General Krell wants the Umbaran capital at any cost, though Kenobi warns him there’s a supply ship orbiting the planet and offering assistance to the enemy. Any messages to or from the Republic are being jammed, so Krell is left to fight on his own. Of course, he chooses to throw the clones into battle once more.
The clones are close to rebelling against Krell. They know he won’t hesitate to sacrifice them for the sake of victory. A few clones come up with an alternate plan – to use the Umbaran star fighters to attack the supply ship directly. Despite the fact that everyone feels this is a solid plan, when Rex presents it to Krell he shuts it down. His reasoning is that he “can’t afford to waste any clones on frivolous adventures.” Then he turns and watches as low-range missiles are fired upon his army.
Rex returns to tell the other clones that their plan has been denied, but they want to go through with it anyway. He warns that they could all be court-martialed for defying orders. Hardcase, an impulsive clone, trains himself to fly a star fighter. Krell is alerted that there’s something going on in the star fighter hangar as Hardcase accidentally fires a missile through the wall. The clones claim a booby trap exploded, and Krell uses this as proof that the Umbaran fighters are too dangerous to use in a mission. He puts the ships under lockdown.
The clones decide to go ahead with their plan. Rex knows this but tells them if they’re caught, he won’t be able to assist them. Three clone-driven star fighters head into the battle that’s already raging. Two troopers attempt to rat them out, but Rex intercedes and blocks them from speaking to Krell. When the clones run into trouble, Hardcase sacrifices himself to ensure that the reactor core on the enemy supply ship is destroyed, causing it to explode.
Krell is angry that the clones have disobeyed his direct order. Even though they were successful and have lost one of their own men, he orders them to be court martialed and executed. This is a pretty extreme reaction. In one night, these three clones have advanced the Republic farther than they’ve gotten in several days of combat on the ground. Krell can’t see this because he is so outraged that he has been defied. I understand it’s important to obey the orders from your superior in a fighting situation, but at what point do you stand up for yourself and your men? Krell clearly has no regard for the clones or their intelligence. He sees them as disposable and replaceable, which isn’t much like a Jedi’s way of thinking at all. As for Rex, how long can he be expected to watch his men be thrown away before he stands up to Krell? I think his breaking point is coming soon, and I look forward to the showdown.
If you missed the last aired episode be sure to read our ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The General’ recap to catch up.
