Season 5 episode 16 , oh mah gawd. The fight of the brothers vs Darth Sidious was just fantastic to watch. The evil laugh he gives as he fights just sends chills down my spine.
The awesomeness was equivalent to the Vader bit at the end of Rogue One.
So many feels at the end of season 5. This show puts to shame the prequel trilogy.
It is a great serious. Just imagine what they could have done if they weren’t saddled with those movies?
I too just finished season 5 (the show goes off Neflix on March 7th). And damn. Season 5, with the droids episodes excepted, were a tour de force. And it does some amazing and subtle things too. Like watching the events on Coruscant, and seeing the changes to the buildings, iconoraphy, overt symbols of military power and nationalism? They seed the ideas of how a republic falls with stunning deftness.
And it’s not something they belabor, or even make references to. It’s all subtext. The trial was a brilliant bit because it delivers some amazing character developments, shows the corrupting of democracy that militarism is bringing, gives homage to The Fugitive of all things, and carries an emotional punch.
One thing I said before, in passing during the podcast with Tom, and in depth after in the thread, was how it takes the ideas and premises of the prequels, and gives them life. It sets the relationship of Anakin and Padme into a form that makes sense, and one that you can see how it drives his dark side turn. In later seasons this isn’t much brought up (past season 3 it basically no longer gets any mention), however it is replaced by more deeper cracks. It creates legitimate flaws, weaknesses, and shows subtly how the jedi have gone off the path. There are dozens of small incidents that are given, large and small, to sew the seeds of distrust that bloom in Anakin. And it does so in a manner that trusts the audience. Never once in the series is Anakin anything but a hero, well mostly. He is a strong and noble leader, one who truly does believe in the good of the jedi, and seeks to earnestly work for the good of society.
He embodies the best, he’s a hero, and he is inarguably a good person at hear. Yet you also see the things that bring him over to the dark side, and they make sense for both the universe, him, and his relationships to others. And that ending to season 5 is the perfect way to create that fatal rift. It gives that final opening in a way that does not betray the character, or his past. Hats off to them, it was a monumental task, and they nailed it. Because the prequels never came close to making him feel like the hero or general he supposedly was, nor do they make his fall feel earned instead of a betrayal of character, or monumentally stupid. Seriously Anakin of the movies is neither the great Jedi he supposedly was, and his fall made him seem like an entitled twat, stupid and lazy, and really just plain further diminish his standing as the supposed hero.
So good.
Because your message indicated this series goes off Netflix March 7th, I decided I better actually check it out while I can. Watched the first 2 and a half episodes before I realized there was a movie that started it off, so I then switched to that.
Glad I actually started in the wrong order, as I like the series more than the movie. I’m now 10 episodes into the first season and going to make a run through it before it hops off Netflix - it’s so much better than I expected. I was cynical about the show because I was associating it with the 2003 series, which I did watch and thought it was o.k., but a bit of an annoying way to make the 3rd movie less comprehensible without the background of the series (by introducing General Grevous, etc.) I also tend to like realistic over cartoonish graphics, and I thought the series was really targeting very young viewers, even more than the movies.
Glad to be so wrong - it’s actually a very beautiful show (looks amazing on an OLED - the space scenes are just stunning), and even at this early stage of its run, it’s doing a great job at redeeming, or at least enhancing, the prequels - by filling in gaps and making the character motivations and personalities clearer. I actually really like this Anakin, and the Obi-Wan actor has Ewan Mcgregor’s voice down cold - all the voices (and acting) are great, actually.
This series has me liking Star Wars again so much that I’m thinking of finally pulling the trigger on the Bluray series, atlhough I’ve been holding out for Disney to either release non-special edition versions or 4k Blurays (although the pricing of 4K Bluerays has been so ridiculous to date it seems like studios are deliberately trying to smother physical media altogether).
I had skipped it during its initial run, because that was absolutely the nadir of Star Wars, and I had no confidence. It wasn’t until post sale that I finally started. You are absolutely right that it looks great. Especially in later seasons the choreography gets to be top notch. You can see how they were influenced in cinematography from a wide range of sources.
Right now I’m about finished with Season 6 (the final one), and the range of films they evoke is impressive. You can see traces of Aliens, The Fugitive, Wuxia in the lightsaber battles, Battlestar Galactica, A Fistful of Dollars, Saving Private Ryan, WWII dogfighting films, all within how shots are composed and edited in different episodes. Which I honestly didn’t expect (and it is something that becomes more clear as the series progresses, and they become more confident in their craft).
It’s funny you specifically call out Obi Wan, and I absolutely agree he’s fantastic. It’s funny to me because it is the same guy who got lambasted for the Tidus laugh, James Arnold Taylor.
So if you’re only a few episodes in and already liking it, wait until you get to seasons 2 and 3. And hold on for season 5, because it blows them away. They start to experiment with longer arcs, and they are so very satisfying.
EDIT: one of my favorite bits from season 2 onward is how they give a lot more room for certain villains, especially the various bounty hunters. Some of those ‘blink and miss them’ figures that became fan favorites for whatever reason? They earn their pay here. It’s a fun recurring storyline that pays off in many ways. Plus it brings in one of my favorite characters from the entire series, Hondo Onaka. How they use him in the series, and in Rebels, is brilliant.
Uh, so this is still available at Netflix, even though it previously had an “until March 7” listing (which is also not there any more). Is it not going away, or is it just around until the end of today in some time zone?
In any event, I’ve been doing a major binge watch to get through the series, and was sad when I thought I’d run out of time, but would like to take a break if it’s not going any where to better savour the later episodes. I’ve managed to get through to the end of season 4, which has been a major effort. Will post a lot more when I’m done or run out of time and it’s yanked. Now on to the Darth Maul returns episode - something I wish didn’t happen, but I’ve heard the Maul episodes are good, so I’ll keep an open mind.
Really a fan of this series though, and the Clone trooper episodes have been my favorite. I was really happy that I got to the Umbra episodes before midnight yesterday, when i thought the show would vanish from Netflix. Those were fantastic.
Titles in Canada are removed at 3am EST on the expiry date. It’d be gone already if it wasn’t sticking around. I’m glad I’ll have the time to finish binging it, enjoyed what I watched. :)
It seems that their license to stream was set for 3 years initially, but had not been updated as renewed, as the initial stream date was March 7th 2014. It seems it was not ever the intent to remove, but whatever license had to be updated. Whether there was renegotiation, or simply the computers not updated, is unclear. However it seems they are staying (like several BBC shows that had the same thing a few months back).
I wasn’t going to rest easily until 3:01 last night, since it wasn’t clear to me if “March 7” meant it would be gone after the 6th or as of the 8th. But it’s still on Netflix, so I can adopt a more relaxed pace and enjoy the final 14 episodes of Season 5 and season 6.
Have to say, as much as I love the series, I’m not a fan of some of the episodes that other people seem to like - dislike everything about Darth Maul coming back and hate that it’s canon - just seems so unnecessary. But I particularly disliked the Mortis trilogy dealing with the super-force family - worst misfire since midichlorians - seems like bad fan fiction that made it into canon, again.
I was also not high on this. As for Maul, well, let me see where exactly you are…
…ah, yes. that part. So there is a short 4 part arc coming up centered on the droids, which I was felt was the weakest part of season 5. However you are in the middle of a Hondo arc, and he became one of my favorite characters, especially through Rebels.
After the droid arc is the big payoff for the Maul arc, and what justifies it to me. Personally I am with you in the general in that I would have preferred him stay dead. However, thematically, what his arc became was very interesting to me. There is a progression that plays off of who Maul was, and what his ordeal would force him to become. And the episodes create this fleshing out of the darker sides of the world, just as you see the iconography of the Republic really change in the last few episodes.
And that ending… Savor it @Desslock, there is some real good stuff ahead of you :)
I love Hondo too. You just spoiled that he survives to Rebels, but I’m happy that’s the case. I love all the bounty hunter/mercenaries - fun having Bossk appear in more than a cameo; Cal Bane; the guy who was initially introduced as an homage to Seven Samurai. Less so Boba Fett because of his age, but the episodes he’s been in have been good ones.
Dang it, I’m sorry about that.
And after the Hondo arc there is one last big hurrah for the bounty hunters, or at least some of them, before the season wraps. And Yojimbo dude (I don’t know his name, but I’m sure that, as well as saying he is the guy with the dog, will let you know who I mean) has a pretty neat appearance in season 6. Aesthetically I really just like his design, while Cad Bane always felt more of an homage to Clint Eastwood’s Blondie. Which I was also very ok with.
But for pulling Seven Samurai? I definitely see how you get that vibe, especially considering the episode that introduces him. Different objective (they are the attackers), but it definitely has that ‘collect a rogues gallery to pull off an impossible feat’ tone, where much of the story revolves around the interaction of the various protagonists. Also seen in the Cad Bane arc where Obi Wan disguises himself as a bounty hunter to join his team. Which, admittedly, is part of why I love the bounty hunter episodes so much. A colorful set of characters who provide interesting interactions.
You’re confusing episodes, I think – the episode where that bounty hunter is introduced is Hondo’s 2nd appearance, where he and his band are attacking a village of otherwise defenseless residents who are trained by Obi Wan and Anakin to defend themselves. Samurai guy/Yojimbo with dog, is one of the 5 bounty hunters the village residents have hired to defend themselves – it’s a direct remake of Seven Samurai, and there’s even a pre-title dedication to Kurosawa.
Ah, I forgot that one. Keep in mind I tend to watch shows very slowly, so I saw that about 2 years ago. I was thinking of the episode that started season 2, where Cad Bane and others were brought together to break out Ziro the Hutt, which involved infiltrating the Jedi Archives. Now that you mention it I do remember the ‘defend the village’ episode.
So I defer to your more recent memory ;)
Resumed watching as I was a bit burned out by watching the first 4 seasons in a week. Man, I’m really enjoying season 5 – even the goofy droid arc (can’t believe that was 4 episodes). I kind of love R2 in this series though. It’s a bit funny how powerful they make him though.
Actually, as I posted earlier, I really love the Clones in this series and the episodes that focused on them have been among my favorites. But I also like the battle droids (and other members of the droid army) and how they manage to really flesh out the droids and Grevious without trying to erase their goofiness in the prequels - they actually make those traits work really well. I kinda love the basic battle droids! Also the tactical droid leaders, which I think were new to the series, and how they are cylon-ish.
I just watched the first episode of the Maul brothers meeting Death Watch and assembling an army - that was just fantastic - paying off so many threads that had been seeded in prior episodes. I was so damned happy when the Seven Samurai bounty hunter and his dog both survived the fight with the brothers and the Mandalorians.
It’s also interesting how the series seems to adopt the Mandalorian history of the Knights of the Old Republic games - maybe not expressly but at least they don’t contradict it.
Heads up for anyone who hasn’t finished - Netflix has it listed for removal again, June 7th.
I know The Clone Wars show has been discussed in many other Star Wars threads, but I’m not sure if there was another dedicated Clone Wars thread, so apologies if I’m bumping the wrong one.
Help me understand: I’m once again trying to get through this show, following the chronological order guide, which has me mostly around the middle of season two right now.
I just watched The Mandalore Plot. It’s the introduction (on the show) of Mandalore, Duchess Satine, the Darksabre, and probably other stuff related to Manda-“lore”.
As far as I can tell, that means this is also the earliest work in canon to include any of these elements, yet watching the episode made it clear Obi-Wan and Satine had a complicated history already.
But this was 2008-ish, so before the redefinition of Star Wars canon. So at the time, was this pulling this stuff from other books or comics or sources that would later be classified as Legends (non-canon)?
And then to further complicate it, the canon entry of Satine (for example) at Wookieepedia does have a bunch of her backstory from clearly before this episode.
Is this because later Clone Wars episodes retell her backstory, which would eventually qualify it as canon, or what? It’s just a lot to wrap my head around as this feels like I’ve stepped into this in media res, and I don’t know if that’s because at the time there was more context fans already had, or if it was just a bold decision to throw out “of course Obi-Wan and Satine have known each other forever” in this episode and not fill in that history until later.
I won’t speak to any sources outside of the show, I never followed them, but from within the show it is in medias res. But it uses that to contrast the Anakin-Padme relationship. They fill in the history somewhat, and insinuate more, but they basically use it for the path not taken, to show how their choice to set aside their relationship altered their paths, and how pursuing it changes Anakin’s.
To that end it is effective I felt.
I believe all the cartoons and Television shows are considered Canon. Just the books/Christmas Specials/Games are no longer Canon.