‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ season 7: Everything you need to know
Star Wars: The Clone Wars explores an array of side stories in the Star Wars universe. Rather than focusing entirely on the great heroes of the universe, Clone Wars often follows side characters with no real significance.
Years after its initial cancellation, TCW was renewed by Disney+. This renewal sparked new life into the long-forgotten Clone Wars community.
The first six seasons of The Clone Wars primarily follow Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) & his padawan Ashoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) between the events of Star Wars: Episode II & Star Wars: Episode III. Season 7, however, primarily follows Ashoka Tano alongside the events of Star Wars: Episode III.
Arcs
Clone Wars season 7 was divided into four different story arcs each with a different set of characters.
The first of these four arcs, “The Bad Batch”, follows a batch of Clones under Anakin Skywalker’s command during the battle for Anaxes. This arc is exactly what any returning fan would expect from an average Clone Wars plot.
The next of the four arcs, “Gone Without a Trace”, follows Ashoka as she befriends a pilot & her sister in the lower levels of Coruscant. This group then runs spice, gets imprisoned, and escapes all while Ashoka is hiding her Jedi background from everyone she encounters.
“Gone Without a Trace” directly leads into the fourth arc, “The Siege of Mandalore”. Ashoka Tano returns to the Jedi Council that initially banished her from the order. In an emotional reunion, Ahsoka sees Anakin for the last time before his fall to the dark side. Unfortunately, the meeting is cut short when Anakin & Obi-Wan are called to rescue the chancellor; this moment kicks off Star Wars: Episode III.
During this arc, Ashoka & Clone Commander Rex lead a legion to apprehend Sith Lord Maul. In the epic conclusion to this arc, Ashoka faces off against Maul. In the end, Ashoka her legion successfully capture Maul and plan on turning him in to the Jedi Council.
The attempted delivery of Sith Lord Maul kicks off the fourth & final arc of the season, “Order 66”. Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the soon to be emperor, iconically commands the clones to “Execute Order 66”.
In this emotional climax of the entire series, Ashoka Tano & Clone Commander Rex must escape the ship with their lives after Order 66 turned all the clones against them. Although a clear quality gap spans the first & second halves, all four arcs are well worth watching in their entirety.
Characters
The characters of this phenomenal animated series stand out even more than the plot. Amazing protagonist Ashoka Tano stands out. Although many fans aren’t fond of this character, we would die for her. Ashoka has a “little sister” role, especially for Anakin. She’s a powerful Jedi who will always do what’s right.
Anakin Skywalker is a known quantity. Unlike his live-action counterpart, The Clone Wars’s Anakin is charming & fun. If you want to see some powerful and cocky writing, Anakin is a perfect case.
The sisters don’t really stand out, however. Ashoka spent four episodes with them and their constant bickering is the only impression left.
Sith Lord Maul is menacing as ever. The writers took our breath away with their killer dialogue. Fans of his character’s previous iterations will be pleasantly surprised.
Ending
The ending of this epic space opera stuck with us. Spoilers ahead.
After Order 66 is declared, Ashoka finds herself alone on a ship full of hostile clones. It’s truly heartbreaking to watch Ashoka fight against those she once fought beside. Eventually, Ashoka removes the chip inside Clone Command Rex’s brain, forcing him to betray his friend. After this, the duo has to escape the army of clones ready to execute them for crimes they didn’t commit.
In the beautiful final scene, Ashoka & Rex crash their ship full of their brainwashed friends onto a desert planet. The duo respectfully bury their old friends before taking one final look and walking away.
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All seven seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars are available to stream now on Disney+.
