WiC Watches: Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Photo: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episode 710 “The Phantom Apprentice” – Image Courtesy Disney+

Episode 712: “Victory and Death”

The series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens right where the last episode left off. Ahsoka and Rex — along with three adorable astromech droids — devise a plan to escape the ship filled with clones who are trying to kill them. Rex tries to convince Ahsoka that, even though they are his brothers, they are going to have to be killed if the pair wants to safely escape Order 66, but Ahsoka disagrees and refuses to kill their former friends; after all, it’s not their fault Darth Sidious, aka Emperor Palpatine, had a mind control chip placed in their brains.

So, Ahsoka has Rex set his blasters to stun, she only uses the Force and her lightsabers to incapacitate the murderous clones, and away they go.

Meanwhile, Maul — who is definitely murdering any clones in his path, by the way — finds the hyperdrive core, and in a truly dazzling display of power, uses the Force to obliterate the hyperdrive engine, ripping the ship out of hyperspace and directly into the pull of a nearby moon.

Ahsoka and Rex make their way to the bridge where they open the ship’s hangar and realize they’re going to have to find a shuttle to escape a fiery crash onto the moon’s surface.

Here’s where things get intense, as clone commander Jesse — a popular character from seasons past — leads an entire battalion to the hangar where they stand ready to kill Ahsoka and Rex before they can make it to the shuttle. Rex tried to convince Jesse that, because Ahsoka left the order, she isn’t a Jedi anymore and shouldn’t be executed. Jesse doesn’t buy it and orders his clones to open fire.

During all this, Maul appears and steals the shuttle Ahsoka and Rex were hoping to use to make their escape. The next time we see him will be in the season 2 finale of Star Wars Rebels.

Having just lost his ride, Rex points out that a Y-wing fighter is the only ship left that hasn’t been damaged, and he and Ahsoka make their way to it, losing their droid companions to the clones along the way. Rex hops into the cockpit, but Ahsoka doesn’t make it before the gravitational field is destroyed and the Y-wing is sucked out of the hangar. Luckily, she’s able to use the force to get on board.

After a bit of skilled piloting from Rex, he and Ahsoka are able to fly away from the massive Republic cruiser just as it crash lands onto the moon’s surface. Later, Ahsoka and Rex have landed by the crashed ship, and while Rex finds supplies, Ahsoka buries all the clones who perished, which is all of them, and she uses their helmets — all painted with markings that match her own — as grave markers. She’s troubled and sad, and takes out one of her lightsabers and drops it on the ground.

Years later, an Imperial battalion of stormtroopers are shown inspecting an old crash site on a snow-covered planet — it’s the same moon where Ahsoka and Rex buried their former comrades after Order 66. Darth Vader arrives and silently walks toward the gravesite. There, he bends down and picks up Ahsoka’s lightsaber and ignites it. He then turns and slowly walks away, his reflection shown in the visor of a clone trooper’s helmet, painted with Ahsoka’s Togruta facial markings.

Some bullet points:

• I love that we now know how Maul and Ahsoka knew each other in the Star Wars Rebels season 2 finale.
• This entire episode was the most visually stunning and artistic episode of The Clone Wars yet, and I suppose that makes sense since it was the series finale.
• During Maul’s escape aboard the shuttle, Ahsoka reaches out with the Force and holds the ship in place for a moment. We’ve never seen her do that before and it just goes to show how powerful she has become.
• The moon the Republic cruiser crashed into is covered in snow for Vader’s scene. It reminds me of Hoth.

Episode Grade: A+

I really don’t like the fact that we had to get through some cheesy storylines (Ahsoka and the Martez sisters) in order to thoroughly enjoy the Siege of Mandalore and Ahsoka and Rex’s escape from Order 66. I also would have liked to see more missions involving Obi-Wan and Anakin in this final season. That being said, I am happy we finally got some closure on this beloved series.

Season 7 Grade: B

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