Hello and welcome back to another Star Wars: The Clone Wars Review! This week we’ll be talking about season 4, episode 8, The General. When Rex and the 501st are sent on a suicide mission by the relentless General Krell, the clones must find a better way to take an Umbaran airfield on their own without reinforcements, or the support of General Krell.
Just as the last episode ended, we start off with this episode in the midst of a battle. This time the clones fight not only Umbaran foot soldiers, but uniquely designed starfighters too, which look very sleek and are able to weave through the trees in a fashion that is very strange for a fighter. The designs make this episode so incredible! Everything from improving the environments we saw last week, to the new weaponry that the Umbaran people unleash on Rex and his men, this episode would not have worked at all if it weren’t for some of the unique tanks and other machines of destruction. I’m of course referring to the deadly and amazingly designed caterpillar type war machines that create one of the most suspenseful, action packed, and hectic battle scenes we’ve seen in The Clone Wars. And the fact that it was not another droid sent by the separatists is going to make me miss episodes like these that have original and unique features, and weaknesses, after we go back to the run of the mill battle droids.
This episode was a lot more centered on Captain Rex and his development over the course of the episode. He starts out with the attitude of following his oath, no matter what the cost, he knows “the price of victory”. He has a duty to his men, but overall he has his duty to obey his superiors, the Jedi. That is what he understands. But over the course of the episode, and especially because Rex stays behind with the men in the middle of a perilous fight against unbeatable odds while Fives and Hardcase go off to do the heroic stuff, I think Rex gained a better understanding of Krell’s wrongdoings and misguided tactics. He went along with Krell’s flawed plans uneasily in the first episode, and then went off plan in this episode by sending Fives and Hardcase to take over the starfighters, which saved a lot of clones and won the battle. I think from now on we’re going to see a Rex that will put his men before his oath, or even himself. It’s only a matter of time before Rex completely disobeys Krell. In the ending of this episode, we see Rex clench his fist when Krell mentioned “the price of victory” which meant that Rex is starting to lose his patience and trust in his general when it comes to mindlessly following orders. This brings us closer to a possible ending of the arc, whatever that may be.
On a side note, I also thought that the scenes of Fives and Hardcase saved this episode from being completely dark and depressing. Their witty humor and Hardcases, “hyperactive” trigger finger, created a nice break in between all the destruction and chaos. And not to mention the hilarious climax where we get to see them pilot the enemy starfighters, that had me laughing along with the clones. Definitely a highlight of the episode for me.
And that wraps up my review for The General! Overall, I thought this was the strongest episode of the season in almost every way. From character, to action, to design, it was all around a fantastic episode! Let us know what you thought of this episode by leaving a comment below! Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you… always
–Ryan
Author: admin
The Star Wars Report: A Star Wars Podcasting Network and Website.
I enjoyed the first episode of this arc more than this one but this was still a great episode. I really do hope that we get to see Krell in action soon. He is too good of a design to have just standing around. Can’t wait to see how the next two episodes play out.
I have a good feeling like we’ll see krell in action, most likely in the last episode(it is called the Carnage of Krell after all) they’ve hinted at some of his lightsaber skills in the first episode when he takes down those flying creatures. But I think I did like this episode better than the first, lots more action, and the Clones really were more on their own, and the challenges seemed more deadly. Just my opinions