50 Most Memorable Moments from Star Wars: The Clone Wars
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26. General Krell falls to the Dark Side
Episode: Season 4 Episode 8-10: The General, Plan of Dissent, & Carnage of Krell
"Episode Summary: General Krell orders Captain Rex and the clone troopers of the 501st Legion to conquer a heavily fortified Umbaran airbase, and will not accept anything less than victory. It is an almost certain suicide mission, unless the clones can use their ingenuity to defeat their new enemy. After the Republic conquers an Umbaran airbase, General Krell orders Rex and his men on towards the heavily fortified capital. Realizing there’s a better plan, several clone troopers disobey orders to carry out a rogue, covert operation. With two of his men facing execution for disobeying orders, Captain Rex must confront his overly aggressive commander, General Krell. Risking charges of mutiny, Rex must make a dark choice as the true face of the enemy emerges."
The Moment: We discover that Krell, in fact, has turned to the Dark Side, with ambitions to join Dooku as his new apprentice. Captain Rex and the 501st discover that the Jedi General had been betraying the clones to achieve that goal, leading to numerous clone deaths. The betrayed clones learn of these plans and confront the Jedi, who refuses to surrender. Dogma, one of Rex’s Clone-troopers, executes the rogue Jedi, ending the carnage.
Why It’s Memorable: I often forget that the two Sith Lords at this time are not the only two Dark Side users. We are reminded of that with Ventress, who is not a Sith, but an aspiring one. We also have the Nightsisters, and now we see a Jedi who has taken the bait of the Dark Side. We also experience that later on with Quinlan Vos, as well.
Even though Dogma was the one who pulled the trigger, Rex was the one who was faced with that decision first, where he refused to kill Krell. This moment planted the seed of doubt later on when he has faced the decision to kill his fellow Jedi during Order 66 and then refused like he did in this moment.
"THE PATH OF IGNORANCE IS GUIDED BY FEAR THE IGNORANT MAN FOLLOWS, THE WISE MAN LEADS OUR ACTIONS DEFINE OUR LEGACY"