Fives's character arc
"Shinies, sir?" "That's right. Your armor, it's shiny and new, just like you."
I love the clones, I love the themes they represent and the ideas they explore, and there are a lot of different stories I could have chosen to represent that, but Fives, to me, is the quintessential* clone. Fives is, fundamentally, ordinary; a bog-standard, cannon-fodder clone. When we are introduced to him, he has no notable abilities, no rank, he doesn't even have an especially significant role in that episode. Even his name is just a variation of his assigned number! He could so easily have been a Cutup or a Longshot or a Nova or any other clone whose name we only know because someone yelled it when they died.
"It's Fives! The name is Fives!"
But he does survive, more by chance than by skill, and because he survives, he is allowed to grow and change and, more importantly, reveal who he is. Fives's next episode is a flashback, which means his first chronological line is asserting his name. Fives does learn and grow and refine his identity through his experiences, but his individuality is something he has always had. At their best, the Clone Wars and the clone storylines tell us that individuality is inherent; even if you feel insignificant, ordinary, unremarkable, you still are an individual with unique qualities. The personhood is built in. And I love a lot of clone characters, but I feel like that theme is best expressed through someone who starts out in the background - through Fives, we understand that, even though we don't get to see it, those background clones were individuals too.
"I am not just another number! None of us are!"
Then there's Umbara. And I'm cheating a bit because Umbara is not really about Fives, it's about Rex. Fives doesn't really need to learn that Krell is a dick and should be disobeyed; he catches on to that pretty fucking quick! But Fives is still vitally important: as a character with a well-established confidence in the worth of his identity and easily extrapolated reasons not to want to see unnecessary deaths among his brothers, he is the perfect catalyst for Rex's arc. And he's a badass! He does the right thing (also the cool thing) in full acceptance of the risks, and even at blasterpoint, he maintains his bravery and his principles.
"No, not five, Fives." "Oh. The difference is minimal." "Not to me, and not to any clone."
Fives' story - the claiming of identity, the struggle between duty and true honour, the grief and loss of war - is a synecdoche for the story of the clones as a whole; he has to encounter the chips. The chips are everything he has always been fighting against; they are the ultimate refusal of identity, the ultimate denial of choice, the ultimate tyranny of superiors and the worst, most senseless death. Fives is the best positioned to defy them - and he does! He gets so close! But Fives's story is the clones' story. And that was always a tragedy. He is betrayed, he fails, he dies. But he doesn't completely fail! He - and I will die on this fucking hill - saves Ahsoka. The Jedi in order 66 are shot in the back - it is shock, horror and grief that kills them. Those scant few seconds Ahsoka gets to prepare, to defend, to understand that this is not a deliberate betrayal, are what save her, and it is Fives - through Rex - who gives them to her. Fives's story, as the clones', is a tragedy, but, as the clones'... there are sparks of hope.
*heh
