The Clone Wars is, and forever will be, Ahsoka Tano’s story.
If that wasn’t clear prior to the new season, it’s obvious at the end. We don’t know what it was like for everyone to watch this final season of the Clone Wars, but we need an Order 66 support group. We clearly hadn’t gotten over the tragedy of Order 66 and we had to relive it again through the eyes of a favorite Jedi warrior. The pain, the loss, and the suffering ring harder than ever. Ahsoka was left all alone, with only Maul to help her, as the Clones turned on her, it’s a good thing she’s a boss, cause man did she power through this.
Overall, here’s what we thought of the final season.
It was nice to see the Bad Batch brought to life, and as Order 66 comes and goes, again, we have to wonder, did these guys have the inhibitor chips put in them? Or, because they were labeled as defect Clones, did the Kaminoans simply not bother. I can’t remember if it was mentioned in the episodes they were apart of, but I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of these guys. Also what about Echo?
Darth Maul quickly became a story leader in the last few seasons of Clone Wars. His influence and strength were on full display during the final 4 episodes as he led a crime syndicate on Mandalore, and showcased some “Force Unleashed” type skills against Order 66-ed Clones and their hyperdrive systems. At Of Blades and Kings, we’re big fans of Darth Maul and we’re incredibly happy the show brought him back and allowed him to be the force we knew he could.
While the show started with Anakin and Ahsoka, we were expecting more interactions between the former master and apprentice. Unfortunately, we never got more than a few scenes with these two together and Ahsoka was colder to her former Master. There was no closure for Ahsoka, at least not at this point, she never got a chance to speak to him again before he turned to the dark side. It’s hard to describe the emotions I was feeling as the show kept playing out details of Episode III. One thing is certain, I was dreading what was to come. When Anakin helped Palpatine defeat Mace Windu, we all could feel the disturbance in the force. For me personally, Order 66, is one of the saddest scenes in Star Wars, add in John William’s score, and I’m fighting back tears. Having to re-experience that with Ahsoka was tough. At least we were able to see her save Commander Rex, yes he finally received the rank of Commander, and watch them work together. It was a fitting moment for two favorite characters.
Both Maul and Ahsoka had to fight through being hunted by the Clones. No force user was safe.
The pacing of the season was broken into three storylines: the Bad Batch, Trace and Rafa, and Maul/Order 66. As much as we enjoyed the Bad Batch, and Trace and Rafa, we were hoping for a more direct story that focused around Order 66. Especially after Fives’ storyline in season 6. But, once episode 9 hit we couldn’t stop watching, and that made everything worth it. Even though some storylines were harder to get through than others we consider this season a success. The only other negative thought we had about this season involved the last storyline with Darth Maul/Order 66. It involved 4 episodes close to 30 min each. If we look at that, in total, it would’ve been super cool to have a 120 min live action movie for these last 4 episodes. I mean this storyline was incredibly amazing, these characters deserved a live action full feature movie. I’d love to see that.
Obviously, George Lucas had some part to play in the last four episodes. I’m not sure how big of a part it was. Maybe it was just the fact that the timeline matched up with Revenge of the Sith and, therefore, there were scenes and discussions from the movie in these episodes. Maybe it was just because, in the beginning, George Lucas was heavily involved in Clone Wars, and today’s storytellers wanted to honor him. Regardless of his involvement, he had his name on these episodes.
They wrapped up this season with a poetic view of an old, cracked, Ahsoka Clone trooper helmet. We watched the helmet’s visor as Darth Vader walked away to somber music, much like the prequel trilogies, this tv show doesn’t really end with hope. It ends with the Sith winning and all hope seems lost. Even though we know Luke Skywalker is on his way, it’s hard not to feel sad at the end of this tragedy.
Let us know what you thought of the final season, did it meet your expectations or did it leave you wanting more. There seems to be more stories out there to tell after Order 66, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Thank you for your time and remember, I am one with the force and the force is with me.
– The Wandering One
Of Blades and Kings 