Full Series Let's Fix The Onderon Arc

There really aren't any minor fixes that would have fixed everything for me.

First off, I would have liked to have seen more than just Onderon and a prelude to the decision by the Jedi to train insurgents. So rather than diving straight into training and the ungodly slow droideka training, I would have liked to have seen the first episode really set up the situation on Onderon and establishing a link with Heroes on Both Sides to establish how we got from there to here. As I said in another thread, I would not have made Dendup the King. Dendup would instead be a new revolutionary ruler seeking to overthrow King Rash. Rash would be the legitimate ruler of the planet.

Rash being an illegitimate usurper I think just raises the question as to how Mina fit into all of that. Dendup seemed to be respectful of Mina, but if Mina is backing the CIS and Rash was the CIS' puppet ruler, then it just seems odd that Dendup would be respectful of this woman that played her part in ousting him and selling the planet out to the Separatists.

So instead, Rash would be the legitimate king. He perhaps was a decent ruler once and he agrees to side with the Separatists on the principle that the Republic is corrupt. Mina supports him. Mina could have been a powerful voice in the CIS senate that really championed the CIS cause and won support for Dooku. In return, Dooku might have saw to it that Onderon prospered to keep her in that little bubble of seeing Dooku as a hero and making great strides to get other systems to join the CIS cause.

With the first episode I would have established that perhaps the incident in A Friend in Need in which Lux barged in on negotiations and accused Dooku of murdering Mina had gotten out and back to Onderon. The people of Onderon get riled up over this and begin to demand Rash's abdication and start advocating a withdrawal from the CIS. Lux returns to Onderon and is used by Saw as a rallying point as the late senator's son, but beyond that has no real respect for him as a leader.

Rash would sort of represent the theory of the Divine Right of Kings and refuse to step down because the throne is his by right and some of the protests begin to turn bloody, though the population is split between the insurgents and those that have faith in the King of Onderon. The insurgents would see the corruption of the Onderon thronw and begin advocating a new rule under Prime Minister Dendup who is part of this Revolution. We would then spend more time on Coruscant dealing with why the Republic refuses to get involved on Onderon. Lux and Ahsoka could make their appeal for help to the Jedi Council who then go to Palpatine who does not believe that arming civilians is a good idea since it is unclear if these insurgents will join the Republic when it is all said and done, and because of the danger in trusting an undisciplined army to do what is right. Rather he insists that the war is best left to the Republic Clone Army, but turns around and insists that Onderon is of too little strategic importance to commit the troops to drive the CIS off planet and occupy/secure Onderon. Palpatine refuses to divert any funds to arm Onderon.

So the Jedi decide to exercise their autonomy and begin funding arms to be smuggled illegally to Onderon. Some Jedi then covertly visit the planet and oversee training of the troops, those not as much time is spent to actually show this. Steela and Saw are higher ranking members of the insurgency under Dendup, though Dendup appears to favor Steela.

Dendup is captured and scheduled for execution. Steela is faced with a similar situation that she had regarding Saw in the actual episodes - the whole purpose before emotion thing. Saw wants to rescue Dendup, Steela says that they can't and knows that it will be what Rash expects and instead plans an attack on the power station, Dendup is executed (but not before an exchange of heated words with Rash (he's not as spiritless as he was in the actual arc). Simultaneously the attack on the power station succeeds and Steela is able to broadcast her message and denounces Rash as having lost the support of the people and asserts that without their support he is not king, and she makes Dendup out to be a martyr.

Rash requests reinforcements from Dooku. Tandin is criticized for his failure to handle the insurgents and is sidelined by Rash in favor of Kalani and his reinforcements. Tandin then defects to the insurgents. A deep wedge is driven between Saw and Steela over Dendup's death with Saw criticizing her for not lifting a finger to save him though being content to step up and take his place as revolutionary leader. This wedge stays in place up until Steela's death in which case he realizes that despite his frustrations with how the insurgency was run, she was still his sister and he never truly believed the accusations he made against her. Tandin is the one to lead the insurgents against the dropships and has a bigger role to play in the conclusion of the arc.

With Dendup and Steela dead, Saw becomes leader of the insurgency in a very bittersweet moment. It was what he had wanted back when Dendup was leader and Saw was jealous of how Steela seemed to be his number one lieutenant. However now that Saw has become leader by virtue of their deaths, he realizes that he never wanted the authority to come this way.

During the arc it is exposed that the Jedi have been assisting the Onderonians, and they face senate criticism with Palpatine "reluctantly" reprimanding them for what they risked in arming Separatist civilians.

Seerow

There

 

TaradosGon, ya know that was just a "Where were you on the day of?" story I posted one day after it happened in the other thread right? =b

But that would have been an incredible arc. What about Lux? Where is your Lux?

 

He'd be there and sort of step in and prove his worth gradually as he steps in to serve Saw gradually as Dendup and Steela are killed. I'd have a more direct confrontation about the feelings of Ahsoka and Lux and not just a simple:

Anakin: You seem distracted.
Ahsoka: I'm not. [lie]
Anakin: Remember, purpose before feelings.
Ahsoka: You're right. I'm over him.

That since Ahsoka last saw him, he's sort of the unofficial poster boy of the insurgency due to his relationship to Mina and how he sort of there to remind the citizens of her murder and rally volunteers to serve the insurgency. And during that time he's developed a fondness for Steela. I wouldn't have Ahsoka so hung up on him either or jealous of Steela. It would be more a matter of mixed signals and Ahsoka perhaps seeing what Lux and Steela have and might give her feelings about what she could have if she were not a Jedi (similar to how Obi-Wan confessed that he would have left the Jedi for love, and how Anakin ultimately does - but in a very evil way). It wouldn't necessarily be Ahsoka being attracted to Lux specifically as much as she might be a little envious of Lux and Steela for having that kind of relationship while Ahsoka has to come to terms with the fact that if she is to be a Jedi, she never will. And over the course of helping Onderon fight Rash and the CIS she just comes to terms with the fact that she finds that kind of work more rewarding than a "selfish" desire to have love and a relationship.

I'm also not wild about Lux being a 16 year old senator just like that who pretty much takes the position unchallenged and declares that he's going to try and join the Republic (unilaterally).

I'd have Saw perhaps offer the position to Lux, but between losing his mother and love interest, Lux would sort of be disillusioned with the war and politics and perhaps prove to be a counterpoint to Ahsoka - while she is willing to be married to the Jedi Order and live a life of service, Lux feels that he has lost what is really important to him in the name of politics.

I'm thinking of The Lost World: Jurassic Park here for a second. Where Roland Tembo wants to go to Isla Sorna to hunt the Tyrannosaurus and ultimately ends up losing a close friend:

Roland: He didn't make it, Ajay.
Peter Ludlow: I'm sorry. Really, I am. There's a job waiting for you in San Diego (at the new Jurassic Park attraction intended to open), if you want it.
Roland: No thank you. I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death.

And I would not have Onderon join the Republic, which would support Palpatine's warning (in my above fanon) and would help play into why the Jedi are becoming less and less trusted and why there might be advocates supporting people like Tarkin to step in and allow the war to be micromanaged better by those that fit squarely under Palpatine's chain of command.