Full Series The Clone Wars: Episodes 117 & 118: Blue Shadow Virus/The 1000 Moons Discussion Threads

The OS explains that early on in the development of the episode, it was going to be that, prior to the episode, the virus had gotten in the water supply and reached a gungan village...resulting in the deaths of all the inhabitants. Apparently the Gungans were blaming the Naboo or something.

While I see where you're coming from, personally I don't mind that the character isn't portrayed that way. I kind of like the change of pace, and the fact that while on one level he doesn't come off as menacing, on another he's nothing but...given that he wants, essentially, the death of all non-Blue Shadow Virus life in the galaxy.

I have to almost totally disagree with you there. While the tone was a bit different between the eps, I don't find that to be a detriment. In fact, I think it's interesting. It's like, what happens after the ending of a book, movie, or tv show episode? What if the apparent happy ending isn't really the ending? (A concept that the bulk of the EU is based on). The first episode is it's own story with a happy ending...only the ending turns out to not be an ending, a new related problem presents itself, and now the characters are on a related, but very different adventure.

I like the idea that the second part is different than the first. It gives it, as Lucas might say, "a random real world feel to it."

I got the impression from the OS that the meeting scene in question was originally the second meeting scene. Originally when the quarren gets all weird on the street...that exchange happened in the meeting hall.

The idea might then be that the Jedi, though in a hurry, were trying to find out if there really was a danger in leaving the planet. They try, and fail. Then they have to do some more work in trying to find a way to safely leave. Why not talk to the locals again? (It worked, as they learned where the laser field was probably emanating from, and they got some resources...the kid's droids...to get the job done.)

If they die while trying to escape the planet, neither Padme nor Ahsoka will benefit.

 

I didn't get to see all of the first episode, but here's what I think.
-Don't much care about Jar Jar's voice, the character's still the same, just sounds different. Big deal.
-Maybe the funniest thing I've seen in this series: the kid in the hammock with the droids serving him, and that music on the radio turning on.. was just funny in a simple way.
-And the kid himself, I kinda liked him, but then I also didn't. Don't much like his character design, reminds me of Arthur and the Invisibles. And is it a rule that all kids in this series have to act 'grown-up' and overconfident?
-Speaking of which, Ahsoka was too Mary Sue-ish in this. Padme too, actually.
-Didn't mind the cliche mad scientist much. Did he have a reason to making the virus?..
-Liked the design of the squid-beard alien guy.
-The space chain (whatever it was) around the planet was cool..
-Iego was sort of a nice reference, though I kind of feel like the whole Iego angel thing was best left as a mythic mystery. And I kept waiting for Anakin to say something about it, since it is out of him where we first hear about Iego and the 'angels'.
-And the angel appearance was OK.. Maybe we'll see more of these people.
-The female Gungan.. when I saw this I was just hoping they wouldn't be giving Jar Jar a girlfriend. And they didn't, good. She wasn't so bad though.
-Didn't like the scene at the end with Anakin talking to Ahsoka. By now I'm tired of the snippy banter stuff, even when it's heartfelt. And Ahsoka sounded awkward..
-The animation seemed better, I liked that there was more variety in these episodes.

 

I think part two is under-loved.

Watching it a second time, the dialogue really stood out to me as being good. Not instantly quotable one-liners, but overall it had a nice flow to it. Lots of cute little lines like "50 tried, 50 died" and "that's one word for it". I also liked the bit where Padme remarks "what a waste" when seeing one of the clones die. And Rex responds with "with all due respect, it's what we were born to do". Am I misunderstanding the scene, or does am I starting to sense some discontent from him?

In fact, I would say that this may be the best-scriped episode of the season. The dialogue moved the plot along nicely, and injected some good humor and character moments without forcing anything at all.

I didn't think the ending was rushed. It was pretty much par the course for any "deadily virus/race to find the cure" type story. Once Anakin/Obi have the cure and escape from the planet, what else is there to do? I don't think we need to see anything else. Just show that the characters survived and end the show.

 

Eek. Well, at least I know where they got it.

 

Was I the only one that smiled when Ahsoka collapsed? I thought it might actually been the end of her but no...that would have been too easy.

 

But oh, I was hoping she'd die...but Padme had to survive in the name of continuity and it was likely the main players in the chamber with her would survive too.

 

I don't get all the Ashoka hatred. Am I the only one that likes her?

These two episodes were probably my favorites so far througout the whole series. This is what I was hoping TCW was all about: Enjoying Anakin and Obi-Wan working together as heros and "good friends".

Anybody notice a common theme with Anakin? If you mess with his family, he'll use the darkside.

 

I don't understand the ashoka bashing ether. Shes no more annoying than Luke was in ANH.

Also when did anakin use the darkside???

I actually wanted to see anakin get all badass and tap into the darkside but he never did. He showed a lot of control in this episode.

 

Hey man, different strokes for different folks. I happen not to like her, and many do.

 

Pesonally i thought that the Blue Shadow Virus episode was one of the best in the series but yeah the second episode was a bit of a let down...

 

I agree that Anakin did exercise self-control for the most part, but you could see he lost it a little when he nearly took of the head of the defenseless Dr. with his lightsaber.

 

When the Dr had Padme, Anakin asked if there was an option for him to kill the Dr. When he said that, you could tell from his voice that he really wanted to kill him.

 

This two-parter was really good, the tension of a potentially widespread lethal virus killing the entire galaxy set the tone. I thought the German accented mad scientist was a bit cheesy, but it worked, he reminded me of Doctor Freeze when he put that helmet on.

The dynamic duo: Jar-Jar and Padme....I think they're still trying tog et as many laughs as they can from Jar Jar's antics, although once again he leads them in the right direction againand his nose helps them find that rabbit droid. Although I think Padme should have taken Captain Tycho's advice. she almost didn't make it through this one.

More Obi-Wan/Anakin interaction, I like seeing this more and more, although Anakin really needs to tone down his apprehension at Padme's predicament, I could almost see Obi-Wan thinking "Okay, what is going on between them?" And his impatience, it seemed out of character as to how he's been portrayed so far, especially when he attacked those modified battle droids.

The second part was good, the surprise at seeing Jaybo, reminds me of little Ani and the battle droids welcoming them instead of attacking them. I thought the Separatist energy field weapon was cool, the way they believed it was a ghost of Droll, funny stuff with the Calamari with the Davey Jones voice.

Ahsoka was actually pretty good in this one, she seemed much more mature and responsible, I actually felt bad when she got sick. I hope this trend continues in her character, although I would imagine something in the future will happen that will be her fault.

Anyway, I don't have many complaints, great episodes and I'm looking forward to the season finale!

 

I forgot to mention the bomb squad clones... yet another great addition to the varying looks of some clone troopers. The orange paint scheme was fantastic (and I'm not all that fond of the color orange).

 

Consider me impressed.

The animation was breath-taking. The best yet... especially Theed. Just brilliant.

They should air more two-parters, this worked very well. There's just so many good things I can say about these two episodes.

The first episode had a good start. I was a little worried about Jar Jar, but it makes sense he would go back to check on his home planet. Once they got to the lab, I personally would have locked him in a room where he couldn't cause any damage, but that's not how they roll in SW. After all, they never did that to Threepio and he caused a bit of trouble in the OT (though not all the time like Jar Jar does). I like the female Gungan, dug her pink color, wish there had been a brief little... I don't know... interaction with her and Jar Jar. I think it would have been good for Jar Jar's character to pair him with a tough, patient Gungan girl.

The second act slowed down a little. The mad scientist was just okay. Not good. Not bad. But everything else was so strong that it elevated him or at least made it less noticable how... "quirky" he was. Anyway, he served his purpose and I liked the dialogue between him and the other characters. He also brought a lot of tension to the episodes with his constant threats to release the virus. I was on the edge of my seat... and I think a lot of that had to do with the directing.

Both episodes had some of the best direction yet. The shots were simply stunning. Especially all the fights in the underground tunnels. I really enjoyed the shots where the camera follows the droidekas down the corridors and the shots where we follow Anakin and Obi-wan's POV as they jump from the gunships and down into the tunnels, the camera tracking them the whole way. That brings to mind how tight the editing was in this episodes.

The end of the first episode had some great fights, particularly Ahsoka vs. the droids in the tunnels. There was so much going on during this third act, so many different characters to follow, but not once did I feel anyone was short changed or did it get confusing.

Also, the bomb squad clones... cool armor. For a being born for combat, that's got to be one of the worst jobs out there for them.

The second episode:

Even better. So fast paced. Again, top notch writing and directing and editing. Also, like the first one, the director got great performances out of the actors who were working with great material by Craig Titley. Anakin was perfect. PERFECT! That was the Anakin I wanted to see in the prequels. Aside from the way he acted, his actions were exactly how I imaged Anakin when Obi-wan talked about him in ANH. From his skills with a blade, to his courage, his drive and edge, and, of course, his bombad piloting.

Obi-wan was also a big improvement as far as voice and performace. He had a bit of life to him this time. I actually went back and watch Genndy's series and Obi-wan was so great in that, so I know James Arnold Taylor has it in him, and I think it shows here. As far as voices, I know people will disagree, but I like this Jar Jar voice better than Ahmed Best's. It doesn't bother me as much. Less high pitched than Ahmed's is.

Going to Iego was so cool. Seeing the angels we heard about in TPM was a real nice treat. That whole storyline with getting the cure and getting off planet was beyond excellent. Seeing the Ithorians and also the crazy old man Quarren (clever use of tentacles for "crazy old man beard") made me happy. I liked that kid who repurposed the droids and his connection with Anakin (both good with droids). Speaking of droids, Threepio and Artoo were both very well used in these episodes.

I could go on and on but instead I will just say well done, Dave and Craig! Cudos to all involved for these episodes!

By the way, did anyone catch the opening fortune cookie for part two? My DVR cut it off. Thanks!

 

Or maybe "ja" like in German, as someone else pointed out. Anyway, my disagreement was not regarding what he actually said... it was the part about liking him or how he said it.

 

So are they going to toughen Jar Jar up a bit? Seems like it at the end with Obi-wan saying he should get blaster trained. Personally, I would just relegate him to the back-burner. Though I wouldn't mind seeing an episode where he is paired up with that female Gungan for a bit. And the idea of Rex trying to train him brings a smile to my lips.

But with only so many episodes and so much fertile ground to cover (who would have known?) I just feel like why waste it on Jar Jar?

 

Thoughts:

Very much enjoyed Blue Shadow Virus. It's a episode 1 lover's w*t dream, with Naboo, Padme, Jar Jar, Naboo fighters, royal hangar, naboo guards, and that head in the field. I thought the action sequence with Anakin and Obi Wan falling from the gunship into the base was excellent. As a fan of Michael York since "Cabaret" I very much enjoyed his performance as well, even though it was over the top.

Mystery of a Thousand Moons- one of my favorites, and has possibly my ALL TIME favrotie moment from the series thus far: Anakin destroying 18 of the re-purposed battle droids in a rushing rage. For me, THAT moment is the very center of Anakin. I loved the denizens of that planet, the Angel, and the moment when the kid jumped in the hammock and the droids fanned him to that music. And the title....superb. It sounds very star wars pulp-esque to me. Love it.

I look forward to a Padme/Ahsoka episode in the future....so much fertlie ground there to be tilled.

BRING ON RYLOTH! I can't stop thinking about how this series is overcoming my expectations at every single pass. It began as a show I wasn't even going to watch, and only downloaded on a whim because the premiere was all about Yoda. Now, its can't miss television.

A fun side note: I was in a bar on Valentine's Day night, and of course the tv's around the place had a myriad of sporting games on....but right there, in the center, on the biggest tv in the place....they played the Clone Wars TNT marathon. I NEVER thought id be in a sportsy-pub on Valentine's Day surrounded by women while CGI Yoda cut down sarcastic battle droids. It was unreal.

 

I agree. This show has quickly become can't miss TV for me, too.

And in case anyone is interested here are the director credits for Blue Shadow Virus:

Giancarlo Volpe - directed numberous episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Director of 1000 Moons -- Jesse Yeh. Name sounds familiar but I can't find anything on imdb. Can anyone help me out with his background. I think he hit it out of the ball park, as did Giancarlo. I hope they both come back. I think they are my favorites so far.

 

I think Jabo was based on the earlier concept of young Han Solo I saw in the "Art of Episode III" book. They thought about having Han as a kid in the planet Kashhykk scenes.

 

Pretty good episodes, the animation was the best I've ever seen in a TV series. The shots were cool. I was glad to finally see Captain Typho, his character model was the most detailed yet.

I liked Blue Shadow Virus a better than the Thousand Moons, it was good to see Naboo again along with many other TPM elements. Jar Jar wasn't too bad, I'm finally getting used to BJ Hughes' voice. The evil dr. was decent, but I'll always think of Michael York as Basil "Good god man, that's my mother!"

The second episode was also good, but maybe a little too fast-paced. Iego was an interesting planet and the aliens there were cool as was the kid. Anakin and Obi-Wan shined throughout these episodes, hopefully this type of relationship will continue through the series and build into what we see in ROTS with all joking around and no lecturing.

I thought Padme was well-done and Ahsoka wan't annoying, I think they've found good use for her character. Once again, I just loved the animation in both, it really popped and the scenes in the tunnel of the lab were amazing. I also liked the proto-Death Star in the junk field above Iego.

Overall, pretty good episodes, they kept me entertained and the animation was the best, and the writing was superb. I don't think I can wait two weeks for what looks to be the best episodes: the Ryloth Trilogy.

 

Well, it's a good thing the previews prepared me for a shoddy episode, cause otherwise Blue Shadow Virus would have been very aggravating. Trying to touch on some new points:
- Most new character models were weak, they didn't have the degree if "stylization" we see in most human characters and their surfaces were not very smooth. I'm talking about the Naboo guard, Typho, the unexpected new queen and also the kid from 1000 Moons. Also, some of the lighting was very ugly, especially on the naboo hangar.
- Speaking of hangar, the engineer who designed the ramp for that Naboo Yacht should get shot. That thing has an inclination of almost 45 degrees! It's a miracle the passengers don't just roll off the ship.
- What was the point in Ahsoka doing the cool grenade floating trick, if in the end all she needed to do was throw it in the ground and blow it up? It wouldn't have made any difference if the periscope had spotted it.
- Really liked 3PO's part in obtaining the information from the tactical droid. It would have been even better if he had altered his voice to mimic a battle droid or some other separatist.
- The way Anakin handled the doctor's threat against Padmé's life was completely out of character. This is the guy who betrays the Jedi Order and slaughter children to save his wife, and yet when a puny scientist is electrocuting her, he simply throws his saber to the ground and surrenders?! I fully expected him to go all "Tusken Camp" there and force choke the doc or something. Obi-Wan wasn't even there to restrain him. I think it was a terrible missed oportunity to draw another paralel of Anakin witnessing a loved one beeing electrocuted.
- Did the Jedi suddenly forget they have the ability to catch things in the air with the Force? Why were Obi and Anakin jumping all over the place and loosing their footing to grab vials when they could easily stop them all in mid-air and get on with whatever they were doing?

 

Mystery of a Thousand Moons was tankfully considerably better. Still had its fair share of problems, though, but compared to the previous one, much more enjoyable.

- The beginning premise is again a head scratcher, similar to what they did in the Dooku duology, with the Jedi escaping the poison in the end of one episode only to fall victim to it by the beginning of the next. Here at least it's not a continuity problem, it's just shoddy storytelling, with all the bombs being neutralized in the end of one episode, only to have one be brought back to life and detonated in the beginning of the next one. If that's the story they wanted to tell, why not have the rabbit droid blow the FIRST bomb he had, and end the 1st episode in the cool cliffhanger of the trapped contaminated folks, which would also free time for the Iego plot.
- And the Iego plot could have used that bit of extra time. The whole place was very interesting, with very cool visuals and lots of interesting aliens. Really liked the kid, quite an original addition, with the use of old droids and such. Though it's cool that they showed the Diathim (angels), I wish it hadn't been such a throwaway cameo. It was like "Oh, yeah, and we have these angels here."
- How the heck does head of security Typho instantly discovers the cure for such a powerful, mysterious virus? Also knowing exactly where it can be found? (btw, a place no-one has visited in a loooong time) Talk about a contrieved plot.
- Even though the big laser system trap looked very cool, I can't imagine why the Separatists would spend the resources to build such a mammoth system around such an unimportant planet. It really made no sense and I hoped they had given ANY explanation. It's like building the Death Star and leaving it parked around Tatooine just for the heck of it.
- I thought Anakin would be in a bit of a hurry to take the antidote to his DYING wife. His future son-in-law would be disappointed, sometimes you DON'T have time to literally discuss things in a commitee.
- Finally, shaving some time from the introduction of this episode would have allowed the destruction of the laser system to be better explored. As it is it felt very rushed and didn't make much sense. So, all they had to do was, uh, fire at it a lot? Was that it? Though I loved the visuals of the chain blowing up.
- I tremble at the prospect of what they are planning for Jar Jar. Give the guy a blaster?! You really think that's a good idea? And I don't get what part of his actions so impressed Padmé? Was it his damaging of her protective suit? What I suspect is that they intend to make Jar Jar get "cooler" as the series progresses. He receives some military training and becomes a bit more effective in combat, less clumsy and actually able to handle obstacles. Not sure that would be such a good idea.

 

"Roll of the ship" XD
What about that lightning, huh? Not really a devious evil scientist if your torture methods don't even hurt the victim. :/

 

Sorry Gry I disagree with most of your interpretations on how the characters should/would act during these episodes. I'm not going to go point by point on why though.

I will say I did have a problem with the lighting turning the virus into a airborn form. That seemed to be all Lucas right there. Even though it fit with the whole mad scientist's lab angle they were going for, I think it was overkill. I suppose they needed it to set up Padme and Jar Jar being tortured.

And Anakin was clearly struggling to stay composed. If Obi-wan and Ahsoka weren't there, he may have gone Tusken Camp on the scientist, but keep in mind Padme was being tortured but wasn't dead yet (as his mom was in the Tusken camp).

Also, are you kidding about the animation being weak? You can't blame them for a shuttle that was designed (in your opinion) by the concept artists. Also, the characters (Typho, the Queen) were beyond amazing, IMO. I like the more realistic, less stylized look they are going for now.