#80 Season 4 Episode 14

“Friendship shows us who we really are.”

A peace conference between Separatists and Republic delegates is interrupted by Lux Bonteri, the son of a late Separatist Senator, who involves Ahsoka in his dangerous search to find justice for his mother’s death.

A Friend in Need Preview and starwars.com Episode Guide.

Original Airdate: 13 January 2012

Writer: Christian Taylor

Director: Dave Filoni

Concept Art and Trivia

The barrels on the sides of Pre Vizsla’s new helmet design is partially inspired by an unused Doug Chiang drawing for a clone trooper helmet made for Episode II, as well as the head cannons found on the Veritech fighter seen in the Robotech/Macross series. It serves to make Vizsla stand out even more as Death Watch leader.

In the very first draft of the script, the alien village was to be a made up of Yak Face aliens (Yarkorans… some pieces of concept art bare the name “Yakoran”), but the story and the role of the villagers underwent significant revisions. When they were turned into much more sympathetic and relatable characters, the villagers were turned into the Ming Po people.

The design of the Phoenix comes from an early concept of the Imperial shuttle by Nilo Rodis-Jamero first illustrated in 1981. That design became the basis of the Long Shot, the featured starship in 1988’s Star Wars Campaign Pack (see inset), a roleplaying supplement featuring a poster-sized 21″ x 33″ map of the ship design. It is described in the Expanded Universe as a Lantillian short hauler. An early script called it the Nuncio.

The character Bo-Katan did not appear in the original outline or script, save for a vague mention of a “Death Watch lieutenant.” When Dave Filoni took on directing duties, he thought the character should be female, and should be the first Mandalorian to meet Lux upon his arrival on Carlac. Though her role is small here, she will return in Season Five.

Bo-Katan’s soldiers are called the Night Owls. Indeed, her helmet shape is inspired by the shape of a barn owl’s face, sketched by Filoni on an airline napkin on a flight back from a recording session. Bo-Katan’s name is a nod from the director to his wife’s nickname for her pet cat. Anne’s cat “the boogie,” becomes “boogie-cat-anne,” which becomes “Bo-Katan.”

The early script described the environment as a desert, but rather than have another variation on a terrain so distinctly connected to Tatooine, Filoni suggested Carlac have “Japanese cherry blossoms” as its predominant look.

Chieftain Pieter’s name was inspired by the character Piter de Vries, from Dune.

This episode represented a chance for the Death Watch to evolve. “They were no longer going to be such a crisp, clean army,” says director Dave Filoni. “We wanted to have different types of soldiers, different rocket packs and gear. There are Airborne Troopers, Grappling Troopers and Flame Thrower troopers. Each has a different unit logo. George Lucas described them in the story meeting as having more of a ‘biker gang’ feel.”