#holocron heist

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You shapeshifting potato headed trash panda

[ilyaux]

CLONE WARS - HOLOCRON HEIST (S2E1)

VENTILATION SYSTEM

This is a detailed vent system Cad Bane took to get from the SouthWest rooftop to the Holocron Vault on the NorthWest side of the Temple. It's more just to get a sense of the directions, so it's not up to scale.

[redstuffs-ig]

friendly reminder that when Sidious / Palpatine hired Cad Bane to do what is ostensibly the most ambitious job in his career, he just started listing the specs for his dream ship completely unprompted

[xinambercladx]

TODOOOOOO!!! I love this little droid. Him being voiced by Seth Green just makes it that much better. Oh the days of snarky Joker in Mass Effect... Todo has false faith in his grumpy master. And AHSOKA!!!! I love, love, LOVE her! *hugs* A (sorta) spoiler for Chapter 5 of my fanfic "Figment on AO3, which will release in a week or two. Todo finds himself in the Jedi Temple and has to escape!

Read "Figment" fanfic. <- click Read next Comic. Todo escapes the Jedi Temple! Yes, this is a Frozen reference, but it was too perfect. I couldn't help myself. XD hahahaha! I just had to have Sky-guy and Snips being a comedic duo.

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xInAmberCladx's Fanart Archive <- click

[archivyrep]

Madame Nu, the stereotypical archivist of the Jedi Temple in the "Clone Wars" animation [Part 1]

Another episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars that mentions the archives, although Madame Nu is not mentioned, with this episode (Season 1, episode 6, titled "Downfall of a Droid"), with the characters grumbling about archives maps, basically saying archives are inadequate. The above scene is the most prominent one in this episode. What is with these episode writers, this one being George Krstic, and their annoyance/confusion over archives?

This post is a continuation from my last post on Star Wars Episode II, but it specifically focuses on Madame Nu, the archivist of the Jedi Temple, first appearing in the aforementioned film. While this archivist appears in varied comics and books, some of which constitute the Star Wars Expanded Universe and others which are cannon, those are not as publicly accessible, so I only focus on her role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, an animated series which has since come and past. [1] While I may have overstated it a bit on Instagram when I called her "more badass in the comics and animated series than Star Wars Episode 2," noting that she is "the head (and lone?) archivist of the Jedi Archives in the Star Wars universe defend[ing]...the archives with a lightsaber," this post is worth doing as it's still about perceptions of archivists in popular culture. In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, Madame Nu (voiced by Flo DiRe), is featured in four episodes: Holocron Heist (season 2, episode 1), Lightsaber Lost (season 2, episode 11), Assassin (season 3, episode 7), and The Lost One (season 6, episode 10). [2] This post will look at all four of these episodes, connecting them with archival concepts and related other thoughts.

Reprinted from my Wading Through the Cultural Stacks WordPress blog. Originally posted on Aug. 3, 2020.

Looking at "Holocron Heist"

In this episode, the plot extensively revolves around the Jedi archives. It begins with Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's apprentice reassigned to "archives security" after her actions in Felucia where she disobeyed her master, Anakin, and almost got herself killed on the battlefield:

Later in the episode, Ahsoka comes to the archives with Anakin for her assignment on archives security:

And being a good archivist, Madame Nu is glad to meet Ahsoka:

Madame Nu tells of the wonders of the Jedi archives, with, so far, no confusion of "archives" and "libraries" as some often do:

What Nu says about archives are as relevant in this plot as it is the reality:

Even the theme of archival access comes up, with certain areas that not even Madame Nu, the lone arranger of this archives can go:

However, soon, the writing of the episode, which was by a well-known writer of "animation...live drama TV...comics...video games...and creator of...original characters and comics series" named Paul Dini, gets sloppy. The plot of the episode is simple: there is a plan of bounty hunter Cad Bane is to steal a holocron. But for this to work he needs someone inside the archives. However, instead of calling it an archives, Bane refers to it as a "Jedi library," which is only half accurate as it is an archives with a library within it:

To explain it more, an archives is, to quote from the SAA, a place where records which were created "in the course of everyday life" by individuals, "organizations, and governments...about their activities," whether personal or unplanned, are kept, with those whom "assess, collect, organize, preserve, and provide access to these records" called archivists. Even so, one could say that the Jedi archives constitutes a library if the latter is defined as a place "of information...offering people free access to a wealth of information that they often can't find elsewhere, whether online, in print or in person." But there's more, as I'll explain later in this post.

In this episode, the "changerling" has a goal once she is inside the Jedi archives: take the appearance of a Jedi

Again, the words "archives" and "library" are used interchangeably, when they should not be, showing Fini's lack of understanding of the difference between these concepts, which is broadly the case. I remember seeing recently, on Twitter, a discussion among archivists with some admitting they call themselves librarians because people don't understand what archivists are...which is sad.

Moving on, in this episode Ahsoka is a friendly security guard but also is the face of the archives, welcoming to visitors, which is not appreciated by the "changerling"...who could have actually taken her shape if she wanted, but is instead a jerk, which obviously sets off alarm bells:

Soon enough, the changerling sits down at a table to help Bane and his robot assistant to steal the holocron, with the setting reminding me a bit of the Library of Congress in a sense. Now, it seems laughable that a Jedi could turn off security grids, disable parts of the temple, and such just from sitting at a chair. That doesn't seem right.

Soon enough, the "changerling" knocks out the archivist and takes her form confidently, although again she is portrayed as a "librarian," falling into the typical stereotype as is often the case in such media:

The changerling tells Bane this, embodying the obvious stereotype of an old, wise woman in this position, which is often attributed to librarians. Again, Fini should have written this to say "change of plans, I'm the archivist now" rather than using the word librarian:

Ahsoka, thanks to a tip from Yoda, knows that the "changerling" has taken Nu's form…but Ahsoka hilariously is a better fighter. Fighting commences in the stacks, with strangely no damage to any of the records or surroundings:

Madame Nu recovers, with Ahsoka calling her a librarian as well, showing again the error of Fini in not understanding the difference between archivists and librarians, a clear ignorance he could have easily remedied!

Again, quoting from the SAA, they address this exact point, saying that while "archivists are sometimes confused with other closely related professionals, such as librarians…Although some work is related, distinct differences exist in the work of the archivist." They differentiate between librarians and archivists by noting that while both professionals "collect, preserve, and make accessible materials for research," they differ "significantly in the way they arrange, describe, and use the materials in their collections." Specifically, they note that "materials in archival collections are unique and often irreplaceable, whereas libraries can usually obtain new copies of worn-out or lost books." In the case of the Jedi archives, the materials are undoubtedly unique and probably not replaceable, meaning that Madame Nu should be called "Madame archivist" rather than "Madame librarian"!

The episode ends with the theft of the holocron by bounty hunter Cade Bane a success and a parting shot showing Anakin and Ahsoka walking back through the Jedi archives, a nice ending shot:

All in all, while this episode had its positives, I give it a major thumbs down for equating archives with libraries, with no distinction between them, which is a real shame for the over 2.5 million people who watched this episode, the premiere of Season 2 of this animated series.

© 2022 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

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[sinisterexaggerator]

[the-ephemeral-ethereal]

Cad Bane Watchlist

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Star Wars Expanded Universe, specifically for the character mentioned above. (Updated 4/3/24) 

For those interested in learning more about the galaxy’s most ruthless bounty hunter, see some curated recommendations below: 

The Clone Wars (~22 BBY) 

The Sidious Employ Arc 

2:1 Holocron Heist 

2:2 Cargo of Doom 

2:3 Children of the Force 

The Hutt Employ Arc 

3:8 Evil Plans 

1:22 Hostage Crisis 

3:9 Hunt for Ziro 

The Dooku Employ Arc

4:15 Deception 

4:16 Friends & Enemies 

4:17 The Box 

4:18 Crisis on Naboo 

The Bad Batch (~19-17 BBY) 

1:8 Reunion 

1:9 Bounty Lost 

3:10 Identity Crisis 

*There are about 30 years here when we have no canon details yet as to Bane’s whereabouts.* 

The Book of Boba Fett (~10 ABY) 

The Pyke Employ Arc

1:6 From the Desert Comes a Stranger 

1:7 In the Name of Honor