The seventh and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been airing every Friday on Disney+ since February 21. Last week's episode "Unfinished Business" wrapped up the final season's first arc when clone trooper Echo was able to prove his loyalty to the Republic while also realizing he's no longer the trooper he once was. By the end of the episode, he found his new place with the Bad Batch. This show's latest episode "Gone Without a Trace" kickstarts this season's second arc by bringing back Anakin's padawan Ahsoka Tano who audiences haven't seen since she walked away from the Jedi Order back in the fifth season.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
Audiences find Ahsoka struggling with a failing speeder in Coruscant's Level 1313 where she meets the struggling Martez sisters. The eldest, Rafa, tends to make deals and land jobs that her mechanically-inclined younger sister, Trace, bears the brunt of.
This season's Ahsoka is much more guarded and suspcious, as well as determined to keep her Jedi background a secret. But despite what she's been through, it hasn't changed her. Her sense of loyalty and compassion are evident in her new friendship with Trace and her willingness to defend the Jedi. It's a sharp contrast to her master, Anakin, whose opinions and morals are shaped by his circumstances.
The climax of the episode involves one of Rafa's client's demolition droids on the loose through the neighborhood and Ahsoka using the Force to save Trace. Even though Ahsoka argues the droids are dangerous and a threat to those around them, Rafa still hands over the droids to her clients for money and Trace, athough reluctantly, goes along with her sister's decision. Even though Ahsoka disagrees, it appears her friendship with Trace will survive for the time being.
WHAT WORKED
This episode's themes of class divisions and morality versus survival was fascinating and something I hope the writers continue to explore in upcoming episodes, especially through the use of Trace Martez. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, like Ahsoka, but has been shaped by her need to survive in such tough circumstances like her sister, Rafa. I'm already curious to see how her character continues to develop. One of the episode's best moments was hearing Trace express her disappointment with the Jedi and criticize their handling of the war. This is something audiences have heard from other characters in previous seasons and continues to illustrate that public opinion in the Republic has turned against the Jedi leading up to Order 66. Ahsoka defends the Jedi, but what isn't said is that both she and Trace feel the Jedi have lost their way and have let them down.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK
Overall, I can't say this episode accomplished much or had a major impact. Despite being an animated series, The Clone Wars has been known for tackling tough subject matter and real-world themes; and while such themes and subjects were introduced in this episode, they weren't fully explored or fleshed-out. Ahsoka's inner struggles with her past and present seemed glazed over as well. Apart from a handful of angst-ridden looks and her efforts to conceal her past, audiences don't know what she's really thinking and why she's feeling the way she is. Finally, the action-packed climax of the droid on the run seemed choregraphed only to make Ahsoka use the Force. However, those around her didn't seem fazed in the least by her abilities, and Trace herself never saw Ahsoka doing so. This causes the audience to wonder why this plot point was such a big deal since there were no consequences or payoff.
THE DIRECT SCORE
