Full Series Official "The Clone Wars" Series Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Perhaps a bit of an obscure thing to mention...but my pick for favorite sound effect from the entire series would have to go Sidious' two lightsabers in his duel with Maul & Savage. Sort of a fusion of the sounds of a surging arc welder coupled with a seething dragon.

 

One of my favorite sound effects has got to be the hum of the Darksaber. I just love how unique it sounds compared to other lightsabers and that it makes a kind of "twanging" sound when clashing with another lightsaber.

 

I love the sound of savage's lightsaber turning on when dooku first starts teaching him how to fight...it has that awesome growl and thunder aspect to it.

 

I wonder what's with Father's and Talzin's voices.

 

I like Palpatine, but I was actually a little disappointed that he used two sabers. I know he had two sabers, but I wish he fought with only one as in ROTS.

Two reasons: The idea that two is better than one has been overdone in Star Wars. Ahsoka has two sabers; in AOTC, Obi-Wan throws his saber to Anakin; in his fight with Savage and Maul, Obi-Wan takes up Adi's saber.

The second reason, which to me is actually more important, is that IMO it just looks more badass, like seeing Dooku take on both Obi-Wan and Anakin in ROTS with a single bladed saber, or Palpatine fighting (albeit briefly) with Mace and Kit with a single saber. Having a single blade to parry two opponents looks more refined, skillful and elegant than people twirling saber staffs or two blades.

I always was said to see the unfinished animation of Savage and Maul for a time overpowering Sidious. I'm all for Sidious, Mace and Yoda being the most powerful Force users, but I actually like to see them brought off some impossibly high pedestal compared to everyone else. Would have loved to have that scene in the finished episode.

 

I've been thinking a bit about the connection between clone officer armor customization and that of Mandalorians. As in Republic Commando, many clones wear armor with modifications resembling that of Mandalorians.

For example, both Captain Rex and Commander Wolffe have rangefinders on their helmets, much like Boba Fett, Jango Fett, and Bo-Katan. Other clones possess what appear to be comm antennae on their helmets, much like some of the Death Watch soldiers in this picture.

Perhaps the biggest Mandalorian reference is actually on Rex's helmet; the markings known as Jaig Eyes. Fenn Shysa's helmet had these markings, and they originated from markings on the prototype helmet of Boba Fett.


A rangefinder and Jaig eyes on the helmet. Rex must really have been influenced heavily by training with the Cuy'val Dar!

 

I don't see how rangefinders or comm antennae are Mandalorian, they're just pieces of technology.

Not to mention that I don't believe TCW views Jango or Boba as Mandalorian.

Is there any evidence of "Cuy'val Dar" in TCW? I see trainers on Kamino in Clone Cadets, but I don't remember anything that suggests they were "Cuy'val Dar". Do any of the TCW clones speak Mando? Do any of them show any concern or even interest in Mandos? Did they have any presence in any of the Mando episodes?

I don't see a clone-Mando connection in TCW, it's conspicuously absent when compared to work by Karen Traviss, intentionally so.

 

According to the official Star Wars Fact File, Rex was one of the participants of ARC trooper Alpha's ARC officer training program, just like Cody, Bly, and Gree. During the program, Rex trained under Mandalorian Cuy'val Dar sergeants, per the Clone Wars: New Battlefronts Visual Guide by Jason Fry, which states they awarded him the right to wear jaig eyes for distinguished valor.

The design of the rangefinders, like many aspects of the clones' armor, were based on Mandalorian armor and adapted for their use by Jango Fett. Their kamas come from Mandalorian influence, as well. As a minor note, Commander Ponds has some familiarity with Mando'a, as heard in the Republic Heroes tie-in game.

It's not really a matter of differences between creative influences, though. TCW focuses, almost exclusively, on standard infantry troopers, whose canonical exposure to Mandalorian cultural and language influences were vastly less than the commandos that are the focus of Traviss' Republic Commando series. In both the TCW movie novelization and No Prisoners, Traviss' two contributions specifically to the show's related canon, Rex's jaig eyes are the only tenable Mandalorian influence present, and even then they're not even notable or really referenced at all.

 

As heard in Republic Heroes? How so?

 

During a scene late in the game, after taking down a Vulture droid, Rex, Cody, and Ponds all cheer. There's a "hurrah," a USMC-style "oorah," and Ponds chips in with a Mandalorian "oya."

 

Thanks. I already knew about the Alpha-Rex connection, but I wasn't aware that the Cuy'val Dar awarded him the right to wear the jaig eyes. Also, interesting info on Ponds.

CT-867-5309

I never meant to imply that clone trooper mods like the rangefinders and antennae were distinctly meant to be lifted off from the Mandalorians. However, as Mia so helpfully pointed out, the designs are based on the Mandalorian armor worn by Jango Fett, so I figured it wouldn't be a stretch to bring up the comparison. It's true that the show never played up any similarities between clones and Mandalorians, keeping any similarities that did exist very subtle, with the most noticeable being Rex's jaig eyes, which were ultimately the emphasis of my post on the similarities. Ultimately, since the show didn't really touch up on the Republic Commandos outside of a cameo in Witches of the Mist and Gregor in Missing in Action, there wouldn't be any realistic scenario to have any clone speaking Mando'a. And I imagine that the Commandos only know some words, as well as the lyrics of modified Mandalorian songs taught to them by Jango like Vode An, Ka'rta Tor, Dha Werda Verda, and Gra'tua Cuun.

 

That game...lol I go back and forth on liking it or not. I mean, storywise, it was up there wth Season 1 and 2's good episodes. It felt straight out of the show. But gameplay was really basic and just meh. Hearing Ponds give a little oya there had me smiling, though. That was cool.

 

Really? I never noticed. Now I'll have to go prowl the later levels for this.

 

The Army uses 'Hoo-Ah'
The Marines uses 'Oo-rah'
The Air Force uses 'Hua'
The Navy uses 'Hoo-Yah'

So really it's like a mixture of the Army and Marine yells...
Of course you could always throw in an old english yell Huzzah which is always fun... lol

 

Kinda out of place though. It paints her as this seductive murderer/assassin, when her actually personality is just straight up brute.

 

Ventress is flat out stated to be an assassin several times, and it's pretty much always been her thing. It's her role, really. She's not Dooku's apprentice, not really, she's his assassin.

Her actions in Cloak of Darkness are that of an assassin/saboteur, she makes heavy use of misdirection to free Nute. Ditto The Hidden Enemy, really, she seduced Slick into betraying his brothers. In Nightsisters she goes on a literal assassination mission, sneaking up on Dooku in his pajamas with some Nightsister cloaking magic and even uses poison.

Even her mission in ARC Troopers isn't one of brute force, but one of theft, she's there to steal Jango's DNA or whatever. More misdirection.

In Revenge, she sabotaged Maul and Savage's plans for Kenobi, using more misdirection.

Even in final arc of S5, she's on Coruscant incognito, wearing a mask.

 

Plus, double post I know, surely you aren't unaware of all the flirting with Kenobi?

He just doesn't bite.

Much.

 

I wasn't a fan of the mock-flirting between Ventress and Obi-Wan, but at least then it was just words. I didn't care for that "kiss of death" scene either, it made Ventress look a little too creepy to me. Good call to edit that out IMO.

 

Yeah, I love it when Ventress makes me shudder, but I can totally understand that it's not everyone's nipple pinch. Or cup of tea. Or whatever it is you normal people like.

 

lol Well, at least I wasn't oh helled.

 

I like to think something happened between Obi Wan and Ventress in the escape pod after "Revenge." Who knows how much time passed before they were picked up? They had to have gotten busy.

 

Maybe that's where Obi-Wan's daughter came from. If Humans and Dathomirians even work that way. Which they might, since Dathomirians are already part-human IIRC.