Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 3, 2013

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Questions We Need Answered (and Those We Don't)

Last week’s announcement that Star Wars: The Clone Wars was ending and that there wouldn’t be a sixth season of the series also noted what we already knew – that production had been underway on additional episodes. More importantly, the announcement stressed that we would still see these episodes, in a manner as yet to be revealed.

In the wake of that announcement, I wrote a piece on why, despite loving The Clone Wars, I was okay with the show ending, noting we still were getting those Season 6 episodes and that the show did feel like it was nearing its end. But I also mentioned that fans obviously should get closure on some of the show’s biggest questions and if that didn't turn out to be the case with the upcoming episodes, "that will be cause for a more agitated editorial..."

Well, there might be reason for concern on that front. Multiple sources, including TheForce.Net reported this week that dramatic downsizing was taking place at Lucasfilm Animation and that the remaining episodes of The Clone Wars do not offer “clean resolutions” to story arcs for several fan favorite characters, and that apparently nothing more is planned beyond what has already been made. There is even some talk that we might not even see the episodes that have been completed, though I remain optimistic that won't be the case.

TV series get cancelled all the time, plenty without resolution. But it would be pretty upsetting if Star Wars: The Clone Wars didn’t get to wrap up its most notable storylines… Mostly because, well, it’s Star Wars! Whether owned by George Lucas or Disney, Lucasfilm is a big corporation with one of the biggest brand names ever. While I understand Disney deciding they want to refocus their priorities as they ramp up for Episode VII, it would be really sad and frustrating if they didn’t allow Dave Filoni and his team to finish what they started first. If that includes letting them make, say, eight episodes more of The Clone Wars (two more four-episode arcs) beyond what they produced for Season 6, which could be used to wrap things up, that alone would mean a lot.

Dave Filoni Discusses The Clone Wars: Season 5

There are plenty of “unanswered questions” on The Clone Wars, though I think the level of importance varies dramatically. Below I’ve listed some of the most notable characters and situations whose fate is unknown (as in, not dealt with by the films). I’ve grouped them by level of importance – and as you’ll see, there’s really just two I think have to be answered in order to feel like The Clone Wars isn’t leaving some gaping holes that don’t match up with Revenge of the Sith, though I'm sure opinions will vary on that front.

Stuff We Shouldn't Stress About...

The Clone Wars has introduced a ton of new characters into the Star Wars universe, and a couple who’ve made a particular impact are Cad Bane and Hondo Ohnaka. Both have appeared several times and they've been key players in multiple storylines.

That being said, while it would be fine to get some sort of closure on them, it’s not necessary. Cad Bane is a bounty hunter and Hondo is a pirate and neither have any real dangling plot threads associated with them. There’s no reason they simply couldn’t be out there, doing their bounty hunter and pirate thing, respectively, after the Clone Wars end and the rise of the Empire begins – and available for someone to use in any sort of Star Wars story, EU or otherwise, that takes place after Revenge of the Sith..

The same goes for other colorful characters like Embo and Sugi. We don’t need a bow tied around every single character we’ve met on the series and it’s fun to think some of them are still out there, ready to pop up ay any point…

It Would Be Great To Know About This...

I’m guessing many will disagree with my inclusion of Ahsoka Tano as anything less than the highest priority when it comes to tying up storylines on The Clone Wars. And I would have agreed before the Season 5 finale. But the questions Ahsoka’s presence raised were always, “Where was she during Revenge of the Sith? Why was she not seen or mentioned?” The Season 5 finale answered this question, as Ahsoka left the Jedi order and went off on her own path.

Do I want to know what this new path is? Absolutely! I love Ahsoka and it would be a shame to never see her again. In fact, the fact that she’s still alive is pretty exciting for Clone Wars fans, who can’t help but ponder whether she could pop up in a live-action TV series or film one day, especially now that it seems so many different Star Wars projects are possible under Disney. But as far as The Clone Wars storyline goes, we now know why she wouldn’t be part of Anakin’s story in Revenge of the Sith and how she might survive Order 66, given she was no longer officially a Jedi or fighting with the Clone Troopers in the war. I guess my point is, with limited time left, there are bigger priorities now. Let’s just be thankful Season 5 ended how it did to not leave this completely unresolved!

While not nearly as huge or important a presence on the series as Ahsoka Tano, a couple of other characters who it would certainly be nice to get closure on are Boba Fett and Bo-Katan. Obviously, Fett’s ultimate future is known to us thanks to The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but there is a lot of ground in-between – more than The Clone Wars was ever going to depict. But we have seen Boba begin to mature and go from an angry and out of his league young kid in Season 3 to a more confident and slightly more skilled presence in Season 4. Dave Filoni has talked about how the original intention was to have Boba wearing the costume in Season 4, but they decided he wasn’t ready for that… but it would be pretty cool to see him get there. Also, last we saw, Boba’s ship, Slave-1, was in the possession of Hondo, and it would be great to see how he gets it back.

With Pre Vizsla dead, Bo-Katan is the most important Death Watch member left. Recent events portrayed her in a more ambiguous manner, and it’s hard not to think she’d be a crucial figure in the fate of Mandalore, especially now that we know she’s Satine’s sister. In addition, the struggle for Mandalore has been an ongoing issue the series has touched upon, making it difficult not to wonder how it gets resolved.

Then there’s Asajj Ventress. Her overall story arc has been a personal favorite of mine on The Clone Wars. Yes, she also is now kind of just “out there”, living a nomadic, bounty hunter life, we’ve charted so much of her dramatic changes, it would be very appreciated to get a bit more closure on her. Does she ever encounter Dooku or Sidious again? Do she and Ahsoka have a future as allies, now that both have ended up in somewhat similar circumstances? I know I’m not alone in wanting to know more… Oh, and lest we forget, Mother Talzin is still out there too, with quite a bit of mystery about her. I still wonder if she's the missing "Mother" in the bizarre family we met in the Mortis trilogy.

Continue to Page 2 for the Clone Wars questions we need answered above all others. 


Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

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