Prior Episodes | 7957 (20 BBY) | Next Episodes
Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Deception (2012) [S4E15]
All warfare is based on deception.
"A terrorist threat! Moralo Eval, mastermind of a Separatist plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine,
has been captured by Republic forces. But even with the criminal behind bars, rumors swirl
in the underworld of Coruscant that Moralo's plot has already been set in motion. With
precious time running out, the Jedi Council hatches their own plot to keep the Chancellor safe..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Friends and Enemies (2012) [S4E16]
Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
"Fugitives on the run! Disguised as the Jedi killer Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan Kenobi works
undercover to solve a Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Obi-Wan meets the plot's
mastermind, Moralo Eval, breaking him out of jail to gain his trust. But now Kenobi faces
another obstacle: bounty hunter Cad Bane. Can Obi-Wan Kenobi overcome Bane's suspicions?
Or will the ruthless criminal see through his disguise and expose the Jedi? Only time will tell..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Box (2012) [S4E17]
The strong survive, the noble overcome.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise! Working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan leads
a secret mission to uncover the Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Using cunning
and courage, he gains the trust of bounty hunter Cad Bane and criminal mastermind Moralo
Eval, earning him entrance into the stronghold of Separatist leader, Count Dooku. Now, it is
here on the beautiful planet of Serenno that a barbaric contest will determine the fate of
Obi-Wan Kenobi and possibly the Republic itself..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Crisis on Naboo (2012) [S4E18]
Trust is the greatest of gifts, but it must be earned.
"Supreme Chancellor in peril! After surviving the ordeals of the Box, Obi-Wan Kenobi, working
undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, is invited to join Count Dooku's plot against Chancellor
Palpatine. Working with a team of deadly bounty hunters, Obi-Wan travels to the planet of
Naboo, where the Chancellor will preside over the Festival of Light. Now, as the Jedi Council
and Count Dooku finalize their respective plans, a deadly confrontation seems inevitable..."




CONTINUITY
These four episodes form a single storyline about the plot to kidnap the Chancellor. The chronological order of episodes is as given
by Lucasfilm, and follows their release order. The planet Orondia is seen for the first time. Five worlds are seen in these episodes:

The episode 'The Box' is a tribute to the sci-fi horror film Cube.

- Obi-Wan's funeral is attended by many Jedi, and the mourners attending the coffin in the ceremony are fellow Council members Ki-Adi Mundi, Adi Gallia,
Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, Saesee Tiin, Yoda, and Mace Windu, fellow Jedi Anakin, Ahsoka, and Barriss Offee, Chancellor Palpatine, his friends in the Senate,
Padme, Bail Organa, Jar Jar, Mon Mothma, and his beloved Duchess Satine Kryze.


Why do the Jedi go down what Yoda considers a dark path just to keep the Chancellor from looking weak? This is
an unusual amount of effort to go through over a public appearance. If it is not safe, and the Jedi warn Palpatine of
the danger, then send Jedi with him, and do all they can, and Palpatine is killed, it would be a blow to the Republic, but
as it is a democracy a new Chancellor can be chosen. It might be different if Palpatine was working more closely along
the lines the Jedi would like, but there has already been plenty of friction, and moves by Palpatine that were not
popular with the Jedi. It could be that their fear of whom the Senate might put in his place outweighs their concerns
about Palpatine at this point. As it is the Republic which must be preserved in their eyes, their focus on Palpatine
himself seems excessive. This operation had plenty of negative fallout, and provided only minimal assistance to their
security efforts. Obi-Wan describes their success on Naboo as having "saved the Republic", having kept one politician
safe. The Jedi serve the Senate, and Palpatine seems to have already convinced them that he is the Senate.


- A Jedi mind trick can be used to make people sleep, or perhaps the suggestion of sleep causes them to immediately doze off.

- The Central Detention Center on Coruscant is a large prison for high profile criminals, those arrested by the Jedi or Republic officials, or those
involved in high level organized crime, who are far more likely to have resourceful allies that might try to liberate them. Presumably, these are
not the planet's local prisoners, or its only prison, as the number of petty criminals on Coruscant would overwhelm a facility of this size.


- Moralo Eval seems to be paying off the guards to be accommodating to him somewhat during his incarceration, ferrying a prisoner to speak with
him privately in his cell, and then waiting around for them to be done talking. He also has Cad Bane as his cellmate, which is too coincidental not
to have been arranged, as a product of whatever means Eval used to gain influence over the guards. Eval's capture was not according to plan,
so Bane allowed himself to be captured, as he is being paid to break Eval out of prison. Boba and Bossk are still in jail for their actions in
'Death Trap' (S2E20), and are also housed in the Central Detention Center.

- Obi-Wan's undercover code name is "Ben", the same name he will come to go by after the Great Jedi Purge of the coming year.


Why aren't there either kind of ray shields, or even blast doors, in the corridors at this prison, to contain escapees?
Considering the various monitoring and security technologies available, and the high profile nature of this prison,
their countermeasures are woefully inadequate and poorly conceived. Considering how awful Republic prison
security is, it is at least less surprising that these criminals keep breaking out of prison so easily.



The clones working in the prison morgue and crematorium are all Captains, or at least all officers, in the Republic Navy.
Their dress uniforms could be army uniforms, but their insignia are clearly naval insignia. It seems like the creators once
again decided not to bother making a new template, and that this detail was unimportant or wouldn't be noticed.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


- Bilbousa is the capital city of Nal Hutta, homeworld of the Hutts. It hosts the planet's most important spaceport, and a significant population which
is a cosmopolitan mix of species, most of which are from worlds traditionally within Hutt space. It is a regional hub for commerce and trade, and
has a significant service industry. The city is towered over by the palace of Gardulla the Hutt, who is Jabba's representative on the planet.



Eval and Obi-Wan both seem to have some money on them on Nal Hutta, where did they get it? Perhaps they made
an unseen stop at a bank or suitable lending service, which might explain why Eval has enough money for clothes,
weapons, a starship, and fuel, but that doesn't explain why Obi-Wan has credits on him, which he tries to offer to
Pablo for his trouble. Did he use money withdrawal services at some point without drawing suspicion, or is
the implication supposed to be that they had all this money on them in jail?


- Palpatine is testing Anakin by sending him to Nal Hutta, as the Sith do, but primarily is driving a further wedge between Anakin and the Jedi Council.
He may also know about the Jedi plan through the Force somehow, and is therefore hoping he kills Obi-Wan, which could then be blamed on the Jedi.
Assuming he does not, sending Anakin on a personal revenge mission against the orders of the Council, while appearing to be Anakin's supportive
friend and ally, is exactly the kind of conditioning that Palpatine has been putting Anakin through all along, a program he is now accelerating.
Main Article: Darth Sidious and The Plan


How does Ahsoka know about Orondia? She quickly notes it is mostly deserted. It is one of millions of worlds with little
population or notoriety, is located far from the Core, and isn't even in Republic space, as it lies in Hutt space. Perhaps
she did some research on the flight to prepare for the mission. It would seem extremely unlikely she just happened to
be familiar with this one obscure planet among millions.
Main Article: Galactic Population


- The planet Orondia is a rocky and desolate world relatively close to Nal Hutta, in Hutt Space within the Outer Rim. It hosts at least a refueling depot,
and a small trading settlement with shops. It is said to be the nearest planet to Nal Hutta which has ship refueling facilities. It does not have any
major population, although the atmosphere is breathable, so there may be other small settlements elsewhere on the planet.



Why couldn't Anakin sense Obi-Wan is there when he is standing right in front of him? Based on all other examples,
this makes no sense. If the implication is that his anger has unbalanced him and left him unfocused, it still should have
become clear to Anakin at some point that this presence was incredibly familiar to him, before he tried to kill Obi-Wan.
Anakin does say that he felt a connection, but apparently couldn't place it. In the very first The Clone Wars film,
Obi-Wan on the planet could sense when Anakin in space went into hyperspace and left the starsystem. Even Dooku
sensed something odd about 'Rako Hardeen' when he focused on him, and they don't have a strong bond in the Force.


- In typical Sith fashion for choosing operatives, Dooku holds a lethal tournament designed to weed out the 'unworthy' and those who the Force
is not with. Dooku refers to the struggle to escape his high-tech death maze as a "friendly little contest".

- The contestants are Onca and Bulduga who are Ithorians, Embo who is a Kyuzo, Cad Bane who is a Duro, Derrown 'the Exterminator' who is
a Parwan, Obi-Wan undercover as Rako Hardeen 'the Marksman of Concord Dawn' who is a Human, Jackoli who is a Rodian, Mantu who is
a Selkath, Twazzi who is a Frenk, Kiera Swan who is a Weequay, Sinrich who is a Snivvian, and Sixtat 'the Outlands Butcher' who is a Sakiyan.
Moralo Eval, who is a Phindian, is the designer and operator of the box, but Dooku also makes him compete.


- Kiera Swan won the Obsidian Sphere on two occasions. This event or trophy is well-known enough to these bounty hunters to not require
further explanation. Supplementary material suggests the Obsidian Sphere is a bounty hunting tournament. Likewise, Cad Bane is so
well-known, at least in mercenary and bounty hunting circles, that he needs no introduction. Embo is noted as a rising star in the world
of professional bounty hunters.

- Rako Hardeen has a prior reputation as "the Marksman of Concord Dawn". Since he certainly does not seem to be a Mandalorian by practice,
we can assume this is related to some impressive shooting he did on the planet. There isn't much on Concord Dawn besides Mandalorian
Protectors as far as we know, so it's unclear what this refers to. If his target wasn't a Mandalorian, it likely wouldn't have been an impressive
enough or widely observed enough feat to have become well-known. If he was killing or in some way opposing the Protectors, it is surprising
he isn't in hiding from them, or being hunted by these bounty hunters.

- The Selkath, from the planet Manaan, were once known as a peaceful race, but apparently many of them are unscrupulous characters
like Mantu these days, at least according to Dooku.


Were there alternate challenges that Eval could have selected? It seems likely, as the box is easily reconfigured.
Considering that Dooku is so pressed for time, it's not a wise plan to have highly lethal tests that only one
contestant can survive. The first test would have killed many or all if Obi-Wan wasn't wearing a helmet.
The third test required the Parwan to still be alive to pass at all. Seeing as the Parwan was absolutely vital to
this mission, it seems a very risky decision to make him go through all these potentially lethal tests.


- The box employs lightsaber-like devices that seem to share most of the properties of a lightsaber, but exhibit the kind of energy displacement
current seen on weapons like an electrostaff. These many not be used in hand-held weapons due to power requirements, however it would
seem like the power cells used in lightsabers should be sufficient to power these. There is no direct evidence that they use kyber crystals,
however it is unclear if this is the case or not.

- Dooku likely figured out Obi-Wan's identity after he had an odd feeling about him in the Force, all it took was Eval mentioning that the man
he is pretending to be supposedly killed Obi-Wan. Since Dooku knows this operation is a decoy, it is actually more beneficial to allow
Obi-Wan to infiltrate the group. He later tells Bane that "there is something about him I do not trust", but this may be to maintain
the illusion that this plan is meant to succeed.


- Obi-Wan's cooperative Jedi nature turns out to be the main reason why enough of the team survives to attempt the mission at all. Another
great asset is his vast knowledge, as the Jedi are an academic order which study and learn all sorts of practical things about the galaxy
and those in it, which more often than not is a greater advantage to them than their abilities. Obi-Wan's level of knowledge raises some
questions considering the person he is impersonating.

- The red-colored barrier-type of ray shields can be energized to a degree that contact with them is lethal. Electrolytic particles can render
an object capable of passing through a ray shield, if properly employed. This can also work for an organic being if given a serum,
but it is lethal to most species.
Main Article: Shields, Deflectors, and Ray Shields


Was Obi-Wan going to let himself fall into the fire to preserve his cover, rather than use the Force and expose himself
as a Jedi? If he wasn't, he was really holding back to the last second. If he was, that is an incredible amount of
commitment to the mission to help the Chancellor save face and maybe get intel on a plot against him.


- The holographic disguise matrix, invented by the recently deceased bounty hunter Sinrich, is an extremely powerful camouflage system
which seems to project a disguise onto a person without them having to wear any sort of secondary device, and which persists for
a time. The idea that this is a prototype may explain why it is not widely seen in the coming decades, but is a bit odd. It isn't exactly
clear how it works, as no devices were put on when the gang first received their holographic disguises, and yet later they seem to
have a device to place on the Chancellor to hide him, and seem to be able to deactivate their holograms as they wish. If there is
a device they are wearing, which would make much more sense, then the portability of this technology makes it a huge breakthrough.


What is the plan if Palpatine is captured, and the Republic won't make a deal? These episodes attempt to suggest that
the Jedi value the Chancellor's life above a great many things, and as Obi-Wan describes saving Palpatine as saving
the Republic, it is possible the story suggests that the Jedi would make a deal with the Separatists to get him back.
The Jedi don't know the Separatists demands, and while they are asking a high price, they are asking for something
the Republic could agree to without losing the war. That aside, the same question can be asked about Episode III:
what if Dooku keeps defeating the Jedi sent to retake the Chancellor? How long can they dangle the carrot of
the captured Chancellor in front of the Republic and the Jedi before they cut their losses and elect a new Chancellor?
That would ruin Sidious' entire scheme, so he must be setting these traps for Anakin specifically, attempting to
instigate his fall. Sidious needs to settle the matter of Dooku or Anakin once and for all, and needs to do it in a setting
which will fuel Anakin's anger over Palpatine's personal safety, so that Anakin will grow in the dark side if victorious.
Main Article: Darth Sidious and The Plan


- Palpatine still seems to be generally well-liked on Naboo, and likely many are pleased that one of their own is the Chancellor of the Galactic Senate.
In his speech he tells the people that he feels great pride in his home planet.


- The shield which protects the stage with the Chancellor on Naboo is the other kind of ray shield, which has a blue and dome-like appearance.
This shield is designed to protect those within, rather than hold them inside, however this kind might be impenetrable in both directions.
Main Article: Shields, Deflectors, and Ray Shields

- The Festival of Light on Naboo is an annual celebration of Naboo's anniversary of joining the Republic. The festivities feature some very advanced
fireworks. Naboo joined the Republic 847 years earlier, in the year 7110 (867 BBY).

- Anakin has his fourth duel with Dooku, and they have now met in person six times: this duel, their three previous lightsaber duels, on Zygerria,
and when they were captured by pirates. Anakin is becoming very difficult for Dooku to handle. Palpatine watches and judges their contest
while pretending to be a captive, just as he will in Episode III, and is pleased to see the anger and rage Anakin has towards Dooku for
'threatening' him. Anakin's desire to destroy the Sith and end their chaos and violence fuels him, making his already more advanced abilities
all the more deadly. Dooku is still a match for him, but is certainly losing his former edge, and is nearly defeated, only to turn the tables using
his Sith powers. Before making his escape, Dooku pauses to insult Anakin's abilities, not only because he resents Anakin, but also to make his
point to Palpatine, that he is still more powerful than Anakin.


- When Dooku is about to depart, the eerie thunder-like sound is heard, which is produced at times when he connects strongly to the Force through
his hatred. It is one of the unnatural Force distraction and intimidation powers which can be accessed through great knowledge of the dark side.

- Anakin tells Palpatine that "as long as I live, no harm will ever come to you", which proves to be the case, as Anakin will be dying when he kills
Palpatine twenty-five years later. Palpatine states rhetorically that "one shudders to think where the galaxy would be without the Jedi",
a situation he will attempt to create in just over a year.

ANALYSIS
Obi-Wan's fake death is a significant point in Anakin's development. He is angry over the loss of his friend and teacher, and once again angry that he
couldn't prevent the death of a loved one. His anger is fostered and manipulated by Palpatine, who as always presents himself as Anakin's confidant
and ally. He knows how Anakin's strong emotions about his best friend, and his secret wife, are predictable triggers, and as usual he directs Anakin's
frustration towards the Jedi Council, who he correctly suggests doesn't trust Anakin to control his feelings. Palpatine continues to advise Anakin to
embrace his emotional responses, telling him, "you cannot deny your feelings, they are what make you special." When Anakin learns that it was all
a deception engineered by the Council, his anger is redirected towards them, angry that the Council didn't trust him enough to tell him, and lied to
him in the first place. Learning that it was Obi-Wan's plan to lie to him makes this even worse. He was already resentful that the Jedi were holding
back his progress in the Order, but now also suspects the Council lies as a matter of practice. His destiny in the light side has grown considerably
since the beginning of the war, but so has his destiny in the dark side. Palpatine's careful handling of the Jedi's mistakes in handling Anakin and his
development, out of fear of his potential, has made Anakin's fall all but certain, if Palpatine can only choose the proper timing and circumstances.
Foreshadowing his near future, Anakin tells Palpatine, "I was in the dark as much as you were", when discussing the Jedi deception. Anakin's dark
tendencies have him still committed to avenging the death of someone he loves, despite his misgivings about his actions when his mother died.

Yoda admits to Anakin that the Council was wrong to deceive him. He tells Anakin that "a powerful Jedi you are, and yet dangerous and unpredictable
you can be, to both your friends and enemies", essentially proving that what Palpatine told Anakin was true, the Council does not trust him to control
his feelings. The Jedi have many good reasons for holding Anakin back somewhat, chief among them being that he started his training relatively late,
he has already been advanced far farther than nearly any Jedi as young as him, he has an incredible natural Force ability, a strange and possibly
apocalyptic origin, and a history of insubordination and impatience. Despite that, the Council promoted him to Jedi Knight at nineteen, and now at
twenty-one, he is a top General who is often consulted on strategic matters, but they aren't going to let him in to the inner circle until he can prove
a greater mastery of his emotions. Although Anakin has progressed greatly as a Jedi, and has begun to show some wisdom which comes with
experience, he has not demonstrated a mastery of the humility which comes with true selflessness. Anakin feels he deserves recognition for all he
has given of himself, and though the Council has given him that by promoting him so quickly, Anakin always feels they are holding him back, and
now also knows they are at times deceiving him as well.

The plan to is kidnap the Chancellor, and trade him for the release of all Separatist prisoners. If the Republic doesn't agree, Dooku says he will be executed.
In reality this plan is a decoy, so that Dooku can capture him later, which is in reality a scheme engineered by Sidious to test Anakin, and to accelerate, or
possibly even instigate, Anakin's fall to the dark side. It is just over a year until Episode III and the end of the war, and Palpatine is nearly ready for the final
blow to the Jedi. At this point if things seem to turn against him his plan can be executed with a fair degree of effectiveness, although the final preparations
aren't in place for the full effect of Order 66, and there are still several objectives within the Republic and across the galaxy that would he would ideally like
to sort out before giving the go code. He is now searching for the right situation to bring Anakin over to his side, and in the meantime, beginning to harvest
the fruits of mistrust and discord which he has cultivated between Anakin and the Jedi Council. In addition, like any Sith, he is testing his two pupils in
combat, since either outcome can be to his benefit. If Dooku wins, the Chosen One threat is eliminated, and the final stages can go forth as planned.
If Anakin kills Dooku, he takes a vital step in his descent to the dark side, and may even allow Palpatine to accelerate his program.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
Dave Filoni Explains Why Anakin and Mace Windu Hate Each Other So Much