The final arc that leads us into Revenge of the Sith.
What They Say:
Ahsoka alerts Anakin and Obi-Wan to Maul’s location, but the news of Grievous’ attack on Coruscant and Palpatine’s capture forces a difficult decision for the Jedi.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The seventh and final season of the Clone Wars series is one that has been mixed overall and that’s understandable. A lot of high expectations were there and the opening storyline being finished work of something we had seen before didn’t fly well for some. And then a slow-paced storyline with new characters for Ahsoka to interact with felt like too much of a simple story and retread. I did enjoy it to see Ahsoka in action and trying to figure out her course in life after leaving the Jedi but there were definitely better ways to do it. But all of that leads us into this final arc of four episodes which sets up the opening sequence to Revenge of the Sith. With all of that just being assumed material when we sat in the theater during that debut, getting to see the lead-up to it here and Ahsoka’s involvement is just a delight.
The episode opens in a really fun in big way where Obi-Wan and his Clone Troopers are facing off a thousand droids across a bridge and struggling with it. Having Anakin show up so casually and just walking down through it and teasing Obi-Wan about the whole thing is part of his cocky nature and we’ve seen it over the course of the series. Obi-Wan’s a little tired of it but he’s also kind of stunned by the trick that Anakin is using to take out those forces thanks to a little help from Artoo and Rex and his gang. It’s a pretty good trick overall but just the way he struts in is hilarious and priceless as it’s the kind of Dark Side cockiness to it rather than just plucky Jedi confidence. And getting to see so many Clones join in the fight all fresh and with jetpacks makes for a really good big sequence that echoes the original CG animated film opening to some degree.
That opens this storyline well but it’s Anakin and Obi-Wan’s return to the ship that throws everything off as Ahsoka is there via hologram after using the Fulcrum connection. Her reveal of knowing where Maul is located means they need to move quickly and need more help than just what she and Bo-Katan can do. There’s a lot of feelings in the mix from all involved, though Anakin tries to justify it in his own way with how Ahsoka’s leaving was needed for this moment. I do like that he’s hopeful to have Snipps back but we know the truth of it all here and that just tinges it with sadness. Having her working with Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians is a nice touch as we saw in the previous episode and with our own growing knowledge of them through the Mandalorian series. It almost becomes amusing to see how Anakin’s feelings are the ones that are the most confused here in the end, though, as he really just wants a return to what was.
One of the best moments, however, is when Ahsoka gets down to reconnect with the trops a bit and there’s a company that has done up their helmets similar to her color and design to show their loyalty to her. It’s a great moment with Rex as well as even though she’s not a commander he can’t help but to feel like he and his serve her. Rex’s group definitely has aligned themselves well but it’s at a pivotal moment. Just as she’s about to be given her lightsaber, it’s revealed that Grievous is attacking Coruscant and that they’re after the Chancellor. That means dropping going after Maul, which is a pretty difficult moment, but Anakin finds the right solution amid all the nuance here. Upping Rex to Commander and setting Ahsoka as an advisor handles all of it nicely enough and the final gifting of the lightsabers is a beautiful moment that reinforces just how special the show made the relationship between these two.
The shift to following Ahsoka and her group as they go afer Maul is definitely great since he’s holed up with lots of Mandalorians himself after taking control there some time ago. With him still supposedly in the city, it’s great to see Ahsoka reconnect with her skills and abilities to deal with the red-themed Mandalorians in a way that makes me wish this was done in a live-action way as well. There’s a lot to love with this sprawling battle that gets underway as we get to see some great locations, designs, and action with the forces at hand. That the whole thing is a trap isn’t a surprise, it’s pure Maul when you get down to it, but I do love that it’s a trap sprung on the wrong Jedi. Nobody expects Ahsoka! It all makes for a good and tense battle as it progresses, first from the air and then to the Undercity.
In Summary:
Clocking in at a longer thirty minutes, Clone Wars delivered what I wanted from the start at last. This is fantastic episode from start to finish and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the rest is like. I do expect some lulls to be had with it but if they’ve put the biggest investment into this arc it’ll have been worth it to deliver what we’re getting. The Clone Wars couldn’t look like this when it started but that it does now as it draws to a close has me very hopeful that all the right lessons have been learned for whatever project may be next after this. And that Filoni really gets to do a lot more in shaping the franchise.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Disney+
