#75 Season 4 Episode 9

“The ignorant man follows, the wise man leads.”

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.

Plan of Dissent Preview and starwars.com Episode Guide.

Original Airdate: 11 November 2011
Writer: Matt Michnovetz
Director: Kyle Dunlevt

Concept Art and Trivia

A dirigible-shaped Separatist starship seen over Umbara is actually an abandoned Episode III starship design, given new life here after some detail modifications and a change in orientation. Episode III concept by Ryan Church; The Clone Wars illustration by Will Nichols.

The clone Z-95 Headhunters are indeed a salute to the Expanded Universe fighters first introduced in Han Solo at Stars’ End in 1979, and visually depicted for the first time in 1988’s Tatooine Manhunt using Joe Johnston’s early X-wing fighter art. This animated version pulls the design back a bit from the X-wing (especially since the ARC-170 visually fits this bill), and in many ways resembles Colin Cantwell’s original concept model of the X-wing.

Though there are no visible mechanics to allow for the configuration change, the Umbaran starfighters change shape when landed on in flight. Such flexible wing struts are meant to suggest the beyond-galactic-standard technology levels of the Umbarans.

The cluttered interior of the Separatist support ship makes great use of existing assets created for other episodes, such as cargo containers from the Coruscant shipping docks from “Senate Murders,” fuel pipe conduits from “The Zillo Beast,” and spot lamps from the Republic laboratories in The Zillo Beast Strikes Back.”

Fives’s harried conversation with Krell via comlink while Hardcase accidentally blasts apart the airbase hangar is a nod to Han Solo’s attempt to stall an incoming call to Detention Block AA-23 in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Though the scenes are clearly the same in tone, they do not share any of the same dialogue. The closest it gets is Krell’s demand for Fives’ CT number, rather than “operating number.”