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the-archlich · 4 years

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Clone Wars: The Mortis Arc

A weird arc, but an interesting one. I didn’t like it the first time I watched it but I think it’s much more interesting now.

The Republic intercepts a transmission from a planet in the far Outer Rim using a Jedi distress signal that hasn't been used for 2000 years. Ani, Obi, and Ahsoka are sent to investigate and as soon as they get there weird stuff starts happening. A bizarre construct appears and sucks them in; everyone loses consciousness and wakes up...somewhere. The seasons seem to change with the time of day, there are no animals anywhere, and the Force is incredibly strong there.

A strange glowing lady who calls herself Daughter appears and leads them to Father. A rock slide separates Daughter and Anakin from the others, so Obi and Ahsoka go back to the ship. But the ship isn't there and they're confronted by Brother. Obi-Wan can sense the Dark Side in him; he admit he's both Sith and not, but clearly DS-affiliated. (Also this is the first time Ahsoka turns on her second lightsaber. It's also green, but a bit of a different color. More of a yellow tint to it. It's also a bit shorter than the standard lightsaber, more suitable for an off-hand weapon. I like the variety. More lightsaber options are always fun to play with.)

Taking shelter in a cave, Obi-Wan receives a visit from Qui-Gon Jinn. And it's worth noting that force ghosts were NOT a thing until this point. Qui-Gon was the first person to pull that off, so Obi-Wan is understandably freaked out. Qui-Gon tells him that that planet is both an amplifier and a magnet; and that there three there who were seeking Anakin because they believed, as he did, that Anakin was the Chosen One.

Meanwhile, having been left by Daughter, Anakin makes his way to a conspicuous monastery where he meets Father. He spends the night at the monastery where he has a vision of his mother. For the first time, Anakin talks about slaughtering the Sand People who killed her, and how he only felt vengeance. And now guilt. He also says that the only love he feels now is haunted by knowing what he'd do if he ever lost Padme. This is a very good conversation to have because this is so core to how Anakin ultimately falls to the Dark Side. It's his fear of losing Padme, and his fear of what that would turn him into, that makes him seek out any desperate means to preserve her life. His "mother" turns out to be a trick who insists Ani has a different destiny.

Anakin confronts Father, who says that he and his children have an unparalleled power to use the Force. Even their physical forms are just a reflection of the Force. Because of their power they withdrew from the world; mostly Father wanted to protect it from his Daughter and Son, and them from it.

Father has his children abduct Obi and Ahsoka and does that dumb "you can only save one of them" thing, trying to make Anakin choose. When Anakin shows that he can control both of them, Father says "Yep, chosen one." He says he's dying and wants Anakin to stay and control his kids, but Anakin says fuck that and they all get ready to fly away.

While leaving the planet, Anakin goes to sleep and has another vision from Brother, who wants Anakin to join him in the dark, saying they'll destroy the Sith and Jedi alike. That's pretty prophetic, given what we all know of Anakin's future. In order to prevent Anakin from leaving, Brother kidnaps Ahsoka to keep Anakin there. Anakin rushes off to find her while Obi seeks out Father for assistance.

Obi arrives while Father is discussing the situation with his children. Brother is getting deeper and deeper in the dark and, tired of his Father's warnings, attacks him with some cool red Force lightning. Daughter is reluctant to actually do anything but does lead Obi to a special altar deep in the planet. There, he finds a unique blade capable of harming Brother, something we've seen lightsabers unable to do.

Anakin finds Ahsoka, who has some kind of extremely visible Dark Side infection. They fight (and I love that lightsabers can apparently be set to "slow extend" for dramatic effect) while Obi and Daughter confront Brother directly. While Obi-Wan runs off to help Anakin with Ahsoka, Daughter and Son fight until Father shows up and throws them both through a window. Brother gets his hands on the Mortis Blade and tries to kill Father, but Daughter gets in the way and gets stabbed instead. Brother freaks out and flees, and balance on the planet starts to fall apart. Also Ahsoka briefly dies but is resurrected with the last of Daughter's life-force. This is the first of 3 times she'll die (the 2nd being in Rebels and the 3rd presumably happening eventually, though I guess immorality isn't out of the question).

While Obi-Wan and Ahsoka repair the ship, Anakin tries to figure out what the hell he's supposed to do about all this. He also gets a Qui-Gon vision, who directs him to a place that is strong in the Dark Side - and implies that instead of killing the Son, the solution will be more complicated than that. Anakin confronts the Son, who shows him visions of his future - him killing Jedi younglings, fighting Obi-Wan, the destruction of Alderaan, Sidious's laughter, and capping it all off with a vision of himself as Darth Vader. Brother insists that they can prevent all that if they work together. Anakin agrees and starts going full Dark.

While Brother is off getting the Mortis Blade to kill Father, Father takes Anakin's memory of his future from him. So Anakin is back on Team Light. During the final confrontation with the Son, Father stabs himself with the Mortis Blade, which also takes away some of the Son's power. Anakin stabs the Son while he's distracted and the whole trio is killed. The whole planet starts to fall apart, there's a bright flash of light...

...and they wake up in their ship, told that only a few moments have passed. That, of course, raises a whole ton of questions, including the obvious "did this really even happen?" one. (To which, of course, the answer is: irrelevant. Whether this was all just a vision to serve as a metaphor to guide Anakin and his friends, or something they physically experienced, it has the same effect on them.)

There are probably a lot of theories about what exactly this trio is, but I think the episode gives us a lot of information if you're paying attention. They might not be exactly "human" (as per the species) but are obviously mortal though hard to actually kill. Father says several times that he brought his children to Mortis for everyone's safety, and they're very familiar with the terms Sith and Jedi. The Jedi code used to draw Anakin to Mortis was from 2000 years ago. From all this, it seems like Father was a Jedi (or Jedi-adjacent) from 2000 years ago who withdrew to this planet that was rich in the Force, where he kept his children in isolation to try and protect them. It may even be that Father is the one who delivered the Chosen One prophecy in the first place.

This is a weird arc but an interesting one. It shows the Force as a more mystical thing, something far greater and stranger than what the Jedi and Sith have boiled it down to. Ultimately both groups have a limited view of the Force, treating it like a hard science with firm rules and limitations. This expands our understanding far beyond that, showing how these traditions restrict a true understanding of something that is much greater. This more spiritualistic view of the Force is something we see echoed in the new trilogy. The Force is a deeper mystery of the universe, and by trying to force it into these little boxes (”Jedi” “Sith” “midichlorians”) we lose our ability to fully experience or understand it.

This whole arc is wrapped up around the whole “Chosen One” thing and the question of Anakin’s destiny; something that Clone Wars really hasn’t been interested in, and is better for it. Ultimately the statements it makes are vague; just some platitudes about bringing balance. I feel like there’s a missed opportunity there, but I also feel like a lot of the ambiguity is deliberate. A lot of this is open to interpretation. That’s fine, but it might have been stronger if it made some solid choices.

#clone fights

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badsithnocookie · 7 years

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How do you feel the world of Swtor would be if Lana Beniko was a Jedi and Theron Shan was an Imperial agent.

oh, man. that’s an interesting question!

i also rambled for about ten years so this got kinda long.

i guess the biggest question here is what the fresh hell is theron shan doing in the empire. i sort of want to handwave it but his connection to the jedi grandmaster is such a plot point that i am not sure that’s doable?

so, let’s assume for a moment that he’s not actually there on a mission for SIS and is for realsies a defector to the empire. i haven’t read any of the swtor extra-game novels/etc because i’m a terrific slacker (also i’ve read the extracts on amazon and those alone are enough to put me off) but wookiepedia says he’s been given at least one opportunity to defect so let’s spitball that he took one and go with that.

if he left Republic space and etc for good, i do not think he would keep the shan surname, at least not in his day to day existence, and certainly not if he were to join Imperial Intelligence (or whatever passes for it between the IA story and the end of SoR). tbqh it’s too much of a Massive Plot Clue as to his parentage in canon (yes there are likely thousands if not millions of other Shans in the gffa but lbr the Force moves in mysterious ways and we all know that any significant Shan is going to be related to that Shan).

I’m honestly having trouble trying to work out any scenario where he defects to the Empire and subsequently works as an active agent, though - he’s simply too well known to SIS to be anything more than a decoy, and both SIS and any Jedi who knew of his parentage would be out for his neck. this would apply just as much if Imp Intelligence decided to brainwash or mind control him.

this said, he’s (somehow) high enough in SIS and connected enough to the Jedi that the intelligence he could provide to the Empire would be beyond compare. he’d certainly be a great asset - essentially he’d be put up in a comfortable prison where he could be grilled at leisure.

the other possibility, of course, is that he becomes an Imperial propaganda project, rather than living life as a spy. Theron Shan, the illegitimate son of the Jedi Grandmaster, defected to the side of the Sith and the Empire. how can they possibly win when the Jedi Grandmaster’s own son sees the supremacy of the Sith. etc etc.

The upshot of that, of course, is that he ends up uninvolved with the Revanite debacle, at least as it unfolds in canon. it’s unlikely the Empire would allow him to become involved with the assault on Tython, as even if he /is/ a loyal defectee, the risk of him being turned or being a double agent in a ridiculously long game is far too great, and Sith are far too paranoid. It’s probable Arkous or another high-ish ranking Revanite might subtly sound him out about championing their cause - working on the theory that, well, this guy is descended from the Revan, so he’d totally be up for it,right?

(and then it blows up in their face, because while Theron is descended from the Revan, he’s also conflicted enough about said heritage that it’s far from a point of pride. and, well, I think even defector!Theron would be hesitant to get on board with any plan that involves reserrecting the Sith Emperor.)

although now i’m just picturing a train of events where trophy!defector!Theron plays along with the Revanites for long enough to get their gameplan from them, by which point he’s already in pretty deep and Imp Intelligence as an agency is a distant memory, but then when he accompanies Darth Arkous to Manaan and stays up on the surface to monitor things remotely he runs into this unusally pragmatic blonde Jedi-

(this particular Theron would also have a much better idea of what the Revanites were up to - essentially, Rishi and everything in, on, and around it become irrelevant. the battle can be prevented pre-emptively, but that would not, I suspect, put the Revanites off. If anything, they’d be as likely to find some way to get the Empire and Republic to unwittingly assist Revan in the ritual itself. and of course, top of the ‘to sacrifice’ list would be a certain Shan…)

of course, this would then mean an even more awkward family reunion when Satele and Marr catch up with the Revanites on Rishi or Yavin IV. however, I’m all about awkward Shan family reunions, so this is not a negative.

alternative theory: the Empire get their hands on him, somehow, as a young child - unaware of his origins. he’s raised a loyal Imperial citizen by loyal Imperial parents and etc.

the thing is that, as I said, Theron Shan is a spectacularly bad spy, and not just because he slouches around the gffa telling everyone his real name and having public holo conversations with his semi-estranged mother. whether SIS tolerated his terrible aptitude because of his parentage or just low quality writing I cannot say, but I can’t see Imperial Intelligence allowing such slack.

so, we’ll assume then that theron actually becomes a competent spy in the Empire. who, naturally, is not known as theron shan because that would be far too much of a giveaway.

does he become involved in the Revanite mess? i suspect any Revanites in the Empire who become aware of his heritage may try to turn him to their cause, though I suspect if they did so while revealing his past and heritage it would likely blow up in their (and the Empire’s) faces. the Force works in mysterious and mostly plot-related ways so it’s likely he’d end up involved somehow.

alternative sub-theory: the Empire get their hands on him, somehow, as a young child - aware of his origins. he’s raised a loyal Imperial citizen by loyal Imperial parents and etc. tl;dr the Empire keeps him ‘safe’ for use against satele/jace at some inopportune moment. i don’t really have much to add to this other than if he became aware of a) his heritage and b) the plan to use him as a hostage it would seriously sour him on the Empire at the very least.

Lana… Lana Lana Lana. Lana is a better spy than Shan, but that’s a low bar to clear. She actually doesn’t start off in Intelligence at all, but in Military Offense, as Arkous’s gofer. Jedi, by contrast, actively un-involve themselves in the Republic hierarchy - Saresh has a pet project to get Jedi in the military (per the… EC mission, i think?) but it’s very much a small scale project.

Her humility would actually serve her better as a Jedi than a Sith, and she already has ‘not being ruled by her emotions’ pretty much down pat. For all her DS corruption, all we actually see that differentiates her from most Jedi in the game is the occasional gratuitous murder of defenseless Zakuul knights or tactically terrible advocation of throwing of Mandolorians under Skytrooper-shaped buses. Yeah she dunks on democracy on Ziost, but remember she’s spent her life in the Empire, which would shape her opinions appropriately.

Some of it would depend on whether she was Republic-born-and-raised, or if she defected for some reason. She’s terrifically loyal to the Empire, and it’s made clear that while she has little time for the usual Sith waste and indulgence, she’s also perfectly okay with the casual crimes against its non-sensitive populace that take place in the Empire. The circumstances of her leaving the Empire in KotFE are never gone into, but she can be berated into resigning after Ziost, and Sith are not known for giving second chances. Regardless, it would take something particular to make her not just leave the Empire, but to become a Jedi. Not necessarily a Tragic Plot Point of some description - rather, the sort of deep and personal change that takes time and pain, and even then I suspect she would be more likely to go her own way rather than walk the Jedi path.

So, assuming she was born and raised in the Republic, or brought to the Republic/Jedi at a young age, I feel like Lana would be a fairly moderate Jedi. She wouldn’t be a hothead like Kaedan or his ilk - even as a Sith she is generally level-headed and thoughtful. But she wouldn’t be content to sit up a mountain on Tython and meditate the war away, either - she’d want to be out in the real world, making a difference.

At the same time, she would be extremely practical and pragmatic, not averse to working alongside similarly-minded Sith and Imperials if there is some greater issue at hand that requires a solution. She’d be the Jedi who is more concerned with preventing the bomb that risks the whole building than the locked door that risks three people, and would gladly make deals with the enemy if it meant saving lives. She’d approve of Saresh’s policies - not because Saresh is a warmonger (she’s not, and i will fight anyone who tries to argue otherwise) but because she recognises the threat that the Empire poses, and accepts that sometimes ugly things need to be done in order to secure a better future.

i think that there’s a likelihood she would become involved in the Revanite mess, at the very least as someone looking at the mess that Tython was left in and trying to work out what the fresh hell just happened. Lana has a keen analytical mind, and she’d work out quickly that something was capital-u Up.

tl;dr

Lana is a pragmatic but generally LS Jedi, fairly moderate, critical of the Republic’s failings but generally loyal to its aims. Ends up tracking down the Revanites to Manaan etc.

Theron Shan remains the centre of a swirling maelstrom of Shan-related drama.

#thebreadthatcausedlesmis #swtor #theron shan #lana beniko

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sustainhealthmagazine · 5 years

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We recently spoke with @tricky_stevens the Barrister who took on the challenge of this years @Channel4 series #SASWhoDaresWins?

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In a landmark moment for the British Special Forces, the MOD announced that in 2019 SAS selection will open to women for the very first time. Leading the way - the new six part series of SAS: Who Dares Wins put together a group of 25 men and women high into the spectacular and punishing Andes Mountains in Central Chile. It is the longest and toughest course that the DS have ever designed, spanning over eleven gruelling days, in a hostile and unforgiving winter warfare environment.

For any of you that haven’t watched the series’ yet, the recruits eat, sleep and wash together – no allowances are made for gender – as their mental and physical strength is tested to the limits. Putting them through this punishing course will be Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and his Directing Staff (DS) Foxy, Ollie and Billy. They’ve never worked with women on this course and have no idea how many will make the grade… but they want to find out. In the Special Forces world, no one is interested in equality for the sake of it. All Ant and the DS want to know is can women, with no allowances or exceptions made, pass the course?

We got to speak to one of this years contestants 33 year old Richard Stevens, a full-time Barrister and part time adrenaline junkie and fitness model. Just how would the married father of one cope with the extreme conditions?

You’ve got quite a stressful job as a barrister so what gave you the desire to sign up for added stress?

Having been severely bullied as a child I have always had a drive to succeed which allows me to endure things that 99% of people wouldn’t. It allowed me to qualify as a barrister at 22 years old having been written off as “not academic” at school and to reach a level of success at work and fitness that few people achieve. I now understand, however, that I do this because I feel the need to prove myself constantly rather than because of the success it actually brings. The course made me understand this facet of my personality and made me appreciate that my motivation can actually be damaging to me on an emotional level.

Had you ever done anything like this before?

I have travelled extensively including trekking and rough camping, but this was another level entirely. There are very few experiences as a civilian that I can imagine that would put you in such a physically demanding and more so, psychologically demanding environment. This course was designed to break the toughest people and the DS are masters of their craft in this regard.

This year’s show certainly looked harsh! How did you cope with the harsh winter weather conditions?

The weather conditions were tough as you had to manage your layering appropriately for the level of activity and exposure any given task involved. This meant that regulating your body temperature was a constant battle. You would go from roasting whilst exercising to freezing cold as soon as you stopped. This added a tough element to an already gruelling process. In addition we had to contend with exposure to freezing waters and this meant managing your kit appropriately. Making sure you always had dry kit available and that it was appropriately packed so if you were submerged unexpectedly it would remain dry. A few recruits fell foul of this on occasions and this lead to some pretty hairy situations that could quickly have proved fatal in a real combat situation.

This was very much a unique series, the first time that female recruits have been permitted to ever join SAS: Who Dares Wins. How does that feel?

I believe in meritocracy in all areas. If you are good enough you should be allowed to do it regardless of sex, age, race etc. I was interested to see how women would fare in circumstances that would traditionally be seen to favour male traits such as size and physical strength.

Do you think the women found it harder than the male recruits?

Yes and No. In some respects I believe they did, particularly in solely physical challenges. This was because the weights that we were required to carry were not scaled or adjusted for the size/weight of the individual. This meant that some of the smaller women were having to carry loads that were the same as the men who were twice their size. This created a natural disadvantage due to the size to weight ratio of some of the female recruits. In other respects, I think the women were just as capable, if not more so, particularly in the teamwork and problem solving tasks. I think having females in the group often lead to a more collaborative approach and diffused some of the ego that you may expect to find in a group of typical alpha males.

You had to share all your space with women for the whole time you were there, including sleeping and toilets. How did you find that?

The fact that there were men and women in there very quickly became a non-issue. Within a couple of hours, I certainly put gender aside and viewed each and every person as a fellow recruit only. Some of the funniest times were when we were all sat on the toilets first thing in the morning chatting away and watching the views from the open air toilets or stood in your pants trying to dry your wet kit around the fire. I think that gender in such an intense environment really became irrelevant.

At any point, did you forget the female recruits were women?

Almost immediately. Gender went out of the window within hours. Everyone mucked in in the same way. It is so hard to exist in that environment that you have no time to think about or make allowances for gender. You are there to get the job done and that means that you have to get on with things without airs and graces. The women were exactly the same. There were no diva moments or allowances expected. They were beasts each and every one of them.

Do you think gender makes a difference in this environment?

Initially I believed it would. I felt that the harsh realities of existing in a forward operating base might hinder the female recruits more than the men as we had no showers or amenities, sanitation was at a minimum. We had to burn the waste from the toilets daily which involved carrying great barrels of effluent. However, the women on the show were just as resilient as the men in this respect and actually probably organised the lads better than we would have coped in our own. Indeed living in such an extreme environment involves very good personal admin and I think the women performed at a higher level in this respect and made the men better for it.

Was your experience on the show as you expected?

It was probably one of the most rewarding and difficult experiences I have ever had. I met some fantastic friends and the bonds we formed in such adverse conditions will stay with me for life. During the experience, I learned a lot about my personality, my insecurities, why I am as I am and where my drive to succeed comes from. In that sense it was an enlightening experience and made me confront areas of my own personality that I tend to repress.

After having this experience, would you like to join the real Special Forces?

I loved the course. However, the challenge of the selection process is one thing, but the realities of the job are another. Having spoken to the DS both on the show and afterwards, the rewards of the job most definitely come at a price and I am not sure I could step over the lines of humanity that are required when in a conflict situation.

What were Ant, Foxy, Ollie and Billy like?

Tough task masters, brilliant motivators and ruthlessly efficient.... and after the show had finished, they were warm and supportive!

Would you ever do it again?

Where do I sign up for next series?!!

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