That Wasn't Nuna

Ahsoka sat in the Temple library consumed by silence as she watched the minutes tick by. Ever second of ever second a small eternity; the embodiment of utter boredom.
She looked at her wrist communicator. Who could she contact? Who would liberate her from this invisible prison?
The com beeped sounding louder then normal in the silence.
"This is Ahsoka Tano." She said into the device.
"Ahsoka, this is Barriss, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me. Maybe we could have dinner in the city."
Ahsoka replied;"Sure. I need to get out any way. Obi Wan was telling me of this really nice place. He says he knows someone who works there."
"What's it called?" The other Padawan asked.
"Ummm . . ." Ahsoka said trying to remember.
"Dex, yes, Dex's Diner, I'll send you the coordinates and meet you there." With that she closed the channel. Finally an escape.

The two Padawans arrived at Dex's Diner. Its interior a snapshot from a simpler time.
The pair found a booth seated themselves.
Both girls took in their vibrant surroundings. Unlike the rest of the city planet the Diner was cleaner and not perverted by modern advertising and what have you.
"What are you going to have." Barriss asked watching her own menu.
"I don't know. I wonder if their nuna is any good." Ahsoka answered.
"Why hello there Jedi." A bellowing voice said and both looked up. It was the Diner's owner and namesake Dex; a pot bellied, four armed, alien with a welcoming air that smelled of grease.
"You must be Skywalker's Padawan." He said giving Ahsoka a wide grin.
"Yes. That's me." Was all she was willing to say.
"It's an honor to have you here. Obi Wan has told me so much about you."
Both girls gave each other looks.
"That's great, umm, do you have anything new. Maybe exotic?" Barriss asked eager to change the subject.
"Of course, and since both of you have done so much for our Republic how about I prepare a special dish just for the two of you"
"Sure." Ahsoka answered while Barriss weighed the risks.
With a giant grin Dex left the two and headed for the kitchen to prepare their meal.
"What are you doing?" Barriss asked as she leaned over the table pondering her friend's logic.
"C'mon Barriss, lighten up, we deserve it."
Barriss sat back with mock satisfaction at her friend's answer.

There came an animal cry from the back followed abruptly by the sound of a blade contacting flesh. Barriss cringed and Ahsoka could sense her gag reflex.
The remaining minutes they waited were filled with the usual ambient noises and nothing extreme.
Dex emerged carrying two large steaming platters.
"Enjoy, my friends." Dex said leaving them to enjoy his creations.
The large platters smelled savory and was an assortment of steamed veggies and meat; maybe nuna meat.
Both girls eat.
"Not bad." Barriss remarked at the food quality.
"Told you." Ahsoka said back almost smirking through her filled cheeks.

"No. No; I need these as soon as possible. They're a huge hit." They heard Dex say to someone in the back.
"I don't care what it costs. I need this for the Jedi Special. It's . . ." Dex's voice was lost to the other noises.
Reaching out in the Force both girls strained to hear the rest;
"Who do you think you are. . . Butchered . . . Endangered and ruined lives." Was all they were able to decipher.
With their mouths full both girls looked each other in the eyes and then they looked to their plates. It wasn't nuna. And it wasn't nerf either. What was it?

"Brothers"--Review.

I thought this was an awesome episode even though a few points were a bit slow.

Maul's babbling to himself and his frantic nature right away reminded me of the former Hobbit from "Lord of the Rings" known as Gollum. And his underground lair on the planet Lotho Minor reminded me a lot of Raxus Prime from The Force Unleashed game. Those Fire-breathers were an awesome sight.

Granted Anakin and Ahsoka had some brief moments on scene but they weren't really a part of the overall plot. And I liked the moment where they played a bit of the Force Theme which made the episode all the more awesome.
It was awesome seeing Dexter's Diner in the Clone Wars even if Dexter himself wasn't there.

I must say this episode was almost flawless and flowed very well from scene to scene. Savage's snake guide adding a bit of comic relief but not must and in the end he served his purpose and wasn't overdone.

Overall this was a good setup episode for next week's finale which promises to be very dark and twisted. Thanks for reading. Until next week . . . .

Cold Credits

The air was heavy with the stench of sweat and blood as Cad's intense red eyes peered into the dead gaze of an Imperial officer; his plain grey uniform stained red by his own blood.
The Duros placed his pistol back in its holster at his hip and looked coldly to his partner; a rather stout man with a blank stare and a head wrapped in white cloth as if it were covering some deep wound, in fact, the wounds were beyond skin deep.
"Come on. We've got a job to do." Bane said to his partner in his rasping voice as he moved to complete the mission.
"Not until you cut me in on the pay, you slimy Neimoidian." Dengar said reading his blaster rifle.
Bane stopped dead in his tracks and slowly faced the man, a new kind of red burning in his lidless eyes.
"What did you call me?" He said as his hand slid towards his pistol.
"That's right." Dengar continued undaunted by Bane's sudden turn on him.
"You're a slimy, low down, Neimoidian coward," At that moment something primal snapped in Bane and he whipped out his pistol and squeezed off two shots but not before Dengar was on top of him with a drawn vibroblade.
Dengar sliced the weapon from Bane's hand and cut the pistol on his opposite hip as well.
Bane looked to his dismantled weapons and then to Dengar saying; "Oh, you don't want to be doing that boy." With that he delivered a devastating blow to Dengar's nose causing it to explode with blood.
With inhuman efficiency he recovered and began twisting the alien's wrist the wrong way only to have an electric jolt pulse through his body. He dropped the vibroblade and collapsed to his knees.
Bane recovered one of his pistols and placed his muzzle to Dengar's forehead.
"Now." He said. "I'll be keeping my credits if it's alright with you."
Seeing no sign of dissent he placed the weapon in his good holster and recovered its twin. He looked to Dengar with cold eyes.
"On your feet. We need to recover those stolen plans from Alderaan's senator."

                                                     -THE END-

"The Box"--Review.

I really enjoyed this episode. The Box was a very interesting training course for the bounty hunters, and to me, seemed to be a physical embodiment of the inner workings of Maralo's mind.

I was actually afraid for the characters in this episode unlike last week's episode which seemed relativity uneventful.

The ever shifting environment of the Box was a very interesting playing field for our wannabe contenders for Dooku's mission.

In all not a whole lot of character development in this episode and it failed to really establish anything and built up little for the finale.

In all it was a cool episode. I'm looking forward to the conclusion next week. Until next time.       

"Friends and Enemies"--Review

Honestly this arc isn't really grabbing my attention. This episode just seemed relativity uneventful.

I might point out, though, that Indian Jones's iconic hat did make an appearance in this episode.
I don't really have a whole lot to say; the bounty hunters were awesome but they're just not my thing.

I'm sorry I just don't have much to offer in this review.

"Deception"--Review

One of the more complex episodes in my opinion.

The overall idea of a Jedi, Obi-Wan in particular, going undercover posing as a bounty hunter to learn about, and thwart, a terrorist plot against Palpatine reminded me of something that our own CIA might do in the real world.

Seeing Obi-Wan bald and without his signature beard was a little strange for me; and when they transformed his face, I'm assuming with nano-bots, it somewhat reminded me of a scene from "GI Joe: Rise of Cobra".
Seeing him play the villain was very interesting and at one point his morality was, in a way, questioned when he refused to kill a non-clone Coruscant official. How this whole thing plays out will be very interesting.

This episode saw the return of Cad Bane, Boba, and an improved Bossk along with one Eval (his first name escapes me). Boba, who only had one scene, has grown since we last saw him back in Season Two and is now a defensive teenager.
I love the improvements to Bossk's model; now he's much more reptilian whereas in the Season Two finale he looked more like a cheap plastic toy.

Anakin, not being in on the whole ruse, behaved with furious anger towards the whole matter. Some might say his emotions and expressions were overly exaggerated. We saw similar rage in the "Slavers Arc" towards the Zygerrian slavers.

Being the first episode in a four part arc this episode only gave us the initial deceptive rouse of Obi-Wan and the jail break. 

This episode felt hollow. Perhaps because this is only the first episode in a larger story and nothing is really at stake . . . Yet. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this arc and can't wait until next week. Until then may the Force be with you.

"A Friend in Need" Review.

This was an awesome episode I have no doubt about that in my mind.

We got a look into the inner workings of the sinister Death Watch. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Ahsoka and Lux in this episode and their relationship has really blossomed since their first meeting back in "Heroes on Both Sides". Lux's desire to avenge his Mother's death was a driving force for him here and it pushed him to trust anyone who might be able to help him--even terrorists.
The serine, snowy, planet of the Mandolorians was the perfect setting for this episode.

This episode also deepened Ahsoka's character as well and the scene where Pre was about to execute her was done spectacularly. And her escape, with the help of R2 and some reluctant droids, was also extremely well done.

I held my breath when Lux kissed Ahsoka to conceal her babbling about his plans. A ploy I've seen appear a few times.

Bo Katan. Pre's second in command. Like Boba in the Original Trilogy we don't know must about her and we didn't even get to see her face.

The climax of the episode, I thought, was the fight between Pre and Ahsoka. That girl has some mad lightsaber skills.

The local people the Mandos kept as sub-servants reminded me of the nomadic Huns from the Alps and they practically grew out of the environment. The scene where the Mandos , in tyrannical manner, burn the local's village and Ahsoka is forced to reveal that she's a Jedi was probably my favorite scene in this whole episode. The contrast of the fire against the slowly falling snow was breathtaking.

In the end this was a well orchestrated episode with plenty of complications and plot twists. I can't wait  to see next week's episode.
   

"Escape from Kadavo" Review

This was an awesome conclusion to the "Slavers Arc". Maybe a little slow at first but still good.

The slave processing plant on the sinister Kadavo, I thought, carried echoes of the underbelly of ancient Roman baths with the furnaces and eerie red lighting. That was possibly the most horrific set concocted by the Clone Wars crew.

The operation to rescue the Togruta slaves was totally awesome even though Plo and the Wolfpack were once again rescuing the main cast.

The death of the Zygerrian Queen at Dooku's hand was rather intense and, in the end, she realized that even she did not hold all the power. Despite her position as an antagonist her death still struck an emotional note for me.

The action in this episode was really epic and not at all hollow. The lives of innocent people hung in the balance and kept the suspense high and on edge.  I wish they would have included a subplot about one of the Togruta colonists; it would have added that much more suspense to this awesome arc.

When the aged Togruta governor asked to have a private conversation with Ahsoka I was half expecting him to tell her she resembled his long lost daughter or something of that nature. I was a little disappointing when he didn't.   

While this arc had nothing on Umbara it was still awesome, I'd say, slightly above average I can't wait for next week's episode. Until then thanks for reading.