Shades of Reason
"Shades of Reason"
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- "Alliances can stall true intentions."
- ―Moral[5]
"Shades of Reason" is the fifteenth episode of theStar Wars: The Clone Wars television series'fifth season. It first aired onJanuary 26,2013.
Official description[]
"Backed by the criminal underworld, the Sith and Death Watch launch an attack on Mandalore."[1]
Opening crawl[]
| Episode 15 SHADES OF REASON |
|---|
Villainy swells! With an army ofthe galaxy's most vicious criminals,Darth Maul and Savage Opress conspirewith Pre Vizsla and the Death Watchto topple Duchess Satine, ruler ofMandalore. While the conspiratorsprepare to attack the Mandaloriancapital Sundari from a base onZanbar, the fate of 2,000 otherneutral systems is under threatas Darth Maul moves closer toestablishing a vast criminal empire.... |
Plot summary[]
- "Vizsla is a soldier, and like every soldier, he is bound by honor. I will challenge him to single combat in front of his men."
- ―Maul, to Prime Minister Almec[5]
TheShadow Collective convenes onZanbar to discussDeath Watch's plannedtakeover ofMandalore.Maul instructs their criminal allies to assault several locations in the city ofSundari, creating civil unrest that would weaken theDuchessSatine Kryze's political standing. Death Watch would then swoop in an "stop" them, winning the support of the people. As the meeting adjourns,Bo-Katan Kryze converses withPre Vizsla and remains hesitant on trusting the criminals. Vizsla tells her that they need Maul and the criminals to cause trouble in Sundari just to make Satine feel weak so that the citizens will accept them, afterward they would execute Maul and his thugs after taking over Mandalore. Meanwhile inside,Savage Opress expresses doubts on Vizsla betraying them to which Maul solemnly agrees as they can't rule openly without drawing the attention of the Jedi and that they need Vizsla as the face of Mandalore for now, until they find a new face.
The Shadow Collective journeys to Mandalore and begins their attack. The various criminal syndicates capture the docks, assault a bank and open fire in the streets. As the Duchess attempts to encourage her people to remain calm, Vizsla and his men arrive and "arrest" the criminals. Satine is then deposed and imprisoned next to formerPrime MinisterAlmec.
As Vizsla consolidates his power and prepares the Mandalorian people for their return to their warrior roots, Maul suggests moving in on theCouncil of Neutral Systems and the 2000 systems they control, but the Death Watch leader reveals he has no interest in expansion. Death Watch turns on Maul and Opress, though Vizsla promises to deliverObi-Wan Kenobi to them.
As the Zabrak brothers are imprisoned, Maul states that they need a puppet to rule Mandalore and figures that the prison must hold political prisoners suitable for their ends. They then break out and search the prison for a worthy candidate. Due to an indirect comment from Satine, Maul chooses Almec. He then returns to the throne room and challenges Vizsla to a duel for Death Watch's leadership, which Vizsla is honor-bound to accept. They engage in an intense duel with Vizsla gaining the upper hand before Maul destroys his jetpack. Vizsla then shoots Maul's lightsaber out of his hand and charges towards him for the kill. However, Maul overpowers Vizsla with his martial skills and claims hisDarksaber after beating him into submission. Stating that only the strongest shall rule, a defeated Vizsla offers no resistance as Maul decapitates him. Despite his victory, a number of Death Watch dissidents, led by Bo-Katan, refuse to swear fealty to an outsider and flee.
Almec is reinstated as prime minister. As he addresses the Mandalorian people, he tells them that Satine murdered Vizsla. He then reports to Maul his plans to set up his new administration, the Sith warning that he'd be responsible for their failures. Almec then asks Maul if he has any other plans. Maul only tells him to go and rule Mandalore.
Continuity[]
"Shades of Reason" was adapted in the young reader's bookThe Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy.[6] The episode was originally reported byStar Wars Insider 137 as the fourteenth episode of Season Five,[7] but the reported order was revised following the magazine's publication.[8]
The censored decapitation sequence was reinserted into the DVD/Blu-Ray release
According to a post for the officialStar Wars: The Clone Wars Facebook page as well as the Trivia gallery for the episode on StarWars.com, a mural that appeared on the royal platform of the Sundari Royal Palace, depicting a battle between Mandalorians and ancient Jedi, had a similar artwork style to the cubist artworkGuernica by painterPablo Picasso.[9] In addition to official statements, the mural's composition (characters positioned on the left and right sides of the image) and theme (soldiers on the right aiming guns and a sword) are similar to that of another painting by Picasso,Massacre in Korea. StarWars.com confirmed that the Royal Palace mural was a different painting from theone in Governor Vizsla's residence in "The Mandalore Plot."
In the early stages of the episode, the makers had planned for a scene where after Vizsla was defeated, his severed head would roll down the stairs. This was cut later because it was deemed too graphic. Unlike a similar edit in "Eminence," this was cut very early in the episode's development, although it was eventually restored in the DVD/Blu-Ray release.
The trivia gallery for the episode confirmed that the place that Ziton Moj attacked in the episode was Peace Park from "The Mandalore Plot," which also retained the scars from the Death Watch bombing from the same episode.
The tour droid that got blasted in this episode bore the same body design as the droid that gave Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala a lift atMos Espa inAttack of the Clones. The Mandalore Banking Center was likewise a redesign of the Mandalorian Hospital in Season 3.
The episode's Director's Cut was included in theStar Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Five DVD.
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Sources[]
"Shades of Reason" -The Clone Wars Episode Guide onStarWars.com(original link is obsolete)- "Shades of Reason" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars onStarWars.com(backup link)
- The Clone Wars Rewatch: Corruption and the "Shades of Reason" onStarWars.com(backup link)
- This Week! in Star WarsJon Favreau and Dave Filoni Talk Mandalore, Jaxxon Returns, and More! on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
Notes and references[]
- ↑1.01.11.21.31.41.51.6
"Shades of Reason" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars onStarWars.com(backup link) - ↑Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of "Shades of Reason" to19 BBY.
- ↑The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 4420 BBY 47-50: Maul on Mandalore dates the events of "Shades of Reason" to20 BBY.
- ↑The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
- ↑5.05.1
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Shades of Reason" - ↑The Essential Reader's Companion
- ↑
"Launch Pad" —Star Wars Insider 137 - ↑ What's InsideStar Wars Insider #137 onStarWars.com(original link is obsolete)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars (@StarWarsTheCloneWars) onFacebook (post onJanuary 28,2013):"The Mandalorians are quite an artistic culture. Did you notice the murals in Saturday's episode depicting battles between ancient Mandalorians and Jedi Knights? The plaza mural at the foot of the royal platform has an enormous cubist artwork done in a style reminiscent of Pablo Picasso's famed work, Guernica."(backup link)
External links[]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Pre Vizsla Returns | Disney+ on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)
- "Shades of Reason" on theAurebesh Wiki
