(RE)RELEASED - S01E09 - A Strike at the Heart (V2.0)

RELEASE VERSION, now brought up to my more polished 2.0 standard.
Our ninth episode of the first season, and the first part of the two-part finale.
Comprising the original episodes Holocron Heist and Hostage Crisis
Running 31 minutes.
DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.

These are two Cad Bane centric episodes combined to essentially make the hostage crisis in the senate building a distraction to help enable the holocron heist, using the idea that Smudger9 had for his movie.

This is the first of a two-parter, the second of which combines Holocron Heist’s follow-up episodes, split here mainly because the episode that follows this had a lot of plot happen in its narration, which I needed to preserve via a new opening crawl.

They’re a great set of episodes, and a fitting season finale - Cad Bane is an excellent new villain, we get absolutely all of our main characters going on a great high-stakes romp through Coruscant and space, and we get some great hints at Palpatine’s larger plans and a good chapter in Ahsoka’s growth (more on that in the detail for s01e10).

Compared to the prior version of this episode I’ve only really added polish, mainly including a slicker start (and introduction to Bane) and a cleaner ending. I also took out Ahsoka’s failiure at Felucia and subsequent discipline, since that scene’s now used earlier this season (as discipline for a similar failiure at Ryloth) to help justify why she’s offscreen for a couple of episodes so early.

Noteworthy changes:

The episode is titled ‘A Strike at the Heart’ to highlight that it’s the first episode in this season where the capital planet - Coruscant - is attacked. It also highlights the personal stakes for Anakin as both Padmé and Ahsoka are put in jeopardy.
Used the opening text to continue the theme of both sides re-strategising for the long war they now know is coming. I also mention Cad Bane’s ‘network of specialists’ to help explain to the viewer why he appears to have two different teams in this episode, and took the opportunity to emphasise Anakin and Padmé’s relationship as well as Ahsoka’s discipline causing a little growth, which’ll lead nicely into the respect she’s earned by next season.
The structure of the episode is basically Bane’s introduction via his scenes with the shapeshifter, before he and his larger crew infiltrate the senate and capture hostages, and upon that distraction going to plan he then goes to the Jedi temple to steal the holocron.
Dialogue changes throughout and intercutting to Ahsoka in the Jedi temple help the two plots run side by side, and there’s some useful Anakin dialogue which in context explains that he’s heading back to the temple in time for the holocron heist, so it all works quite smoothly.
I trimmed some of TODO-360’s silly banter, though he still appears and is generally set upon and dejected so his characterisation is preserved for his appearances in future media.
I trimmed some of Anakin going John McClane in the senate building, but only the weaker bits for pacing, leaving the most exciting bits.
I also trimmed some of the more boring scenes of Cad Bane dealing with obstructions in the Jedi temple shafts, for pacing and to maintain his competency.
I removed all references to the ‘Kyber Crystal’, which in this episode was needed to unlock a holocron (in contrast with newer (and EU) context that Kyber Crystals are for lightsabers and Death Stars). This also serves to simplify Bane’s need for a Jedi to open the holocron, and means we don’t need the Master Ropal angle later.

Onwards now to Future of the Force, the second part of this duology which completes the first season! I’m away for a little while, but should have it out to you all mid-January.