The Clone Wars: Refocused [COMPLETE] + Subtitles for season one! — Page 12

Aren’t visions of the future a power every force user has? Luke had them too and he was very novice.

I liked how it further showcased that Anakin had every reason to be worried about Padme in Revenge of the Sith. It bugs me when people say “He turned to the dark side because of a vague dream”. Well, he had the same visions about his mother and those came true, and Ahsoka’s were going to come true before she did something to stop them. It further shows that Anakin had more reason to believe that Padme would die in childbirth then that she wouldn’t.

G&G, I agree regarding Anakin’s visions, but for Anakin it was about saving the one he loved and fear of loss. Ulitmately it was a very emotionally significant scene, which led to major character development. Same for Luke on Dagobah when he sees his friends in pain.

My issue (though it’s a minor issue) with Ahsoka’s is that she’s got a vision of Padmé, and this is literally in the second episode where they both appear, and in neither this nor their first episode together do they demonstrate any particular emotional bond. So it’s not a particularly significant use of visions. And it raises more questions than it answers - if Ahsoka’s sufficiently in tune, why doesn’t she later get visions relating to Anakin’s fall, since their relationship was far more significant to her? But bottom line: The visions serve the plot, but they don’t add emotional value.

Assassin is a strong episode otherwise - it’s got very good Padmé content (and I do want to serve Padmé as well as possible as she’s quite light currently), the Ahsoka/Assaj content is good, it’s set on Alderaan, and it features the early rebel leaders (who also aren’t well served yet).

Does the Microseries depiction of the immediate precursor to ROTS conflict with TCW’s? I certainly wouldn’t mind essentially having Volumes 1 and 2 of the Microseries bookend this project, but for all I know the Palptine kidnapping thing might fly in the face of TCW.

Definitely looking forward to seeing this and getting caught up in light of the slew of new TV we’re in for.

Another random question: do you think this Ashoka-centered version will see Yoda and R2 in a room together? Just wondering bc I don’t know the show well enough.

Regarding Fall of the Republic, I actually ditched the idea of the days and just have it cut together in the traditional way.

I also know it seems odd to cut back and forth between animation and live action, but it’s not that weird really.

As for cutting it into episodes, totally for that too.

Hal 9000 said:

Does the Microseries depiction of the immediate precursor to ROTS conflict with TCW’s? I certainly wouldn’t mind essentially having Volumes 1 and 2 of the Microseries bookend this project, but for all I know the Palptine kidnapping thing might fly in the face of TCW.

Definitely looking forward to seeing this and getting caught up in light of the slew of new TV we’re in for.

I think the only time they actually contradict each other is that they both show of Anakin being told about Palpatine’s kidnapping for the first time.

Hal, the microseries is pretty much compatible with the current canon (aside from Anakin and Obi Wan being notified that the Chancellor’s been captured, as has been pointed out), but I don’t think it belongs in the main ‘Quality Cut’ because it’s so tonally different. By this point in The Clone Wars (and especially the way I think it needs formatting for maximum impact), everything is far darker. It’s known that the war may be fabricated, the force users are aware of a coming tragedy, the Republic’s aesthetic is swinging Imperial, and a lot of dark third parties are circling. There’s some very heavy emotional stuff for a lot of our main characters, which is about to get paid off in the absolutely magnificent finale. As much as the microseries is so much fun, by that point I feel like it’d be a very distracting change of gears - we should feel opressed and tense and concerned by this point, not entertained by that pitch-perfect Tartakovsky comedy timing.

And yeah, Yoda and R2 have a full arc together. They even go to Dagobah! I can see the issue you have with that. But again, it’s one of those things where there’s still a net value add, even though it takes away a little from elsewhere.

I don’t think so. To be honest, my main focus by a mile is the Quality Cut, and the Mandalorian cut is just a smaller selection of that. The QC is intended to present the best* end-to-end Clone Wars “right now”, but recognising that “right now” is a moving target, it’ll be a living project. For example, the best* Clone Wars today doesn’t include Jar Jar meeting Admiral Ackbar, so that won’t be my editing focus. But if the Obi-Wan show really builds on and reinforces that relationship to the point that showing Jar Jar’s first meeting with Ackbar becomes a net value add, then it deserves to be in the QC.

By comparison, the Mando Cut will really just need creating once and then probably not returned to, since it’s mainly an offering for today’s audience, rather than tomorrow’s.

The QC is core. Mando cut is the trimmed version, and the other two versions are really just about presenting them in the right order for people who’d rather consume more SW.

But like I say, the Quality Cut is really THE project as far as I’m concerned. Once I have its draft chronology worked out (which should be this weekend), it’s on to editing properly. First edit will be our first episode, which whether or not it features Domino Squad will at least give us the cold open which focuses our attention on Mauldalore plus introduces Ahsoka. Once you have both that episode and the chronology which allows Mauldalore to be more of a running thread, you essentially have v1 of TCW:Refocused. It’s launched.

I’m aware that sounds kind of ridiculous - slap one scene at the start of one episode and call it a new TV show - but at that point this becomes a living project for me. I’ll have the chronology, I’ll have the sense of priority (currently about 19 full episode edits to make if I remember right), but the work turns into me taking a handful of episodes from that new chronology, seeing what can be done to trim them in line with our goals, polishing them up, and putting the new episode in place of those it replaces. There are more straightforward ones, there are more complex ones, but then there are the more radical ideas which may come later. I feel like we very quickly get this up to a decent standard, and then it becomes a case of maintenance and constant tinkering over a longer term. The goals will always be (1) best* quality episode, and (2) best* quality holistic show experience.

*In my subjective, limited opinion, etc etc

In that Bad Batch trailer, I spotted Kamino, Zygerria, one of Saw Gererra’s crew, and Tarkin. Any other key TCW elements that’ve been noticed?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYIW9MJzrRw

Gross!

From an outsider’s perspective, I’d say yes as long as it doesn’t feel like it merely continues on with something tangential after what felt like the finale.

I think that’s more likely Palpatine after becoming Emperor, I think it’s really likely that this show’s setting is going to be the immediate formation of the Empire, starting around roughly day one of the change. Which is really cool, because it’ll be the first major canon deep dive into that time period, before the Dark Times had ‘bedded in’. It looks like an immediate successor to The Clone Wars, with Zygerria etc, so it might follow up on a few of the open threads (and hopefully adapt one or two of the more exciting sounding unmade TCW episodes if they can shift their place in the timeline).

I don’t plan on rolling that into this project for a couple of reasons. Firstly, since it looks like it’ll be a successor but still definitely its own thing. And secondly, because I doubt any Disney era show will ever be nearly as swingy in quality as TCW was. Rebels could do with maybe a little tightening, and Resistance is pretty much throwaway, but I’m pretty sure all the main shows will be absolute bangers from here on in.

So, I’ve rewatched the Malevolence arc.

-That’s right bitches, Eddie’s rewatching the Clone Wars yet again and making YOU read about it for a second time!-

This time I’m doing a deep dive into the episodes composing Ahsoka’s arc, since that’s the emotional core of the shwo. So I’m just looking at where the value is and what makes the best complete story. Interestingly, she’s only a main character in 18 arcs of ~60.

While the Malevolence arc ends really poorly, the first episode is really good, especially for Ahsoka. It has light Snips/Sky Guy, which is far less obnoxious, but a good plot about Anakin teaching Ahsoka how do disobey orders the right way, and both of them demonstrate good instincts and a care for those around them.

The second episode retreads a lot of the same ground in terms of Anakin/Ahsoka and Ahsoka/Plo, and frankly very little of importance happens in it - except for some good shots of the ship starting to explode, which could get you a lot of the way towards just cutting right after the first part.

The third, where the ship’s infiltrated, contains a lot of the worst bits of Clone Wars. Cheapened Padmé, cheapened big bads, and goofy C-3PO moments. The infiltration and exfiltration scenes are serviceable, and there’s some good cheering and 'job well done’s at the end to cobble together an ending.

I think the whole arc would be stronger, though, if we don’t see the weapon fire (it’s goofy and not used again), instead allowing it to be a far more ominous mystery, with the escalation/threat really being that they’re targeting escape pods and the emotional impact on the clones and Ahsoka. I’d also take Grievous and Dooku out entirely (since it’s yet another easy win), instead using the opening text to make it either simply a “Separatist Weapon” or maybe something to do with Geonosians.

Ultimately, it’s a pretty damn good Ahsoka episode if the focus is taken off the Malevolence itself. I think there’s a very serviceable 30 minute episode in here, and switching Trench in for the other villains and making his whole thing that he’s pod-killing survivors makes him more malicious too when we see him later in the Order 66 and Bad Batch episodes. Our options for an ending are as follows:

• Something fancy using the stealth ship, where Obi-Wan gives it to Anakin (as in Cat and Mouse) though I think on reflection it’s best not to use it because “no ship that small has a cloaking device” (I know this episode tries to retcon that), and stealth really isn’t much of a thing in Star Wars. There’s a line in the second episode about Anakin “taking a small ship” which would work nicely too.
• Something where Anakin takes the stealth ship and we maintain more of the Malevolence elements where Obi-Wan thinks Anakin is crazy, though it makes us question where Anakin got a stealth ship. Unless it’s not stealth, and maybe there’s an angle where he made it himself? He is an engineer/pilot… I wonder.
• Something to do with the infiltration and re-plotting the hyperdrive to make it crash (a bit boring) though this is probably relatively hard to make work because more characters appear in those scenes, and the infiltration adds little
• Something to do with infiltration and self-destruct or similar (there is an “the engines are overloading” line which is originally used to refer to Padmé’s ship)
• Just have the goodies catch up with it and kill it with regular laser fire. I think this is cleanest since we shouldn’t be wasting time trying to drag this out, and we’ve had our main course with the Anakin/Ahsoka/Plo stuff. Ahsoka helps rescue Plo, scene of them saying “let’s go get them”, shot of them coming out of hyperspace and a brief scuffle, cut to explosions, cut to cheering. Straight to the point.

I’ve just watched Cat and Mouse and I think using Trench with Malevolence would give us the best of both. The Trench scenes in C&M are either him being quite malicious and capable, or Yularen talking about how much of a threat he is. The stealth ship feels a bit out of place (especially early in the Clone Wars) and while it shows off Anakin’s tactical skill, that isn’t exactly new texture to his character.

I think the best use of these four episodes is basically to frame it as some new Separatist general who’s devastating Republic ships and taking no survivors. It’s believed Plo’s fleet has been hit the same way - we don’t see how (it’s implied to just be a regular battle against overwhelming odds/strategy), we just see Plo trying to save the lives of the clones, as Ahsoka (under Anakin’s wing) breaks the rules on a hunch to save him. After the save, Yularen goes back to his terminal and realises it was Trench. Yularen and Anakin agree immediate aggression is a good idea, at which they track and destroy his ship. I might see if I can do something to imply Trench’s survival so his presence can hang over the series.

This should pay off nicely later too, since ultimately he attacks more clones in the Order 66 arc, and then is killed face to face by Anakin in the Bad Batch arc.

I think the only thing left from those episodes which is any good is seeing Bail working on relief efforts, which doesn’t make an episode in itself. That might be able to work with Ahsoka’s intro episode, or the theoretical ‘return to Christophsis’ episode where we see the defector clone (which just doesn’t belong that early in the series either).

As a reminder, we really should crack through this one as quickly as possible if at all, because it looks like shit.

Yeah, that’s fair. I’ll certainly account for feedback on ideas like this. I wouldn’t want to break canon where there’s a chance it gets referenced again in other core media - i.e. it damages the franchise’s cohesiveness. But in this case I was considering both sources as fair game since it feels like Malevolence and Trench are both ‘siloed’ plots unlikely to be revisited. But you’re right - there has to be a call made on where things land on the spectrum of quality versus purity. The ‘purer’ alternative would essentially just be a heavily trimmed Malevolence. Which would be fine.

I suppose this comes from an intention to creatively preserve the best elements of otherwise not particularly good episodes - nice if it works, because then you get nice lumps of quality. But potentally messy of course, and as you say, technically non-canon, though I wouldn’t want it to cause an actual canon conflict.

On the other hand, this stuff’s all optional either way. This edit would definitely be way down at the low priority end of things, one that could be toyed with long after the initial Malevolence trim were produced. (I’m just thinking about it now while I focus specifically on Ahsoka.)

I would be interested how it would feel to swap Grievous with Trench at the very least on a concept scale. Since Grievous wouldn’t be in the episode, it adds menace and keeps him in the shadows, which would emphasize his later appearances more. With Grievous and Dooku, I think less screen time for them in general heightens tension and makes them feel less fallible or beatable.

Yeah, exactly. Both Grievous and Dooku should be background strategists first, and extreme threats if they ever appear on the frontline. We already know they survive the Clone Wars so there’s no tension seeing them on the battlefield against other characters we know survive.