Clone Wars -- Season Five

Season five of Clone Wars is almost the perfect Clone Wars season. Almost. If not for that pothole... um, actually, I think it's more of a sinkhole... right in the middle, it would be. Yes, I'm talking about the horrible four-episode arc featuring D-Squad and Colonel Gascon, the "frog general." As I'm reflecting over this particular season, I'm just left wondering, "What the f#$% were they thinking?"

I mean, look, season five starts off with a very solid story introducing us to Saw Gerrera, an arc which has a much stronger significance, now, after Rogue One, than it did when the series originally aired. It was a new perspective to go back and see it again because, though I liked the arc a lot the first time I saw it, it was much more enlightening this time.

And we follow that one with a story about younglings learning to build their first lightsabers, another good arc. True, it stumbles a bit at places, but, overall, it's good, and it gives us Ahsoka in her first guidance role.

Oh, but then! Then! I mean, where did this whole Gascon thing come from anyway? The story has absolutely no significance in the fabric of the series as a whole. It's entirely throwaway.

Then we have two of the strongest and most important arcs in the entire series. We wrap up the whole Darth Maul/Savage Opress story line, proving that the story of Opress was a tragedy (definitely not a comedy), but how could it have been otherwise? And...

And we see Ahsoka leave the Jedi. That final story of season five might be the most important of the entire Clone Wars run, though there is one arc in season six that's pretty important, too (and one that the Squid is sure to love), but I'll have to watch it again before I can decide which one I think is more significant.

Really, season five is Ahsoka's season. Three of the five arcs deal specifically with her, her growth as a Jedi, and her relationship with the Jedi Order and, specifically, to the Jedi Council. We watch her on more than one occasion choose to not follow orders in favor of doing what she believes is the right thing, something she learned from both Anakin and Obi-Wan but, possibly, more so from Obi-Wan. The season shows us that Ahsoka's story is also a tragedy.

I'm not sure I can say that you can watch season five without having watched the earlier seasons. Certainly, the Maul/Opress story arc won't make much since without the background from seasons three and four, but I think Ahsoka's ending won't have the power it should without having seen her journey. So, you know, if you like Star Wars, you really should watch The Clone Wars.

Clone Wars -- "Point of No Return" (Ep. 5.12)

-- You must trust in others or success is impossible.

[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.]

Is it over yet? I'm so ready for it to be over. It's not me; it's you. You, Colonel Meebur Gascon, or the frog general, as I call him. I'm so ready for you to be out of my Clone Wars.

His name is a joke, by the way. I suppose I could have mentioned that earlier, but it doesn't make it any better. It means "braggart," basically. One who believes himself to be more (bigger) than he is, which is why he's small, to exaggerate the point. heh

On its own, this episode might not be so bad but, after three episode of Gascon, this one already starts with really low marks. Especially since it starts by making a point of Gascon's worst quality (yes, even worse than talking big all the time), that he never does the right thing unless he's forced to. He wants glory without the effort. So, when Gascon and droid company find themselves on a booby trapped ship heading toward a Republic security conference, Gascon's first impulse is to abandon ship and allow the bomb-laden vessel to travel on to its destination. It's only when he finds he cannot get off the ship that he decides he needs to do something about the fact that it's going to blow up.

Of course, it's R2-D2 who really does all the work and, yes, saves the day, but he couldn't save this story arc.

Clone Wars -- "Missing in Action" (Ep. 5.11)

-- A soldier's most powerful weapon is courage.

[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.]

The adventures of Colonel Gascon continue this week, and we get a clone thrown into the mix. With amnesia. Generally speaking, I hate amnesia stories, but the story of Gregor has been the best thing about this arc so far. Except for the Russian-sounding sullustan. And it would have been okay if they had just used the Russian accent for a bit of audio-flavor, but he was clearly culturally Russian, including naming the clone Gregor, and that felt a little weird.

So, yeah, I'm tired of Gascon, the frog general. I think the first time I watched the series I found him amusing -- that's my memory impression, anyway -- but, this time, I just find him tiresome. It's the prejudice against droids and his own self importance that does it. Perhaps, though, it's fitting for the time we're in, right now, because there are some analogies that can be drawn from the character. Clearly, he has the attitudes of the typical white male boomer; maybe that's why they made him a frog, which is a thought I am, at this moment, finding amusing.

Not enough for me not to be ready for this arc to finish, though. I'm ready to get back to the real story.


"I hope you have a plan to get us off this armpit."

Clone Wars -- "A Sunny Day in the Void" (Ep. 5.10)

-- When all seems hopeless, a true hero gives hope.

[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.]

So... Whereas I was okay with one episode with this special droid team led by Colonel Gascon (the frog "general," just as a humor break or whatever you want to call it, I find myself less interested in a whole story arc surrounding this idea. Especially one that begins with an overly contrived shipwreck. Seriously? The piloted their ship through a comet cloud? They have four (FOUR!) astromech droids on this team and they piloted their ship into a cloud of comets and crashed?!?! Come on! At least have them damaged in a dogfight or something trying to escape. That would have been plausible and believable.

But, not only that, but the pilot droid, THE PILOT DROID!, seems unable to come to a decision to avoid flying into the comet storm and goes off to make conversation before alerting Gascon, at which point it is too late to do anything about it.

Which leaves them crashed on a void planet.

Basically, I didn't find anything of real value in this episode and, actually, I don't remember finding anything of value in it the first time I watched it. In fact, I had completely forgotten about "A Sunny Day in the Void," the title being the best thing about the episode (other than a couple of good one-liners), and had a sinking feeling as soon as I realized which episode it was.



"All I ask is that you let me die with dignity."
"Is that possible?"