The Deserter

"It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable."

- Jedi Fortune Cookie

"The Deserter" is the tenth episode of the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It is the thirty-second episode of the series overall. It was released in tandem with "Grievous Intrigue" on January 1, 2010 on Cartoon Network.

Synopsis
Hot on the trail of General Grievous, Obi-Wan Kenobi lands with his troops of the 501st Legion and 212th Attack Battalion, Commander Cody, Jesse, Kix, Crys and Captain Rex on Saleucami. As Grievous had to abandon his landing ship because of damage sustained during his escape, he and his droid cohorts had to use the on-board escape pods to land on the planet's surface. However, the radio transmitter on Grievous's pod was damaged upon landing, and as a result Grievous is forced to locate one of the other pods in order to send a message to the Separatist fleet before Kenobi and his forces find him. Grievous's droids find Grievous a Reek for his ride and some Eopie as pack animals.

Upon finding the crashed landing ship empty, Kenobi divides a squad of his men into search parties on speeder bikes. Rex is to lead troopers Jesse, Hardcase and Kix into the local wetlands to the coordinates of a crashed pod, while Kenobi, Cody and Crys will continue looking at the crash site. Unfortunately on their way they are ambushed by droid commando snipers, and Rex becomes severely injured. Upon finding out that they are standing on farmland, the troopers ferry Rex to a farm inhabited by a single female Twi'lek named Suu Lawquane and her two children Shaeeah and Jek. Suu's husband is momentarily absent, but she provides them with a shelter in their barn and some food. Too badly injured to continue the search for Grievous, Rex reluctantly remains behind while his team continues the search, putting Jesse in charge. Strangely, Shaeeah comments that the clones look just like their father.

n the meantime, Kenobi, Cody and Crys finally find a nearly intact droid and scan its memory banks for a clue as where to find Grievous, while their quarry becomes more and more frustrated as one by one of his battle droids escorts lose the last of their power and keep dropping where they stand.

In the middle of the night, Rex is visited by the owner of the farm—a clone trooper who introduces himself as Cut Lawquane. Disgusted with his pre-purposed profession, namely to kill for a living, Lawquane had deserted the army and now leads a happy life with his wife and children stating this is where his main duty is bound than to the Republic. While they have dinner together, Lawquane and Rex engage in an argument, in which Rex attempts to remind Lawquane that, as clone soldiers, their duty lies with the Republic, while Lawquane stresses that even as clones, they are individuals and thus have the freedom of choice. Slowly and reluctantly, Rex begins to sympathize with Cut and his family.

Grievous manages to reach the remaining intact capsule and prepares to send a distress call and his droids prepare for battle. When Kenobi and his men catch up, a battle ensues. When a Separatist shuttle arrives, the last AT-TE is unable to take it down, and Kenobi engages Grievous in personal combat to prevent him from leaving. However, by hooking himself to the shuttle by means of a grappling cable, Grievous manages to escape yet again, which leaves Kenobi disappointed.

In the meantime, Rex and Lawquane play dejarik holochess, in which Rex asks why Lawquane left the army. Lawquane tells how after the Battle of Geonosis, his transport was shot down and his brothers onboard were slaughtered, and knowing that there was nothing to be done, Cut ran - an experience which still haunts him. While playing outside, however, Shaeeah and Jek stumble upon a crashed Separatist escape pod in one of their fields and accidentally activate a platoon of damaged, but still-functional commando droids inside. The droids promptly attack the farm, and Lawquane prepares to defend his family. Rex offers his help, and although the droids manage to invade the farmhouse, the two clones put up a brave fight and destroy them all, with Lawquane saving Rex's life.

The next morning, Rex prepares to leave on an eopie. Although it would be his duty to report Lawquane as a deserter, he respects his clone brother's wish for a peaceful life greatly enough to decide not to turn him in after all. He refuses Lawquane's invitation to stay, parting with the words: "This is your home, Cut. My family is elsewhere."

Cast
Starring
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Clone Troopers
 * Matthew Wood as General Grievous / Battle Droids
 * Nika Futterman as Shaeeah
 * Cara Pifko as Suu
 * Kath Soucie as Jekk
 * Tom Kane as Narrator

Crew
Created and Executive Produced by
 * George Lucas

Executive Producer
 * Catherine Winder

Supervising Director
 * Dave Filoni

Produced By
 * Cary Silver

Directed by
 * Robert Dalva

Written by
 * Carl Ellsworth

Supervising Writer
 * Drew Z. Greenberg

Staff Writer
 * Brian Larsen

Score by
 * Kevin Kiner

Original Star Wars Themes and Score by
 * John Williams

Characters

 * Cody
 * Crys
 * Grievous
 * Hardcase
 * Jesse
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Kix
 * Cut Lawquane
 * Jekk Lawquane
 * Shaeeah Lawquane
 * Suu Lawquane
 * Rex
 * Unidentified clone tank gunner
 * Anakin Skywalker
 * Yoda
 * Luminara Unduli

Droid models

 * Battle Droid
 * Super Battle Droid
 * BX-Series Droid Commando
 * MagnaGuard

Locations

 * Saleucami
 * Lawquane Farm