The Clone Wars Episode Guide: Destroy Malevolence

Full Synopsis

"A plan is only as good as those who see it through."

Newsreel:

Grievous in retreat! Before the
battleship Malevolence could
destroy an Outer Rim clone
medical base, a Republic strike
force, under the command of
Jedi General Anakin Skywalker,
crippled the warship, disabling
its dreaded ion cannon. Now
the Jedi relentlessly pursue
the Malevolence....

ACT I
The smoldering warship Malevolence limps away from the barrage of turbolaser fire from a trio of pursuing Republic Star Destroyers. Its primary stabilizer and hyperdrive are damaged, and its forward drive begins to fail, but the ship is so immense, it can nonetheless continue to absorb the pounding the Republic vessels deliver. Aboard a flagship, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, and Anakin Skywalker convene for a tactical update. Skywalker has attempted to contact Luminara Unduli for additional support, but she is tied up dealing with Separatist reinforcements nearby. Kenobi orders all cannons to target the Malevolence's bridge.

Count Dooku contacts Grievous holographically. The count has arranged a trap that will give Grievous an advantage over the Jedi: an important Galactic Senator is heading towards the Malevolence. Grievous is to take this representative hostage in order to stop the Republic attack.

A silvery Naboo yacht hurtles through hyperspace with Senator Padmé Amidala and C-3PO at the helm. She in on a diplomatic mission to secure a potential separate peace with an executive from the Banking Clan that supposedly contacted Chancellor Palpatine with overtures of alliance. Emerging from hyperspace, the ship nearly collides with the fleeing Malevolence.

Ahsoka Tano picks up the incoming vessel on the Republic flagship's scanners. The Jedi desperately try to contact Padmé's ship while the Republic taskforce holds its fire. The Malevolence snags the yacht in its tractor beam and reels the unarmed ship into its hold. Padmé demands that the Jedi continue their attack, but Anakin cannot bring himself to order fire to resume with his beloved trapped within the Malevolence. Anakin decides to mount an infiltration mission to rescue Padmé, and Obi-Wan accompanies him.

General Grievous orders a repair crew to resume work on the ship's hyperdrive while he traverses the huge distances within the ship via its rail system in order to arrive at the main hangar. There, Padmé begins overloading the yacht's power systems and flees the ship with C-3PO. Grievous spots the explosive trap before it is too late, and leaves the captive yacht before it erupts in flames. Firefighting battle droids try to douse the flames while Grievous orders an alert to capture the stowaways.

ACT II

Within the Malevolence, Padmé attempts to rig a comm panel to contact the Republic fleet, but her work is cut short when she and Threepio need to hide as Grievous and his troops approach. She overhears that the warship's hyperdrive was not as badly damaged as originally feared, and the ship should be able to achieve superluminal flight in good order. Grievous leaves to contact Dooku.

Obi-Wan and Anakin leave the Resolute's hangar bay aboard the Twilight, and Kenobi is less-than-impressed with Anakin's plan to dock with the Malevolence's emergency airlocks. Skywalker correctly assesses that those aboard the warship are too occupied with the ship's catastrophic damage to detect the spice freighter. The Jedi pass through the airlock, cut through some hapless battle droids, and enter the ship. Anakin orders Artoo to stay behind.

Meanwhile, back at the Republic fleet, Ahsoka and Plo Koon have contacted Luminara Unduli, who pledges her forces as reinforcements. Yularen reports that they're receiving a transmission from Senator Amidala. Ahsoka patches the signal through to Anakin. Padmé reports from the lower levels, and she is surprised to hear that Obi-Wan and Anakin are also aboard the Malevolence. Working from data gathered from scans, Ahsoka advises the infiltrators to rendezvous within a large open area that runs through the center of the ship.

The central channel of the ship is dominated by an extensive rail jet system. Padmé and C-3PO and Anakin and Obi-Wan are on opposite sides of the chasm. With battle droids in pursuit, the intruders leap onto approaching rail jet cars. A super battle droid launches a warhead at the rails ahead, knocking out a bridge in front of Padmé. She leaps towards Anakin's train, and he uses the Force to carry her over the distance and into his arms. As the train enters a tunnel, the two share a brief private moment of affection.

Poor C-3PO has fallen onto another car and into a crate. Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to lift him to safety using the Force, but the droid instead is intercepted by another rail jet car, taking him deeper into the ship. Padmé informs the Jedi that she overheard that the hyperdrive was nearing reactivation, so Kenobi agrees to venture towards the ship's engineering station and ensure that it remains offline. Grievous overhears this communication, and plans to intercept Kenobi.

Anakin contacts Artoo and asks him to help find Threepio. R2-D2 plugs into the Malevolence's computer network and stops Threepio's train.

Kenobi arrives at the engineering station, only to be surrounded by battle droids, super battle droids and droidekas. Then, General Grievous emerges from the shadows, itching for a fight.

ACT III

Grievous orders his droids to open fire. Kenobi leaps his way past their fire, and uses the force to shove the droidekas into wheel form, bowling over his attackers. Kenobi then flees engineering. Grievous orders the droids to guard the hyperdrive while he gives pursuit.

Elsewhere in the ship, Anakin and Padmé outrun battle droids. Contact with Obi-Wan is cut off by jamming. Skywalker hatches another plan. Meanwhile, C-3PO and R2-D2 are reunited within another section of the Malevolence.

Skywalker storms the bridge, where battle droids near completion of bringing the hyperdrive back online. He cuts through the guards. Then, as Padmé clears the battered droids to hide their presence, Anakin hotwires the ship's guidance systems to give General Grievous "a little surprise."

The reinforced Republic Star Destroyers achieve attack position. Plo Koon is unable to contact Skywalker or Kenobi. Ahsoka urges Master Plo to give them more time, but the chrono is ticking... the Malevolence must be stopped.

Kenobi flees to a rail-jet tunnel, but Grievous dogs his leaps and bounds. Their lightsaber duel is cut short and Obi-Wan dodges an attack by jumping onto an opposite train.

R2-D2 and C-3PO return to the Twilight, and Anakin, Padmé and Obi-Wan all reunite at the spice freighter. The ship undocks from the Malevolence and flies away. Grievous is determined to catch these Jedi, so he leaps aboard his starfighter and lifts off, accompanied by vulture droid wingmates. Padmé mans the turret guns, blasting away at their pursuers.

The Star Destroyers open fire, pelting the Malevolence. A battle droid reports to Grievous that the hyperdrive is repaired. Grievous orders the ship to flee to Separatist space; he will rendezvous with them in Sector Four.

The Malevolennce begins its jump sequence... but something is wrong. The ship is aiming toward a dead moon. Grievous orders the hyperdrive to reset, but it is too late. Just then, Count Dooku contacts the general for an update. Grievous cuts off all communication as the Malevolence slams into the moon. The threat of the Malevolence is over. Grievous flees into parts unknown.

Trivia & Details

Of the three Republic warships pursuing the Malevolence, the lead ship is General Skywalker's Resolute. As a flagship, it has red conning towers.
The original script had Padmé and C-3PO rushing to the battle site to aid in the evacuation of the Kaliida Shoals Med Center (you may recall mention of Naboo relief ships being dispatched in "Shadow of Malevolence." The story was changed to instead have Padmé tricked into becoming Grievous' hostage.
The specialist battle droids in the hangar have reflective paint strips that resemble firefighter's uniform.
In the script, Anakin's original plan to board the Malevolence included a foolhardy hyperspace micro-jump that would have deposited the Twilight just centimeters away from the enemy ship's hull.
Grievous' greeting of "hello there" to Kenobi is a callback of Obi-Wan's "hello there" to Grievous in Episode III, which itself was a callback to Obi-Wan's "hello there" to Artoo in Episode IV.
The design of the rail-jet car draws inspiration from the Trade Federation MTT tanks from Episode I.
If you listen carefully to the disembodied rail-jet conductor voice, you'll note that it advises travelers to "mind the gap."
The final frame of the heroes is the first time all these prequel characters have ever been thus depicted; the final frame from Episode I did not have C-3PO while Episode II and III had them scattered across different planets.

Memorable Quotes

"Do not compound your failure this day by allowing our prize warship to fall." -- Count Dooku to General Grievous.

"I will not be made into a Separatist bargaining chip! Continue your attack! " -- Padmé Amidala to Anakin Skywalker.

"We're doomed." -- C-3PO

- "There he goes again, craving adventure and excitement."
- "You get used to it." -- Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano about Anakin

"Hey, that's just rude." -- A knocked over battle droid to General Grievous.

"But do we have a plan B? Every operation needs a backup, Anakin." -- Obi-Wan

- "Everything I know I learned from you."
- "Oh, if only that were true." - Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

"Somebody stop this contraption, please! (train stops, sending Threepio flying) I suppose I did ask for that." - C-3PO

"Hello there." -- General Grievous

"R2-D2, oh my, you are a sight for short circuits!"

- "Ever since I've known you you've been playing with droids.
- "I used to put them together. Now I only take them apart." - Anakin and Padmé

Related Article Links

Video Preview A short introduction to the episode.
Video Commentary Supervising Director Dave Filoni discusses the rail network inside the Malevolence.
Padmé and Anakin Unite in The Clone Wars Preview article, featuring quotes from actor Catherine Taber
Cat Taber: Voicing Padmé Voice actor Cat Taber discusses her roles in The Clone Wars and The Force Unleashed
Online Comic: Agenda A day in the life of Senator Padmé Amidala.

Key Databank Entries

... And More to Come

Keywords: Episode Guide, Television

Filed under: The Clone Wars