Full Series Post-Mortis Syndrome

How do you pick up the threads of an old life?
How do you go on, when in your heart, you begin to understand,
there is no going back?


I think this topic is independent of how you feel about the Mortis arc, or actually how it will ultimately play out to its final episodes. My point here is, this arc undoubtedly shakes things up to a point that makes it hard to conceive how things can afterwards just go back to the usual pulp adventures, both for the viewers and for the characters in the show.

In Sam Witwer's interview in the official site, we learn that "you can't do a mythically-charged episode all the time", and "as Dave said, this is sort of the most mythological that The Clone Wars is getting." At the very least that means that we will not go this deep or this epic in the foreseeable future. After this is done, it's business as usual, and even stuff like the Nightsisters pales in comparison to the resonance of this arc (I'm not talking quality here, just the earth-shattering nature of the story). So I'm wondering how we'll deal with Anakin and Ahsoka beating up some thugs after they've just engaged in a struggle to steer the course of life as we know it. And equally important, how will the characters themselves deal with it. Will they? Or will this whole business be brushed over just like any other ol' mission these folks have participated in?

Now it's pretty clear why all the mundane political episodes were bunched together in the first half of the season. Can you imagine what it would be like to go straight from Mortis to a senate voting?! Of course, that doesn't explain why those episodes were made in the first place, but I can understand why they were kept away from the second half.

Anyway, do you think the sheer weight of the Mortis arc can damage the rest of the series? Or do you think it's an easy transition from subduing the embodiments of the Dark Side and the Light Side of the Force, to subduing some trandoshan punk?

 

No I don?t think it will damage the series in any significant way. Initially, yes, the episodes afterward will be less universe-shaking however I think it will inevitably move back into the classic adventures and we will fall back ?into the groove?. I had considered that the episodes for the remainder of the season will feel less spectacular in the wake of the Mortis arc, however to be honest I wouldn?t mind some more episodes of war. The Mortis arc will be like another one of the films to me in relation to the rest of the series; its ground breaking, however you shouldn?t try and look at it side by side with the rest of the series.

 

What a coincidence, I was thinking the exact same way.

One of the times I was rewatching the episode, I thought about all the times Anakin could be killed throughout the series. Like for example "Jedi Crash". The dangerous consequences of such simple episodes. I mean, all these episodes seem so mundane now, even Anakin seems that way except for this episode. I don't know how I will react with the post-Mortis episodes.

 

I think something big needs to happen by the end of this arc. If not, I don't buy that such a large event happens and there's no change whatsoever. To me, especially seeing Grown Up Ahsoka, that Ahsoka needs to leave Anakin. She can't be his apprentice anymore. Go with Plo Koon or whatever.

We need some development in this arc.

 

Personally, I have no interest in the Mortis arc or anything similar. I welcome the return to the status quo.

 

It's certainly an interesting thought, Gry. Props for using a Lord of the Rings quote.

In terms of scope, I do think it'll leave some of us a little detached or genre shocked.

But for my part, I'm thinking 'well, this is one part of Star Wars', so I'm just as eager to see all the other possible adventures. Like how the OT wasn't just about the Force itself, but the battle of the Rebellion against the Empire, the adventure...EWOKS!

That's my train of thought, but it's a good thing to think about indeed. I guess I'll mention that, at some level, the majority of Star Wars fans have a token amount of bloodlust. That should be easy enough to satisfy.

As to whether they'll address this in the show...who can say? Maybe they'll follow it up in a future episode or save it for the films.

So...no, I don't think it'll damage the show in the long run. Or at least it won't so long as the other stories told appeal to good old Star Wars.

 

Big, consensus shifting events can and should happen in series, and as long as they colour the later, stand-alone arcs then they can be dropped in at any time. So the later stories have to remember what has happened here - there has to be some change in the characters, but those changed characters still have the same basic motivations to drop-kick battle droids and free damsels in distress.

 

Well I personally don't think TCW should of even gone here to begin with.
I think it should just be a series of wars on many different planets and YES some political stuff in the senate.
Im going with this though and I think its very entertaining but get to The Death Watch vs The Clone Army.

 

Even though we're still just past the first episode, I think, after an arc like this, it's going to be time to step back and decompress. I wouldn't want to go from this arc to something mundane like in the first half of the season, but perhaps what would ease the transition would be to step back from these characters and have another Clone oriented episode/arc or one featuring other Jedi, so that these three can take a break, and we can take a break from them, letting the outcome of this arc soak in.

That way, even if they do go from beating the force itself to beating some random droid, the effect isn't so jarring.

They also shouldn't waste the arc in terms of character development. I suspect these three are going to be exposed to even more things that could shape their personalities, and future episodes after this arc should reflect that, even if it's in very subtle ways. If, after all is said and done for the series, we can't look back on the changes our heroes went through and be able to say "This arc was part of that" then I really think it's a wasted opportunity.

 

Wow - interesting to see how polarizing this is - I for one will suffer from 'Post Mortis depression' as IMHO, this is one of THE best episodes of the entire CW (not just for the QG and Liam taste) - I frankly love the metaphysical aspects of the story and hope the arc continues, and this is from someone who's favorite episodes have been rather 'clone centric' ala Rookiees and the Deserter...

Bravo to the CW team for 'going there'.

 

Right now(and we are decidely not yet post-Mortis) I'm left with the impression that Waru and the Crystal Star are much more compelling than these episodes.

It always surprises me how hung up people can get with examination of the Force. Isn't Han Solo still awesome? How about a Star Destroyer?

The Force is just one small aspect of what makes this universe work to me. Everything comes back to characterization and story, both of which may or may not include the Force.

 

That's what I like about Star Wars. It has something for everyone.

 

Mortis arc really isn't for me- i don't need this concrete version of the force to understand it's aspects somehow ....but well at least it was a different episode- i loved the visions- visions are always creepy and it was very nice surprise to see Ahsoka as grown-up that was not spoiled which surprised me.... still i wonder how this arc will end- i cannot really foresee it so it's great (but i have theories).... but i'm still more eagerly awaiting something less heavy and entertaining stuff like clonecentered-arc Filoni promised....

 

Sure. But that's not really what I'm talking about. Everything that makes Star Wars and "normal" Clone Wars great is still awesome, it's just a matter of scale. Mortis' storyline deals with the very fabric of the universe, which kinda makes the day to day struggles irrelevant by comparison.

I agree that it's almost imperative that whatever story that follows immediately after the Mortis arc does not feature our main heroes. It would be much better if they disappeared for a couple of episodes so that both the audience and the characters would have some time to process and move beyond the recent events.

 

We saw action like never before in Point Rain and yet we were able to move on from it,

Certainly many episodes will seem (even more) inconsequential, but I think overall the problems are going to be "how do we top this?"

I was/am much more concerned about TCW screwing up the movies themselves.

 

I think the problem comes from the placing of this trilogy. Why exactly are we being given the biggest event in the show's history in the middle of the season? Doesn't something of this magnitude seem more appropriate for a season finale?

The overall tone and feel of the trilogy implies a major change for the characters. What better way to allow both us and the characters to reflect on the events than the wait between season 3 and 4? That would allow us to make our predictions, and to allow the show to get more mature, as the characters are affected by this arc.

But unfortunately, this isn't happening. In a couple weeks, provided there aren't any breaks, we'll be back to the heroic deeds of the Jedi, with most likely no reaction to these episodes whatsoever. It'll be like jumping from Ahsoka's experience in Storm over Ryloth to her actions in Holocron Heist. She'll have learned nothing, and I have a bad feeling this is what is going to happen with this trilogy as well.

 

Even if characters won't get mindwipe i will.... after this is end i should know the meaning of the prophecy in movies -but i eliminate this from continuity canon in my head as a sidetrip that didn't happen- and return to what happened after Savage went to looking for Maul- this arc is not natural part of TCW it's an extra arc they made (and used 3 episodes of the season to that).... they should've done movie of this instead.... anyway this is new now but it will soon be just one of TCW-arcs dealing with the nature of the Force nothing more- nothing actually big even happens in this arc it just should explain what big happens in the saga exactly.....

 

I'm thinking that after the Mortis trilogy we may get a break from Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka and begin moving onto other characters like Saesee Tinn and Even Piell. This arc is essential in the character development for Anakin and Ahsoka, and despite whatever thoughts you had about the first half of the season, it tied up alot of loose ends and put stuff out there that needed to be made clear. Almost as if Season 3 is designed to end certain plot points and loose ends (Domino Squad, Ziro the Hutt, political motivations behind the Clone Wars, Ventress, Anakin's relationship with Ashoka) so that the rest of the series can move on to new plot points.

I have a very strong feeling Rex will bite the dust in the season finale.

 

He hasn't really been in S3 at all.

 

And even if he does die, my attitude toward it will be most likely "whatever." Besides his brief appearance in ARC Troopers and in Overlords, he wasn't much of a factor in season three. The less a character appears, the less I would care for it.

I hope he and other clones are portrayed good in that clone-based story arc later this season.

 

I'm sure by the time this arc ends we'll all be sufficiently Mortis-fied.

 

I fear this the most.

 

That is my only 'fear', and knowing this series, it's not entirely unfounded. Although I think they'd be foolish not to let this whole thing play into Ahsoka's plotline. Here's hoping there'll be a real follow up to this Ahsoka-The-Elder vision after this arc is over.

I'm not worried about going back to the more usual stuff. Unless we go straight back to another string of senate episodes. There are plenty things in this war the series still needs to focus on.

The thing with season 3 is, the contrast between the first half of the season and the second half (more or less starting with the 'Nightsisters' trilogy), couldn't be bigger.

Like GM, GG and others, I'm worried about the movies, but I'm reserving judgement because we've got two more episodes left to interpret this whole thing more accurately. If this trilogy won't jive with the movies, I'll just let Monkey Lizard BANHAMMER the whole Mortis thing into oblivion.

As far as the visuals in this go, I'm simply stunned. I know not many people agree with me, but I just loved the epic scope and feel of this; the throne room, the arena, the Gargoyle and Griffin, and Daughter is just the most enchanting creature ever. Her 'hard-to-get' attitude makes her even more untouchable, like, in a good way.

In fact I was so smitten with the visuals that I couldn't resist processing this episode for icons before doing 'Monster' and 'Witches of the Mist'. (See Icons thread )

 

Does it deal with the very fabric of the universe though? I just don't see it.

Anyway I can't agree with you about the matter of scale. To me an individual episode or arc that is well done and deals in the death of a prominate character to me will carry far more resonance than these episodes.

Keep in mind we still know how this all ends no matter what is revealed in this arc. Unless ROTS is to be completely rewritten there isn't much thats set to be changed.

 

This is a really interesting topic, and almost impossible to discuss before seeing the entire arc, but I'll throw my two cents into the arena anyway.

Unless the future developments of the arc dictate otherwise, I don't feel like there's anything stopping our heroes from going back to war time as normal. They're in a major galactic war, it's not like there's much wiggle room there realistically speaking. I don't see how pondering what happens in this episode - which may or may not all be a vision depending on one's point of view - would have much relevance to whatever action-packed goings-on may be to come. While I'm on the subject, I have no problems with the Senate episodes. Even "Corruption" which apparently was disliked by many has its value in conjunction with "The Academy" in that the first episode showed the blatant corruption happening and the second had more nuanced political commentary making sure to point out the unfairness of assuming all politicians are that corrupt. I love politics in real life, so that kind of thing is very enjoyable for me. But I suppose that's neither here nor there. The point is there's no reason they couldn't have other political episodes like that or more action-packed episodes like we're used to after this arc unless something much more drastic happens. For now it's entirely too subjective to make such a call in my view.

What about this episode did you consider to be "concrete?" That is the last word I would use to describe it! Haven't some referenced words directly from the mouths of the creators regarding the audience's freedom to determine what is and what is not "real" in this episode?

Agreed, unless we choose to give it such weight (which we are clearly given the freedom to do if we choose to), there's nothing in the episode that necessarily alters what we've known to be the fabric of the Star Wars universe. Except maybe to the extent that the Force can give such full, meaningful, and abstract visions to people compared to the relatively simple affair seen in Ep. V. Other than that there's not much that we can say with certainty.