Hello everyone and welcome to another double dose of Clone Wars catchup, this time looking at episodes of 9 and 10 of season 4. Starting with episode 9, we continued with one of the worst army generals of all time now ignoring Obi Wan’s orders. If there was a way to remind you how pig-headed this guy is it was too have him go against one of the greatest Jedi of all time, Obi Wan Kenobi!

I have to say though that I really loved the scenes with the Clones. Fives came into his own, becoming the most vocal in his unhappiness with Krell. You found it was hard to argue with him saying he couldn’t follow orders that he knows are wrong and will directly result in others suffering as a result. If that wasn’t motivational then I don’t know what is. That was a message that everyone can learn from. In saying that I could see where Rex was coming from as he claimed that they were only a small part of the bigger picture but you could tell that he didn’t really believe himself. It was a reason that had been drilled into the clones and it was hard for him to let go of this view he has lived by.

Two of the crew ended up being sentenced to execution despite the success of their mission which just kicked my hatred of Krell up to the next level and it didn’t leave me in the best of moods as the episode finished. As I watched episode 10 though I found myself more invested in than I had in ages and I would argue that it was one of the strongest Clone Wars episode out of them all so far, it was that good.

Rex and the others were finally pushed to stand against Krell but it wasn’t a smooth journey getting there. Jesse ( albeit unintentionally in his mind) bought a little bit of humour to the surprisingly dark situation but I was genuinely unsure if the execution was actually going to happen or not. Them being asked if they wanted to be blindfolded or not by a fellow Clone hit hard to as they refused to answer: they couldn’t believe that others were still following Krell. Luckily almost all of the Clones sided together and the execution was stopped but this episode just kept on pulling out great moments with us changing direction so many times.

For example, I respected how even though they all agreed that krell made bad decisions they didn’t all revolt outright. Krell gave them a mission and (you thought) helpful info to keep them safe. But in a twist that I feel I should have seen coming, Krell actually lied to trick the Clones into shooting and killing each other. That was when you realised how villainous Krell really was. He had no respect for Clone life (seeing them as lesser) and could not handle being questioned in any way.

Them finally calling him out was a great moment but it was heartbreaking to see how many lives it cost them as Krell just kept cutting them down one after another. It is hard to put into words how much they made you hate him and credit goes to the writers as they just kept dialling it up, having it build a little bit more in each episode. At the time I wanted him to just get eaten by the big monster but the end they gave him was much more fitting. As Rex struggled to decide whether killing him was the best choice, the one clone who had sided with him for the longest shot him instead, finally siding with his brothers. They didn’t endorse the murderous choice but I for oen was glad to see Krell gone.

I also liked how it seeded in the Clones the idea that not all of the Jedi are good people. They are not all the clear heroes who respect all life. This feeds in to Order 66 and them turning on the Jedi as if Krell was this bad then many be others were too.

DD Rating: (9) 8/10 (10) 10/10