The other day I was looking at some screenshots from the Umbara Arc because I was trying to get a lay of the land, so to speak, as I wanted to write about Lich’s experiences prior to finding his way back to a now fallen Republic and rising Empire… And three specific frames caught my attention due to very small details.
The first one is when Krell threatens Fives with his lightsaber.
Lightsabers are plasma conduits. They can slice and cauterise at the same time. Using them to threaten someone into compliance like this is a promise to use them rather than a bluff.
Even with his armour on, Fives can likely feel the heat of the blade against his neck and shoulder. This is more than enough reason to go from mild apprehension around Krell to full on distrusting him, because the clones know the Jedi only use their lightsabers when they need to. And only against what they perceive as hostiles that are unwilling to negotiate surrender.
Krell using his lightsaber to threaten someone was an immediate red flag, and Fives knew it.
The second screenshot that caught my attention was when Rex was holding Krell at gunpoint to execute him.
I was wondering why Dogma could swipe Fives’s blaster so easily and then, when looking at this frame, I realised all eyes were on Krell’s back. All eyes but Dogma’s… Who was instead watching Rex like a hawk.
It dawned on me that Fives getting finessed wasn’t the most interesting part of this scene, because at this point even a toddler could have taken his blaster without him noticing. It was the fact Dogma could see that Rex was hesitating while everyone else was just watching Krell with growing contempt, rather than realising their captain was struggling to do what he’d set out to do.
Dogma’s decision to shoot Krell wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. It was something he felt like he had to do because no one else could have done it. Because if Rex couldn’t, then he very likely doubted the others could either… And I think Dogma didn’t want them to. I think he was very aware of the consequences that would follow.
Which brings us to the last screenshot.
Fives’s and Dogma are very different characters in terms of how they conduct themselves and how they emote.
Fives has no reservations when it comes to expressing his feelings. He’s comfortable in his skin, knows what he’s about, and even feels comfortable enough to raise his concerns or even joke with his superiors (this man pulled a dick joke on his Jedi General, that’s just ballsy).
Dogma is the opposite. He’s wound tight (like Rex had commented in a prior conversation with Anakin), is still very much the standard model soldier that was just recently shipped out of Kamino, and is even unwilling to rest unless ordered to do so. Dogma is Shiny without being Shiny.
Throughout the entire Umbara Arc, Dogma’s had this steely angry look to him that feels more like a poker face than anything else. There’s only two times where we see him pull a softer expression. The scene in the barracks where he’s talking with Tup, and this one where he looks stricken.
Fives on the other hand never hid what he felt. He’s one of the most expressive clones and the Umbara Arc accentuates this. This scene proves this because where he’d been upset at Dogma for a great majority of this story arc, Fives is suddenly confronted with this scenario. And it probably finally dawns on him that he didn’t have all the pieces when it came to figuring out Dogma’s motives (or maybe it occurs to him what killing a Jedi would have meant for Rex, and that out of all the clones in that room Dogma was likely the one who was most aware of what would come next because he’s a stiff stickler for the rules and he’d tried to stop them mutinying before).
This entire arc is a great character study for the clones in general, but I think the ones that stand out more are definitely Fives and Dogma when faced with loyalty to the republic vs loyalty to their brothers.
Tup: Why is Commander Cody trying to find Fives and Hardcase..?
Echo: They put blue food colouring into his toothbrush. The bristles are blue so, he didn’t notice til he brushed his teeth now his mouth is stained blue.
Tup: … that’s genius.
Kix: I’ll get my kit ready for when he catches them.
