Orders (The Clone Wars - S06E04) - Animated Series

Series: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Title: Orders

Season: Six

Episode: 4

Original Air Date: March 7, 2014 (Netflix)

Runtime: 23 minutes

Credits: Review & Text: Mike Taber; Page layout & Design: Chuck Paskovics

The popular belief isn't always the correct one.

Wow. “Orders” was emotional, thought provoking, and one of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ best episodes. While “Orders” dealt with major themes and characters from the movies, this was Fives’ journey at heart. And what a journey it was.

The episode opened with Fives being drugged by Nala Se as he was being transported to Coruscant. They then arrived at the Grand Republic Medical Facility. Yes, that was the same building where they would later build Darth Vader. I thought this was a nice bit of continuity and I’m glad the crew didn’t find the need to create an all new medical facility. Fives woke up to the sight of Chancellor Palpatine flanked by two Royal Guards. When Fives plead his case to the Chancellor, the Chancellor asked to speak to Fives alone. Tim Curry’s chilling delivery of the line, “Now where were we?” was a great way to end that scene despite the fact that I feel Tim Curry was miscast. We cut to Shaak Ti and Nala Se who heard a scuffle inside. Fives was standing over Palpatine with a blaster pointed at him and Palpatine said he was trying to kill him. Really. Not the poor, defenseless Chancellor. Ask Mace Windu how that went. Fives managed to escape, and it was clear (at least to the audience) that he was framed. I should point out how quickly Palpatine recovered and handed those chips back to Nala Se.

When Shaak Ti reported to the Jedi what had happened, I appreciated Anakin stuck up for Fives. They have served together for a long time. Meanwhile, Fives took a Taxi ride to the clone bar 79’s. The taxi ride was a well needed slow moment in the episode and it allowed us to see what average citizens thought of the clone troopers. The clone bar was nice insight to clone culture and helped humanize them even further. Fives approached Kix to see if he would contact Anakin and Rex. I was glad Kix agreed because it helped show that not everyone automatically assumed Fives was guilty.

Fives traveled to the lower levels of Coruscant but was followed by a probe droid. When Rex and Anakin arrived, Fives trapped them in a ray shield so they would have to listen. Fives began telling them everything. He explained all clones are engineered with organic chips that allow some else to control them and someone could use this to make the clones kill the Jedi. Unfortunately, the drug and his sheer desperation made Fives seem crazy. Fives even implicated the Chancellor and said he admitted his involvement in the medical facility. I found it very interesting that Anakin stopped believing Fives as soon as he implicated the Chancellor. It perfectly illustrates how much influence Palpatine had over Anakin during this time period. Commander Fox rushed in and shot Fives in the chest when he reached for a blaster. Rex’s emotional reaction to Fives’ death as he cradled his brother’s lifeless body in his arms was appropriately heart wrenching. Fives has shared more screen time with Rex than any other clone. But it wasn’t only Rex who was heartbroken over Fives’ death. Think about how much we have grown to know Fives over the years. We saw him go through basic training, survive his first mission, help save his home world, lose his best friend, battle a crazed Jedi general, and finally try to save all of his brothers and the Jedi by attempting to prevent Order 66. Fives had one of the best and most developed character arcs of the whole series. He truly was one of The Clone Wars’ finest accomplishments. Rest in peace Fives, and may the force be with you.

Palpatine claimed a parasite caused the clones to breakdown and had the Jedi convinced the crisis was over. Palpatine’s explanation that a parasite caused Tup and Fives to have a breakdown was a pretty weak way to wrap up the investigation, it makes the Jedi seem ridiculously gullible. Sidious then contacted Dooku, who was now in possession of the chips, cackling that his plans to execute Order 66 were still intact. “Orders” brought a heartbreaking but amazing end to Fives’ journey.

What Worked

• Beautiful yet tragic end to Fives’ journey
• Rex’s reaction
• Darth Sidious was well used throughout the episode
• Anakin refusing to believe Fives once he implicated Palpatine

What Didn’t Work

• Palpatine’s parasite explanation

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary