Friday 20 November 2009

Clone Wars: Season 1 - Episode 11, Dooku Captured



The Clone Wars: Season 1 - Episode 11, Dooku Captured, introduces us to Ohnaka's Pirate Gang. The episode has the moral, "The winding path to peace is always a worthy one regardless of how long it takes".

Manhunt! After a long and perilous search, the Jedi finally track down Separatist leader, Count Dooku. During a heroic attempt to capture the Count, Anakin Skywalker has gone missing. Having lost contact with Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi head towards his friends last known location, a lone Separatist Frigate in the far reaches of the Outer Rim.

Kenobi secretly boards the Separatist Frigate and moves stealthily through the ship looking for any trace of Anakin. He finds and releases him from his holding cell. It is revealed that Anakin's capture was their deliberate plan in order to capture the Count.

All seems to be going very easily when the pair walk in on Dooku who is sitting on the floor of his cabin in meditation. As a Republic Warship starts firing upon Dooku's ship, Anakin orders his immediate surrender. Dooku escapes downward through a trap door tunnel. Making chase, Anakin jumps down the tunnel, determined to stop the Count's escape. Realising he is being followed, Dooku fires force lightning back at his pursuer. The Jedi blocks it with his sabre, shields his face from the bright light and in doing so loses which way his prey went at a critical junction.

Meanwhile Obi-Wan Kenobi has raced to the ship's hangar. He sees Dooku leave in his Solar Sailor with a number of Vulture Droid Fighters either side. The Jedi takes a remaining ship and lifts off to make chase, a rapidly arriving Anakin just makes it aboard in time.

The Jedi pairing manage to shoot Dooku's ship down and the burning craft ditches on some barren moon. Unfortunately, in trying to eliminate the accompanying Vulture Fighters, their ship also takes critical damage and they are forced to crash-land on the very same moon as the Sith Lord.

On the rocky moon, Anakin and Kenobi find Dooku's damaged ship already abandoned. Skywalker lightsabres its exterior Homing Beacon. Determined to bring the Count to justice, the Jedi further explore the terrain. They enter some caves. Kenobi is a little uneasy, he senses many lifeforms present. It's a Trap! Dooku is hiding, waiting for them. Using the force, he brings down a rock slide at their location. He takes Anakin's dropped lightsabre, calmly leaves the cave and seals the entrance with another force-induced rock slide.

Dooku heads back to his wrecked Solar Sailor to see a band of Weequay Pirates looting it. They are Ohnaka's Pirate Gang led by Hondo Ohnaka.

Anakin and Kenobi have thankfully survived the rock slide, but Kenobi's lightsabre has been critically damaged. They will not be able to use it to cut out an escape. To make matters worse, they are suddenly attacked by a Gundark! Anakin distracts the creature whilst Kenobi tries to repair his sabre, but to no avail. Eventually they knock it unconscious by force pushing large boulders into its large body.

Back at the downed Solar Sailor, Dooku's talks with the Pirates are not going well. The leader Ohnaka, senses that the Count must be worth quite a high ransom to the Republic. The Pirates takes him to their home base at Florrum. In the interim, light-fingers have also stolen his lightsabres from him. Dooku has been captured.

In trying to break a way out from the sealed cave, Anakin and Kenobi inadvertently release a pocket of poisonous gas. It looks like they are in serious trouble until the entrance is blow open by the familiar sight of Ahsoka and a group of Clone Troopers.

The Weequay Pirates transmit a Holo-message to Palpatine and the Jedi concerning Dooku. "If you want the Sith Lord, the ransom will be a million credits!". Padme answers, they will send two Jedi to confirm the prisoner actually is Dooku before sending the ransom money. Of course, Skywalker and Kenobi are near the Pirate planet Florrum, so they send them. As part of the arrangement, the pair are instructed to go there unarmed. Kenobi is a little hesitant about meeting a band of unlawful pirates he doesn't even know without a weapon. "Well, this should be fun," he quips.

Taking the Twilight, they land on Florrum. On departing the ship, the Weequays immediately scan them for any hidden weapons. Seeing that the visitors have none, they are escorted to Honda Ohnaka at a rowdy Pirate tavern.

Kenobi comments, "Congratulations on your capture of Count Dooku, very impressive". Ohnaka answers,"Even Sith Lords are no match for my warriors". Very bold words.

All they want to do is confirm that the Pirate are indeed holding Dooku then to leave as quickly as possible. Something doesn't feel quite right. They are escorted to a room and instantly recognise Count Dooku suspended helpless in bonds.

Happy of Dooku's identity, Kenobi sends back message to the Republic confirming the Pirates have him and to send the agreed ransom.

The Weequay Pirates are a drunken disreputable bunch. To celebrate the deal, they invite the Jedi to a drink in the tavern. For some strange reason, maybe to keep things running smoothly, they agree. Suspecting their drinks have been drugged however, they each quickly swap them with the Pirate either side of them. The drinks were indeed drugged as suspected. The Pirates are scheming something.

But, for now, all looks well. The Republic finally looks like they have Count Dooku. Could this be an important turning point in the Clone Wars?



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