![The Clone Wars: The Battle of Mon Cala [068-070/134] ✦ Watchalong Reaction & Review](https://img5.samsuka.com/storage/11/ws/uy/c6f9d9-019e7b8d-9ebf-7ba5-a445-341d1e2d277d.jpg)
The Clone Wars: The Battle of Mon Cala [068-070/134] ✦ Watchalong Reaction & Review
Added 2022-08-16 04:50:11 +0000 UTCIt's here! Season 4 has begun and is underway. I'm super excited for this. The season kicks off with a trilogy arc called The Battle of Mon Cala. This arc consists of the following episodes:
Season 04, Episode 01: Water War
Season 04, Episode 02: Gungan Attack
Season 04, Episode 03: Prisoners
Let me know your thoughts on this arc in the comments below! [Direct link here.]
✦ KL
Comments
Yeah, definitely a S1/S2 feeling arc, but that's okay! Thanks for all the details and info as always.
kaiielle
2022-08-19 07:32:40 +0000 UTCOf course! Thank you!
kaiielle
2022-08-19 07:30:35 +0000 UTCRogue one definitely took me a couple of watches to fully appreciate but now it’s a top tier SW movie for me. Like everyone else said, this arc isn’t my favorite but it is unique. Thanks again for sharing your reactions with us!
Absher
2022-08-19 06:23:47 +0000 UTCHey, Kaiielle! WATER WAR: "Star Wars" meets "THUNDERBALL"! It's all-out underwater action in this aquatic arc! In one of Filoni's many acknowledgements of the non-canon 2003 animated micro-series, this entire trilogy is an expansion of a single three-and-a-half minute chapter starring Nautolan Master Kit Fisto. In yet another discrepancy between the official order and the actual chronology, this trilogy is supposed to follow the fourth episode of the season, "Shadow Warrior". The explanation will be provided in that episode but, once seen, it's glaringly obvious and should not have been overlooked. Although used interchangeably, MON CALA generally denotes the planet and MON CALAMARI generally denotes the star system or the people. Alternatively, the Quarren refer to their world as DAC. MON CALA is a staple world of Star Wars lore as are its two indigenous species, the fish-headed Mon Calamari and the squid-headed Quarren. It's rather remarkable that MON CALA evolved two sentient species that manage to co-exist whereas it's usually a bloody struggle for dominance on most worlds including our own which saw the Neanderthal perish against the Cro-Magnon! MON CALA is a vast water world which has never be seen in live-action. Its civilization is mostly aquatic but there are archipelago chains with surface cities as well. MON CALA is known for its shipbuilding and the MON CALAMARI have always been staunch defenders of the Republic. Many of the large ovular command vessels of the Rebel Alliance were constructed in the planet's orbital shipyards. The introduction of fan favorite Mon Calamari ADMIRAL ACKBAR who is just a Captain at this time! "It's a trap!" Lol. The introduction of Mon Calamari Senator MEENA TILLS who is seen in live-action in "Revenge of the Sith". She was part of the DELEGATION OF 2,000 who petitioned Chancellor Palpatine to relinquish his Emergency Powers. The return of Nautolan Master KIT FISTO last seen aiding in the exfiltration from Lola Sayu in "Citadel Rescue" (Season 3, Episode 20). You gotta love that mega-watt smile of his! RIFF TAMSON, the Separatist Ambassador and provocateur, is a KARKARODON. His species name is inspired by the species name of the Great White shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Tamson takes great pleasure in ripping people apart with his teeth! I love how the Quarren, being evolved from cephalopods, squirt ink during their attack! The HYDROID MEDUSAS are giant cyborg jellyfish?! You have to give a point to the Separatists for sheer ingenuity! Young Prince LEE-CHAR learns the value of "tactical withdrawal" aka high-tailing it to safety! GUNGAN ATTACK: An action-packed installment that sees the usually silly Gungans make a good showing of themselves! Although this is the introduction of BOSS LYONIE according to the official order, it really should be his SECOND APPEARANCE. The Gungan counterattack is why this trilogy comes AFTER "Shadow Warrior" and Boss Lyonie's quick decision to render aid, played for laughs here, is a direct consequence of the events of that episode. It will be readily apparent after the next episode and its misplacement is just sloppy. The Gungan cavalry charge is led by Jar Jar of all people and is probably his most heroic moment in the series. AHMED BEST again voices Jar Jar and Boss Lyonie, too! The Gungans use the same EMP-like bombs on the Hydroid Medusas that they used on the Trade Federation tanks in "Phantom Menace". This episode features two very cool set pieces: riding the Republic cruiser debris down to the sea floor and the Trident drills' spinning vortices. Prince LEE-CHAR blows the conch and becomes both a man and a king! RIFF TAMSON's roars and powerful, snapping jaws are terrifying! PRISONERS: A desperate gambit leads to a Republic victory! Prince LEE-CHAR stakes his very life on his pre-existing relationship with NOSSOR RI when he makes his plea for unity. If TAMSON hadn't run roughshod over his allies, the plea might have fallen on deaf ears! We finally learn there's something KIT FISTO doesn't smile about: electric eels! RIFF TAMSON looks as if he could shatter Padme's helmet like an eggshell when he pops her head in his mouth! I bet PADME never thought she'd be grateful for a gob of Gungan spit! Lol. With a quiet nod, NOSSOR RI says "Nosiree!" to being Karkarodon chum! I like how that Quarren ink comes through in the clutch to conceal the Prince's getaway. The rod the Quarren slip to Captain ACKBAR is an Easter Egg for an accessory that accompanied the original Kenner action figure of the future Admiral back in the '80's. No one knew if it was a laser pointer, a microphone, a staff of office or a baton but this episode turns it into an energy blaster to finally resolve the issue. The Karkarodon's EXPLOSIVE KNIFE-HILTS that refuse to be dislodged are wicked weapons that give you just enough time to know you're going to die! In a great homage to "JAWS", Lee-Char snipes the explosive knife-hilt lodged in the shoulder of the charging Tamson to blow him up much like Chief Brody snipes the explosive air tank lodged in the mouth of the charging Great White to blow it up! The bloody severed head even descends to the depths like the shark's ruptured carcass. LEE-CHAR displays a kingly wisdom with a magnanimous decree of unity at his coronation. AHMED BEST again provides the voice of Jar Jar Binks. This trilogy is a throwback in tone to the first two-and-a-half seasons and I would have preferred a costlier victory that claimed the life of NOSSOR RI or that left LEE-CHAR battle-scarred.
Alex Vazquez
2022-08-19 05:00:12 +0000 UTCRight? First thing I thought of. 😅
kaiielle
2022-08-18 23:27:07 +0000 UTC"Fish are friends, not food" I guess Riff didn't get the memo. But yeah, there is a decent similarity between him and Bruce from Finding Nemo 😁
Rune
2022-08-18 23:15:41 +0000 UTCRiff was pretty cool as a villain! Yeah, definitely not a top one, but still enjoyable and fun!
kaiielle
2022-08-17 18:39:23 +0000 UTCLove seeing Ackbar! Riff Tampson is a cool villain! A very fast ARC, very chaotic, but I like it. I agree that it probably isn’t in the top ARCs. You would recognize the Mon Calimary People from Return of the Jedi, and the Quaren (in Jabba’s palace) in return of the Jedi, but most often has civilians or pirates in various clone wars scenes.
Justin
2022-08-17 08:08:02 +0000 UTCYeah! Love pre-Rebel Ackbar.
kaiielle
2022-08-16 16:59:18 +0000 UTCAn alright arc, cool to see underwater planets/species and we get Ackbar before he's a rebel which is cool. The first few episodes of season 4 are kind of like this, but after that it's high quality stuff through the rest of the season so we're pretty much there.
Andrew Sitek
2022-08-16 16:58:38 +0000 UTCYep, definitely on the more mediocre side. Kinda like the earlier seasons!
kaiielle
2022-08-16 13:15:12 +0000 UTCThis trilogy for me is just okay, not bad by any means but very middle of the road esc in terms of general quality, I appreciate the inclusion of Kit Fisto (the jacked green Jedi lol) as he isn’t shown much, and the world building is always welcome, but I felt myself drifting off a lot more than usual in these eps, maybe because I know how good the later stuff is? Not too sure, glad you enjoyed it though Kaiielle! As always I can’t wait to see the next reaction (:
Sean H
2022-08-16 08:26:43 +0000 UTC
