WARNING!: contains spoilers for the Clone Wars episode Front Runners. You may want to see this before reading on. :) Also please remember that this is my opinion and that I really love the Clone Wars and appreciate being able to watch something new with Star Wars for most of the year. :)
Ok, so if you've been following my various rampages on twitter, you probably know that so far season 5 hasn't really impressed me. The plots are just 'ok', the characters aren't really developing that much, there's a lack of intelligence in their moves, and ( most importantly) THERE ARE NO CLONES!!! >:C (for me clone centered episodes = all these things these episodes so far have been lacking.) The worst thing that has bugged me about these last few episodes about Onderon rebels has mainly been the intelligence aspect of it.
In this episode the main action is centered around blowing up a power plant. Ok, it'll take down the droids eventually, but what about everyone else?? My first thought was a hospital. If people get hurt, which they will, how the heck are they going to perform even the simplest/sanitary operation without power? How are these people--who appear to live surrounded by dry desert and forest--supposed to preserve their food stuffs?! How are they supposed to get water?!
What makes this plan work even less is the fact that if there are any fuel-powered generators, the droids will get a hold of them and even more people might get injured or die. Sorry, but if I were those people I wouldn't be cheering the rebels on if they forced me to live in derelict conditions or in constant peril. Ok, so that's the sacrifice I have to make to get the droids out, well guess what, if it means possibly killing people who don't really want to be involved is that really the means you want to get them out?
And just the way the rebels conducted themselves. Jumping out of alleyways or firing off of rooftops, it reminded me more of terrorist tactics than that of a more justice driven group! If Cody or I were to choose, we would keep our rendezvous/strikes to the night. We'd dress in all black, with black plating and nightvision goggles. We'd use our hands or silencer guns to take out the droids a few at a time. Forget about destroying hundreds of droids! When you're trying to keep hidden right under the nose of the guy who wants you dead, you better work on a smaller, more stealthy operation. One with "less noise" as Cody would say. If I was the the king I'd be like, "Well, since forensics [since that's the first thing you always do when trying to figure out your enemy!] show that half the rounds came from rooftop, might as well mount cameras all over my palace walls, place electrodes onto the rooftops, and put some snipers all over the city roofs." I don't know, maybe the king guy isn't so smart. War is just an arms race. They tear the head off of a regular battle droid, you send in only supes (super battle droids). They use the hivemind of the droids to plot an attack, you keep the routes and stations changing. They stage an all out attack on your powerplant, you steal everyone's generator, and make an example of the four random people jumping up and down in front of a burning tank. Duh. The fact that this king guy does absolutely nothing, makes me believe that he is as worthless and stupid as they come. :p If the rebels did kill him, nothing would change.
At least Dooku was smart enough to say, "You need to man up and think, dude! I'm not gonna send you droids so they can get taken out because you're not doing your part!". That's like half the problem! Sure the droids apparently can't think for themselves, but that's why the Separatists have always been very good at employing these crafty leaders! i.e. Grevious, Admiral Trench (though he isn't half as brilliant as Grevious), my OC Thestius Braken, Durge, Asajj Ventress.....
That all was just commentary up there. ^ Wishful thinking, I guess. I realize that they can't possibly pack all that reasoning into such a short amount of episodes. Maybe that's why it takes me so much thought, effort, and time thinking about my books. I want them to be reasonable. I want the characters to act like real, intelligent (or mostly intelligent beings). I want my characters to prove their prowess through their actions and plans, not through just hap-hazard planning like this.
What really burned me, what I really did not like about this episode, was when Anakin remarked that the "501st had competition" from the rebels. >80 .............. WHAT?! The 501st, that had trained since practically birth, been on hundreds of campaigns, killed a rogue Jedi, and did like a thousand epic things because they're clones and Skywalker says that?! How could you say that to a man who's saved your life!?! Ok seriously?! A bunch of rebels that only trained for literally three days is somehow better than an ENTIRE legion of CLONES!?! Is Anakin on crack?!!!! And since the 501st is pretty much the posterboys of the GAR what does that make underdog-212th? Wimpy??!! My mouth literally hung open a minute after he said that because I realized how much that comment must have hurt. If any of the other legions got wind of that, they would hurt even worse. :( I know Anakin was probably joking and Rex was quick/witty enough to just go along with it, but seriously, that Jedi needs to watch his mouth. Those rebels are over confident enough as it is! I'm just waiting for one of them to just get pummeled by a supe or something, and since they took out the power whoever it is is gonna die or get some serious infection because the antibacterial juice (basically penicillin) has turned to crap since it hasn't been refrigerated. xP They need to pull a 212th and get more humble or they're going to mess up big time.
I totally agree with Steela being the leader, and love how Rex was the first one to see that. She's the most level headed, the most skilled, and probably the one who's going to make up for what the group lacks. I pretty much hate Lux right now. I don't care that Ahsoka likes him save that it might hurt Rex. :c If she were smarter she might have realized these things but I think her character has lost a lot of intelligence after the Citadel arc. :L Maybe in this next one she'll realize what's more important. Like I said before of Lux, I really have no idea why they like each other or what is really that special about him.
The last thing I like about this arc is that it gets me into the deep-writing mood!! XD I've already written at least three pivotal scenes in my earlier Clone Wars books because of the motivation these episodes put me in. Absolutely love it. I can't think of anything I'd rather do: Writing a war novel about clones drinking peppermint tea while listening to the soundtrack from The Pacific or TSFH music........Absolute bliss. X)
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