The Siege of Mandalore has concluded with the defeat of Maul. Ahsoka Tano, no longer a Jedi, has joined Bo-Katan to free Mandalore. She tracked Maul to a perilous duel over roof supports and held Maul from falling with the Force. Mandalorians secured him with grappling cables and Captain Rex stunned him with his blaster. There was a transport that was waiting for Maul with Rook Kast, but this is not resolved. Dramatic music is played over the Part III titles. The Mandalorian city of Sundari burns in the aftermath of the battle.
Gar Saxon is taken into custody and Bo-Katan watches as he passes with the other Mandalorians. A gunship lands with Ahsoka leaving the bound Maul. She says she leaned from Bo-Katan. They look at the ruined Peace Plaza and Ahsoka says Bo-Katan is needed for her leadership. Rex says that she is needed by the Jedi Council. They enter a communications center and the council is assembled via hologram; Mace Windu, Yoda, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Aayla Secura. This is the scene from Revenge of the Sith (2005) where Mace Windu sends Anakin to tell Palpatine of Obi-Wan engaging Grievous.
Then, Ahsoka enters with Captain Rex, they are going to escort the prisoner to Coruscant. I’m not certain what is the purpose of taking him there. The Jedi Temple may have holding facilities, but they are not jailers. Shouldn’t Maul be on trial for his crimes and put in carbon freeze? Yoda asks Ahsoka if she is a Jedi, she says she’s a citizen (who just happens to have lightsabers). She wanted to talk to Anakin. Mace Windu shuts her out since she’s no longer a Jedi. All of the council members holograms wink out leaving Yoda. She doesn’t have much to say and Rex is surprised that she didn’t share the intel she had from Maul on Anakin. I think Mace’s cold shoulder shows a weakness in the council.
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STAR WARS: CLONE WARS -- “Shattered” -- Disney/Lucasfilm.
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The eerie music plays, it puts a dark cast in what was a show for all ages, and the clone troopers and Mandalorians line up as Bo-Katan and Ursa Wren bring up Maul in a Silence of the Lambs-type slab. They present the prisoner to Ahsoka Tano and Rex. Bo-Katan says it is a Mandalorian relic used to contain “Force wielding maniacs”, I’m not certain why it doesn’t use the Ray shield that stopped Force powers in Revenge of the Sith, and was used to stop Maul in the Ahsoka (2016) novel. This was an earlier story ideas for Clone Wars, but it would work better than a device we’ve never seen and not carbon freeze. The music by Kevin Kiner has a synthesizer quality that reminds me of Blade Runner more than Star Wars.
Bo-Katan says farewell to Ahsoka, there is a finality there, and she leaves in a shuttle. It is strange that there is such a somber tone. They won a victory before the other Outer Rim Sieges. Maul is defeated and Mandalore is free. I don’t get Bo-Katan’s goodbye. She was adamant that Ahsoka not let Maul escape and she captured him. Ahsoka risked everything including lives of clone troopers to free Mandalore and there is no congradulation for fulfilling the Republic’s promise to withdraw the troops after the battle. If you look at Revenge of the Sith, even during that time, there was times when there are triumphant moments, some levity, before we get to the dark events.
This doesn’t feel appropriate for younger audiences. The eerieness continues as we have the shuttle transporting Maul to the Star Destroyer. He breathes fogging up the viewscreen a la HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) watching Ahsoka and Rex. Maul is placed in his cell and a force field is set up at the entrance. Ahsoka and Rex reach the bridge, the officers salute them, and sthe ship goes into hyperspace. She says she has always been a soldier as a Jedi. Ahsoka notes her friendship with Rex. They salute each other and then Rex is told about the latest “briefing.” Ahsoka looks out into hyperspace.
Maul’s eyes open hearing echoes of Anakin turning to the Dark Side which also troubles Ahsoka. Captain Rex gets Order 66 from Darth Sidious. Ahsoka goes to talk to Rex, his helmet shakes in his hand, and drops. The strange part is that Order 66 is that Jedi are traitors and had to be killed immediately. Ahsoka is not a Jedi, she gave that up, it is the clone troopers out of loyalty that recognize her as a commander, but she has no formal authority or connection to the Jedi Order. The troopers on the bridge aim their blasters, the order was automatic, they actually didn’t wait. Rex tells the troopers that he will fulfill the order.
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STAR WARS: CLONE WARS -- “Shattered” -- Disney/Lucasfilm.
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He draws his blasters and says, “Find him, find him, Fives!” In the Lost Missions, season 6, trooper Fives was uncovering the mystery of the inhibitor chip. Rex was there was Fives died and the secret with him. Ahsoka knocks down Rex and has to fend off the troopers with her lightsabers. She is a whirl blocking their blaster bolts including the blaster fire from Rex. They find in the confusion that Ahsoka has severed the upper bulkhead and escaped. Rex sends troopers to execute Maul. In his cell, Maul is trapped, a trooper opens his containment unit. Ahsoka knocks out the troopers using the Force. She frees Maul wanting to know if he somehow turned the troopers.
Maul realizes Darth Sidious’ plan to use the clone troopers against the Jedi. Ahsoka holds her lightsaber against Maul telling him that he is a diversion for her. She leaves him without a lightsaber. A trooper with Ahsoka’s facial pattern on his helmet informs Rex about the escape. Rex orders the escape pods to be destroyed and guard the hangar decks. The music is tense like the build up to an action scene. She enters a room of droids and activates her droid, R7, he was introduced in “Storm over Ryloth” (2009). Ahsoka is joined by the cone-headed RG-G1 and CH-33P (Dave Filoni), a bubbly, yellow-paneled astromech. She has R7 check on the file on trooper Fives. A hologram of Kaminoan scientist Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo) reports that there was a malfunction with Fives’ inhibitor chip.
She mentions a report that was classified. Ahsoka uses Anakin’s code to access Rex’s file. The troopers try to fire on Maul who uses the Force to yank wall panels to deflect their blasts and crush them. Troopers rush down the corridor and R7 rams into Rex as the other droids seal the blast doors. R7 plays a hologram of Ahsoka telling him about the chip, Rex draws his blasters, he turns to see Ahsoka and R7 shocks him unconscious. The droids carry Rex to the medical bay. The troopers try to break into the room as the droids try to scan for the chip. If the chip can be found, then Rex could be saved. A good episode, but tonally it doesn't feel like the rest of Clone Wars, it seems like a development like the later Harry Potter films showing the protagonist grown up, but out of synch with the rest of the series.
Four Lightsabers out of Five!
#StarWarsCloneWars, #Shattered, #Fives, #DaveFiloni
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