Captain Marvel (a movie review post)

 

MCU #21

You can see my original review of this movie here. 

For reasons I can't really fathom, Captain Marvel is one of the most disliked of the MCU movies. It has only a 45% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and not much better anywhere else. It's not that I don't understand that there are supposed reasons, but I don't get it. Captain Marvel is a wonderful movie, and Larson is excellent in the role.

That said, Captain Marvel is not a character I have much experience with in the comics. My experience of her was her in a coma because Rogue absorbed her powers and memories, and that's the way it was for much of my active comic reading experience. Monica Rambeau, on the other hand, a later Captain Marvel in the comics, I have much more experience with and that character just so happens to be introduced in this movie. Rambeau also appears in WandaVision, and we should be seeing more of her soon. I think it's pretty cool the way she is introduced in this movie.

I have no idea of the origin story for Captain Marvel in the comics, the past or the current origin, and I don't care one way or the other about the relation of this origin to what might or might not be in the comics. I got over clinging to the comic origin a long time ago. As I've said before, the MCU is its own beast and should be judged on its own merits.

And the merits of this movie are good. I love the 90s setting. The crash through the roof of the Blockbuster is classic. I love that the Skrull posing as Colson gets found out because Colson calls Fury while he's with the imposter and that you don't know ahead of time that that has happened. Okay, well, now you do, if you haven't seen it, but that's on you. You've had time. I love the flerken. And the Tesseract, what a little cube of mischief! Always getting around and powering people's weapons and engines and... superpowers. That things gets around! Of course, it is the space gem, so I guess it's appropriate.

There is one argument that could be made against the movie that is valid: It is a touch of retconning to toss Captain Marvel into the mix right in the middle of the whole Infinity saga. BUT! They wanted the cause to seem hopeless. Because it was hopeless. Thanos won. He beat the heroes. Hands down. There were two opportunities to have beaten him, the first ruined by Quill and the second because Thor didn't go for the head. If we had known going into all of that that Captain Marvel was still out there, the situation wouldn't have seemed quite hopeless. I'm reminded of the scene in Empire when ghostBen says, "That boy is our last hope." And we don't have a Yoda to say, "No, there is another." (Okay, there is the post-credit scene with Fury using the call device, but we don't know what that means, yet, right?) So putting us in the situation where there is no hope left and then introducing the character works well, I think. But I can see the argument there; I just don't agree with it.

Marvel is a really solid movie with powerful characters and performances. And, as I said in the previous review, I do think Larson and Law have great chemistry together, which makes their final confrontation very... satisfying. To say the least.
What a condescending ass.
Of course, that is the character that Jude Law plays best.

So let's get this one ranked. I say that knowing that people will disagree with my placement on this one, but, hey, this is my ranking and this how I feel about it.

1. Captain America: Civil War

2. The Avengers
3. Captain America: The First Avenger

4. Avengers: Infinity War

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. Iron Man

8. Captain Marvel

9. Black Panther

10. Doctor Strange

11. Ant-Man

12. Thor: Ragnarok
13. Thor: The Dark World
14. Thor

15. Guardians of the Galaxy

16. Ant-Man and the Wasp

17. Avengers: Age of Ultron

18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
19. Iron Man 3
20. Iron Man 2
21. Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton's ego could never be a shape-shifting Skrull. He's incapable of disguising that thing.)

Clone Wars -- "Old Friends Not Forgotten" (Ep. 7.09)

"I am cautiously optimistic."

Enjoy your Revenge of the Fifth...

It seems that this arc is going to use slightly modified quotes from the movies as titles, though last episode wasn't really part of this arc, just the prelude to it. They're definitely gearing up to the end of the series. The opening of this episode was more like a movie opening than a Clone Wars episode, so much so that my son accused me of having played the wrong show when it started up. And I believed him(!) and backed out of the episode and started it again to make sure. It was the correct one. No opening quote, which was weird, so I pulled a line from the episode instead.

This episode opens with one of those epic Star Wars battle scenes, which we actually haven't had a lot of in Clone Wars, now that I think of it. They come along every so often, but they're not as frequent as you'd think. It's a good scene. Obi-Wan is on the ropes, his troops about to be overrun by battle droids. Until... Oh, but that would be telling. It's fun, though.

Two things are happening in this episode.
One, Ahsoka has returned to Anakin and Obi-Wan for help dealing with Darth Maul. On the one hand, this is clearly an effort to on the part of the writers to bring some closure to this plot line in the series. From an outside view, I'm not sure I like this. Considering what's coming in Rebels (and The Mandalorian, from what I've read), I think the better ending was just having Ahsoka leave and that being the end of it. It's more real. Like Obi-Wan's duel with Vader on the Death Star. From the inside, though, the emotional view, it's very satisfying to have these characters come back together again. So I like it, and I very much enjoy it, but I think it's the easy answer to Ahsoka's departure, not the one that deals with how things really are in life. Like Lucas deciding at the last minute to have Lando and the Falcon survive the assault on the Death Star II rather than having the Falcon consumed in the explosion as was originally planned.

Two, Clone Wars is definitively crossing into movie territory with this episode. [I've just realized I'll have more to say about this later, but I'll get to that in my season wrap up as it doesn't actually pertain to this episode.] Ahsoka has come for help but, at the same time, Coruscant has come under attack by General Grievous. As we know from the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan and Anakin are at Coruscant for that battle, so we know, to some extent, what's going to happen here. They are definitely not going with Ahsoka to help deal with Maul.

This is a good episode and, while it may not turn out to be "necessary" or essential viewing, it seems as if this arc is going to make a very nice accompanying story line to Revenge.

"Loyalty means everything to the clones.

"By the way, I killed Maul once; best to capture him. He doesn't seem to stay dead."

Clone Wars -- "A Distant Echo" (Ep. 7.02)

-- The search for truth begins with belief.

As we discovered last episode, Rex believes that Echo is still alive. He believes that the Separatists have been using him to predict the clone's battle tactics. No one really believes him. But the clones of the Bad Batch don't really care one way or the other as long as they're going to get to take out some clankers. Yes, all of this means a rescue mission.

Well, okay, it's only a rescue mission to Rex. Everyone else is just following the signal from last episode back to its origin point so that they can figure out how it is the Separatists are so accurately predicting their moves.

There are some interesting new droids introduced in this episode, but I don't know what they're called. Kind of weird and cool looking.

And... looking back at what I wrote about this episode when it was released in its incomplete form, they made several key changes to this episode. Here's what I wrote last time:

Padme is sexy nose art on the Bad Batch's spacecraft, and Anakin is not pleased. Ah, the amusing things this show throws in and just another reason I'm still sad it ended.

Rex believes Echo is still alive and mounts a covert operation to rescue him, so covert even the Jedi Council doesn't know about it... because, well, they said "no" to the idea of the mission in the first place. And, of course, if there's something going on that the Council has said no to, it's a safe bet to assume that Anakin's involved, which he is. It's also a safe bet to assume that Obi-Wan knows about it but is standing the side. I just realized I don't know what I think about that.

Basically, Obi-Wan, by repeatedly allowing Anakin to disobey the Jedi Council without consequences, has completely undermined the authority of the Council, at least in regards to Anakin. Maybe it's no wonder things turned out the way they did?

But I digress...

Though there's not much left to say about the episode other than that it looks as if it was introducing a creepy new type of battle droid. It's too bad those didn't make it into a final version.

Oh, and Rex gets into it with one of the members of the Bad Batch.

Good stuff.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights."

"Well, I'm not scared of nuthin'. I just... When I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity."

They took out the part with Padme as nose art. That makes me kind of sad. It was an amusing gag that revealed a bit more of the wider universe and reinforced some more of Anakin's lack of control over his emotions.

They also took out the explicit "no" from the Jedi council. At least, I think they did. I'm assuming, based on what I wrote, there was an explicit "no" attached to this, but I don't really remember. This time around, though, any "no" was only implied. Obi-Wan never actually tells Anakin the answer because Anakin sort of bulldozes over what Obi-Wan is trying to say and takes off with Rex to go on the mission.

But we do find out this time around that Obi-Wan knows that Anakin has been talking to Padme on the sly.

Mostly, I feel like they took out some of the nuance this episode originally held, which is really too bad, and it makes me wonder what other kinds of things like this never made it into other final episodes. I like nuance.
Maybe that's just me.

Rebels: "Wolves and a Door" (Ep. 4.12)

-- "Hold tight."

So...

So...

Okay, honestly, I don't know what to say about this episode.

Remember back in the Clone Wars when Obi-Wan and Anakin end up on that planet with the family who were incarnations of the Force? You know, the father was the balance (I think), and the daughter was the Light, and the son was the Dark. They wanted Anakin to become the incarnation of the balance. Or something. Man, I need to go back and watch those again.
Anyway...

This episode takes us back to that story line. I'm not sure how, yet, but Palpatine makes a rare appearance in this episode wanting to get his hands on some gateway on Lothal, but Kanan's death has thrown everything out of whack for him.

Way to go Kanan! I guess.

Not a lot of hi-jinks in this episode, which you can probably tell by the lack of amusing quotes.

I'm just going to guess that this last arc of Rebels is going to be a truly important one.

"I'm just glad they're on our side."

Rebels: "Twin Suns" (Ep. 3.20)

-- "I didn't want any of you to be involved. Not this time."

Wow! OMG!
Not at all what I expected from Obi-Wan Kenobi's first appearance in Rebels. Probably his only appearance, but I don't actually know. It's not like I'm looking ahead, but I can't see any other reason for them to bring him back into the series. This appearance, I believe, was to finally tie off a dangling plot thread from... well, from the beginning.

Not unexpectedly, Ezra sticks his nose where it doesn't belong. He is always a great example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, thinking he's more of an expert than he actually is. It gets him into trouble and, frequently, gets others into trouble, too. Especially when he gets lured into traps set by Darth Maul. How many times has that happened? I don't know; maybe this is just the second time, but it feels like a lot more than that.

That's about all I'm going to say about this episode. It's a must see.

"Maul is an old adversary, and a persistent one at that."

Some Sunshine

I haven't done one of these blogger award things in a long time, and I'm not exactly doing it now, BUT!

My friend, Squid, has gifted me with the Sunshine Blogger Award and wants me to answer some questions. So, you know, I'm going to answer some questions.
I don't know, it could be fun, right?!

So let's just jump into the questions:

1. If you could live one year of your life over again, which year would you choose and why?

Wow! What a way to start! I've actually been thinking about how to answer this question for two days, and I don't know that I'm any closer to an answer. The problem, of course, is that it's a time travel question and how do you know what the results will be if you go back and mess with stuff? And I'm probably over-thinking the whole thing, but, then, I also think Squid knows me well enough by now to know that I would over think it.

I used to also be pretty content with my life and my life choices, but I have had more than a few ideal shifts in the last few years and there are now many things I wish I could change about my past, things I wish I had not wasted time on, like "christianity." It was always a struggle being in "the church," and, I realize now, that that was because I actually believed in the things "the church" only claims to believe in, none of which has to do with the white-washed "Jesus" they hold so dear.

At any rate, none of the things I would change could be encompassed in a single year, so the idea re-living just one year seems a little pointless.

Unless it was 2019. 2019 has been a... difficult year. It feels like it was the year of home disasters for us. Maybe reliving it could be away to deal with some of those things before they became catastrophic.

2. If you could learn to be an expert at something without putting in the work, what would it be?

That's a pretty easy answer for me: drawing. Or whatever you want to call it. It's clear to me now that I had no small amount of skill in this as a child, way beyond my peers, but I was persuaded to believe that drawing and things of that nature were... frivolous. A waste of time. My time was better spent toward math and science, other subjects I was way beyond my peers in, so I quit drawing. I wish I hadn't.

3. If you could learn a new language instantly, which would you choose and why?

Hmm... I don't know? I mean, Spanish would be the most useful, especially out here in California, but I also have no particular desire to learn it.

How about the language of whatever extraterrestrials we discover first.

4. If you could give $1,000,000 to any charity, which would you choose?

So this is going to sound bad but, probably, none. $1,000,000 for most charities these days, at least the big ones, is virtually nothing and most charities spend most of the money they receive on internal bureaucracy. The thing I am most interested in supporting, at the moment, is housing. I believe in free basic housing for all. We shouldn't have a homeless problem in the USA and, yet, it's been getting worse all across the country since 2016. That's an objective statistic, not a political spin. A new report shows that homelessness began a pretty steep rise after Trump (#fakepresident) took office. The political spin on that fact is that the Trump White House is trying to blame that solely on California. While it is true that California has seen the steepest rise (thanks Climate Change!), California is not outsourcing its homeless problem. In fact, the homeless from other states come to California. All of that to say, $1,000,000 toward housing the homeless is less than a drop in the bucket.

5. When was your Robert Frost moment a la "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood..."? The poem (read it here) says you can't go back and that is true. "Way leads on to way" and so forth. But if you could, would you? What is the difference you think it would have made?

This question to me feels a lot like the first one. I don't have a better answer, I don't think. Well, I don't know. There was definitely a moment where I chose to start collecting comic books and, maybe, I would choose to not have done that, despite my love for comic books. I know where that led me: to a garage full of comic books I'm now trying to get rid of. Or, more probably, I would not make the choice I made into "christianity." That way was Fool's Gold, and it took me a long time to realize how false that path was. I definitely wish I had not chosen that route. I'd rather have the garage full of comic books.

6. Time travel: Where would you go and when? Why?

Considering the earlier questions, I'm going to assume this is an observational trip through time. In which case, I'm tempted to say I'd go to the future. No one ever says that for these kinds of questions. Skip getting the lottery numbers: Look ahead and see which companies to invest in. Though that's not my reason. It would be great to know if we even have a world left in 100 years.

But I'm only tempted to say the future. If I could travel back to the years of the "ministry" of Jesus and find out what really happened. Not that it would matter other than for me, because you can put actual facts in front of Conservatives only to have them close their eyes, stick their fingers in their ears, and start singing "la la la la!" I'd like to know, though.

7. Who would you want on your fictional character bowling team? You get to pick four.

Whaaaat? Bowling team? Okay, okay, I get that bowling is not the point of this question, but, still... Bowling team? How would I even know who can bowl? Okay, fine!

Gandalf: I feel like he would always bowl a perfect game. And he's Gandalf.

Anakin Skywalker (Clone Wars era): I feel like he would also always bowl a perfect game. Maybe. Because I also feel like Obi-Wan would try to keep him from doing it even if they were on the same team. Which brings me to...

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Clone Wars era): Because I feel like having Anakin and Obi-Wan would be hella fun to hang out with. Imagine the conversations between Obi-Wan and Gandalf. 

Peter Parker? Thor?: I'm not sure. Either of them could be a fun addition. My team needs a fun addition.

8. What would you want for your last meal?

I don't know if I care that much? If I knew it was my last meal, I probably wouldn't be thinking much about food. I'd have other things I'd rather be doing than eating. But, you know, maybe a really great burger.

9. What's your favorite song?

I don't know how to answer this. Favorite right now? That's totally different from, say, what I think is the best song. I hate favorite as a way to describe things because it's an emotional answer, and it can change. All of that said, I'll go with two:

"The Sound of Silence" -- best song ever written

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" -- because it's a good default U2 song to choose even though "Bad" is probably my favorite song by them

10. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Is this a trick question? It feels too easy after all of the other ones. Introvert, of course.

11. If you came over to my home and I offered you a drink, what would you want me to serve you?

Actually, anything. Well, okay, something I hadn't tried before, but I think that would be an easy thing for you to do. I wish you lived closer just so we could do cocktail experimentation together.

And that's that. That was pretty fun, though I probably spent way too much time on bits and pieces of this. Especially the bowling question. Of all the questions to cause me angst, that was the one. I even asked me wife if she had ideas, and she had the same response as me: Bowling? Is the objective to win? heh She suggested Bullseye if winning was the goal but, you know, psycho! So a hard no. I don't think he'd be much fun to hang out with, even though I'm sure he'd make sure everyone on your team had perfect games every time.

Considering I'm not really into all that many blogs anymore, I'm not forwarding this to anyone else. The only person I feel like would be interested, anyway, is Squid, and he just sent it to, so... Yeah.

But I do hope you all enjoyed my answers! Maybe it was informative.

Rebels: "Visions and Voices" (Ep. 3.11)

-- "Our futures converge on a planet with two suns."

This episode has so much in it, I hardly know where to begin, especially if you want it without spoilers. Oh, who am I kidding? None of you are going to watch this, so I'll just spoil away!


Ezra is being plagued by visions of Darth Maul... which turn out to be not so much visions as the real thing. Talk about a way to ruin your day! Maul is still stuck on that thing whole Ezra being his apprentice thing. PLUS he wants to know what it was the holocrons were going to reveal to him and Ezra. He REALLY wants to know.

Which leads them back to Dathomir, apparently where Maul has set up shop, in the ruins of the Nightsisters' temple. Or something. And the dead Nightsisters don't really seem that happy... about anything.

Just to ponder, because the episode implies that the Nightsisters are now extinct. But are they? I mean, I never assumed that Maul's group of Nightsisters were all of the Nightsisters, but the episode implies that that is so. Maybe it's the influence of having played Galaxies, but my impression was that the Nightsisters were spread all of the planet in different clans. So now I don't know... Are all of the Nightsisters dead? All of them?
Yeah, I probably won't look into it.

At any rate, they're not happy and are looking for a way to hook themselves back into the land of the living.

And the darksaber shows up.

And Obi-Wan... Well, that's all I'm going to say about that.



"I told her I had a plan."
"Really? And she left anyway?"

Clone Wars -- "Unfinished Business" (Ep. ?.8)

-- Learn from the past but live for the future.

Well, here we are... at the end. End of the arc. End of the season. End of the show.

>sigh<
End of line.

Oh, wait, wrong movie. That's some other Disney franchise.

All of this started with Admiral Trench -- not the show, just this arc -- and we return to Trench's attack on the Republic's shipyards to finish up this bit of unfinished business, not that Trench isn't another piece of unfinished business.

One of the greatest moments in the series happens in this episode. It's a bit understated, but it's pretty awesome. Let's just say it this way: Mace Windu gives a speech.
To battle droids.
In front of Obi-Wan.

This is a good solid arc. The Bad Batch is an interesting idea, though a bit like the X-Clones (if I didn't say that before). Their introduction was obviously not intended as the series-ending arc it turned out to be. There's a lot left to be explored here, not least of which is whether there are more clones like the Bad Batch.

And, then, there's Echo, because it's clear from "Unfinished Business" that his story line was just beginning. It makes me hope he shows up in Rebels. Yes, I know I could check, but I'd rather be surprised.

Anyway... It was not a bad arc to end the series on, though I rather wish they'd been able to craft a story that would have felt like a story that was bringing the series to a close. In most respects, with Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order, season five has much more the feel of the series coming to an end. It certainly feels as if they were working up to... something, and I really wish Disney had allowed the series to continue. There's no real reason why Clone Wars and Rebels couldn't have run concurrently.

Oh, well...

Clone Wars -- "A Distant Echo" (Ep. ?.6)

-- Wars are not won with superior weapons but with superior strategy.

Padme is sexy nose art on the Bad Batch's spacecraft, and Anakin is not pleased. Ah, the amusing things this show throws in and just another reason I'm still sad it ended.

Rex believes Echo is still alive and mounts a covert operation to rescue him, so covert even the Jedi Council doesn't know about it... because, well, they said "no" to the idea of the mission in the first place. And, of course, if there's something going on that the Council has said no to, it's a safe bet to assume that Anakin's involved, which he is. It's also a safe bet to assume that Obi-Wan knows about it but is standing the side. I just realized I don't know what I think about that.

Basically, Obi-Wan, by repeatedly allowing Anakin to disobey the Jedi Council without consequences, has completely undermined the authority of the Council, at least in regards to Anakin. Maybe it's no wonder things turned out the way they did?

But I digress...

Though there's not much left to say about the episode other than that it looks as if it was introducing a creepy new type of battle droid. It's too bad those didn't make it into a final version.

Oh, and Rex gets into it with one of the members of the Bad Batch.

Good stuff.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights."

"Well, I'm not scared of nuthin'. I just... When I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity."

Clone Wars -- "The Big Bang" (Ep. ?.4)

-- If at first you don't succeed, destroy it.

This may be my favorite Clone Wars story arc in terms of sheer enjoyment. Many of the arcs, even the good ones, will have an episode that's a little off, but not this one. Each episode contained topnotch dialogue, and I frequently found myself LOLing. Actually, dialogue is a big thing for me. Justified is my favorite TV show in large part because of the excellent dialogue throughout the entire series (and I think it must be difficult to sustain that kind of great dialogue through five seasons of a show since so few shows manage it). This arc is like that: excellent dialogue throughout, especially the banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin.

It doesn't hurt, too, that this arc teases things to come in the movies. Most of The Clone Wars is self-contained and, other than the characters, does not relate to the movies at all. It seems the thrust of season six was to change all of that. Between the opening arc with the ties to Order 66, the Yoda arc, and, now, this one; I get the impression that the creators were working to bring the series into closer synchronicity to the movies. I like it.

And, again, it makes me sad that they pulled the plug on the series because, if season six was a taste of what was to come, The Clone Wars was only getting better.

"Cavalier! You're cavalier all the time and no one says anything about it."

"I'm just better at it; that's all."

"It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't get captured."

Clone Wars -- "Crystal Crisis" (Ep. ?.3)

-- Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"Size matters not," seems to be a concept that more than just Luke struggled with. Maybe it's more of a theory? I don't know, but Anakin and Obi-Wan debate the issue as they deal with the massive Kaiburr crystal they've found themselves in position of. The quality of the dialogue and banter continues to be topnotch in this arc.

I think it's safe to say that the events in this arc are the direct precursor to what's happening on Utapau in Revenge of the Sith. I wouldn't say it's necessary viewing, but it's certainly interesting. More than one person finds out what it's like to cut a deal with the Sith. Yes, the emphasis is on purpose.

Also, while not the direct precursor to events in Rogue One, I think it's safe to safe that we're seeing some of the events that lead in that direction. Of course, the Death Star is also teased in Revenge, so this is still part of that path.

I don't know that I would say this arc is significant in the same way that I have said that about other arcs, but it's certainly one of my favorite at this point. I'll reserve judgement until I finish part four.

"Next time, I'll bring Master Windu."
"Yeah, 'cause he's loads of fun."

"Aren't you being adventurous today."
"Not by choice, I assure you."

Clone Wars -- "In Search of the Crystal" (Ep. ?.2)

-- The journey is often more important than the destination.

[No notes this time. Go back and look at last week's episode if you need to know what's going on.]

Remember when Ahsoka quit the Jedi Order? Remember how it didn't really come up again after that happened? Well, that was more because the season six stories went off in other directions, directions that didn't focus on Anakin, than because it was forgotten. But now we're back to Obi-Wan and Anakin, and they're dealing with the fallout of Ahsoka's decision to leave.

Well, you know, as much as they can in a 22-minute episode.

This episode sustains the great banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin that the previous episode had. It literally had me LOLing, as my son would say.

We find out what Tu-Ahn was investigating on Utapau, and it's not good. Well, not good for the Republic. I would say more, but I don't want to. I mean, I do want to, but I also don't want to, and the "don't" is winning. I will say this: I'm pretty sure the events in this arc are a pre-cursor to some of the events in Rogue One, which raises some interesting questions since, supposedly, the continuation of the movie franchise hadn't yet been confirmed when Disney bought Lucasfilm and, certainly, not any non-trilogy films. Though, again, this is all part of the run-up to Revenge of the Sith, and maybe that's all it is. Maybe.

Also, we finally get to see what happens when "someone" is looking into the tube of a lightsaber when he turns it on. Sort of.

Also, also, never trust a Sith -- oh, wait, NEVER trust a Sith! -- when your bargaining and he says he will "give you what you deserve."

"...as usual, you went rushing in." (and got our mounts killed)

"Ahh... So you're the only one who can think on his feet."

"Apparently."

"We're always in a ventilation duct, every ship we go in!"

Clone Wars -- "A Death on Utapau" (Ep. ?.1)

-- One crime has to be concealed by another.

A couple of notes before I get into the episode:

• All of the voice acting for season six had already been completed when they found out that the license for Clone Wars had not been renewed on Cartoon Network, which means the stories and scripts were complete.
• Only about half of the season, "The Lost Missions" episodes, had had the animation completed, and not even those episodes had all of the animation completed. But the guys in charge -- at Disney, I presume -- decided those 13 episodes were close enough for them to be completed for release on disc.
• These episodes, the "Unknown" episodes, have been presented on the Star Wars website with the voice acting set to the storyboards. The animated storyboards which are actually kind of cool.
• These unfinished episodes, despite not being finished, are still considered canon material.

"A Death on Utapau" finds Anakin and Obi-Wan on Utapau investigating a death, not surprising considering the title. heh But it's the death of a Jedi, Jedi Master Tu-Anh. Obi-Wan describes her as being unconventional, like Qui-Gon, and, as such, she frequently was off doing her own thing without the Council's knowledge. Such was the case on Utapau; no one even knew she was there until she was found dead... with no obvious signs as to the cause of that death.

This episode is a bit like a detective story, and they do a pretty good job with it for a 22-minute show. The banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin is at its best. I found myself chuckling more than once. If this arc plays out to be as good as this episode, it may be one of the most enjoyable arcs of the Clone Wars run, which is sad since it didn't get completed.

The added wrinkle is that it's Utapau where Obi-Wan has his confrontation with Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. The war has not reached Utapau in this episode, so it will be interesting to see if this arc is what brings Utapau into it. Much of season six felt like it was happening just before the events of Revenge, and this episode is no different.

"Whatever it is, don't touch it."

"Uh, too late. I touched it."

Clone Wars -- "The Lost One" (Ep. 6.10)

-- What is lost is often found.

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

I don't like the opening quote. It's like, "Sure, but what is lost is also often not found," so what's the point in saying that. It takes me back to Dead Poets Society: "I might be going to Yale. But, um, I might not." That was teenage awkwardness, but whoever chose the quote for this episode doesn't have that excuse.

I'm slightly ambivalent about the episode itself, too. Not because it isn't good; it's a good episode. However, I'm unsure as to the point of it for the audience. It seems that its existence is so that they can state explicitly something we already knew. At least, it's something I already knew; I just assume everyone else already knew it, too. Maybe it is a necessary episode for people who hadn't put those pieces together?

It seems like its greater purpose is to allow the Jedi to know something the audience already knows, but that seems unnecessary to me. It's just driving home the point of how outplayed the Jedi have been, which is summed up when Yoda expresses that they are on the incorrect road but that it's the only road left open to them. They have no other options.

We do get to see Commander Wolffe and his unit again. He's a clone I would have liked to have seen more about.

Anyway... If you happen to be wondering about Sifo-Dyas and that whole thing with the Kaminoans and the clone troops, you should watch this episode.

Clone Wars -- "The Rise of Clovis" (Ep. 6.6)

-- Jealousy is the path to chaos.

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

What I said last episode post notwithstanding, this episode is good. Tense. In part, it's good because Padme is back in an environment that makes sense for her to be in; mostly, it's good because we get to see into the dynamic between Anakin and Padme, which is something there hasn't been much of throughout the series.

Remember when Revenge of the Sith came out and Anakin and Obi-Wan had that big duel mostly because Anakin thought Obi-Wan had something going on with Padme? Some people got upset about that because they thought there was no way Anakin would just turn on Obi-Wan like that. They don't know people very well, is all I can say. And it's not like Lucas didn't set Anakin up to have rage problems, and people with rage issues tend to also have jealous-rage issues.

We really get to see Anakin go off into a jealous rage in this episode.

Oh, and spoiler alert:
Padme breaks up with him.

Really, though, what we're getting to see so far in season six, both in the previous arc and this arc, is the culmination of Palpatine's plans. Come on, everyone knows whats going to happen, but these are well done enough that you're really hoping things will go the other way.


"It's not that we're not allowed to have these feelings. It's... natural."

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 -- "The Lawless" (Ep. 5.16)

-- Morality separates heroes from villains.

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[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.]

Satine is in danger so, of course, Obi-Wan goes to rescue her. Alone. With no backup. Because the Jedi can't get involved because Mandalore is a neutral planet. And, of course, it's a trap, but Obi-Wan actually doesn't know that this time and is caught completely off guard. Probably why Jedi are supposed to control their emotions, I suppose.

In the scheme of things, this is a pivotal episode and one that really shouldn't be missed. At least, it shouldn't be missed if you follow any of the non-movie canon material. Big things happens. Plot threads are tied off. There are deaths. Maybe I should say "more deaths," since we've already seen quite a few in this arc.

One thing I will say -- and it's sort of a spoiler, but it's not a spoiler that's important to the story -- Anakin's ship, the Twilight, gets blown up. I always liked the Twilight (yeah, a part of me rebels (heh) just writing that, but I am talking about Anakin's ship (just to be clear)). It was funky. And cool. And, now, it's gone. Oh, yeah, Darth Maul was responsible for that bit of destruction but, then, if Obi-Wan hadn't taken it without permission... You know, I can't remember if they ever deal with the fact that Obi-Wan got Anakin's ship blown up.

Anyway... Must see episode and all of that, so just go do it.

"It takes strength to resist the Dark Side; only the weak embrace it." -- Obi-Wan Kenobi

#resist

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

-- One vision can have many interpretations.

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[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."

Clone Wars -- "Revival" (Ep. 5.13)

-- Strength of character can defeat strength in numbers.

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[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.]

For any of you following along with both the Squid and me, you will have noticed that our episode recaps have been off by a week since season five began. This is the episode why that is so. See, season four ended with an arc involving the return of Darth Maul, and, I guess, they felt like they needed to air a Maul episode to start season five to give people a feel of continuity, but this episode doesn't belong at the beginning of season five as it is the beginning of a new story arc and belongs in the here, as they placed it in the DVD collection.

So, yes, we are beginning a new Maul/Opress arc.

This episode features Hondo and would have been good without him, but he makes this episode even better. He said so many great lines, I couldn't choose just one to include, so you're getting THREE Hondo quotes below!

The episode also features the death of a Jedi, and not one introduced just to be killed off. The Jedi in question has been featured in many episodes of The Clone Wars and also appeared in, I think, two of the movies. It's kind of a big deal, I suppose.

That's really all I'm going to say about "Revival," which, I know, is pretty close to nothing, but the Maul story line seems to pretty important seeing that he's been carried over into Rebels. Not that I've seen those episodes, yet, since I still haven't managed to start watching season two. Let's just say that the episode is about Obi-Wan's vested interest in seeing Maul return to the land of the dead. The astute of you out there will know how that turns out.



"Well, that settles it. Those traitors are no longer my men. I want their tongues!"

"Leave you alone with the two crazies...!? Well, okay."

"Insolence? We are pirates! We don't even know what that means!"

Clone Wars -- "Bound for Rescue" (Ep. 5.7)

-- When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.

[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.]

Ahsoka got captured. My feeling is that this is a thing that has happened frequently, but, then, so have Obi-Wan and Anakin, I suppose. There really is a lot of getting captured and having to escape or be rescued! Mostly, that's not an issue.

Of course, Obi-Wan is going to mount a rescue operation, but he gets interrupted by being attacked by Grievous. It doesn't go well.

Which leaves the younglings on their own to figure out what to do about being left on a ship that has been damaged and with no supervision other than R2-D2. They do what all kids do -- or, at least, all kids in popular fiction -- they take matters into their own hands.
And join a circus.
Yeah, you'll just have to watch it to understand what that means.

Hondo's still around, because he's the one holding Ahsoka, expecting to make a profit of off her. From whom is a bit of a mystery since, when Ahsoka tells him he can't ransom her to the Separatists, he says he knows because, "Don't ask me why, but Dooku holds such a grudge against me since our little I-held-him-hostage affair." It's a great moment in an episode which is a bit anticlimactic after the previous one.


"If you don't let me go, you'll wish you had been born a protocol droid."
"Sometimes, I do anyway."