A tale of two inhibitor chips.
To celebrate the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+, we’re undertaking a full chronological rewatch of the five original seasons, The Lost Missions, and the theatrical release. We’d be honored if you would join us for the weekly #CloneWarsRewatch -- you can watch this week’s episode on Disney+ now -- and share your thoughts on the award-winning series.
111: “Fugitive” (Season Six, Episode 3)
"When in doubt, go to the source."
Synopsis:
While the body of clone trooper Tup is scheduled for transport to Coruscant, ARC Trooper Fives breaks protocol and defies orders to dig up answers.
Analysis:
There are so many lies and deceptions at play between the Republic, the Kaminoans, and the Sith always controlling matters somewhere from the shadows, that it's hard for Fives to truly understand what he's stumbled upon.
His friend Tup is dead, and he's willing to sacrifice his own life -- with help from AZI-3 -- for answers that could help the rest of his clone brothers. By submitting to the procedure, he hedges his bets that he's better off risking everything to uncover the truth and face it rather than live with the lurking questions about why Tup suddenly snapped.
This is a tale of two inhibitor chips, and two very different points of view on the clones and their existence.
Doctor Nala Se, still sowing the seeds of doubt that maybe Fives killed his friend through his actions, claims she was only submitting to the orders of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, incorporating the chip in her engineering of the clone embryos out of caution to avoid an aggressive outburst later on. Everything Fives does to try to find the truth after removing his own chip suggests that the Kaminoans were right to fear a clone without the organic inhibitor.
But Nala sees Fives and the rest of his brothers as property, experiments that have gone awry thanks to the Jedi inspiring creative thinking and even supporting their desire to be seen as individuals. To the Kaminoans, Fives isn't a person, but something to be owned, like a droid, and treated as such. If they want to wipe his memory or kill and dissect him, she believes they have the right.
Thankfully, Jedi Master Shaak Ti disagrees. She may not approve of the way Fives has taken it upon himself to investigate Tup's anomaly, but she shows him compassion and even empathy. And she refuses to back down from Nala Se, even if her view that Fives is property of the Republic still stings.
Fives is so close to exposing the truth. But now it's on to the Grand Republic Medical Facility on Coruscant, where Chancellor Palpatine will make the final determination in a twisted tale that nearly ends the Sith's scheme before their reign can truly begin.
Intel:
- The inhibitor chip may come as a surprise to first-time viewers, but it's consistent with something Lama Su tells Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The clones have in fact been modified to be less independent than Jango Fett, the clone template.
What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below and share on social with #CloneWarsRewatch!
Next up: Come back next Thursday when Fives makes a desperate plea to be heard in "Orders."
Associate Editor Kristin Baver is a writer, host of This Week! In Star Wars, and all-around sci-fi nerd who always has just one more question in an inexhaustible list of curiosities. Sometimes she blurts out “It’s a trap!” even when it’s not. Want to talk more about The Clone Wars? Hop on Twitter and tell @KristinBaver what you thought about today’s episode.
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