– Spoiler Review –
Begun, the end of The Clone Wars, has! A few days ago, an epic TV spot teased the grand finale for the show, the Siege of Mandalore arc, but it was only a minor glimpse of how big these final four episodes will go. If the opening salvo, “Old Friends Not Forgotten,” is only a hint of what is still ahead, The Clone Wars will be going out with its biggest, most cinematic, and character-focused story…ever. Let’s dive into to the stunning, grand opening below!
From the opening credits* to the episode’s final moments, “Old Friends Not Forgotten” felt like watching the first 30 mins of a big screen Star Wars movie; whereas having a trilogy of three movies is inspiration from George Lucas’ love of Flash Gordon, imagine instead if each film was split up into separate parts, which is how the first episode of the Siege of Mandalore feels! The animation this season saw a bit of an uptick, but it looks like they saved their entire budget for these last four episodes, as the grandest of moments to the littlest facial tics on characters is rendered in loving detail. The voice actors might make this show, but the animation team deserves all the accolades for making their performances spring to life like never before: Anakin’s looks at Ahsoka, Obi-Wan’s stern, but loving demeanor, Rex’s excitement at having Ahsoka back, and of course the opening and closing giant battle sequences are at a level that drops jaws, especially for me. The music from Kevin Kiner similarly has been taken to the next level, with what seems to be the backing of a full orchestra, giving the show’s timeless themes, and the Saga’s, even more resonance. The opening action sequence reminded me of Revenge of the Sith’s opening, with the brotherly banter of Obi-Wan and Anakin as they face impossible odds with a confidence from years of war, while Anakin’s little act had some parallels to his son’s stand-off with the First Order in The Last Jedi. And then the beginning of the actual Siege of Mandalore took something like TCW’s “Landing at Point Rain” and dialed it up to 25, with some of the series’ best Mando action and even more banter, this time between Ahsoka and Commander Rex in a dazzling race to the surface.
Thankfully, as grand as the action got, the characters didn’t take a backseat, because while I thought I was prepared for the emotional wallop of having Anakin and Ahsoka together again, I was dead wrong. So very, very wrong. Anakin seeing Ahsoka reminded me a lot of a kid at Christmas, but while Anakin thought he was the parent giving his daughter gifts, she was the parent and he still the kid. His disappointment at her focus on business for most the episode was palpable, but it only highlighted how far and how much she’s grown since leaving the Order, though she could still find time for a more emotional connection after making sure the Jedi hear Mandalore’s urgent pleas. When Anakin is able to reveal his gifts to her, Rex’s Battalion painting their armor with her forehead markings and her lightsabers cleaned and solely blue blades now, she’s able to let down her guard of professionalism and have a friendly chat with her former Master, and this was about the second time this episode I broke out in tears. The gift of the Ahsoka Battalion has been known for a while, since 2016, but to actually see it happen, combined with Rex’s excitement over the whole thing, made it more emotional than I expected. The real whopper though was Ahsoka and Anakin’s final words together, which much like Obi-Wan and Anakin’s scene in RotS, come with the knowledge they’ll be the last friendly words these two will exchange. Especially knowing their next meeting, seen in Star Wars Rebels S2 finale, “Twilight of the Apprentice,” I broke down immediately; the power of their story, across two different shows, is a testament to the idea of giving Anakin an apprentice…it certainly paid off by giving us such an excellent new character and these emotionally charged moments. The show has been around for 12 years now, in various forms, so it’s telling the power of these characters and moments still hit so hard all these years later.
Another scene I absolutely adored, and showed more of Ahsoka’s growth, was her confrontation with Obi-Wan. After Bo-Katan and Ahsoka make their case to Obi-Wan and Anakin, Obi-Wan says he has to consult the council, which is exactly what Bo-Katan was worried about; she even seethes at him, hitting him hard with a biting remark about Satine. Ahsoka tries to reassure her, but of course the news about the Separatist attack on Coruscant, taking the Chancellor, comes in to sway the Jedi’s opinion of what’s important. It’s been a little bit since Bo-Katan found Ahsoka with the Martez sisters, as now Ahsoka’s garb has been updated with Mandalorian influences, but she’s also had time to absorb the depth of her time with the Martezes and what it meant about her path after leaving the Jedi Order. She’s come to the realization she made the right choice and the Jedi have become misguided, highlighted by their decision to prioritize the capital of the Republic, already full of troops and Jedi, rather than help the planet that really needs them. She tears into Obi-Wan about the decision, and while his rigidness causes him to defend the Council’s orders, by the end his claims of her not playing fair cause him to realize he might not be in the right. They still part on amicable terms, with some playful words about the best way to take down Maul, so maybe these rumors of her being in the upcoming Obi-Wan show will mean another happy reunion of sorts. Overall, it’s interesting to see Obi-Wan realize he’s been beaten in an ideological debate, considering he’s usually in the right as one of the Jedi Order’s poster boys. Of course it’s Anakin who cuts the tension between the two parents, finding a way to give Ahsoka troops by promoting Rex to Commander and therefore she can go with him as an advisor.
The Siege goes far too well, as while Ahsoka, Rex’s, and Bo-Katan’s forces take losses, they make quick work of the Mauldalorians’ defense and get to Almec, with Bo-Katan getting to take him down…only to find out Ahsoka is walking into a trap. There’s a relatively harrowing scene in some underground tunnels as Maul’s forces hunt down Ahsoka and her troops, picking them off one by one until she’s left. Maul appears, hoping his trap would bring Kenobi back to him, and the episode ends on the tantalizing cliffhanger. I found myself screaming about how this is only part 1 of 4, and while we might know the ultimate outcome, there are far too many unknowns which make the following three episodes wrought with tension and compelling potential. We’re in for an unforgettable treat if the following episodes can match the spirit and character focus of this opening salvo and the wait for the next episode just got so much longer.
Here are a few other things:
- *I want to take a moment to appreciate the opening, as it starts with the old Lucasfilm Ltd. logo, as a way to honor the fact this is basically the last Star Wars content Lucas worked on for the screen, so it’s the last Lucas Star Wars “film” we’ll get; it’s also set to Ahsoka’s theme, which is just beautiful. Then they go full John Williams’ theme for the opening, still with much of the show’s military sound, followed by footage setting characters up for their final moments as seen in the Order 66 montage from RotS, which sent chills up my spine. Bravo to that opening.
- Rook and Gar Saxon have been seen in other content: Rook appears with Maul’s forces in the Son of Dathomir comic, released in 2014 by Dark Horse comics, their final comic and the first canon one, as it was based off of unproduced TCW scripts. It’s really worth a read as it helps set up some of the stuff in this final arc. Bonus tidbit: she’s voiced by Rebels‘ Vanessa Marshall!; Gar Saxon appeared as the Empire’s appointed leader of Mandalore in Star Wars Rebels, though Sabine Wren, her family, and the rest of Mandalore fought him off and the Empire in seasons 3 and 4 of the show.
- Be still my heart! Glimpsed in the trailer back in January, Depa Billaba and a young Caleb Dume, aka Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars Rebels, are seen briefly in the show’s opening moments montage; setting up for their fateful story in the excellent Kanan comic!
- To honor the release of this episode, Dave Filoni shared a new sketch, featuring Anakin and Ahsoka.
- Just revealed: a new cover, title, and details for the upcoming TCW anthology book, The Clone Wars – Stories of Dark and Light.
The Siege of Mandalore, and the end of The Clone Wars, begins with a rousing start with some of the best 30-mins in Star Wars history thanks to “Old Friends Not Forgotten.”
+ Cinematic in every facet: animation, dialogue, score
+ Characters don’t take a backseat to action
+ Ahsoka and Anakin together again
+ Emotional beats throughout
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
THE CLONE WARS REVIEWS
Season Seven: Ep. 1 “The Bad Batch” | Ep. 2 “A Distant Echo” | Ep. 3 “On the Wings of Keeradaks” | Ep. 4 “Unfinished Business” | Ep. 5 “Gone With a Trace” | Ep. 6 “Deal No Deal” | Ep. 7 “Dangerous Debt” | Ep. 8 “Together Again”
Legacy Impressions: Crystal Crisis | The Bad Batch