Star Wars Darkness on Umbara

http://laguerradelasgalaxias-starwars.blogspot.com/I think you'd have to go back to Season 2's "Landing at Point Rain" for an episode that felt this epic in terms of showing a massive (non-space) battle and all of the chaos that accompanies it. The first several minutes of "Darkness on Umbara" were simply incredible to behold. The action was fast-paced, exciting and intense, as the Clone Troopers landed on Umbara and took on the very combat-ready Umbarans.

This would have been awesome to behold on its own, but the actual visuals of Umbara were spectacular. The depiction of this incredibly dark planet, where it was perpetually night, and the small sources of light that let us see the action (including blasters and lightsabers) was beautifully done, accentuated by some of the creatures we saw, such as those little buggers who electrocuted a few poor Clone Troopers at one point and that large, tentacled creature, whose glowing mouth was another clever and unusual light source, amongst all the darkness. It was all so moody and atmospheric and I foresee showing this episode to anyone I know who has resisted The Clone Wars up until now, basically to say, "Look at how freaking awesome this show can be!"

- Lucasfilm

Unlike "Landing at Point Rain," the action did slow down in the middle of the episode, giving us an intriguing storyline that introduced Jedi Master Krell into the mix, and showed his incredibly different attitude towards the Clones compared to Anakin, or really any Jedi we've seen before on this show. Krell was utterly dismissive of the Clone Troopers as men, ignoring requests to rest and coming up with a plan that was almost guaranteed to result in heavy casualties. And while it may have been less physically dangerous, it was quite a notable and uncomfortable slight to hear him call Rex, Fives and their comrades by the cold letter/number designation they originally began life with, rather than the individual names they preferred.

The question is, where is this all leading? Order 66 looms over this series, a moment where the Clone Troopers, en masse, obeyed an order that was jaw-dropping in its actions and ramifications. Yet here, we're seeing that some Clone Troopers can and do question their orders – Fives especially was willing to speak up, even while Rex gritted his teeth and went along with plans he knew were reckless and ill-conceived. So as The Clone Wars progresses, will we see other Clone Troopers that don't obey, without question, somehow weeded out?

Of course, Krell was such a bastard in his treatment of the Clone Troopers. He cared nothing for them, saw them as cannon fodder and menacingly ignited his lightsaber when Fives dared to speak up. Could Krell, and others like him, help convince the Clone Troopers that the Jedi are, for the most part, corrupt, as Palpatine did with Anakin in Revenge of the Sith? Would this contribute to them going along with Order 66? The fact that it was Palpatine who took Anakin out of this campaign, leading to Krell replacing him, is another interesting element here. Much to chew on…. I will say though that Krell softening, even a tiny bit, at the end of the episode -- after Rex had finally had enough and told him off -- did make me question this latter theory… but still, I wonder...

Overall, this was a great episode of The Clone Wars, and easily the best so far for Season 4. It had excellent action, stunning animation, and a compelling conflict for the Clone Troopers, in the form of this far from idealized Jedi. I'm excited to see where the rest of this four-part story arc takes us.