A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising," "The Unknown," "Conspiracy," "Fugitive" & "Orders"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

We have made it to season 6 of "The Clone Wars." This season was the first season that didn't premiere on Cartoon Network. It premiered on Netflix in March of 2014. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they halted production on "The Clone Wars" because they wanted to focus on "Rebels." Thirteen episodes of season six were produced but a few scripts didn't get made. There were four that were storyboarded and voiced that I might be able to find that I'll include if I can. One was made into a book and another a 4 issue comic series, which I will be covering. We are starting off with a book today! It's been a minute. Let's get into it.

"Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy - Chaos Rising" by Timothy Zahn

Past the boundary of the Outer Rim, lies the Chaos. One of the leading powers in the Chaos is the Chiss Ascendancy. The system is ruled by nine families and they are extremely isolationist. They work to avoid conflict or interactions with the other races that exist within the Chaos. That changes when a refugee ship is ransacked and the refugees killed on the outskirts of Chiss space. A rising star within the military, Thrawn, is keenly interested in what is happening and is ready to get involved with the help of Admiral Ar'alani. The modern day tale is interspersed with flashbacks showing how Thrawn, Ar'alani and other characters got to where they are now.

The original "Star Wars" expanded universe began with the publication of the book "Heir to the Empire" in 1991. It introduced the character of Thrawn and he immediately became a fan favorite. So, when they re-started the canon with "The Force Awakens" it isn't shocking that they decided to re-introduce Thrawn. Timothy Zahn excels with this character so it's not a surprise that his work here is good. We get insights into Thrawn that we have never had before. This is early in his career and there are shades of the Thrawn we know, but he's also very different. I really enjoyed the world building and the introduction of the various alien races that populate the Chaos. The politics are engaging. The way that the Aristocra interacts with the military. One thing I really liked was the introduction of the sky walkers. Sky walkers are young girls who navigate hyperspace. They have a Third sight that allows them to guide ships through the dangerous hyperspace lanes rather than making multiple jumps. It reminds me of the way the Nihil would navigate hyperspace during the High Republic.

My main issue with this book is that there's a lot of telling rather than showing. Thrawn, Ar'alani et al will get into seemingly sticky situations and then the scene will shift somewhere else and we will hear about what happened later instead of reading about it ourselves. I can think of one specific instance that really sticks out to me. While Thrawn is traveling with Ch'eri, his young Skywalker, they run into Anakin Skywalker. It's a great moment, especially if you know Thrawn's relationship with Darth Vader. They meet. They warily decide to trust each other. Thrawn goes off with Anakin and you expect to go with them, but instead, in the next chapter, Thrawn is back with the fleet and giving Ar'alani a very brief rundown of what happened when he was alone with Anakin. And something like that happens throughout the book, which kind of robs it of momentum and made it a little boring in parts.

Overall though, I'm interested in learning more about Thrawn's younger years and hopeful that the next two books in this trilogy pack as much as action as they do political intrigue.

Grade: B

"The Unknown," Season Six, Episode 1

"The truth about yourself is always the hardest to accept."

Narrator: "Battle for Ringo Vinda! Republic forces are locked in heated combat with the droid armada on a massive space station that encircles an entire planet. Anakin Skywalker valiantly leads his men against the onslaught which has lasted several rotations with neither side gaining any ground. Aided by the twin sister Jedi Masters, Tiplee and Tiplar, the Republic now mounts a desperate offensive to break the deadlock..."

During the battle, it's clear that Clone soldier, Tup, is having issues. In a shocking moment, he murders Tiplar in cold blood. The Republic forces pull out of the battle and try to figure out what is going on with Tup. His friend, Fives, wants answers and is prepared to travel back with Tup to Kamino to try and get them. But, when the Separatists get involved will Tup be removed from the equation before those answers can be given?

Anakin is confused.

It's easy to forget when you're watching "The Clone Wars" that you know how this story ends. You love these characters. You've spent so much time with them. You forget that a lot of these characters aren't going to be getting a happy ending. But then there are episodes like this, as we enter into the home stretch of the series, that remind us of that. You've gotten too comfortable and it's time to remember where this is all going.

I love when the show zigs when you think it's going to zag. You initially think that you're going to be watching this arc about the battle on this planet. And the planet itself is pretty cool. I love the idea of a space station encircling an entire planet. I 'd love to see that explored another time, but it's clear once we see the clones with Anakin and the twin Jedi leading the charge that this is not the case. All "Star Wars" fans know about Order 66, the order that caused the clones to decimate the Jedi, so when Tup starts giving Tiplar that look, you get kind of a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.

This episode is a lot of set up, but it's really well done set up. Even though we don't know Tiplar very well, her murder hits us hard because it's easy to put Obi-Wan or Ahsoka or another well known Jedi in her place. The entire tone of the battle shifts. It's no longer about what it is happening on Ringo Vinda. They immediately begin a retreat and the Separatists notice. It's no surprise that Count Dooku is extremely interested in this turn of events.

Dooku and his master, Darth Sidious, are not prepared for this to be revealed right now. The Republic forces are not sure what could have caused this, but they are going to send Tup to Kamino so he can be looked at by the Kaminoans. Dooku sends a squad of dangerous droids to retrieve Tup and eliminate him before he can make it to Kamino.

The scene where the Separatists come to retrieve Tup's unconscious body is really chilling. There is a point where these buzz droids are hacking into the cockpits of the fighters the clones are flying and just evacuating them in to the blackness of space. There is something about space battles that take place in the weightlessness of space, the cold, dark of it all, really freaks me out. Anakin and Rex enter the ship where Tup is and they see clone bodies floating everywhere. They end up rescuing him and they send him to Kamino because they are concerned that he is dying.

Grade: B+

"Conspiracy," Season Six, Episode 2

"The wise benefit from a second opinion."

Narrator: "A flaw in the plan! While in the middle of a heated battle, clone trooper Tup lost his senses and killed a Jedi general. Seeming to have no awareness of his actions, Tup's health began to deteriorate rapidly. Fearing the illness was linked to a Separatist plot, Anakin Skywalker has dispatched Captain Rex and ARC Trooper 5555 to escort Tup back to the cloning facilities on Kamino for an intensive evaluation..."

On Kamino, Doctor Nala Se examines both Tup and Fives, the concern being that if it is a virus, Fives may have been infected. Nala Se and Jedi Shaak Ti disagree on the course of treatment for Tup. Se wants to terminate Tup and perform an autopsy and Shaak Ti, concerned there may be a removable brain tumor, suggests an atomic brain scan. Nala Se and the Kaminoan PM, Lama Su, are of the same mind, particularly after speaking with Darth Tyrannus aka Count Dooku, who is still masquerading as an ally of Sifo Dyas, the Jedi who supposedly commissioned the clone army. Meanwhile, Fives is trying to desperately to save his friend.

A quirky droid?!

I'm sure I say this every time we are on the planet, but I just love Kamino. Even though I'm not really the person who wants to be somewhere where it rains all the time, but there is just something about Kamino that really appeals to me. It's just a cool visual. And has really nothing to do with this episode, but I think you know by now that is very on trend for me.

A lot of the plot of this episode hearkens back to much earlier in the series and back to "Attack of the Clones." We haven't heard the name Sifo Dyas for a while and he's all over the episode though he's never seen. I almost feel bad for the Kaminoans since they are being obviously manipulated by Darth Tyrannus aka Count Dooku. It's interesting to see the people of Kamino working against the Jedi, particularly Shaak Ti. She's been on Kamino for almost the entirety of the war. 

"Star Wars" loves quirky droids and pairing AZI-3 with Fives is classic "Star Wars" and it also works really well within this episode. There is a bit of a tonal shift when we spend time with AZI and Fives. At the same time they are talking, we are getting very serious scenes with Shaak Ti and Nala Se and then AZI is being your stereotypical droid. There is humor to the interactions which could potentially throw off the episode, but it doesn't. I think that it actually helps things a little bit. The episode is very serious and those light moments are definitely needed.

A lot of this episode is push and pull between the various forces that are trying to get ahold of Tup. The Jedi Council wants him, the Kaminoans and by extension the Sith/Separatists want him, but the only one that cares about Tup is Fives. Fives works hard to save his friends life. He uses analytics to get AZI to help him and they locate the potential source of Tup's actions: a tumor that is actually the chip that all clones have that will eventually activate to cause Order 66. 

I was glad they didn't get too graphic with Tup's surgery, but it is still pretty intense. When the episode ends, things are still up in the air. Palpatine is still trying to gain control of the situation by suggesting the "tumor" is analyzed at the Grand Medical Facility of the Republic, but it's unclear if Fives will be able to accompany his friend.

Grade: B+

"Fugitive," Season Six, Episode 3

"When in doubt, go to the source."

Narrator: "Cause of death unknown! Kaminoan doctor Nala Se was unable to find a cause for an illness in clone trooper Tup. In a desperate attempt to save his friend's life, Fives located and removed a tumor from Tup's brain with the help of medical droid, AZI-3. Immediately following the procedure, Tup died and Fives was placed under arrest. Now the tumor is the only hope to finding answers for Tup's mysterious illness..."

Fives believes he will be accompanying Tup's body to Coruscant, but Shaak Ti tells him that he will stay behind. Shaak Ti does assure Fives that the Jedi will analyze the "tumor" before the Republic does. AZI tells Fives that he is going to be mind wiped and will remain on Kamino. Fives rebels and finds out that Nala Se was attempting to keep the tumor on Kamino. Fives takes off with it and while he is trying to escape from his pursuers, he learns startling information about the cloning process.

A clone and his droid.

"The Clone Wars" loves an episode that is basically one long chase scene. I mean, we literally just had one featuring Ahsoka at the end of season five. (Awww, Ahsoka) And that is really what this episode is. It's Fives and AZI escaping from their jailers and evading them while they search for answers. I do think it's kind of funny that they just let Fives stop in the middle of the hallway and talk to AZI who tells Fives exactly what is going to be happening to him. Do they just not care? Do they think that Fives won't react so they don't see the harm in it. It's a little odd and you'd think they'd be a little more concerned about what Fives might do when you look at what has been going on with him the past couple of episodes. 

It was great to see Shaak Ti really put her foot down with Nala Se. A running theme of "The Clone Wars" has been the role the Jedi has played, their relationship with the Republic and how it has started to conflict with their original vision and message. It is nice to see the Jedi assert themselves and not just to along with the Republic when they don't agree with their decisions. One of their own has been killed so of course they are going to have an extra vested interest in all this.

There are some revelations in this episode and the biggest one is that Fives learns about the chips that are being placed in Clones at stage 3 of their development. It's such a huge development in the life of this show and Fives discovering it is given the gravitas that deserves. Fives has his own chip removed and it again shows that this show goes there. 

With more prompting from Tyrannus, Nala Se has gone full blown villain with this episode. She tries to steal the chip. When she finds out that Fives has had his removed, she thinks he should be murdered immediately. She thinks that being around the Jedi has encouraged the clones to have "creative thinking." That way of thinking is interesting to me because we've seen clones show sparks of individuality on Kamino before they are even assigned to a squadron.

Luckily, Shaak Ti is there to advocate for Fives and she wants him sent to Coruscant for evaluation along with both chips.

Grade: B

"Orders," Season Six, Episode 4

"The popular belief isn't always the correct one."

Narrator: "Clone crisis! After the mysterious death of his friend Tup, ARC Trooper Fives embarked on an investigation which led to the discovery of a hidden chip which is placed inside clone troopers when they are still embryos. The Kaminoan scientist, Nala Se, claims the chip is harmless, and is meant to restrain the clones from violent, unpredictable action. Fives claims otherwise and has convinced Jedi Master Shaak Ti to allow him to plead his cased directly to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant..."

On Coruscant, Fives has a disastrous meeting with Chancellor Palpatine where he is accused of trying to assassinate him. On the run, Fives desperately tries to get in contact with Anakin and Rex so he can alert them to the plot that he's uncovered. Will they believe him or is it too late for Fives?

Trapped like rats.

This episode might as well be called "The Gaslighting of Fives." The entire arc is basically him being told he's crazy when he's absolutely on point with what he is telling people. One thing that bothers me about this episode is that they don't show us what happens when Fives is alone with Palpatine. There really is no reason not to show us. We know that Palpatine is evil so why not give us that moment with Fives. I don't understand because it feel like it could hav really added something to the episode and would have maybe remedied one of my biggest issues with the episode as a hole.

Fives progression from concerned friend and whistleblower to completely unhinged is so quick. I get that he's been told over and over that he's wrong, he's been threatened and he's seen a friend die. He's discovered a conspiracy. So, it makes sense that he'd be rattled. But the way that he acts is a lot. And I feel like had we seen him alone with Palpatine it could have helped sell why his mental state is so bad towards the mid part and end of the episode. Did Palpatine use the Force? Threaten him? We'll never know and that really irritates me. 

Another issue that I have with this episode and this arc overall is that, to quote Linkin Park, "in the end, it doesn't even matter." Fives discovery isn't going to mean anything. It's going to be swept under the rug. The Jedi aren't going to look into it any further for some unfathomable reason and they are going to end up dead because of it. So, spending four episodes on this arc feels kind of unnecessary, particularly when I know there were other scripts that weren't produced that I would have preferred to see. 

Also, these last couple of episodes feel very reminiscent of the last couple of episodes of Ahsoka's final arc in season five. We get that chase episode and then it's followed by trying to evade clone troopers in Coruscant's seedy underbelly. This episode is exactly that except with Fives instead of Ahsoka. There are some fun moments, like the clone bar, but unfortunately it's not as engaging because we don't care about Fives as much as we care about Ahsoka. And they did a lot to humanize Fives, but its tough because we know that he's not making it out of this arc alive and he doesn't.

In the end, Fives is dead and it seems this revelation is dead within him. Palpatine convinces everyone that Republic doctors found a parasite that caused the behavior of Tup and Fives and that is it. So, I guess we'll just move on.

Grade: C+

Next up, Padmé's old friend Clovis shows up asking her for help and Anakin is a jealous guy.

We covered a lot today! What do you all think? Has anyone read "Chaos Rising?" What do you think? Do you think this arc with Fives was worthwhile? Let me know in the comments.