Full Series Season 5 [[(major spoilers & video clips!!!)]]

On occasion I can be, really annoys my parents

 

Maybe it's just his sarcasm detector that is broken.

 

I like your logic and all but to be fair THE SEPARATIST COUNCIL not the so-called is in fact in control of the CIS.

Ok, Padme's words can be interpreted as another thing all together. Turning to the corporations for help was maybe an indication of the subsequent joining of the set corporations.
The Techno Union was firmly in the war and so were the rest. The fact that in Season of TCW Anakin says that the Techno Union has control over Ryloth, not Tambor himself. So that means that the Republic knew that the separate organizations were involved in person, not just funding and stuff.

Lucas's vision for the Separatists after S2 of TCW is TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO confusing and the AOTC Novelization does not help and does not help the case of Lucas's lack of coordination of what was going on in the CIS.

The EU actually got the CIS quite right. Old examples like Alto Stratus of Jabiim and a newer character like Shonn Volta joined the CIS for very non-corporate reasons. Volta was wronged by the Republic in EVERY possible way from Clones killing her father in cold blood to the Republic cutting trade routes to her planet and thus her mother starved to death. Great examples that not all Separatists were corporate people.

But most sources after AOTC point to the fact the corporations and system senators that were on Geonosis signed a treaty that was not just loaning droids but sticking your bets in with the Separatist cause. After all, most of the corporations were wronged by the Republic and wanted initially to split away and not be regulated by Republic law.
Separatist Leader Tikkes chose to leave the Republic and take the entire Calamari system with him, better than being charged for crimes and being jailed.

Before TCW S3 travesty, The Separatist Council was the one people knew was "in control" of the CIS. Not some hippie-infested Congress that got nothing done.
I also do not get how dumb are the CIS senators on Raxus if they think Corporations do not rule them but that was the reality of the situation.
As far as I am concerned and if this stupid congress ideas continues to be pushed for no reason by the stupid Lucas then I suppose that those Senators are just puppets who have the Senate but in reality it is all just a ploy the REAL people in charge - the SEPARATIST COUNCIL. Like a dream that keeps the Systems in line just like in ANH and the Moffs wondering how the Emperor will control all the systems without the buracracy - that is I think the model currently for the CIS.

In the end, it does not matter whether or not, the Council was at Geonosis what we all know it is - a group of the highest ranking officials in the Confederacy that all have an equal vote in matters. In the end, they are the ones who matter and not the hippies on Raxus.

As Plo_Koon_is_Awesome wrote in an "Episode Idea" thread... The Separatist Council most possibly with Dooku and Grievous present will all together vote and decide that the Raxus Senate is useless. Then they will decide to get rid of it and blame that on the Republic. They just won't need the senator-hippies like the way Palpi already did not need the Senate by 0BBY. I hope I see all my fave SEPARATIST LEADERS like Tikkes and Gunray and the rest decide on the termination of the Raxus senate.
That way by ROTS, there will be only one body in power - the Separatist Council - that has no hippies to slow it's galactic conquest.

I am sure Palpatine knew about the moles like Lott Dod.
I think that will be a story in season five with Cato-Neimoidia where either Dod will be revealed and the TF will be officially on the CIS side fully or the TF is attacking itself with Gunray making it look like Dod is a good guy.

 

Seriously, I am surprised the Republic hasn't attacked Raxus already. I mean, wasn't that the Citadel Arc was all about -hyperspace routes to the CIS capital?

Speaking of which, I think they wasted an opportunity by having Lux leave the CIS - I think it would have been more interesting if he believed the Republic killed his mother, and fought Ashoka during the invasion of Raxus.

 

Spoiler

I just don't really understand why people are angry about the whole, "Maul proclaims himself Mandalore" thing. It's just a damn title. It's like declaring yourself a king of something.

 

It's approximate to him declaring himself Grand Master of the Jedi Order in the level of outrageousness. It comes totally out of left field. I don't think people like the idea of having a title and a position that is so firmly established as a role of significance, simply being thrown around and adopted by, of all people, Maul.

As for me, I've said my piece on the subject a page or so ago.

 

Do mandos have a rule against force users joining or becoming leaders within their ranks?

 

Not that I know of. However they have a rule that dead characters can't steal the leadership from Spar.

 

Technically speaking, anyone can become a Mandalorian, Force-users included. But it's not like a club that can be joined, it's a culture that's entered into. To be a Mandalorian, one has to abide by the Resol'nare, the six tenets of Mando life. They're the things that define what it is to be Mandalorian, and they really preclude someone who has already pledged themselves to the Sith simply because the codes of the two cultures are too mutually exclusive. One can't be a Sith and a Mandalorian. There's no such thing as a Sith Mando, or a Mando Jedi. You're either one, or the other. If a non-aligned Force user—even one that had used to be a Jedi or Sith but later renounced their previous respective order—decided they wanted to become a Mandalorian, that would be allowed.

Nice.

 

Also, the title of Mand'alor isn't handed out like a party favor.

And there is the rule that stubborn revisionists shouldn't change their mind years after the fact, at the expense of any other artists' work.

 

What do you mean Randy saving everyone asses? I hope your not talking about Dark Horse Randy and some of those bland clone war comics.

 

H_J is saying Ahsoka would do all of that, and Randy is a nickname for Savage.

 

Dan_Grievous,

you are right, the Techno Union apparently really joined the CIS. Poggle hid himself when Padmé busted into his meeting with Clovis and Dod, Wat Tambor indeed conquered Ryloth with Techno Union matériel, and Gume Saam was apparently a secret Techno Union within the Republic Senate (officially he is the Senator for Tibrin) in 'Heroes on Both Sides'.

The Techno Union no longer has an official representative in the Republic, but the Trade Federation and the InterGalactic Banking Clan do. Things are not really transparent, I admit as much, but it was always clear that the Separatists were made up out of former Republic member worlds, not corporations who could not really wage a war against their own customers. Think about it: If you openly declare war on half of the galaxy when you sell goods to the whole galaxy, you are bankrupt in six months or so. War is a costly thing, and the Republic would at once nationalize all your assets in its territory, and prevent your representatives to sell or buy anything in Republic space. If you can't finance your war effort by selling your non-war-goods, you would not have the money to wage the war.

That's why I actually like this (seemingly) new angle on the corporations. They profit from the war by backing both sides, and their infrastructure is apparently crucial to keep the Republic working, especially during the war time (at least that's how I'd interpret 'Sphere of Influence'), which as of yet prevents the Republic from moving against the Trade Federation of the Banking Clan.

I don't deny that there were some of the more corrupt members of the CIS Parliament present on Geonosis during AOTC, but if I'm not mistaken those guys were all relatively new members of the CIS (Tikkes, Po Nudo etc.), and they were part of the secret Sith conspiracy going back to Darths Plagueis and Tenebrous, who started this whole oligarchy thing. I'd also put the machinations of Shu Mai in 'The Approaching Storm' in this context. Officially, Dooku spearheaded the idealistic Separatist Movement, unofficially he used Shu Mai and others to create war which was always lead to the creation of the Empire. The corporation heads always assumed they would end up sharing power in the Empire, that's why it makes little sense to assume they willingly declared for one side. Eventually they were forced to be (on) the losing side, but that's not how it started.

 

The whole CIS alignment/neutrality issue seems to be growing. First it was the corporations were definitely part of the CIS, and therefore surrendered their Senate seats and now we have the TF still having a Senator and Nute Gunray claimed to be a "radical" by the TF.
Sure, this playing both sides is interesting, but it's also bad continuity and confusing too.

 

You said it yourself. Tikkes, Po Nudo and Shu Mai are all members of the Council cause they had dealings with the Sith directly. TIKKES FTW!

As far as the IGBC and TF are concerned, I think both organizations are hardcore Separatists but they play both sides even if they are mainly working for the CIS.
It is all just to have an excuse for the CIS to have double-agents in the Republic Senate like Dod.
In the end, whether or not the Republic knew who the corporations were working for or whose side they were on, the important thing is that they will get a huge profit out of the war.

The thing is that the corporations did not declare war, the Republic did but now the corporations had no regulations and could do anything they wanted.

 

Probably a lot of their ways were forgotten and maybe they made Maul an honorary Mandalore.

 

Spoiler

I think the main issue is that it has a long and detailed history in the EU, and has been held by a particular group of characters that a lot of fans hold in high regard. Maul just doesn't seem to fit by comparison. Of course, as others mentioned, we could easily retcon it by simply saying the title lost meaning over the years.

Thing is, it's a bit odd he takes that title after proclaiming himself leader of Black Sun... I mean, if any leader of Black Sun made himself the Mandalore in the EU, there would be drama among the fanbase, let me tell you. Not necessarily bad drama, just... it would have to be a particularly savvy character who could pull that off. Not some ruffian like Maul.

 

Fandalorians would be outraged IMO. As a CIS fan I do not mind all the stuff with Mandalore before S4 but getting Maul into all of this was a mistake that people will not like.
IMO Lucas was testing us with tea episodes of S3, I think he was trying to see how much bull**** we could take before starts losing money.

 

Spoiler

I don't really know much about Mandalore in the EU, so I don't really have an opinion on Maul usurping the title. But my issue is... what's Maul's end game? So they attack some droids on a station and Maul and Savage finally come to the realization that "oh crap, we don't have a plan" so the plan becomes taking over Black Sun and Death Watch?

Black Sun's a criminal empire, and Death Watch is a group of exiled political extremists that last we saw were scarcely different than a biker gang. Sidious controls both the Republic - with its professional clone army, war ships, heavy assault vehicles; but also controls the CIS with assembly lines rolling out the battle droids and war ships again, etc.

Darth Maul knows Palpatine controls these two huge political entities comprising of billions of combined troops, and equipment specifically geared toward war, and Maul's plan is to rally Black Sun and Death Watch? Not only that, but he apparently sucks at rallying the Death Watch since they splinter when he usurps Viszla.

What is his plan for the end game? Become a biker gang criminal king and....?

If Maul wants to destabilize the Republic and CIS, well he has knowledge that can do that. Knowledge he can leak without making himself such an obvious target by taking on titles and being so reckless.

 

I wonder what KT is thinking right now...

 

Interesting question... How does one feel when their work on building a fictional culture is replaced by an idea similar to what a 10 year-old would of!?

 

http://lightsaberrattling.blogspot.com/

 

HAZZA! If they have a Grievous arc then it will be awesome...

But that is pretty much the season!

 

I want a Ki Adi-Mundi ARC when he is at Mygeeto then they should continue the ARC in Season 6.