Full Series The Clone Wars - Episode 5.7 - A Test of Strength- discussion thread

Ok I'm wrong, it's after Tipping Points, I thought Hondo's base was destroyed when Anakin goes there but it's not.

 

Too bad the Younglings couldn't build their lightsabers in this week's episode, but i seen the preview for next week's and they finally build them

 

"Do you know how to awaken the Force within your crystal?"
*Younglings shake heads*
"Tough, because I'm not going to show you."

 

Wow, this arc gets better. Last week was good. This week was great.

As for when it takes place? Well, I think it takes place after Onderon. In fact I think all of the episodes this season are in the right order. Others think not. The great thing is...both sides are right! isn't it great how personal canon works?

But anyway, to the episode itself. A number of interesting things that I really enjoyed. David Tennant put it a performance certainly worthy of his track record to date. Kudos to the writers for not killing him off at the end of the episode. Droids are pretty resilient like that.

Watching the whole episode in general, I was reminded a lot of the ST:TNG episode "Rascals". Star Trek fans know what I mean. It very much came off like that I think.

it was interesting watching Ahsoka having to explain herself to her charges. She's used to acting on her instinct, coming up with plans of action and executing them as fast as her body can move, but for just that minute she has to stop and lay out the whole thing for the younglings, and it was a very awkward moment for her. certainly it was a good sign that she has much to learn about being a teacher or mentor. I've occasionally thought that if the whole Sith/empire business hadn't happened, Ahsoka would make a good teacher with the right training, but we see here she still has a ways to go.

Watching Ganodi and Zatt fight off the pirate on the bridge, I did catch myself wondering why they didn't just Force Push him out the door, but then I remembered, rightly enough...they're younglings. They're still learning. learning to be a Jedi takes a long time. I remember people used to wonder why younger Ahsoka didn't use the force when it would've so obviously worked in a certain situation...and it's because Padawans are still learning too. Its a long road, one these younglings still have a long way to go on, so it didn't bother me at all.

Was rather amused as they were picking up the parts of Huyang that Gungi picked up his head. Of course I began thinking of ESB, but I guess Zatt is the tech geek here so he'll get Huyang up and running I'm sure. Hopefully we get more of him next week.

Petro seems to have courage in abundance. He needs to watch that though. if his courage turns into aggressiveness, that could be a bad thing for his future...presuming of course Vader doesn't turn him into sliced bantha in a few years.

As for Hondo...well, as I've said in previous reviews...Hondo was Hondo. Really that's all you need to say. He's great no matter what he's doing. "They're just kids... ...when will they learn..." I liked that one. As I said earlier in the thread, it's never personal...it's always about the money with him. And now having lost the crystals, Ahsoka is his profit margin now, hmm?

All in all a good episode and a good lead into next week. I look forward to it.

 

Man this stupid arc still didn't end and might have to continue for at least 2 episodes I guess, can't we get back to Darth Maul brothers and the Mandalorians? Onderon's 4 episodes are bad enough and this one still has to take at least 4.

 

Another solid episode from an arc that's shaping up to be quite decent. There were some interesting elements:

Seerow is inevitably going to demand Petro's hanging, drawing and quartering for hiding his sabre crystal away for petty reasons ( jk) and I'd agree that he behaves like a caricature from a Vulcan parable on human irrationality. However, he doesn't actively screw any of his fellow Jedi over like he did in the last episode (for a grand total of ten seconds, albeit) since his selfishness is simply intended so that he can boost his ego by keeping his precious crystal close to him. He's a bit of an idiot, or perhaps just an ignoramus, for not realising that whoever is boarding the ship might consider the lightsabre crystals to be valuable plunder. Perhaps this was just a relapse to self-centredness after unleashing all his empathy while saving Katooni from her icy grave. In any case, he's not only an insubordinate punk but one who has been vindicated by the blind luck of his insubordination paying off. That's a dangerous combination.

There were some nice touches to the younglings' portrayal. There was Katooni and Ganodi sticking together, because sisterhood and all that jazz. Beyond his insubordination, Petro's swagger was amusing. As was Zat's reaction to it, a mix of envy and disdain that kids regularly throw at each other. Byph still has some fear to overcome, as his lightsabre creation collapses when he sees Ahsoka walk by (perhaps that's "distraction" rather than fear). I now see why Gunji was a fan favourite in the first episode after seeing his interaction with Huyang. Ganodi's frantic hitting of the pirate's arm was laughable in a good way.

Ahsoka's growth from an arrogant little snot (kind of like Petro and Ganodi) to a highly qualified authority figure is evident in this episode. She's effectively the commanding officer of the ship and quickly develops an dynamic strategy to deal with the pirates. Even if the younglings had all been little brats who made me long for Operation Knightfall, this would have still been worthwhile as a standalone Ahsoka episode.

Hondo was superlative in this episode. Together with Ahsoka, he kept the attention away from any potential pitfalls in the youngling story. Christian Taylor just showed the other writers how to keep an antagonist grey, something which I'm hoping to see in the portrayals of future Separatists. I noticed that some of the pirates had Norfolk accents, in line with old pirate stories. Apparently this accent's overemphasis in those stories was due to Admiral Horatio Nelson use of it. Considering the accent mix, I wonder which Weequay planet is Norfolk and which is Essex.

David Tennant's character managed to win my approval in the first scene. He fills the role of an eccentric genius very well, and there are clear parallels between Huyang and Harry Potter's Olivander character. The younglings certainly displayed enthusiasm that called to mind the young Harry Potter characters. Seeing his durability (surviving dismemberment and decapitation) and martial ability (roundhouse-kicking the pirate) made me think there could be a link between Huyang and the TFU character PROXY, a training droid, combat expert and companion of Starkiller built by Vader. PROXY's eyes and joints resemble C-3PO's due to the obvious link via their mutual creator, but in terms of function, PROXY might have been the successor to the old Jedi Order's lightsabre-builder who claims to have "never lost a fight".

Good overall. I wasn't anticipating this much enjoyment from the Young Jedi arc, but Christian Taylor has done well to turn what could be divergent kiddy fluff into something more in line with modern TCW. While I still hope to see a triumphant return to core PT themes with the Clovis arc (proudly featuring some political, bankster and Anakin/Padme goodness), I'm not looking forward to seeing the back of this arc as much as I was the Mon Calamari arc.

 

Today’s episode was quite good – a quality upgrade on “The Gathering,” which I though was an episode that had a good number of things going for it in its own right.

A band of pirates led by Hondo Ohnaka plan to attack a Jedi ship which, according to Hondo’s sources, is manned by Younglings carrying an extremely valuable and hard to find cargo: Kyber (Kaiburr?) crystals, used by the Jedi to construct new lightsabers and “the most important treasure in the universe.”

Now, if I heard Hondo correctly and he did indeed say “Kyber,” then either his unnamed sources (the identity of whom, with such inside knowledge about the Jedi, may prove interesting, by the way), who have been right on every other count, are mistaken about the type of crystals found on Ilum, or TCW has discounted established lore which I understand says that Adegan crystals are the type native to the planet.

The pirates themselves amounted to an effective, legitimate threat and Hondo himself has evolved into a character which I have come to greatly enjoy. Watching “Dooku Captured” years ago, I never would have believed Hondo would have become a character which I would look forward to seeing in almost any story. With TCW’s history of stunning visuals, it almost goes without saying, but Hondo looked stunning, with a new level of depth to his features. Good job!

I noted the episode’s moral of “The young are often underestimated” and worried that we would be in store for Home Alone in space, but my fears were mostly unfounded. Yes, the Initiates decided to fight back (against Ahsoka strict instructions – her reaction when she realized the kids had decided to fight back (“I know what that means”), reminding her of herself, was pretty funny), but they were not shown to be unbelievably overpowered and in fact only got out of their jams by using the ol’ noodle.

The actual look of the pirate’s blowing the doors while boarding the Jedi ship was directly out of A New Hope. I looked terrific and was well suited to the moment.

Gungi’s inspired choice of a wooden lightsaber hilt was a terrific nod to Wookiee culture, arising from the species’ reliance on wood on Kashyyyk. I can’t recall the actual type of wood decided upon by Gungi and Professor Huyang (though it was mentioned), but to think that it may have been a nod to an established type found on Kashyyyk (say, Wroshyr tree wood) in EU lore sure is a nice thought.

This brings us to the good Professor. When Huyang first began to instruct his students, I was concerned that lightsaber construction would be shown to be a mechanical practice. But I needn’t have worried. What we witnessed was the more ethereal, Force-powered exercise required of building a lightsaber. In the end, Huyang was presented as a pleasant, interesting surprise of a character. The choice to use a droid as a Jedi instructor was perhaps a little risky, but it paid off well. I look forward to seeing the poor fella put back together and making a return to form next week.

Ahsoka’s stand against the pirates was well choreographed and held some fine dramatic tension. Not privy to any spoilers, I was genuinely thinking I may have been witnessing Hondo’s last stand and I found myself fairly surprised when Ahsoka’s compassionate attempt at saving Ohnaka helped lead directly to her capture. Tano’s referring to events on Onderon was a nice touch as it helps to establish some ongoing continuity between arcs (something I know plenty of us have longed for), and Hondo’s final, menacing message to Ahsoka are just creeping the Ahsoka-lovers out. “Good night.”

On the more critical end, I was curious why Ahsoka and her charges were not equipped with a rebreather or whatever type of gear would help protect from a gas attack, but even if it’s a matter of plot necessity, it paid off in a pleasing enough manner not to bother me all that much.

In fact, in all of this, there was only one burning question which really stood out and made me wonder just what the heck was going on? “Where’s Master Yoda?” I hope this is addressed later in the arc, because if left unanswered, this is the type of plot contrivance that could threaten to derail any chance at suspension of disbelief and render a potentially wonderful arc less so.

 

Who is Hondo's sources, someone in the Jedi Order? Sidious? Sora Bulq?

 

Hondo: "I have no choice but to make a profit out of you." Looks like it's back to slavery for Ahsoka.

Where the heck was Yoda during all this? The Jedi are really going to send a bunch of younglings on a trip carrying priceless treasures with just a Padawan and a droid for protection?

 

How did you get the preview we have to wait to Monday.

 

Probably some inside intelligence harvested in his regular dealings with the Order that revealed to him that the ship class featured in this episode is only used for training missions.

 

I thought this was one of the best parts. In another thread someone recently raised the issue that the show seemed to be painting Hondo in a good light, having him fall into the cliched rogue-turned-soft stereotype. This episode certainly changed that.

 

Maybe he wants to use her as a prostitute?

A Pimp named Hondo.

 

Turn her into Dooku for money and Dooku must trick him and get Ahsoka and kill Hondo.

 

Why don't they address the Yoda thing right off the bat?

 

Teletoon showed the preview during the commericals

 

Yoda was already on Illum when Ahsoka and the younglings got there in The Gathering. He probably takes a shuttle or VSD to some other location while the younglings construct their lightsabres in deep space.

 

You kno you can get the Season Pass and see the whole season if you get the season pass on Itunes.

 

Has anyone else noticed how much Kyner's music score has improved?

 

Huyang is the best character to come out of George Lucas's vision of Star Wars since Jabba the Hutt.

 

The violence seems "inconsistent". We got a droid who uses martial arts and an arc welder yet doesn't use them until very late.

She doesn't want to kill them but leaves them to die slowly in the vacuum of space?

 

Good episode.
+ Petro..He's the only youngling I have any interest in so far. Something dramatic will happen with him one way or another. Bank on it.
+ Hondo was good as usual. He's becoming a more prominant character in TCW's.
+ The younglings were not as useless as I had originally thought.
+ The Doctor was nice addition to the arc. Nicely done.

But a few questions:

-Why was the training ship holding valuable information about lightsabers and their creation be unprotected. You would think they would hold more value to the development of future Jedi. At least accompany the training ship with a battle cruiser or some sort of protection.

- Where did yoda go ?.

-Why is asohka training Younglings to begin with. She's only a Padawan that is learning herself. It seems irresponsible to have a less than qualified Jedi training Younglings. Much less Anakins Padawan which is known to disobey his master and do things that are frowned upon in the Jedi Council.

 

Yeah I figured there'd at least be some clones on board. Did the ship even have any guns?

 

When are they gonna return to Maul brothers and the Mandalorians?