Full Series The Clone Wars: Episode 213: Voyage of Temptation Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Hm, interesting. When Anakin stabs Merrick, his saber is a different shape in the episode guide than it is in the actual episode. Compare:

vs

[image=http://www.starwars.com/wjk/theclonewars/guide/episode212/img47.jpg]

Wonder why they changed it...

 

Triangle lightsaber tip v a more rounded one?

 

Maybe it would be disconcerting to have a "blunt" or rounded tip coming through someone's chest, when the brain thinks it would have to be a sharp pointy device?


And what was the Zoidberg reference last episode?

 

I can't help but be reminded that DBrennan3333 thought there was a significant meaning behind sword-tipped sabers and blunt-tipped sabers. Something about the corruption of the Jedi from peacekeepers to warriors.

Me, I think it's just a stylistic choice for whatever works or whatever is easier...but who knows the reason behind it?

 

In the films the pointy ones are in ROTS only; in TCW it seems sort of random, although I think that all the sabers are consistent within their episodes (either all pointy or all rounded).

Someone might actually go episode by episode and determine a pattern, but for once that's to nitpicky even for me.

 

Nonsense, there's no such thing as too nitpicky for SW fans.

 

There was a Quarren in Light Saber Lost who looked and sounded rather Zoidberg-ish.

 

I think this might actually have been a season one technical limitation. They didn't bother trying to round off the saber tip at first because those moments were too brief for most people to notice. Probably when they looked at that screenshot to be posted on SW.com, someone thought that it looked too weird as a still that could be clearly analyzed, and had it photoshoped so it looked rounded.

 

Curious about something I noticed on the re-view of this episode (loved it, btw!)
In this image (from this article on sw.com): http://www.starwars.com/theclonewars/news20100127.html

[image=http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/4302/serape.jpg]

Killian Plunkettt (lead designer for the show) talks about how they had to change the Mando skull image on Pre Vis's serape in "The Mandolare Plot" to match the new "Death Watch" logo, as can be seen here:
[image=http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8081/edwrf.jpg]
However, in this image of Tal Merrick talking to Pre in "Voyage", the Mando skull is clearly visable on his wrap: [image=http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/8654/img3ccc7.jpg]

So is this a gaffe, or intentional on the part of TPTB of the show? If it's a mistake, curious that it got by everyone in the editing process to actually make it to air....

 

The Episode Guide gives us a hint as to why this happened:

This was the first episode of the Mandalorian arc produced, well before the adjacent episodes. The figure of Pre Vizsla does not use his final character design in holographic form. If his serape was removed, he would be revealed to be wearing clone armor!

So it seems not only is he wearing disguised clone armor, he's also wearing the early serape design from before they decided to incorporate the established Death Watch symbol.

 

You know, for as long as there have been pictures of lightsaber hilts with informational tags, there has always been this weird obsession with having a "blade length adjust" button or knob. Sometimes they point to nothing more than a little machine bolt or rivet, but they always have to have "blade length adjust". But every EU source says that sabers with truly adjustable lengths are rare, with the two crystal bit that makes them difficult to build, and we never see in the movies or so far on this series any time that a Jedi increases or decreases the length of the saber.

So perhaps this "blade length adjust" knob actually allows for the pointy vs. rounded end of the saber, not adjusting the length so much as making the loop (since they're supposed to be magnetic loops) more pointed or higher frequency (possibly to increase cutting power, though it would also likely drain the power cells faster). As anyone who's ever looked at an oscilloscope or equalizer knows, the higher the frequency, the sharper and "pointier" the wave.

Just a thought.

 

After all, he is just a cold blooded killer.

And about the bridge deck of the Coronet; IIRC in the movie The Fifth Element, the space cruiser also has a retro looking steering wheel.
It goes well with the overall luxury/classic look of the ship IMO.

 

I don't know if Anakin specifically wanted to kill the guy, but he did have a detonator in his hand and I think this was a case of "execute with extreme prejudice".

Or, "do what must be done".

 

No, really, I think Anakin wanted him dead. The guy was responsible for the deaths of several Clone Troopers and a lot of other hyjinx and chaos. Anakin used the "He was gonna blow up the ship" as an exuse.

I think he had other options, just didn't care for them.

 

Same writer on both episodes. I guess Paul Dini really likes to stick it to those traitors!

 

This explanation works pefectly because i've noticed the back and forth between the pointy vs. rounded saber tips and it seems to have no reason behind it. I actually like both... think the pointy is wicked cool and evil, but you can't go wrong with the classic we all fell in love with. Kudos!

 

I'm not convinced that he had the look on his face or tone of voice that accompanies Anakin's typical "act of passion" kill. He gave a very straightforward response to his reasoning, and didn't look to be hiding any anger.

 

Well I checked Voyage just now and guess what? Both Anakin and Obi-Wan have blunt-tipped sabers in every other shot but that one. It's propably some artistic decision to have sword-tipped one in that shot. But in any case it was one marvelous Star Wars moment.

 

Agreed. Actually, it seemed kind of like a Cowboy Bebop/Spike Spiegel moment. Anakin wasn't angry at all--he just was oblivious to the moral quandary that Obi and Satine were going through. So he casually kills the bad guy. Funny scene. Great ending.

 

Thats just it though, he needn't be angry to kill. And he'd know he'd have to explain himself to Obi-Wan.

Honestly how many other Jedi have you seen stab someone through the back with out even giving them a chance to surrendor?

 

Watch it again. Satine doesn't nod at Merrik at all. Her facial expression is clearly pained. She's begging Obi-wan with her eyes not to do this to her. She just opened up and she needs to hear him be honest. Obi-wan's facial expression that follows is also clear. It's a moment of vulnerability. He sees the pain in her face and that's the last thing in the world he wants.

I cannot even imagine that people would say this is out of character for Obi-wan. I can't imagine why someone would want to come up with a reason why this is some deception.

Obi-wan is not some unfeeling, robot Jedi. He is one of the most passionate characters in the saga. He doesn't NOT form attachments, he just approaches them differently. He's very dedicated to the code, but that doesn't mean he doesn't struggle with it. He was obviously deeply attached to Qui-gon. He was so attached to Anakin that even after watching him murder younglings, he told Yoda he could not slay him. "You were my BROTHER!" was one of the most passionate lines ever spoken in the saga.

The difference between Obi-wan and Anakin, is Obi-wan is a native of this world of politics, codes, and rules. He was taught from the time he could learn to follow these society cues without question. He's like Padme. When Anakin approaches Padme, she's torn because she certainly loves Anakin, but she's grown up in this world of social rules and this is very much against everything she knows. But Anakin is just a slave boy from the outer rim, who won his freedom in a pod race and grew up to become a Jedi. These social rules are foreign and stupid to him, he doesn't get it, all he knows is this is the strongest feeling he's ever felt and he'll be damned if he lets it pass him by. Padme, presented with the fact that Anakin is willing to break the rules for her, and she's the only thing stopping it, lacks the will to resist her feelings and break Anakin's heart. Had Anakin been indoctrinated in the social rules of this world when he was young, and never pressed Padme about it, the love would still be there but would remain unspoken, and become a remorseful missed opportunity like the Obi-wan/Satine relationship.

The difference with Obi-wan and Satine is they both grew up in the world of social rules and politics. Neither would ever ask the other to violate those rules. Both of them can rationalize it in their head that they are protecting each other. That it would never work. Satine can tell herself that Obi-wan is a Jedi and could never be with her. Obi-wan can tell himself that Satine is royalty and could never settle down with a cast out Jedi. But if one of them had said to the other that they wanted to go forward, they wanted to break the rules, could the other deny a love they feel so strongly, when it's suddenly a very real possibility and there's no rationalizing it away? Doubtful, love is an extremely powerful emotion.

Star Wars is all about the power of love. A forbidden love drives Anakin to the dark side, and his love for his son brings him back. It could be argued that it was the Jedi shunning love that led to their stagnation and inability to connect with the world on a personal level, which led to them not being able to see Anakin's clear strife until it was to late. If anything could draw Obi-wan away from the Order, it was love.

Anakin and Obi-wan are very similar. The fundamental difference is Anakin is an emotional man trying to live the life of a devout Jedi. Obi-wan is a devout Jedi struggling with emotions he doesn't fully understand.

 

I agree. Anakin isn't the think about it kinda guy. I doubt he even heard much of the conversation. He saw a bad guy with a bomb and killed him. Obi-wan and Satine were still shaken from their encounter and are struck speechless by it's sudden resolvement. Anakin takes that as them staring in disbelief that he just murdered a dude. So he says "What? He was gonna blow up the ship," all nonchalantly. He's not defensive because he doesn't think what he did was wrong. He thinks a lot of the rules of the Jedi are outdated, and Satine is a pacifist, and that's why they don't get it. Anakin is a pureblooded soldier and he saw it as the necessary conclusion to the problem.

He could have done any number of things to end it without killing the man. He could have chopped his arm by activating the blade midswing which wouldnt provide enough warning by any stretch for the man to hif the button. He could have sliced the unit itself. He could have used the force to break Merrik's thumb. But like I said, he's a soldier and Merrik was an enemy combatant and threat to many lives. It was the logical conclusion for him to kill him.

Anakin isn't always angry when he makes a dark decision. When they needed to force probe the prisoner for information, and they say using three Jedi to force the information could destroy his mind, Anakin's tone is very flippant when he says "Oh well, guess we have no choice," without even thinking about it. To Anakin, the prisoner is an enemy and he couldn't give a damn whether he dies. Anger isn't Anakin's only problem. A big part of his problem is he doesn't always see the line before he crosses it.

 

Very well said, Slaign. I agree 100%. I just re-watched the episode and it's clear they were being honest and not just trying to distract Merrick.

 

Meh. I agree it's the more likely explanation, but I think you could go either way.


And guys, general reminder not to spam the thread - you've got an "edit" button for a reason.

 

Not surprising, both of these episodes were reportedly made in Season 1. To save money they just reused them. The saber is right around the same place each time when stabbed too.