Full Series The Clone Wars: Episode 217: Bounty Hunters Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

I thought last week's episode was great.

This one is a very big MEH so far. Just bad.

 

I would have thought so, too.

 

Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka need to get off Felucia to get to the nearest Republic outpost to make their report, but they need to help defend the farm (also being protected by bounty hunters) to get a ship. Instead of just attacking the pirates which would get the job done fast and reporting to the Republic as soon as possible, the Jedi decide to teach the pirates and farmers to fight for themselves. Anakin twirls around a staff...apparently teaching them how to fight. One of the small farming people (they are very annoying and have a completely uninspired look, by the way. They look like walking ysalamir.) is operating a giant suit machine thing like in Avatar. In a cringeworthy line, Ahsoka tells him he doesn't have to look tough.

Anyways, eventually there's the fight between the farmers and pirates. Some of the bounty hunters are wounded. The pirates on the swoops are defeated, but Hondo Ohnaka fires on them from afar with a tank. Anakin goes to fight him on the tank, and Hondo uses an electrostaff while Salacious Crumb attacks Anakin a few times annoyingly. For some reason, Anakin has a lot of trouble defeating him and he doesn't seem any more skilled in fighting than Hondo. Seriously, he's a Jedi. Even if he has no skills in lightsaber combat (which he obviously does), just Force push him to the ground or something.

In a few moments, however, Hondo is hanging off a cliff and Anakin is standing over him with his lightsaber. Obi-Wan looks weary, like he knows Anakin is going to do something not right. I thought this was going to be the redeeming thing about this episode: Anakin knocking Hondo off the cliff, acting much more like Anakin. This was a perfect opportunity for one of his dark moments. So I was genuinely surprised when he pulls him up...and, of course, Hondo then escapes in his UFO.

Concludes with the female Zabrak bounty hunter, who sounds very much like Juhani from KotOR, offering the Jedi a ride to a Republic outpost.

Worst episode of Season Two so far, by far. Very un-Star Wars-ish in feel and tone. For most of the episode I also honestly forgot that they were on Felucia. The farm just does not fit there.

Reminded me of the two Dooku Captured episodes...pointless and awful. We really need to see some more of the actual war...this is called The Clone Wars and we've seen very little of it. This episode reminded me of why the microseries was so much better. I want this series to be good, I don't just bash it all the time. With the CGI animation, TCW has a lot of potential to show amazing large scale BATTLES like Point Rain. So far it hasn't delivered.

 

Why would they teach them how to fight? Something doesn't seem right about that.

As for Jedi not using the Force, TCW has been doing this quite a lot. No reason why Anakin shouldn't use a good Force push to stop Hondo. It makes him look weak, which isn't like Anakin. As for Hondo, I knew nothing was going to happen to him. As with any other antagonist in TCW, they escape or get captured. Very few have been killed.

Did Ahsoka have a huge role in this episode? Hopefully she was a minor background character, and the plot (if there was even a plot) just focused around Obi-Wan and Anakin. I am not looking forward to that cringeworthy line she gives to some pirate.

 

Agreed. I've noticed it in a lot of episodes, but I've missed nine episodes of both seasons each so I didn't know if this was always the case.

Not huge...I wouldn't say she was any more or less important than Anakin or Obi-Wan here, but she did speak less. She trains some of the villagers along with Anakin, which I don't believe Obi-Wan did. There's also an annoying scene in the beginning where Anakin and Obi-Wan are arguing, Ahsoka interrupts them and points out where they're supposed to go, and both of them look embarrassed.

 

Disappointed to hear how bad this episode is to some people. I'm staying away from the plot spoilers for now though.

Seems like with this, Senate Murders and Cat and Mouse it's been a hit and miss. More on the side of miss.

 

Good for Obi-Wan, then. I wouldn't say it would be bad for his character is he "trains" pirates, but very un-Jedi like.
But, who would listen to a 14-year-old girl's opinion of how to fight? Strange.

So Obi-Wan and Anakin were arguing on their T-6 shuttle or somewhere similiar? And Ahsoka saves the day and settles the dispute? hmm

 

Personally, I liked this episode. (But then again, I loved Senate Murders and didn't really like Cat And Mouse, so what do I know?) There were a couple things that didn't make sense, and that one Felucian's voice was extremely annoying,but ultimately, I'm just here to enjoy a show and to be entertained.

The crash landing on Felucia made sense to me, and though it happened extremely quickly, it still worked. The reason they met up with the farmers made sense as well. After first seeing the leader of the Felucians (I think his name was Kaesis?), I was happy to have a species that didn't have a crazy accent. Unfortunately, his second in command dude started talking, and sounded, to me, exactly what I think a talking duck would sound like. It was extremely irritating; the one thing I really didn't like about this episode.

Next, we met the bounty hunters.
I really, really, really liked Sugi. She had a cool design and voice, was badass in a nonchalent way, but still had a few moral convictions. She didn't turn on the Felucians when Hondo offered her double the credits, and she offered the Jedi a ride home at the end. To be honest, if I was a preteen girl, I would look up much more to Sugi than I would to Ahsoka. I would love to see Sugi every once in a while, especially if she was aligned with the Jedi again.
Embo was also incredibly awesome, and he spoke an alien language! That was pretty sweet. He was an impressive fighter, and had no qualms about killing an unarmed foe with his bare hands. When he threw his metal hat to block the blaster fire, my little brother looked wide eyed at the TV and said, "Wooooah.." This is the exact type of character that really impresses their target audience.
Seripas had a cool suit, but turned out to be just another insecure little guy who got over his size issues thanks to Ahsoka. Thanks to my selective memory, I am able to forget this part.
We didn't get to see much of Rumi, other than when she pretty much got blown away by one of those tank blasts. I'm not sure if she died or not, as she wasn't in the end with everyone else. Does anyone else know if she survived or not?

Interestingly, it was Obi-Wan who wanted to get on with the mission (reporting the destruction of the medical facility), and Anakin and Ahsoka who wanted to help the locales. I thought this was a nice change up.

As for Ahsoka, she didn't have many lines, and I... I... liked her. In this one episode. She didn't do any backtalking, obeyed her masters, and seemed overall just more mature than usual. If she was like this all the time, I could definetely tolerate her as a main character.

Going back to the Felucians, training them was kind of ridiculous, especially if Hondo isn't coming back, but whatever. It didn't take up that much of the episode, so I can live with it. Except for the duck thing.

Hondo was also really cool. He was ruthless, as usual, and he didn't make stupid errors like most of the villains we see in The Clone Wars. During the battle with Anakin, Hondo held his own for a minute, which I attribute to Anakin wanting to defeat Hondo without killing him. I was very happy to see Anakin pull Hondo up; while it's nice to see a few dark moments from Anakin, letting Hondo die like that, is so far out there that even Anakin knows it's not acceptable. Plus, we need more villains that survive to fight another day.

Pif Mukmuk was back as well, and while Hondo was busy with Anakin, Pif was firing at the farm. He also attacked Anakin himself. I found him to be hilarious and pure evil; the more monkey lizards, the better.

All in all, it was an episode that was just simple fun, and I enjoyed it. If it had just been the Jedi teaching the Felucians how to fight, I would have hated it, but the bounty hunters really stole the show. 8.5/10

 

I mostly agree with Lord_Nihl on this episode. I really, really enjoyed it, almost in every way.

First it was nice to see an episode with all three of the main characters in Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka.

Next they were actually doing something very Jedi like by actually helping the innocent. They were not just blindly fighting a war or planning assassinations of Seperatist leaders like Grievous. The episode actually touches subtly on Jedi morality, and if leaving these almost helpless settlers to their fate is the right thing to do.

The settlers, Aleenas I believe(like one of the Pod Racers, Ratts Tyrell, and Tsui Choi from the EU) were happy to see the Jedi, believing that the Jedi had come to help them-something Obi-Wan immediatly dismisses.

Obi-Wan actually veiws the farmers with some disdain because they have hired mercs to protect themselves, but refuses to help the farmers himself as its getting in the way of their mission. Thankfully Anakin and Ahsoka are a lot more kind hearted than Obi-Wan and his Jedi poodoo.

The Mercs were so incredible its hard to describe. Sugi was an excellent, honorable leader of the merc team while Embo with his alien language and saucer hat is a super cool martial artist who kicks much butt in the episode. The little alien in the Droid Warrior, Serapist, is another really fun new character, and even the hooded sniper has her moments.

In short this crew is what the Mandalorians could have and should have been...........

Obi-Wan hypocrisy knows no bounds. While refusing to help the farmers fight he continues to berate the Mercs for being mercs, even though they are putting their lives on the line to help the farmers. Typical Jedi scum...........

The Jedi decide to train the farmers to defend themselves so they will be able to look after themselves in the future, not just against Hondo's crew.

Hondo and his Lizard Monkey are still a lot of fun. About the only problem I have with the whole episode is the extended lightsaber battle between Hondo and Anakin. Hondo should be no match for Anakin, yet the battle is presented as fairly epic.

And the Lizard Monkey can drive a tank.

And there was a Rancor cameo.

I hope we don't have to wait too long to see this Merc team in action again. Embo snapping necks and blocking blaster shots with his hat was sooooo cool it makes him instantly perhaps my favorite Clone Wars character of all time. Kinda what Boba was to the OT.

He's got a modified bowcaster by the look of things.............OMG!!!!!!!! LIke I say, dude is cool.

Serapist beating down the Weequay on the speeder after his suit gets damaged was a great moment as well. Size matters not...............

Great Episode, probably the best one Season 2 has delivered in my eyes.

 

The Jedi train the farmers, not the Mercs or the pirates.

And Embo's a Phatrong? I wonder where the wook got that info?

 

Anybody else see a vague connection between this episode and the Seven Samurai movie by Akira Kurosawa?

I mean, seven warriors (Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi and the four bounty hunters) protecting an innocent village from a gang of brigands?

Coincidence? I think not. Still, it's a cool homage.

 

I didn't but your absolutly right of course. It is a homage to that.

 

Phatrong came from that tvb site, but they took it down, along with all the other TCW S2 info.

As for the Ahsoka training farmers, I haven't actually seen the episode, So I don't know what Ahsoka actually does.

I agree with Obi-Wan's actions over Anakin's, too.

 

I personally really liked this episode; not my all-time favourite, but definately a great bit of fun to watch.

I can understand why a lot of people weren't all that impressed with it though, and I think the main reason behind that is that it is one of those stories (in my view, alongside the likes of 'Trespass' and 'Senate Spy') that is greatly limited by the 22-minute time constraint. They had so much to pack into this one episode that it felt like it might have benefitted more if it had been made a two-parter. But then I suppose it would have felt too much like 'Jedi Crash / Defenders of Peace'.

Overall though, I liked it for what it was. And I'd just like to point out that Embo is now, officially, my favourite bounty hunter of all-time. Sorry Cad Bane, hope you enjoyed your time at the top of the list while it lasted.

 

I was kinda 'meh' about this one. It started out pretty good with the ship crashing (love the ejector system) but went downhill from there. I've watched it twice this morning and I don't really see a need for a third viewing.

 

The episode was definitely a tribute to Kurosawa. The UK transmission started with a caption dedicating the episode to his memory, before the moral caption.

I enjoyed the episode, although I thought the plot was quite similar to the two Lurmen episodes from the previous season.

 

Isn't it just a little more complex than that though?

Sure Obi-Wan is looking at the bigger picture and in that picture the rights of the few will always be trumped by a tactical report I guess, but is that right?

I mean the Jedi crash landed on the planet and got taken in by the farmers there, farmers who were having their lives threatened by pirates. But Obi-Wan was instantly with the "We can't help you but we need you to help us".

Obi-Wan even tries negociating with Hondo to get off planet..............

The moral of the story was this. The Jedi ended up doing the right thing, helping the farmers and were rewarded for it by catching a ride with Sugi to make their report. There is a message there I think.

Really the most practical answer to get off planet would have been to kill the Mercs and take their ship....maybe if that was serving the greater good thats what they should have done. Whats a couple dead Mercs in the grand scheme of galactic security?

 

with almost every episode this season i read a basic synopsis, look at a pic or two and think "this is so dumb". then when i actually see the episode all of issues i had go out the window. can't wait till next week

 

Again, I haven't seen the episode. After reading what others have said, I only made that assumption so far.

 

If you're interested in other Kurosawa/Star Wars connections, and haven't already seen "Hidden Fortress", definitely check it out. Lucas has often cited it as a major influence for a ANH. It's nice to see the team going back to the well from whence they sprang. This particular story has been animated before (A Bug's Life and Samurai 7), but who would've thought it's warrior spirit and sense of fun could be boxed into 22 minutes...

Huevos, man. Huevos.

(Oh, and great voice work, Filoni.)

 

I don't understand why Embo is considered a good character.
I've seen clips of him, and his James Bond villain rip off hat throwing ability. He's more "meh" to me.

 

This episode was pretty good, though I thought it was verryyy rushed. This should have been a 2-parter.

My thoughts:

The designs for the bounty hunters and villagers were great. Sugi's voice matched her character very well, though I didn't really like Rumi's voice. I pictured Rumi having a deeper, more masculine voice considering she's an alien and looks very tough.
-Felucia looked amazing graphics wise, looked like it was straight out of episode 3
- Ashoka's character was a lot more toned down here, so we can see her 'growing up more'
- The escape from the crashing ship in the beginning was well done, and Ashoka's comment of always crashing matched up nicely with existing crash scenes (shows some flow of continuity)

Cons:
-Rumi Paramitta died at the end? Huh? She just fell off the 2 story high building. Why wasnt she seen at the end? And to top it off Sugi was all concerned for her and Embo when they were injured, yet at the end she jokingly says "I seem to be short in my crew, do you guys still need a ride to the nearest station?" (Not exact words, but thats pretty much how she summed it up if i remember correctly.) So first you're concerned and now you dont care one of your members died?
-The no using of the force was just plain stupid
-Jedi training villagers to fight back? Are you serious? Huh? If thats not out of character I dont know what is! I kept thinking "oh god if only Satine was here" to see Obi wan suggesting they should learn how to fight for themselves!

 

From his presence to his voice and design, Embo was the antithesis of "meh" for me (... obviously). He reminded me of the silent warrior from Seven Samurai, who strolls out into the fog and returns at dawn to casually report his body count. I thought the sequence where he goes after the pirate scout ("Okay") was one of the most thrilling thirty seconds this series has yet produced. I was practically cheering out loud!

 

Was I not clear as to why I liked Embo?

-Cool Voice
-Cool Outfit
-New Alien
-Cool Hat(for tossing, wearing and deflecting blaster fire )
-Modified Bowcaster
-Martial Arts
-Neck Snapping
-Riding a Speeder Bike like a Surf Board
-He Takes Out Six Pirates
-He's Not a Jedi!
-He's Not A Jedi!
-He's Not A Jedi!

I find him to be a fun, original character, something The Clone Wars honestly lacks at times.(And yeah I'm looking at you, Mandalore Trilogy).

 

Undecided about this episode.

-The Vulture Droids Carrier was really cool looking.

-Embo was amazing. Native alien voice, the hat being a shield, the overall samurai appearance, all great!

-Ahsoka's animation outside the hut by the fire side was so overacted!

-Hondo returns? Don't get me wrong, he's one of my favourite new characters from TCW, but I really liked how he and his pirates where abandoned to an uncertain future. Obi Wan's line that Dooku will find and get back at them was really spine tingling. Together with that POV shot of the Republic ship taking off, leaving the pirates behind to themselves.

-So that's where we finally see that blue monkey lizard concept realized. One has to wonder where the red one went?

-Sugi was a really cool new introduction. Possibly my favourite female character from the show so far. I especially liked that little animation detail during the dinner conversation of her having one of her fingers between her lips. Can't remember having seen that animation featured on a CGI character so far. Really suited her character.

-Obi Wan and Sugi? It felt as if they had some chemistry.