Tup’s and Fives’ friendship is re-established early on and remains a central part of “The Unknown.” Fives’ “He was my best friend” is a bit cheesy, but it comes out like a confession. There’s a lot of dramatic irony in watching most of the cast try to unlock what’s wrong with Tup. The suspense comes not from the question of whether the Jedi will discover what the executive order is, but from the more personal story about Tup and Fives. The action in this episode is brutal and well-choreographed. In one of my favorite fights of the arc, Anakin devastates a hallway full of droids. It’s violent, too: a clone trooper sucked into space twitches and contorts. The inside of a wrecked ship looks like a horror movie: it is lit in stark reds and blacks, and the bodies of dead clones float close to the camera. A Republic medic becomes a stronger character than some who have entire episodes dedicated to them just by shaking as he holds up a gun he probably never intended to use. The idea of a station around a whole planet is cool too, with gorgeous animation – although I’d like to have seen more evidence of the fact that the squad spent days there, such as clones being tired or leaving food wrappers around, instead of just hearing it in the voiceover. The camerawork when Anakin, Fives, and Tup walk across the outside of the space station is elegant and appropriately dizzying. It, like the rest of the episode, was convincing and excellent. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
