Prisoners

"Crowns are inherited, kingdoms are earned."

- Moral

"Prisoners" is the third episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' fourth season. It aired on September 23, 2011 and concluded a three-part story arc that began with the previous episodes, "Water War" and "Gungan Attack."

Official description
"The Republic and Gungan forces have been captured by Riff Tamson and his Karkarodon enforcers. Now, it is up to Ahsoka and the young Prince Lee-Char to unite the fractured people of Mon Cala and drive out the Separatist invaders."

Synopsis
Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Kit Fisto and Representative Jar Jar Binks are brought before Riff Tamson, who imprisons them with shackle droids and electric eels and begins to question them about the whereabouts of Prince Lee-Char. Aqua droids search far and wide, forcing Lee-Char and Ahsoka to keep on moving. In order to restore the peace between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren, the prince decides to free the prisoners, whose numbers would overpower their captors, and draw the Quarren back to their side. For this purpose, Lee-Char and Ahsoka follow a column of prisoners to an underwater cave used as a prison camp, where Lee-Char addresses his people to restore their courage. But an aqua droid spots them and they are surrounded by the guards, but Lee-Char demands an audience with their commanders, which is granted.

Meanwhile, Nossor Ri expresses his growing doubts about this war and the planned eradication of the prince to Count Dooku, and has to learn to his consternation that Tamson has brought his own troops to garrison the occupied city instead of allowing the Quarren to rebuild. Tamson returns to interrogate the prisoners and attempts to force them to talk by biting a tiny hole into Padme’s helmet, allowing her suit to fill up with water. But then he learns that Lee-Char has been apprehended and orders the droid troops to take him and Ahsoka to the Mon Calamari throne room, where he (as he gloats at a startled Ri) would receive the prince as the planet’s new ruler, as per an agreement between himself and Dooku. However, Lee-Char denounces him face-to-face, boldly challenging Tamson’s claim of leadership over both Mon Calamari and Quarren, and appeals to Nossor Ri’s friendship with his late father and the tense but respectful relationship the Mon Calamari and Quarren had enjoyed under his rule. Spiteful, Tamson orders the prince to be publicly executed.

As soon as Tamson and Ri have left, Anakin and Fisto remove the water from Padme’s helmet with the Force, and Jar Jar uses his saliva to seal the puncture, saving her from drowning. Shortly afterwards, the prisoners are all taken to witness the prince’s execution, but as the preparations are underway, Ri, who has finally had a change of heart, secretly communicates his people’s support to Ackbar. At the critical moment Ri saves Lee-Char, and the Quarren, Mon Cala, Jedi, Gungans and clones unite under the prince, engaging the Separatist droid forces in battle. Lee-Char prevents Tamson, who cruelly confesses to be the one who killed his father, from fleeing, engages him, and kills him with one of his own explosive knives. After restoring the peace, Lee-Char, now recognized by both Mon Calamari and Quarren, is crowned the new king.

Cast

 * Gary Anthony Williams as Riff Tamson
 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
 * Adam McArthur as Prince Lee-Char
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
 * Phil LaMarr as Kit Fisto and Brother Lemcke
 * Corey Burton as Count Dooku and Nossor Ri
 * Artt Butler as Captain Gial Ackbar
 * Ahmed Best as Jar Jar Binks
 * Matthew Wood as aqua droids
 * Anna Graves as Senator Meena Tills
 * Catherine Taber as Padmé Amidala
 * James Arnold Taylor as Prisoner #1
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Monnk
 * Tom Kane as the narrator