The Clone Wars: Orders Arc [110-113/134] ✦ Watchalong Reaction & Review

Yep, such an impactful arc and one that I remember so well. Definitely a top arc for me!

kaiielle

Hey, Kaiielle! ORDERS: The last Domino falls! NALA SE slips FIVES a mickey while Shaak Ti's back is turned! The towering Grand Republic Medical Facility is the same facility Anakin is taken to in "Revenge of the Sith" when he is made into a cyborg. It is a testament to how supremely confident PALPATINE is that he triggers Fives privately with the whispered TRUTH! TIM CURRY again voices SHEEV PALPATINE. SHAAK TI's leaping pursuit of Fives down stairwells and across vast lobbies is very reminiscent of her extraordinary race across Coruscant's urban structures as she fled General Grievous with the Chancellor in tow to prevent his abduction in the non-canon 2003 animated micro-series! TASIA VALENZA again lends her velvety voice to SHAAK TI. The jaded cabbie whose heard every wild tale under the sun is named JAY IGNO as a tribute to Christopher Lloyd's addled character, Reverend Jim Ignatowski, from the popular, long-running '80's sitcom "Taxi". Igno's species is a NIMBANEL. The RETURN of JESSE last seen in the Umbara Arc of Season 4! KIX the medic, fresh from Ringo Vinda, gets cornered by Fives in the clone bar restroom but Nala Se's cocktail makes him sound unstable with talk of framing and conspiracies. KIX sets up a meet between Fives and REX. FIVES gets identified by a patrol droid which alerts the Coruscant Guard to his location! ANAKIN and REX arrive at the rendezvous but get lured into a ray shield cage! FIVES spills his guts in an unhinged monologue that implicates PALPATINE by his own admission as the architect behind the organic chip implantation that has compromised all Republic forces and threatens the Jedi's very existence! HE LAYS THE WHOLE TRUTH BARE but it falls on deaf ears! The DEATH of FIVES with a shot through the heart by the Coruscant Guard! REX holds Fives in his arms. His dying words reveal he shared Tup's nightmares and the exchanged glances of the clones present indicate he wasn't the only one. PALPATINE smoothly covers up the plot citing an isolated instance of a parasitic infection native to Ringo Vinda and the credulous Jedi swallow the tale while skeevy Sheev smirks behind their backs! KATIE LUCAS again writes the episode. This is one of the series' best arcs which plays out like a riveting paranoid conspiracy thriller in which a lone clone very nearly topples an Empire. The truth is so overwhelming that everyone finds it to be unimaginable but, despite the foregone conclusion, one still hopes the truth will prevail until the bitter realization that our hero's efforts have been in vain.

Alex Vazquez

Hey, Kaiielle! FUGITIVE: Fives investigates the mysterious tumor himself when he becomes suspicious of a Kaminoan cover-up! SHAAK TI insists on sending all data to the Jedi Council before submission to the Chancellor much to FIVES' relief until he sees NALA SE switch the sample case with the tumor for an empty one. However, it happened so fast he isn't confident enough to call her out and look a paranoid fool if wrong. TASIA VALENZA again lends her velvety voice to SHAAK TI. AZI-3 lets it slip that both he and FIVES are to be mindwiped so the two of them go on the run! Returning to the exam room, FIVES confirms the sample case switch-out and snatches the biopsy! They steal a flight pod to use as a diversion and double-back on AZI-3 who converts into a propeller-driven amphibious survival mode! TYRANUS is informed of the set-back by NALA SE who doesn't realize she's speaking with Dooku. Bounty hunter trainers BRIC the Siniteen and EL-LES the Arcona make a cameo appearance walking the corridor off of which AZI-3 and Fives are skulking in. A visit to ARCHIVES reveals the tumor is not from Jango Fett, has not affected any other clone and is foreign tissue! A visit to SURGERY extracts a healthy inhibitor chip from Fives whereas Tup's was necrotic! A visit to the HATCHERY reveals that every gestating embryo gets a chip implant after Stage 3! I love AZI-3 humming conspicuously as a way of appearing nonchalant. Lol. Spotted during their infiltration of Archives, they manage to escape into the ducts but they're finally caught after being spotted en route to the Hatchery. NALA SE is alerted covertly and slips away from the command center to apprehend the clone but her exit doesn't go unnoticed by SHAAK TI. NALA SE shocks FIVES by informing him the chips were implanted by JEDI COMMAND and his aggressive posture with blaster raised vindicates the need for implantation as she purports to claim that it is meant to CURB CLONE AGGRESSION. It is IRONIC that NALA SE is feeding Fives a lie about the chip because she herself has been fed one by Tyranus who claims that it is meant as a fail-safe against the commands of ROGUE JEDI. It is deeply HEROIC of FIVES to risk death after removing the chip for the sake of his clone brothers, the Jedi and the Republic! SHAAK TI's compassion and respect for the clones enables her to give Fives the benefit of the doubt and spare him from disciplinary action. SHAAK TI is presented irrefutable evidence of a massive conspiracy but reversing her decision to first send all the data to the Jedi Council proves to be a fatal error. KATIE LUCAS again writes the episode. The city shafts which have caught your imagination, Kaiielle, are the brainchild of legendary French illustrator JEAN GIRAUD aka MOEBIUS whose many creations appeared in the landmark European comic magazine 'METAL HURLANT' known stateside as 'Heavy Metal' magazine. Moebius was a huge influence on Lucas and the city shaft concept specifically comes from the sci-fi epic "INCAL" written by maverick Chilean filmmaker ALEJANDRO JODOROWSKY and illustrated by Moebius. The idea of a completely urbanized planet or ECUMENOPOLIS is the brainchild of one of science fiction's Grandmasters, ISAAC ASIMOV. The Galactic capital of his "FOUNDATION" trilogy of novels is a city-world like Coruscant called TRANTOR.

Alex Vazquez

Hey, Kaiielle! CONSPIRACY: Disagreement over how best to evaluate Tup's condition prompts Fives to take matters into his own hands by subjecting his comrade to a risky examination that reveals a mysterious tumor. The RETURN of NALA SE, the Kaminoan geneticist last seen in "Brain Invaders" (Season 2, Episode 8) and the Malevolence Trilogy of Season 1 where she put herself at personal risk to stand by her clone patients. This arc casts her in a more sinister light. The RETURN of Togruta Master SHAAK TI last seen as part of the tribunal against Ahsoka, in many situation room briefings, Council chamber sessions, the Temple bombing funeral and Anakin's Mortis Force-vision. She was last featured in "Clone Cadets" as she is the Jedi who oversees clone matters on Kamino. SHAAK TI is portrayed by the velvety-voiced TASIA VALENZA. The INTRODUCTION of AZI-3, a very resourceful analysis droid! Nala Se suspects a PHYSIOLOGICAL DEFECT while Shaak Ti suspects a PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFECT. The disagreement expands into an ownership issue as the clones are manufactured by the Kaminoans but purchased by the Jedi. At a stalemate over how to proceed, Nala Se takes the issue to her Prime Minister while Shaak Ti takes the issue to the Jedi Council. Nala Se's OVERT concern is INVASIVELY isolating the defect from the whole clone POPULATION at the expense of the individual whereas Shaak Ti has compassion for Tup as an INDIVIDUAL favoring the NON-INVASIVE alternatives at the risk of damaging the anomalous sample. However, Nala Se's COVERT concern is exposing the SECRET PROTOCOL! I love it when FIVES insists he has a name but AZI-3 points out that his proper name is still just a number! Lol. The RETURN of LAMA SU, the Kaminoan Prime Minister seen in live-action in "Attack of the Clones" and last appearing in "ARC Troopers" (Season 3, Episode 2) when Kamino was invaded. It is revealed that the Kaminoans are complicit in Order 66 but have been misled to believe it is a SAFEGUARD. We are also shown that they are ignorant of Dooku's involvement since he communicates with them in the guise of DARTH TYRANUS. The Council's compromise is a JEDI MIND PROBE to preserve both the tissue and Tup from irreparable harm. I love how FIVES uses LOGIC to get AZI-3 on board with the atomic scan procedure! Lol. A TUMOR is revealed! TUP is nearly put down by Nala Se and Lama Su but gets a reprieve when FIVES has AZI-3 hack security to signal a diversionary intruder alert! AZI-3 performs a biopsy and the ORGANIC INHIBITOR "CHIP" is removed! The TRUTH IS EXPOSED but Fives is nonetheless placed under arrest for exceeding his authority! The DEATH of TUP whose dying words reveal his neural anomaly has plagued his dreams as a recurring nightmare from which he has now been freed. FIVES is anguished that his efforts to save Tup have killed him instead! Shaak Ti and Nala Se report the troubling find to Supreme Chancellor PALPATINE who orders that Tup's body be remanded to the care of the state at the Republic Medical Facility rather than the Jedi Temple where, naturally, he can control the narrative. TIM CURRY again voices SHEEV PALPATINE. KATIE LUCAS again writes the episode.

Alex Vazquez

Hey, Kaiielle! THE UNKNOWN: A clone trooper kills a Jedi in cold blood while in an addled state and everyone wants to know why. Since FIVES is featured in this story, the Orders Arc is also the fifth DOMINO SQUAD tale. RINGO VINDA is an impressive feat of mega-structure engineering known as an ORBITAL RING encircling a planet! Were it an open structure with a biosphere on its inner side, it would be called a BISHOP RING. Were it an open structure with a biosphere on its inner side encircling a star, it would be called a DYSON RING! The INTRODUCTION of Jedi Masters TIPLAR and TIPLEE. They are from a species called MIKKIAN. The RETURN of FIVES, TUP and KIX the medic. FIVES and TUP were last seen in the Umbara Arc of Season 4 while KIX was last seen in the Slaver Trilogy of Season 4. FIVES has the goatee and '5' tattoo on his right temple. TUP has the manbun and teardrop tattoo under his right eye. KIX has the lightning shaved into his scalp fuzz. The RETURN of Admiral TRENCH last seen in the chronological first episode "Cat and Mouse" (Season 2, Episode 16)! After damage sustained by Anakin's missile strike, the Admiral replaced half his head and several limbs with cybernetic substitutes! His species is called HARCH. The RETURN of KRAKEN the Super Tactical Droid last seen in "Crisis at the Heart" of the Clovis Trilogy which occurs chronologically in Season 5 after the Onderon Arc. The INTRODUCTION of ROCKET-BOOSTED SUPER BATTLE DROIDS with red-painted chassis! The DEATH of Mikkian Master TIPLAR! TUP cold-bloodedly shoots her at point-blank range but can't seem to remember why only mumbling, "Good soldiers follow orders." Master TIPLEE displays incredible restraint when TUP attacks her! Mikkian Master TIPLEE's story continues in the "SON OF DATHOMIR" comics. TRENCH reports the incident to DOOKU who reports the incident to SIDIOUS who orders immediate seizure of TUP! TIM CURRY again voices DARTH SIDIOUS. Awesome but brutal ZERO-G BATTLE from the POV of a terrified clone medic as the rocket-powered super battle droids abduct Tup from a medical transport! Admiral WULLF YULAREN makes a brief cameo looking considerably GRAYER than when he was last seen clearly although he was briefly glimpsed in the dimly-lit funeral chamber of the Jedi Temple in "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much" (Season 5, Episode 18). ANAKIN would probably be reckless enough to take on a hangar full of droids but REX reminds him that not everyone has more MIDICHLORIANS THAN YODA! Lol. I thought KRAKEN's exasperation with the battle droid pilots over IMPOSSIBLE PHYSICS was very clever. "You were experiencing drag in the vacuum of space?" The DEATH of KRAKEN! ANAKIN, REX and FIVES cut through the droids like butter and lop off KRAKEN's head as he boasts about his resistance to intimidation. The Super Tactical Droid's dismemberment clearly puts the CLOVIS TRILOGY earlier in the chronology. REX and FIVES accompany a dying TUP to KAMINO. KATIE LUCAS wrote the episode.

Alex Vazquez

Definitely not one to miss, that's for sure!

kaiielle

Completely forgot how impactful this arc is to the overall story. Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Teared up a few times. 5's is a hero, never forget. I think I glazed over season 6 because they didn't address Ahsoka right away and I always felt she deserved more attention. Required viewing for sure. Thanks again kaiielle for sharing your reaction. I actually learned something this time, this arc is not to be overlooked!

Absher

DBB is truly epic. He's my fave voice actor in the show. And thank you!

kaiielle

Don’t think I’ve ever cried this much watching a TV show before, god this was hard to watch. Like you said, this is absolutely mandatory for people who want to watch clone wars in a more streamlined form. On another, hats off to Dee Bradley Baker, only he could make an emotional death scene between himself. Definitely my favourite arc so far, this show is just so fantastic, it’s stuff like this that reminds me why I love Star Wars so much. A fantastic reaction as always KL! Definitely one of your best (:

Sean H

Yes, I have cried a lot lately!

kaiielle

Oh, I didn't know about a chip! To me, it just made the most logical sense that the clones would have something like that in them to make them turn so suddenly for Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith. It's possible that someone commented about it in my YouTube ROTS video and maybe I subconsciously remembered it. 😅 But the list of orders to memorize and act on also makes sense. I dunno, I like the chip idea better to be honest. And it makes for a more interesting story.

kaiielle

Miff

This arc so good and heartbreaking to watch especially after the last heartbreaking arc. Just heartbreak for everybody lol!

Jam

Totally fair to feel that way and thank you for sharing that theory. The way I see it is that I feel like Fox wouldn't have really had a choice to disobey Palpatine like that, and if he did, Palpatine probably would have ordered him to be terminated. We've seen how wonderful Obi-Wan and Anakin are with Cody and Rex. Cody and Rex know that they are able to make suggestions to them, and they'll take them into consideration, but at the end of the day they still follow orders. I highly doubt that Palpatine treats Fox and the other clones under him the same way. He is probably a lot more orderly and direct and not willing to take any feedback from Fox (if he ever had any to provide).

kaiielle

Truly one of the most important, impactful, enlightening, and heartbreaking ARCs in Clone Wars. Fives as been around since episode 5 of the show. He has been a major part of all the really special Clone ARCs so far, Rookies, Cadets, ARC Troopers, the Citadel, Umbra, and now this. I still miss him💔 Rest In Peace FIVEs. Ok fun-ish fact time. Commander FOX is the one who killed Fives, Fox is also the Head Guard at the Prison Ahsoka escaped from in the last ARC. Fox and Padmé arrested Zero the Hut in the Clone Wars Movie, and Fox was the Clone that Let Grievous’s Suicide Bomb Droids blow up Coruscant’s power grid in that one Episode. I personally HATE FOX with all my heart, a common theory is that Palpatien simply ordered Fox to kill Fives and not even try to bring him in. Because Fox had the numbers to easily surround and stun Fives. But he provoked him by rushing him head on with 6-10 Clines with Weapons drawn. I believe this Theory, and thus hate Fox for acting as Palpatien’s hit man.

Justin

It really does add much more context to Order 66. 😭

kaiielle

And the last domino falls...RIP Domino squad. Palpatine knew the idea itself was so ridiculous that even telling Fives everything, he'd be perceived as insane in combination with the chip situation. This helps explain order 66 after watching clone wars and how close the clones are to their jedi. They have no control over it, they are programmed for it.

Andrew Sitek

Oh heck, that is a very small detail that I definitely didn't/wouldn't have noticed. Thank you for sharing!

kaiielle

Right?! So wild to think about. He's such an epic clone. I also think he is my #2 now, still followed by Rex (only because we see so much more of Rex).

kaiielle

One of my favorite things about this arc is a very small detail that can easily be missed. When Tup's chip is malfunctioning he's triggered every time he sees a Jedi. It happened with Tiplar, Tiplee and Shaak Ti on Kamino. However he never detects Anakin, even when Anakin was standing right in front of him. Kinda hinting to the fact that Anakin will essentially be immune to Order 66 and that Palpatine made sure to keep him safe from it.

Volume

To think how this legend, this GRAND HERO of a clone almost single handedly ruined Palpatine's plan and saved the whole galaxy and the Jedi. But of course as we all know...history doesn't work out that way. How much history would've changed...maybe we could've saved the Jedi and stopped Palpatine...or maybe he would have found a way to work around this issue, who knows. Fives is truly always and forever will be my #2 clone followed by our favorite #1 Captain Rex

William. C

It's such a rough moment. 😭

kaiielle

i knew it would hit me, but not that it would be that hard

Marc-Oliver_2000

All the tears. 😭

kaiielle

Welp, here I go crying again

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