Major spoilersahead for the series finale ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars.
It has been a long and winding road for the story ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars. In large part,George Lucas' grand design for the title conflict itself was first introduced back in 2002’s live-action prequel film,Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. That militarized and politically charged time inStar Warslore was further explored inGenndy Tartakovsky’s 2003 - 2005 traditionally animated seriesStar Wars: Clone Wars, before getting a CG-animated reboot of sorts in Lucas’Star Wars: The Clone Warsin 2008, headed byDave Filoni. That title enjoyed five seasons before Disney first canceled it, and then opted to drop its finished 6th season on Netflix in 2014, before finally deciding to deliver a seventh and final season on the newly launched streaming series Disney+.
Season 7 was an opportunity for Filoni & Co. to finish and polish up previously unfinished-but-released episodes like"The Bad Batch"arc, catch up with Ahsoka Tano and re-establish her internal conflict after leaving the Jedi Order during the"Martez Sisters"arc, and tie things up with the long-anticipated"Siege of Mandalore"story. It’s this four-episode closer to the acclaimed animated series that really is the crown jewel in not just Season 7 but the series overall. It’s given us arguably thebest lightsaber duelof the franchise and managed tohumanize the normally faceless clone stormtroopersduring the infamous execution of Order 66. All that was left in the series finale was to conclude Ahsoka’s story as it transpired in the moments after the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire, with an eye toward connecting that conclusion to the wider worlds of theStar Warsuniverse. “Victory and Death” did exactly that, in style.
When last we left Ahsoka, she was by the side of Commander Rex having just removed his inhibitor chip, thus also removing his compulsion to follow Darth Sidious' orders to execute her. (She was helped in this by the mantra, “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me,” which was previously only heard by Chirrut Imwe, a Guardian of the Whills inRogue One: A Star Wars Story, so it’ll be interesting to see if that connection is ever explored further.) Meanwhile, Maul, who had been set free by Ahsoka to cause chaos on the now-Imperial ship as a diversion, continued to do just that. Ahsoka and Rex were left with only one option–escape–but squads of dozens of clone troopers stand in their way.
What plays out in the first 20 minutes or so of “Victory and Death” is essentially an intense, action-packed, and perilous escape sequence that sees Ahsoka and Rex teaming up with droids R7-A7, G-G, and CH-33P to flee the starship. It’s a chance for Ahsoka to show off everything she’s learned as a Jedi Master as she deflects countless laser blasts; up to the task, Rex also demonstrates singular precision and accuracy with his own stun blaster. Complicating matters somewhat is the rampaging Maul who lays claim to being one of the most powerful Force-wielders in the known universe. Sans lightsaber, Maul single-handedly kills more and more troopers before destroying the ship’s hyperdrive through sheer force of will. That sends the cruiser crashing to the surface of a nearby moon.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka, Rex, and the Droids attempt to convince Jesse and the waiting squads of troopers that Ahsoka is no longer actually a Jedi and thus not subject to Order 66. Should Jesse or the troops under his command kill Ahsoka and/or Rex, they’d be traitors themselves and subject to the same order of execution. It doesn’t work, exactly, but it buys enough time for the droids to drop the waiting troopers down the lifts and free up a waiting shuttle. Unfortunately, Maul beats our heroes to the ship and takes off after another impressive display of Force-craft. Ahsoka may be strong enough to keep Maul grounded–and she nearly does so through another equal and opposite force of will–but she opts to protect Rex from the troopers closing in instead, letting Maul free and losing perhaps their last chance of escape.
R7 is seemingly destroyed in this exchange and both Ahsoka and Rex take damage. As if that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, we get the sense that the clone troopers have turned from friends and brothers-in-arms to full-on mindless soldiers operating under the Emperor’s orders; this fact is hammered home by their point-blank execution of “those dirty droids” G-G and “Cheap.” Their sacrifice buys Ahsoka and Rex enough time to get to a waiting Y-wing in a mechanical hangar bay. And if you missed Ahsoka’s insane mid-air flight leading into the Siege of Mandalore, you get another chance to experience it here as she falls from the crashing cruiser and makes her way through the wreckage to the safety of Rex’s piloted Y-wing, all while falling to the moon’s surface far below.
Viewers get a chance to catch their breath after that intense, mostly wordless action sequence as Ahsoka and Rex land their stolen craft next to the destroyed cruiser. The rest of theClone Warsfinale plays out wordlessly as well. It seems that the duo has busied themselves finding the wreckage of R7 in an attempt to repair the droid. Additionally, and this must have taken quite some time, they buried as many of their fallen comrades as they could find, placing their helmets on sticks. Jesse’s blue helmet is at the forefront, while the others are a combination of plain stormtrooper helmets and Ahsoka’s branded troopers; the shot is also a bit of foreshadowing to an iconic scene inThe Mandalorianfeaturing stormtrooper helmets impaled on similar spikes, though the vibe of Ahsoka’s scene is one of respect and honor while theMandalorianshot is one of warning and rebellion.
Ahsoka’s story inThe Clone Warscomes to a close as she pays her last respects to the fallen troopers. Cloaked and standing before their graves on this unnamed moon, she looks at her lightsaber–a symbol of the Jedi, a familiar weapon from her time under Anakin’s tutelage, and a gift from her former master–one last time and lays it on the ground before leaving her past behind for good. But that’s not whereThe Clone Warsitself ends…
Some time later, which is hard to tell exactly how long, Imperial forces have arrived on the unnamed moon. The crashed cruiser is now covered in snow, as is the land itself. Snowtroopers and Imperial probe droids survey the scene. And a familiar sound breaks the silence: Darth Vader’s breathing. Now in full Vader getup, the former Jedi known as Anakin Skywalker approaches the resting place of the clone troopers and discovers Ahsoka’s lightsaber. He activates it before turning it off and stowing it opposite his own. A bird flies high in the sky above him; likely a convor, a species of bird which has long had a strong connection to Ahsoka throughout the series. Vader then turns to leave the scene, much as Ahsoka did some time earlier. And thusStar Wars: The CloneWars draws to a close.
Clearly there is more story for both Ahsoka and Darth Vader in the future. They’re destined to clash at least once more in the years ahead. And while we pretty much know Vader’s destiny, there are parts of Ahsoka’s journey that have yet to play out.Rosario Dawsonwill play the now-iconic character inSeason 2 ofThe Mandalorian, taking place a few years after the original film trilogy and a few decades before the start of the new one. Quite a few years have taken place betweenThe Clone Wars,Star WarsRebels, andThe Mandalorian, and surely Ahsoka has put a few miles on her story (and her newly crafted lightsabers), so hopefully we’ll get to fill in a few more of those gaps.
As forStar Wars: The CloneWars, you couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the series, and a better conclusion for Ahsoka’s journey from Padawan to rogue former-Jedi. This is not the end of her story, but it is the end of her metaphorical childhood as an idealistic Jedi-in-training. Her eyes are open now and her path is laid out before her. We can’t wait to see where she goes next.
