when it always won the day."

You know, the dialogue in this show is pretty good. I always come away with more quotes than I can use. Well, almost always. This episode was one of those episodes where there were a lot of great lines.

And OMG! Sabine is Death Watch! That is something I hadn't seen coming! And not just Death Watch; she's from the house of Vizsla. You know, as in Pre Vizsla, the guy with the Darksaber during the Clone Wars. Things just got that much more more interesting and, then, that much more interesting again! Especially since we meet up with some Mandalorians this episode.

I would say that you should just watch this episode even if you're not a fan of the series, but I'm not sure this episode is one of those that would work without the background. To really appreciate it, you need to have watched Clone Wars, but they fill in just enough of the details that you don't have to have watched Clone Wars, but my "OMG!" is exactly because I have the Clone Wars background to know what stuff means.

Though this episode is exactly centered on Sabine, it does reveal more of her background, and, as I've said before, it's always a good thing when they give the female characters a bit more focus. They can't just be cardboard stand-ups for Ezra and Kanan to act in front of.

"This Jedi philosophy stuff doesn't work for everyone."

"That's why we're at war."

"Kanan, you need to stop talking now."

"When you set your mind to something, you're kind of frightening."

Clone Wars -- "Shades of Reason" (Ep. 5.15)

-- Alliances can stall true intentions.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

[Well, actually, considering that we're into season five, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Just thinking on my feet here, or, really, my chair, though I could be standing while writing this (I have a standing desk), I just happen to be in my chair at the moment. But, anyway...

What's the one thing that tends to differentiate teams when bad guys team up as opposed to when good guys team up? Good guys generally band together to achieve a mutual purpose; bad guys band together to gather power while each one strives to use the others to achieve his own, usually secret, purpose. It never ends well for the bad guys.

So, yeah, Darth Maul and Pre Vizsla have different goals, and, actually, Vizsla's are much smaller than Maul's, but it still leads to... "Conflict" really isn't a strong enough word for what it leads to, but it again shows us why the Mandalorians were a force to be reckoned with, even by the Jedi.

And, hey, I always love it when the darksaber comes out.

None of this is good for Satine, either.

I still haven't managed to get into the second season of Rebels, yet, but, from the tidbits I've picked up about what's going on in Rebels, it seems that this story arc may be more important for what happens in that series than it is for what happens in Clone Wars. I need to figure out how to work Rebels back into my schedule.

Anyway... Go watch this story arc.

Clone Wars -- "Eminence" (Ep. 5.14)

-- One vision can have many interpretations.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

[Well, actually, considering that we're into season five, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

You know in comic books how every so often all the bad guys will get together to take down the super hero? You know, like the Sinister Six in Spider-Man. Or all the time in Batman (okay, not really, but it sometimes seems that way). Oh... You don't read comics? Well, it's a thing, the bad guys teaming up. This episode is like that.

After barely escaping with their lives last episode, Maul and Opress are picked up by Death Watch. That's a match made in Hell if you're Obi-Wan Kenobi, because, really, there's no one around who hates him more than Maul and Pre Vizsla.

But the fun doesn't stop there! No, Maul hatches a plan to raise an army... from the criminal underworld! We have what I think is the first appearance of Black Sun in current Star Wars canon material, having first appeared in a 90's era video game which I can't remember the name of and don't feel like looking up. There's also the Hutts. And more.

This episode has a lot of action but also a lot of development. It's exactly what Ob-Wan was warning about at the end of "Revival," a warning that really went unheeded because of his "vested interest" in Maul. No matter what happens -- and I'm not saying what happens -- it can't be anything good.


"After careful consideration, we will join you."