To celebrate Star Wars Day, and since the last two episodes really felt like one coherent story, I’ve decided to combine episodes 11 and 12 of Clone Wars into one grand final review with some thoughts about the series as a whole. One last time, friends, let’s get into the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Episode 11 brings us what we all have been waiting to see from this show: Order 66. Ahsoka has captured Darth Maul, and with the villain thoroughly Hannibal Lecter’d in a Force-neutralizing cage (I need to know a bit more about that science), she and her clones depart Mandalore, leaving it in the hands of Bo-Katan. While en route to Coruscant, Ahsoka and Maul both experience disturbing visions and Force echoes revealing glimpses of Anakin’s betrayal and turn to the Dark Side. Sure enough, Darth Sidious gives Commander Rex the Order 66 and, due to his programming, Rex conveys the orders to the rest of the battalion. Before executing a caught-off-guard Ahsoka, however, Rex’s true loyalty shines through for just a moment, and his hesitation gives Ahsoka just enough time to escape the initial attack. With the help of some astromech droids and Rex’s cryptic advice to “find Fives,” Ahsoka discovers the Clones’ original purpose and programming. Ahsoka successfully captures Rex, surgically removes his inhibitor chip controlling his 66-ish behavior, and brings him into her fold.
Before doing all this, however, Ahsoka releases Maul from his cell and has him cause a distraction to help her execute her escape plan. I have mixed feelings about how this action disagrees with her later sentiments about the Clones, but it leads to some terrific back-and-forth between the series main hero and antagonist in the midst of the chaos. I let out an audible “Hell yeah,” when Ahsoka responded to Maul’s request for a lightsaber and a fighting chance with “I’m not rooting for you.”
Episode 12 details Maul and Ahsoka’s escapes. As Maul rips and tears through clones a la Doomslayer in DOOM Eternal, Ahsoka and Rex try to take advantage of the resultant chaos to get away. We see some absolute brutality from Maul these episodes, including Force choking, severing a clone’s arm to get his communicator, and destroying the hyperdrive all without a lightsaber. Maul’s action again demonstrates just how overwhelming an elite Force-wielder can be, but it does certainly cast Ahsoka’s decision to set him free in a new light. When Rex and she are confronted by an entire battalion of Clones stopping their escape, she refuses to be the one to kill them, but she had to have known that Maul would not share her sympathies when she unleashed him upon the ship. However, while we struggle with this morality (one of the few times Ahsoka’s morality has ever really been questionable), we do get a terrific scene with Rex coming to terms with the fact that his brothers are truly and completely lost.
Maul makes his escape despite a terrific effort from Ahsoka to literally pull his ship out of the sky, and she and Rex are left to frantically leave on a questionable bomber with the Clones still gunning for them. After a tumultuous escape, we see Ahsoka and Rex land on the same moon that the larger cruiser crashed upon, and Ahsoka has buried all of the dead Clones with dignity as a last act of honor to the soldiers they once were. Before leaving the moon, Ahsoka tosses down her lightsaber, and in a chilling final scene, Vader is seen with a battalion of Imperial troops finding this saber on the same moon, silently accepting his padawan’s survival and her abandonment of his final gift to her.
I can confidently say that, despite some morally questionable hijinx in this last episode, the ending of Season 7 is the best arc of episodes the show has ever offered. Filled with action, character moments, and solemnity, this arc really gave us the ending to this show that we needed. One moment that particularly sticks out is the opening to episode 11; barring some initial dialogue between Ahsoka and Bo-Katan, the first half of the episode is mostly silent except for the music, emphasizing and building up to the somber Order 66 that we all know is coming. This leads me to some thoughts about Season 7 and The Clone Wars in general.
In many ways, this final season was the quintessential representation of the show at large. There were definitely episodes that dragged–a lot–and that future rewatches will likely skip entirely. However, when the season focused on what it has been historically good at, there were few other Star Wars media that I’ve enjoyed more. The arcs that focused on the Clones (Bad Batch and Order 66) were standouts, and characters that the show itself was left to really develop and explore outside of the mainstream products (Ahsoka and Maul) made old-time fans fall in love with the show all over again. However, the episodes and moments that tried to add something to already-established characters (Mace Windu and Obi Wan) or tried to shoehorn in new but altogether uninteresting characters (Sombra Sisters) often fell flat, snore-inducing, and/or bewildering.
*SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS REBELS AND THE MANDALORIAN*
One day, I may release a Clone Wars rewatch list complete with episodes worth skipping and episodes that are must-watch TV, because with this show I feel like there really is no middle ground. It’s difficult for a show that takes place in the midst of the larger timeline to feel satisfying or engaging: we know what happens to most of the characters, so there’s little suspense or stakes involved. I’ve seen Rebels and heard the news about the Mandalorian, so at no point was I ever really on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen to Maul, Ahsoka, or Rex. However, these were still characters that I had grown attached to over the years, and seeing their journeys finally come to a close still felt very genuine. Ahsoka is a character defined by her determination in the face of tragedy, and seeing her struggle to face the reality of the Jedi–not just as an institution but as individuals whom she cared about–made this quality so much more impactful. Watching Maul fully foster his hatred toward Palpatine until he truly becomes lost in his obsession makes his development with Ezra and eventual death at the hands of Obi Wan in Rebels that much sadder. The show, and this final season especially, has forced me to think of these characters in new ways. Should Maul really be considered a straight-up villain given what we now know of his story and madness? What kind of Ahsoka are we really going to get in the future now that we’ve watched her stomach the betrayal, rise, fall, and redemption of her master and best friend? Clone Wars isn’t for everyone, and several of its episodes are either boring or kind of problematic. However, I am so happy that I took this journey with this show, and it will surely leave an indelible mark on my understanding and appreciation for the universe in the years to come.
Unless of course we get another canon retcon. Don’t you put that evil on me, you weird freaking Mouse.
