It’s Star Wars Month 2
OK, it's a few days late, sorry about that... anyway
And so far I’ve been
pretty harsh on both the stories the Clone Wars incorporated into its seventh
season, but in truth both of these episodes provide an important piece in the
setup for the big finale. The Bad Batch arc had a heavy focus on Rex, his
determination and loyalty coupled with his survivor’s guilt this late in the
game.
Naturally the other
piece is Ahsoka, who needed an arc to transition her from leaving the Jedi
order to her place in this arc. It probably should have played out a little
slower, across multiple arcs but they have 12 episodes so we’ll take what we
can get. It really had to be these two that the focus was put upon, of the main
cast of the Clone Wars we know how Anakin and Obi-Wan end up, along with most
of the Jedi Order, and we know how most of the clones end up. The big bads like
Grievous and Dooku are dealt with in the films, which is why they don’t appear
in this season beyond a quick cameo.
As for Darth
Siddeous with Ian Abercrombie no longer with us and Tim Curry… I think retired
from voice acting, bringing him back beyond a cameo would be unnecessary. Indeed,
they just use archived footage of Ian McDiarmid. Not that he would’ve been
beyond getting to return since he voiced Palpetine not only for his incredibly
forced appearance in Rise of Skywalker but also for season 4 of Rebels.
I think we’re getting off-topic. Basically, each of the main characters of this finale have had an episode to re-establish themselves and now it’s time for the big showdown.
Old Friends Not
Forgotten
A few things you
note this time, the opening is almost like a movie, using the music from the
usual Star Wars crawl, and there’s no jedi wisdom to be found. The droid army
has pushed its offensive and the clones are stretched to their limit, no change
there then, so the Jedi Council have dispatched Jedi far across the system.
There were apparently 10,000 Jedi at their peak, I imagine a few had been
killed by this point but still, where are they all?
Anyway, we’re on
Yerbana where Commander Cody’s 212 squad are in desperate need for
re-enforcements. The siege appears to be continuing on a bridge as the clones
are taking major casualties, with Cody himself only avoiding that fate thanks
to the intervention of Obi-Wan. The tactical droid commanding these forces is
staying out of sight.
Anakin arrives,
having already finished his battle with the 501st and is probably
the cockiest we’ve ever seen him on this show, and that’s saying something.
Still, he has a plan and Obi-Wan’s out of ideas so lets him try it. Anakin
approaches and surrenders… it’s one of those plans that relies on the droids being
absolute morons, isn’t it? Yup, classic Anakin. This isn't the first time they've utilised this tactic and it's considered a war crime on Earth.
Of course, he does
have his ace in the hole, Rex, the 501st and R2 are perched under
the bridge. The tactical droid comes out and the trap is sprung, Anakin quickly
uses the force to deal with the droid, and his squad re-enforce him on
jetpacks.
I will never stop pointing out how stupid the line "they fly now" is. With air superiority, they quickly dispatch a good number of droids and even take out a few of their spider tanks. With that, Obi-Wan and Anakin are no longer really needed for the battle which is good as Colonel Yularen calls in, and well, this is interesting. Apparently Fulcrum was a subspace frequency Anakin used to contact Saw Garrera on Onderon. Makes you wonder why the Empire didn’t know that but whatever, Ahsoka’s making contact.
They head back to
the Venator to take the call and Anakin is a bit speechless to hear from his
apprentice again. Anakin’s at least a little excited as she’s coming aboard and
thinks her leaving was just part of destiny’s larger plan. Yeah Anakin, she had
no agency in leaving, Anakin, that’s definitely how it works.
Ahsoka and the
Mandolorians arrive but whilst Anakin wants to reconnect, it’s clear Ahsoka is
all business. Maul is in Sendari on Mandalore but without a complete lockdown
of the city, Maul will escape and Bo Katan does not have the numbers for that.
She needs the help of the Grand Army of the Republic, they get Maul and she
gets Mandalore.
Obi-Wan, as much as
he would love to get some payback for Satine, isn’t going to let his emotions
cloud his judgement, especially since an invasion of Mandalore would break thousand-year-old
treaties with the Mandalorians, remember the Mandalorians and the Jedi fight
wars against each other in the old era. He goes to advise the Jedi council,
allowing Anakin to finally try and reconnect with his apprentice.
As they head through
the ship, several clones salute Ahsoka, none of them really caring that she
left the Order. And several members of the 501st of painted their
helmets with Ahsoka’s markings. This not only serves as a way to make them more
distinct from the Mandalorians in the coming battle but for the extra dramatic
irony when Order 66 comes along, and yes, that’s gonna be happening very soon.
Anakin also gifts
her a box but just as we get to that alarms are blaring, general Grievous is
attacking the Coruscant and they’ve lost contact with Shaak Ti, who was
defending the Chancellor. Revenge of the Sith is about to begin. Ahsoka is
pretty pissed that this is taking priority over Mandalore but I can’t help but
side with Obi-Wan, the death of Chancellor isn’t just about him, but it could
have ripple effects across all of the Republic and would ensure a Separatist
victory, bear in mind they don’t know that the Chancellor is a Sith Lord who’s
playing both sides.
Still, Anakin acts
as a mediator, offering to divide the 501st, create a new division
and promote Rex to command it, a compromise which Obi-Wan accepts, advising
Ahsoka to capture rather than kill given his tendency to not stay dead. Anakin
finally gets to give his gift, a new pair of lightsabers.
And so the siege begins.
And we confirm that one of Bo Katan’s compatriots is Ursa Wren, Sabine’s mother
from rebels. As for the leader of the Mandalorian troops, well, there's Prime Minister
Almanac but he’s more a puppet for Maul, so leading the troops is Gar Saxon,
who you might remember ruled Mandalore under the Empire. Some things never
change.
The clones start using
their jetpacks as the gunships become easy targets for the Mandalorian’s
rockets. The freefall in is really well done, kudos to the animators for a
really nice looking action scene to start off the siege. I mean, Clone Wars is
best known for great looking action but still. Maul’s forces are pushed back
and advised to escape underground.
Of course,
Mandalorians’ spirits are strong and the clones' numbers limited having only half a
clone division to work with so they have to find and secure Maul quickly. They
get a communication from a clone Captain. They’d engaged Saxon and it didn’t go
great, he escaped into a series of tunnels under the city.
Bo Katan and the
Mandalorian forces engage Almanac and his forces at the Palace. He remarks that
Maul wanted them to bring the Jedi to the Mandalore but they brought the wrong
one… Now isn’t that interesting. Bo tries to contact Ahsoka but being so deep
underground she doesn’t get through.
The Mandalorians
ambush the clone squad, don’t worry Rex was not among them but they all die and
Ahsoka is surrounded by Maul and his Mandalorian compatriots. He says he was
hoping for Kenobi.
This episode was
given a bit of breathing space, and that time is well utilised in easily the
best episode so far and it’s only part one of four.
Rating 8.5/10
Phantom Apprentice
First change we see
from previous episodes; we just get the title cards and get straight into the
action. I wonder if they planned to make a compilation movie of these 4
episodes. It’s something I’d like to see, maybe they could add a couple of
scenes to make it seem a little special.
Anyway, Ahsoka
activates her com-link, and Rex and a group of clones head to find her. Maul
says he was expecting Kenobi to come himself, and perhaps bring Anakin with
him... more on this later. Maul senses that things are about to change. He tells
her that Darth Siddeous will be in charge in a short period of time. At this
point the Clones intervene and Maul and some Mandalorians make a run for it.
The tunnels are a maze and they’re quickly lost.
Back at the Palace
Bo Katan has set up a communication with Obi-Wan. Ahsoka asks about Darth
Siddeous and Obi-wan reveals what he knows, he’s the Sith Lord who orchestrated
the Clone Wars, playing both sides. Though Dooku’s death means they can’t
further interrogate him. And yes, the actually used the word dead, take that
Shang Chi.
Capturing Maul may
be their last hope of finding out more about Siddeous, Ahsoka asks for
re-enforcements but Obi-Wan is being sent to Utapau to hunt General Grievous
and Anakin… he tells Ahsoka of his mission to spy on the Chancellor in private
and she rightfully points out how that could piss him off. He wants Ahsoka to
talk with Anakin, acknowledging that the Council is not always right.
Before that can
happen though, Rex comes in with word of an attack. A group of clones were
ambushed with the majority them massacred. One of the survivors, Sterling,
tells Ahsoka that Maul captured ARC Trooper Jesse, sensing that he was older
and would know all about her. Maul sends Saxon to deal with the Prime Minister
as Maul interrogates Jesse about Ahsoka in a pretty similar manner that Kylo
Ren does.
Bo Katan, Ahsoka and
Rex are in the Prime Minister’s cell hoping to get some information. Maul
actually has no intention of escaping and we see that he’s been experiencing a
feeling of dread for weeks now. As was implied earlier, it wasn’t just Kenobi
he wanted, but Skywalker, before any more can happen, Saxon kills him. There’s
a brief chase with him and Bo Katan and its quite exciting if brief, Saxon
escapes.
Maul tells the
syndicate leaders to go into hiding, including the Crimson Dawn leader Dryden
Vos making a quick cameo. It’s time for them to seize what power they can. Back
on the surface, we see that enforcing the lockdown on the city isn’t exactly
something the people are comfortable with, even Bo Katan herself says she won’t
stand for it much longer.
They enter the
throne room to find Maul waiting for them, Maul redirects some blasts with the
force. It feels like this skill should’ve been utilised more often in the Clone Wars, I know wasn’t really established until the Force Awakens which postdates
the Clone Wars but now you know it can be done you can’t help but ask why it
wasn’t done before.
Anyway, he returns
Jesse to them as a ‘show of good faith’ but Jesse admits he told Maul
everything. The city is then rocked by a series of explosions as his
Mandalorian followers make their attack. Bo Katan heads to deal with that
whilst Rex takes Jesse away for medical attention leaving just Ahsoka and Maul.
Maul remarks that
the two are quite alike, both outcasts from an order they once served. And then
he makes his offer, the Jedi and the Republic are going to fall, they can’t
stop Siddeous alone, but if the two work together, maybe they could. Ahsoka genuinely
considers this offer. But there’s one question Ahsoka needs the answer to one
question, what he wants with Anakin.
And Maul tells her
that he’s the key to everything, killing him could destroy Siddeous’ power base
and tells her that Anakin has long been groomed for the role, in fact this
whole war on Mandalore was entirely orchestrated so that he could kill Anakin.
And the tragedy is that he’s absolutely right, but Ahsoka does not believe him.
This is the first and only real lightsaber fight this season and it has something that no other season
has, motion-capture. They even got Ray Park to the mo-cap for Maul, he was the
guy who played Maul in the Phantom Menace, now since then some stories have
emerged and he’s become a problematic figure but credit where it’s due, the
choreography for this fight some of the best the show has ever had. Though Maul
seems decidedly weaker, maybe that’s a by-product of everything he’s lost since
The Lawless but Ahsoka is keeping pace with him now, and she even remarks that
Anakin would’ve beaten him easily.
The fight heads
outside as clone and Mandalorian re-enforcements allow the clones to gain
ground against the Red Deathwatch Mandolorians. Saxon calls Maul for support
but he offers nothing. He’s on the construction beams that forms the dome
around the capital. Where part two of his duel takes place. Ahsoka is disarmed.
But as Rex arrests Saxon, he takes notice. Ahsoka uses her agility to trick
Maul off the beams where he’s disarmed, the clones ensnare him and then stun
him unconscious as the episode ends.
There’s a difference
in the pacing of this story compared to the others, it’s noticeably faster. But
it doesn’t avoid character moments, the dynamic between Maul and Ahsoka is
interesting and further compounds the tragedy that is to come. Bo Katan is
honestly at her most complex in this story too.
Rating 9/10
Shattered
The conflict is
winding down on Mandalore with the arrest of Gar Saxon and his Mandalorian
co-conspirators. Ahsoka is brought down with Maul in custody and it seems Bo
Katan managed to recover her lightsabers. She laments seeing what has happened
that she wishes she was good at something other than war.
Ahsoka’s attempts to
inspire are interrupted as the Jedi Council have been contacted. Ahsoka asks
for Anakin and Rex believed him to be there but he’s gone by the time we get
there, as we catch up with Revenge of the Sith and the Jedi discussing
overthrowing the Chancellor. Some of it is archive footage, some is dubbed with
the Clone Wars actors, basically any time new dialogue was added, the use the Clone Wars actor. No Samuel L Jackson for you, series.
Ahsoka informs the
Council of Maul’s capture but Anakin at that point had been sent to inform the
Chancellor of Obi-Wan having engaged General Grievous. This is pretty near the
end, not much longer before everything falls. Ahsoka gets a chance to tell the
council about Maul’s prophecy but chooses not to. Though given that Yoda was on
Kashyyyk at this point, hard to say he would have been any quicker to deliver
any message than Ahsoka.
Maul is placed in a
special cell Mandalorians developed to hold Jedi. Ahsoka and Bo Katan shake
hands as they depart but whilst Ahsoka is leaving, it’s gonna take longer all
of the Grand Army to leave and it will be too late. Ahsoka is taken to one of
the Venators and Maul is left to meditate. Still, even though they haven’t
fully evacuated Mandalore, the Venator is packed with clone troops, which will
be important for later.
Ahsoka and Rex head
to the bridge and Ahsoka laments that she has known nothing but war, even
though her role is a peacekeeper. Rex sympathises and says that clones often
have mixed feelings about the war. Sure his people are dying left and right but
without the war, they wouldn’t even exist. And this conversation is another of
those moments that’s gonna force the irony further as new orders just came in.
Ahsoka and Maul both
sense what comes next, Chancellor Palpetine being revealed as Darth Siddeus and
they got Samuel L Jackson’s archive footage for this scene, which means they
had to pay him, yet they paid Terrance C Carson to dub lines from the council
meeting just so they could add a few lines of original dialogue there. They also
had Matt Lanter do voice work for Anakin whilst also using archive dialogue
from Hayden Christiansen. The show clearly saved its budget for this finale.
Anyway, Anakin
choosing to let Siddeous kill Mace Windu is the beginning of the end, as those
new orders: Execute Order 66. And with that the clones all have their guns
aimed at Ahsoka. Rex has a little bit more agency than most and clues Ahsoka in
to finding out about Fives, the clone that got too close to discovering the
truth.
Ahsoka is thankfully
able to hold her own, escaping into the tunnels above the ceiling. Rex
instructs one of the clones to execute Maul. And then commands the clones to
sweep the ship for Ahsoka. The Clones are about to execute Maul but he’s saved
by Ahsoka, who lets him out. He manages to work out that Siddeous turned the
Jedi army against them, but if you were expecting a team-up, Ahsoka has other
plans, instead intending to use him as a diversion, not even providing him a
lightsaber.
Rex orders the
escape pods destroyed and hangar security increased to prevent their escape.
Meanwhile Ahsoka meets up with droids, including her old R7 unit. The files on Fives show his death because of a malfunctioning inhibitor chip and a grievance
report from Rex, luckily Ahsoka knows Anakin’s passcode and manages to access
it, Rex theorising that the inhibitor chips have a purpose.
Maul meanwhile gets
a nice little hallway scene where he massacres clone troops, it’s reminiscent
of the Vader scene from Rogue One. What’s important is he now has a clone
trooper com-link in his possession. Ahsoka and the droids enact a plan, separating Rex
from the rest of his brothers and knocking him out. They manage to seal the
doors, leaving them a clear route to the medical bay but the clones are already
beginning to break through.
They take him
through the scanner but it’s unable to find the inhibitor chip, Ahsoka,
chanting the “I am one with the force” mantra from Rogue One is able to help
find the inhibitor chip, allowing them to put him under to remove it. The
clones have managed to get the door open for a moment, forcing Ahsoka to fight
whilst one of the droids reseals the door. Thankfully the surgery is pretty quick
and Rex, now back to himself is able to help her out. Still, every other clone
trooper on his ship is compromised and they’re quickly making their way back
through the door.
This episode took a
few moments to reflect before resuming a non-stop action set-piece. Ahsoka and
Rex’s relationship built over seasons is put to the ultimate test here in the
backdrop of the tragedy that is Revenge of the Sith. It’s really good
Rating 9/10
Victory and Death
This episode is
pretty much action start to finish, which is why it’s the shortest episode of
the bunch. Not a problem, just an observation.
Rex and Ahsoka fight
their way out with Ahsoka telling Rex to set his blasters to stun. R7 manages
to secure them a safe route, and in that time Maul is mentioned and Ahsoka
reveals that she set him free as a diversion.
Maul is in the
hyperdrive and is using the force to tear it to shreds, forcing the Venator out
of hyperspace. And right into the gravitational pull of the moon. With their
engines this badly damaged, this ship is going to crash. Maul gets wind from
the com-link of Ahsoka’s plan but the troops themselves were waiting for them
there.
And so we have the
kinda/sorta morality play from Ahsoka, she’s not willing to kill or hurt any of
the clones to facilitate her escape. Yet she released Maul, knowing that he
would and he would go onto to kill dozens if not hundreds, not to mention he’s
the most direct cause of this crash which will kill all of them. You really
don’t have the moral high ground here Ahsoka, whatever you might think. Not
that ploughing through this many clone troops without some strategy is a viable
option anyhow, and it does give us a nice humanising moment with Rex.
Ahsoka has an idea,
she has Rex bring her over as a prisoner and tries to justify not just killing
her that she isn’t actually a Jedi anymore. Wanna know what’s worse though,
Jesse is commanding the forces against them. It’s all a stalling tactic whilst
the droids lower the shuttle lifts so the clones fall through. Maul here seizes
his opportunity, racing Ahsoka to the ship, and force-pushing her down one of
the lift shafts she just lowered, luckily one of the droids shoots a grapple so
she doesn’t fall all the way down, unfortunately the clone troopers were not
killed, just knocked out and quickly gain a second wind, firing on her.
They notice the
droids are keeping them out of the lift controls and begin firing on them.
Ahsoka makes it back up, and attempts to use the force to stop Maul getting
away but with more troops arriving and R7 taking a blast, Ahsoka has to let
Maul go so she can come to Rex’s aid. Maul lives to run his syndicate.
Ahsoka sends them
down, and the droids send the recovered clone troops back up, in their last act
before clone troopers shoot them to death. Ahsoka deals with the troops as they
find one active fighter they can pilot. Ahsoka’s taking more hits than most
could take. The ship enters the moon’s ‘atmosphere’ and Rex is forced to
launch, Ahsoka attempts to jump but misses, beginning a freefall. It’s another
beautifully animated scene. Ahsoka makes it into the cockpit ad they escape as
the Venator crashes on the moon’s surface, killing Jesse and every clone still
alive on that ship.
Rex and Ahsoka
create a grave marker for the clones and Ahsoka leaves her lightsabres behind,
she had already lost one in the crash and leave the other with the graves.
Presumably some time later and we see the planet does indeed have an atmosphere
as it’s now coated in in ice and snow. The empire is excavating the site. Anakin,
now Darth Vader approaches the wreckage and finds Ahsoka’s lightsabre.
It’s a chilling
scene and not just because of the weather.
This 4-parter is not
only the strongest arc this season, but it’s a contender for the strongest arc
in all of clone wars. There’s an undercurrent of tragedy to all of it, how Bo
Katan’s people lost themselves to Maul in part because of Deathwatch and how
she’ll lose it again to the Empire because of her own decisions. Ahsoka’s was
noticeably cooler toward Anakin in the introduction, which is more about her
fears of heading back to the Jedi, but it’s a double-edged sword, especially
given that it would end up being their last conversation.
The fact that Maul
knew what Anakin would do and Ahsoka fought him believing he’s a liar is tragic
and Ahsoka having to fight Rex and clone troops that only recently painted her
symbol on their heads, lead by the guy they saved from Maul in a previous
episode. And yet, in spite of everything, it’s not entirely a lost cause.
Ahsoka and Rex surviving this and Darth Vader believing them both to be dead at
this point offers them a clear advantage. We’ve seen in the previous story that
Ahsoka can hold her own without lightsabers.
The only niggle I
really have is Ahsoka’s rather backwards morality play.
Rating 9/10
The Bad Batch will
have to wait for a while, I have a few other shows to do, but maybe I’ll get to
it eventually.
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