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

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Gathering (2012) [S5E6]
He who faces himself, finds himself.
"As the Clone War scorches its destructive path across the galaxy, it is the Jedi who bring order to
the chaos. Though as the war progresses, the number of Jedi have declined, and new younglings are
harder to find. When a youngling is located, they are brought to the Jedi Temple and learn quickly
that their true family is now the Jedi Order. The trials are hard. Tests must be passed. But none is as
important as The Gathering. It is then that a Jedi's path will truly begin..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - A Test of Strength (2012) [S5E7]
The young are often underestimated.
"Ancient Jedi tradition! Six younglings are sent to the secret caverns of Ilum, where they are
tested by The Gathering, an ancient Jedi ritual where each youngling must harvest a crystal around
which they will construct their own lightsaber. Along the journey, they underwent great perils,
hardest of which was to face themselves. Now, having passed the test, they take their first steps
into a larger world..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Bound for Rescue (2012) [S5E8]
When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.
"Piracy in deep space! Infamous outlaw Hondo Ohnaka attacks a Jedi transport bearng six
younglings who just received their lightsaber crystals. So rare are these crystals, that Hondo
knows he can sell them on the black market for a small fortune. In a desperate attempt to save
the younglings, Ahsoka Tano is captured by Hondo and his pirate horde. Now, with a damaged ship,
the younglings are stranded and alone..."
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - A Necessary Bond (2012) [S5E9]
Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope.
"Pursued by pirates! While on a rite of passage, six Jedi younglings and Ahsoka Tano are ambushed.
While protecting the young Jedi, Ahsoka was captured by the nefarious Hondo Ohnaka and taken to the
planet Florrum. Marshalling their courage and training, the younglings infiltrated the pirate stronghold
and rescued Ahsoka. Now we find our heroes in a race to their starship, with the pirates closing in..."




CONTINUITY
These four episodes form a single storyline about the Jedi trial of the Gathering. The chronological order of episodes
is as given by Lucasfilm, and follows their release order. Three worlds are seen in these episodes:


- The number of Jedi have declined, though to what extent is unclear. In 'Assassin' (S3E7), Padme says that more than a hundred Jedi had been killed in
the war, and that figure must not include those who were killed on Geonosis during Episode II. That was 18 months into the war, and it has been another
year, so perhaps the figure is somewhere between 140 and 200 Jedi killed. We have no reason to believe the last year of war was any more or less deadly
to the Jedi. Based on a number of references, there should have been at least 6000 adult Jedi to begin with. The narrator's statement that the number has
declined is therefore accurate, however the war hasn't come close to threatening to deplete the Jedi of warriors. It is also mentioned that new Younglings
are harder to find, which is likely due to the war. Whatever searching or testing methods the Jedi used in the past are obviously disrupted by their activities
and the chaotic situation in many parts of the galaxy. If the Republic and local planetary governments were in any way involved in reporting Force-sensitive
young people, the divide in the galaxy has severely hampered that. There is no evidence to suggest there are more or less Force-sensitive children being born.

- In the newsreel at the beginning of the episode, we see two shots of Master Plo meeting little three-year-old Ahsoka, thirteen years earlier in 7944 (33 BBY).
These two shots are the first appearance of the planet Shili, the homeworld of the Togruta people. The planet and baby Ahsoka are also seen in
Tales of the Jedi 'Life and Death' (S1E1), which is set in 7941 (36 BBY) and 7942 (35 BBY).


- Master Sinube is seen as a prominent Jedi in training Younglings. His wisdom, experience, and patient nature make him an ideal instructor.

- The Gathering is an important Jedi trial, which marks the graduation of a Youngling from elementary training to the secondary training period before becoming
a Padawan. The Younglings will build their first lightsabers, but before they can, must get their own kyber crystals. Traditionally, Jedi Younglings get their crystals
from Ilum, and so the Jedi administer then trial when the sun is going down on Ilum, adding an element of urgency to the proceedings.

- Ilum, first seen in Clone Wars 'Chapter 14', is seen from space for the first time. It is a cold and wet planet located in the Unknown Regions, in what would
be considered the Outer Rim, if the region weren't unorganized. It is far from most of known space, but relatively close to Coruscant compared to most
of the Unknown Regions. Based on what is said about the planet in its appearances, few if any in the galaxy know of Ilum's location or how to get there
besides the Jedi, who preserve this world and maintain a temple there.


- The temple of Ilum is the most sacred place to the Jedi, according to Ahsoka. The planet, and the temple, are incredibly strong with the Force, due to the kyber
crystals which can be found in an incredible abundance within the crust. Kyber crystals amplify and focus the Force naturally, and are the basis of all Force-based
technology. Like other remote Jedi temples, it can only be accessed if all standing at the entrance point use the Force to access the door together. The mechanism
which controls this, built by the Jedi over 20,000 years earlier, must be powered and controlled by kyber crystals. This allows the Jedi to leave temples unattended.


Why is Yoda there waiting for them in the temple? They travel there with Ahsoka on the Crucible, then unlock the temple
together, and when they come in Yoda is sitting there. Did he fly here on his own just for the purposes of giving them
a mild surprise when they got there. He's just sitting there in the cold when he could have traveled with them on
the ship and still shared his wisdom and observed the trial. What was the point of this, to teach the Younglings that
one never knows what surprising thing may happen next? It seems a bit of an underwhelming lesson for the effort
this required. Perhaps he was off of Coruscant, and joined them for the trial in between duties. This is quite possible,
however Yoda seems to remain on Coruscant more than any other member of the High Council. Apparently, Yoda
doesn't mind the cold, as he is the only one not bundled-up.


- The entrance and main hall of the temple of Ilum appear to be intact or have been repaired, although the caverns and tunnels show what appears to be more
permanent damaged from the attack three years earlier during Clone Wars 'Chapter 14'. The trial is apparently unaffected by the damage.

- Ilum has a 19 day rotational period, meaning the daytime and the nighttime on Ilum each last 9.5 Coruscant days, which are presumed to be similar to Earth days.
Main Article: Planetology

- The Younglings are connected to the crystal that suits their identity in the Force. Their crystal calls to them with a sound or a spectacle that only they can notice.
In order to gain their crystals, the will first be tested by the Force itself through the temple. The ordeals test their specific weaknesses, which they must overcome
to pass. Byph learns courage, Ganodi learns hope, Gungi learns patience, Zatt learns trust, Katooni learns confidence, and Petro learns selflessness.

- The Jedi starship Crucible is used as a training ship, and features prominently in the Gathering trial. Like some other Jedi departments, the ship has its
own symbol, which appears on its doors and elsewhere. The Crucible is a Paladin-class corvette, built over 1100 years earlier during the waning
centuries of the Old Republic, and having been in service since that time. It was built be Rendili Vehicle Corporation, the predecessor to Rendili StarDrive,
which still builds ships in this era. Just like the Jedi Order, it survived the fall of the Old Republic, but neither could survive the chaos of the Clone Wars.


- Professor Huyang is the architect droid who lives on the Crucible, and is himself also over a thousand years old. It seems likely he has been upgraded
at times in his existence, since he doesn't appear to be a thousand years less advanced then the 'modern' droids.

- Huyang mentions that lightsabers are a Jedi's only true ally, "from the Battles of Rashfond, to the Peacekeeping of Parliock, to our very own Clone Wars."
These events are likely to have occurred during Huyang's millennia of existence, and possibly within the last hundred years, as people usually reference
notable events which will be familiar to those they are speaking to.

- Jedi Wookiees are rare. Presumably they aren't the only race which has relatively fewer Force wielding members. Races like Humans who are driven to
overpopulate, are found in far greater numbers in the galaxy to begin with, so this is likely why more restrained populations have fewer of these very
rare children. With 10,000 or so as Jedi, and undoubtedly some missed, this still makes being a Force wielder an incredibly rare thing in the galaxy.

- Only wood from a Brylark tree is as a strong as metal.

- Kyber crystals are rare, and exceptionally valuable on the interstellar black market. Kyber crystals are naturally occurring, but are found on only a handful of
known planets in the galaxy, and on Ilum their abundance and concentration is unparalleled. They seem to be illegal to trade openly in the Republic.


After the Crucible leaves Ilum, it isn't seen to enter hyperspace, but it must have, since they are soon far from
Ilum. They have dropped out of hyperspace, and are just flying around, presumably to give the Younglings time to learn
about building lightsabers, and to complete their assembly. Ilum is secret, and quite out of the way. How does Hondo find
them? He cites his vague "sources", but this is an incredible breach of Jedi security. Since non-Jedi work in the temple, it's
not impossible he learned of the training mission, but how did he locate where they dropped out of hyperspace without
a tracking beacon? If the Jedi are that badly compromised by a small-time pirate operation from the Outer Rim, their
security is terrible. Once the Younglings contact Obi-Wan, we learn that "their coordinates put them dangerously close to
Florrum". Apparently, the Jedi flew their inexperienced children to Ilum, and then instead of hanging around in lightly
traveled space between Coruscant and Ilum, they flew most of the way across the galaxy to a dangerous and highly
contested sector in the Outer Rim, immediately adjacent to the region containing the Separatist capital, the very sector
where Obi-Wan and his forces are fighting desperate battles against significant Separatist forces. Hondo apparently heard
somehow that the Jedi were planning a pointless excursion with vulnerable young students into his lawless Sector, and
somehow located them in the vastness of space so he could attack them. This was likely done so the creators could reuse
the templates for Hondo, his crew, Florrum, and his base, in order to keep the supporting cast small and save on
production of entirely new animation. There are trillions of people in the galaxy, but they run into Hondo again, and
only because they took a suicidal flightpath for no reason, and due to his unexplained intel. This is probably
the most contested region in the galaxy during the entire war, basically the most dangerous destination possible.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel



- Inverting the emitter matrix inside a lightsaber will cause it to explode when activated.

- Obi-Wan has his fourth confrontation with Grievous, this time in a situation where Grievous clearly has the superior fighting position. In each
confrontation Obi-Wan had been getting more of an upper-hand on Grievous. This time Obi-Wan and his troops are too cornered for him to
focus on trying to defeat or capture Grievous, however Obi-Wan continues to thwart the General, in this case by blowing up his own destroyer.
The valuable information in the computer of Obi-Wan's flagship is bait that nearly leads to Grievous falling victim to the ship's the self-destruct.

- Zatt's scanner is able to detect the power from the isolated pirate stronghold and use it to determine direction. This is likely easier to accomplish in
this isolated and largely unpopulated region of Florrum. It is not known if there are any other settlements of note on the planet.
Main Article: Scanners, Sensors, and Cloaking Devices

- Ahsoka says the Republic won't pay a ransom for her, but it is unclear exactly why. It is very possible that the Republic doesn't negotiate with hostage
takers or kidnappers, and thus will not pay money to get a Jedi back. The Separatists, as she mentions, can't be bargained with, as they would take
revenge on Hondo for holding Dooku for ransom in 'Dooku Captured' (S1E11).

- Hondo doesn't understand why Dooku holds such a grudge against him. He is being a little sarcastic, but on some level it doesn't compute with
Hondo why anyone would take a 'business' attempt to make money so personally. It is difficult for any person to imagine the thought processes of
other people who conceive of the world differently. This is an aspect of Hondo's character that is shown many times, he seems at times confused
by people whose motivations aren't purely economic and pragmatic. Anyone who understood who the Sith are and what they are about would
know that revenge, and dominance for dominance's sake, is a principal Sith priority. They are selfish, egotistical, emotional, and hateful, not to
mention unconcerned with petty concerns like money. It is not surprising the philosophy of an obscure ancient religion isn't widely known.
Main Article: Awareness of the Jedi and the Sith


Hondo mentions he knows a businessman who will pay handsomely for a Jedi, especially a female Jedi, and also
mentions that they don't care if the Jedi is dead or alive. What exactly does he want a Jedi for? It is obviously
meant to be menacing, and imply that the Jedi will die anyways, but assuming the creators weren't implying
anything inappropriate for a show intended for all ages, what is being suggested here? Is the implication that
he wants a taxidermy Jedi as a status symbol? Does he want a female Jedi since she will probably make a more
attractive statue? They are intentionally letting the viewer use their own imagination to fill in the blanks, but in
reality the list of possible motivations for being willing to pay a lot for a dead Jedi isn't very long. This is either
confusingly vague writing, or uncharacteristically dark writing, or even somewhere in between.


- Preigo's Travelling World of Wonder is a circus that tours certain areas of the Outer Rim, operating out of an Aurore-class freighter called the Gambol.
They apparently make occasional visits to Florrum to entertain Hondo and his pirate horde.



Why does Preigo keep stopping by Florrum if Hondo kills his performers sometimes? Hondo must be paying them
something, unless Preigo gives them free performances to avoid being victimized by the pirates. Regardless of his
pay rate, Preigo may indulge the pirates in order to remain on good terms with them. It isn't clear if this visit was
prearranged, or if Priego stops by as a matter of course. It may be that the pirates do pay well enough to mitigate
the risk of customer dissatisfaction, but unless Hondo is actively seeking his services, it seems like it would be much
better for the circus performers to be too booked up elsewhere to stop by Hondo's place.


- Large starships can be rigged to self-destruct. They exact method is uncertain, although the most logical approach would be to intentionally
overload the main reactors and power transfer systems, which the visual evidence seems to suggest is indeed the method used. If this is
the case, it is likely that any starship, and likely even smaller craft like starfighters, can be rigged to explode. There appears to be
a predetermined procedure for this, at least on large Republic warships.

- B1 battle droids have a programmed directive to defeat or capture, as well as a rigid understanding of hierarchy, necessary for a military droid.
As a result, their 'personalities' include a 'desire' to be regarded as in charge by those who aren't above them in the command structure, and to
respond with threat or force if challenged. As R2-D2 demonstrates, this is one of many ways in which they can be easily manipulated, as making
them compute that they are being deferred to as the authority tends to make them back down, in keeping with their programmed directives.
This tactic was also used by the Onderon rebels in the last storyline to help them gain access to the capital city.
Main Article: Droid Intelligence

- Huyang says these Younglings are amongst the best he has ever seen in his over a thousand years as an instructor for the Jedi. While the Order has
declined in some ways in the complacency of a largely peaceful millennia, the quality of their standout members seems to be increasing along with
this momentous period in the evolution of the living Force. Sensitivity to the Force, and the ability to wield the Force, emerged in beings gradually
tens of thousands of years prior to this time period. Force wielders like those we are familiar with may have been around for over 20,000 years, but
that is quite recent in terms of the evolution of a race of beings. It may be the case that beings of greater ability with the Force are slowly becoming
more common in each era, and that this will continue going forward, however in the span of time all SW movies and shows are set, there should
not be any noticeable difference in power and abilities. Only one with the benefit of centuries of earlier observations, such as Huyang or Yoda,
might have lived long enough to notice this. Despite the quality of these Younglings, most of them will be killed a year later.

- Hondo's crew have restored Slave One, which crashed on the planet in 'Lethal Trackdown' (S2E22). As Hondo was mentioned to have been friends
with Jango Fett, he likely returned the ship to Boba at some future point. Given that it is Hondo, he may have made Boba pay to get it back.


- Hondo's secret hangar seems to be storing supplies, equipment, and ground vehicles, as well as a collection of ships. In addition to Slave One,
he has at least a Luxury 3000 yacht, a Dragonboat-class freighter, and five Starhopper starfighters.

- Hondo proves to be more despicable than usual in this storyline, and yet he also again proves he also has noble qualities. At first, he wants the Kyber crystals
so badly he tells his men to kill children if necessary to get them. He then decides to sell Ahsoka to some rich creep, and taunts her about the fact that he
won't even share a drink with her. He then tells Preigo that if his performers aren't entertaining enough, he will have them killed as he had done previously,
and has even been keeping one of their skulls around. This is all typical of Hondo's identity as a self-serving opportunist and amoral pirate. He also tries to
reason with Ahsoka at first to get the crystals, and commiserates with a circus creature that got left behind. He later seems honestly apprehensive about
the idea of using child soldiers as shields for his escape, and tries to encourage the morale of some nervous Jedi children. Having convinced Katooni of
his friendly nature, he is unwilling to let her down, and decides to honor his arrangement with Ahsoka and go back for the others. He proves that he
is capable of being a man of his word, when properly inspired. Loosing so much of his accumulated wealth and years of effort was likely a cause for
a bit more humility than usual, nevertheless this is typical of Hondo's other identity as a lovable rascal who prefers good times and mutual benefit.
His strange sometime friendship with Obi-Wan, as well as Anakin, Ahsoka, and now Katooni, is having a small but positive effect on his personality.


At one point when fighting, Grievous grabs Ahsoka's head with his mechanical foot, and her lightsabers turn
off as they typically do when the person wielding the saber stops connecting with them. This is either a safety
feature by design, or a by-product of how they work. Grievous takes this opportunity to throw her away from
him, which gives her enough time to recover. Why didn't Grievous swing any one of the four lightsabers he
was holding and kill her? The answer is the script didn't call for her death, which means this is simply a poor
animation choice that makes Grievous seem less bloodthirsty, less dangerous, and less competent.


- Grievous tells the escaping Jedi that they "will never defeat Grievous! Never!" This is about one year before the Jedi defeat Grievous in Episode III.

- Commander Cody is wearing a Commander insignia, but different from his insignia later in the war. If this was not a mistake, it was likely an attempt
to show he was promoted in grade as a Commander between these episodes and Episode III, which takes place about a year later. If this was
a mistake, the one red square should be second in line, rather than first, as seen in Episode III.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- This was the most eventful expedition for the Gathering since the time Yoda went to search for his crystal, according to Huyang. This would have
been between 850 or 800 years earlier, some time in 72nd century, as in the 7100s in the common Republic calendar. Based on Yoda's
statements in Episode V and Episode VI, Yoda was born around 7081 (896 BBY), and became a Jedi Knight around 7180 (797 BBY).

ANALYSIS
The Jedi locate Force-sensitive children at a young age, then take them to indoctrinate them with their religious beliefs and practices, and teach them to
become child soldiers, in preparation for lives as warrior monks. This is done for the safety of all, to contain their supernatural abilities, but also to harness
their abilities for the benefit of the public good and the rule of justice. This is also done because the Jedi believe it is the will of the Force, which they are
dedicated to discerning and following. In order to progress in the Order, the students must pass tests and trials, to determine that they have truly mastered
various stages of their training. These trials are usually 'judged' by the Force, which the Jedi discern has allowed a student to pass by overcoming whatever
challenge the Force saw fit to put before them. The Force always challenges a learner's weaknesses, offering them opportunity to overcome them.

Just as in the first appearance of Ilum, the simile of a Jedi and a kyber crystal is again emphasized. Both a Force wielder and a kyber crystal are material
manifestations of the Force. Yoda tells the students that "the Force made physical, a Jedi is. Comes great responsibility with that." This is why the Jedi
take children and train them in the Order, and also why the Jedi protect the kyber crystals and the primary planet from which they harvest them. Kyber
crystals and Force wielders are powerful, and that power can be used for good or for ill, and thus the Jedi feel it is their responsibility to curate them.
Just as the Jedi focuses the Force from nature, the crystal in the heart of a lightsaber focuses the Force from the Jedi. The large crystal mounted on
a mechanism on the ceiling in the temple can be turned by a Jedi using the Force, in order to melt the ice from the main interior door by reflecting
and amplifying sunlight, which is also a direct demonstration of the relationships between the Jedi, the crystal, and the Force.

Obi-Wan, Cody, and the 212th are battling in the Sertar Sector of the Outer Rim. Their fleet is ambushed and destroyed in battle, however Republic
reinforcements arrive in the area not long after. Contrary to most periods during the Clone Wars, the battle lines are beginning to contract in the Rim.
The Republic is gaining ground, and the Separatists are falling back to more secure space, as well as annexing worlds closer to their major pockets of
control, rather than pursuing their former strategy of expanding frontlines and probing into unexpected regions. While the main thrust of Republic
offensives are pushing the Separatists towards the Outer Rim, the main thrust of the Separatist attack has moved from the Expansion Rim and
the Inner Rim into the Core, beginning to target more worlds in the Colonies, and the Inner Core itself. The vast majority of battles during the last
twelve months of the Clone Wars will be fought in the Outer Rim or in one of the Core regions.

Battle of Sertar was a naval battle in the interstellar space of the Sertar Sector, relatively near to the starsystem where Florrum is located. Control
of the sector was contested as it lies between Separatist and Republic zones of control, and is adjacent to highly contested worlds like Felucia, and
the Perlemian Trade Route, amongst the most contested hyperspace routes in the Clone Wars. The fleets and tactics involved have advanced along
with the conflict, as each side fields appropriate forces which are a mix of destroyers, escort ships, and starfighters. These engagements are won
or lost by effective use of craft with different abilities, and thus tend to be more complex and drawn out. This allows for the use of boarding tactics,
especially by the Separatists, who consider their naval infantry droids to be entirely expendable if the ship they board is destroyed.

The Separatists launch an invasion of Florrum, chiefly to take revenge on Hondo for his prior intrigue against Dooku. Republic control of the sector at most
points in the war had prevented this from occurring earlier, as other times the Republic wasn't actively defending the area, the Separatists were likewise
occupied with more pressing matters. Grievous takes advantage of his victory over Obi-Wan's fleet to run this errand for Dooku, which will also provide
some modest spoils, as Hondo's equipment and resources are seized by the Separatists. In keeping with their usual procedure, the equipment is melted
down to provide raw material for Separatist production. This is also an element of the Sith plan, as in about one year's time, the droid army and Separatist
fleet will be decommissioned. Destroying facilities, communities, and technology removes complexity from the galaxy, and melting down military
technology in order to turn it into Separatist technology that is destined to be mostly scrapped is an excellent cover for this bonfire program.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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