Hello and welcome to Laughing Place’s weekly recap of the seventh and final season of Lucasfilm Animation’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on Disney+. This week’s episode, entitled Old Friends Not Forgotten,” surprisingly opened with the old green-on-black Lucasfilm Limited logo followed by the classic version of the Star Wars main title theme.
We find Commander Cody’s (voiced, as are all the clones, by Dee Bradley Baker) forces at an impasse in a battle on the planet Yerbana. Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) shows up to help as the clone forces face-off against the separatist droids on a suspension bridge, but they can’t locate the tactical droid in order to take him out. Suddenly Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) appears out of nowhere and begins to show off in his usual cocky manner. He pretends to surrender to the battle droids while R2-D2 hides under the bridge with more clone troops, drawing out the commander droid. Anakin yanks the droid toward him with the Force and slices his head off with his lightsaber, spurring Cody to “join in on the fun”– with Obi-Wan’s permission, of course.
Admiral Yularen (Tom Kane) contacts Anakin and Obi-Wan, saying he’s received a transmission from an agent identifying themself as “Fulcrum.” Anakin thinks it must be Saw Gerrera calling from Onderon, but upon returning to the command ship the signal turns out to have come from his former Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein). It seems Ahsoka and her Mandalorian associate Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) have located the rogue Sith Lord Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) and want the Jedi’s help in bringing him to justice. Skywalker is excited by this proposition, but Kenobi remains “cautiously optimistic.”
At a holotable briefing, Ahsoka and Bo-Katan reveal Maul is hiding out on Mandalore, and they propose a joint operation: the Jedi take Maul and Bo-Katan retakes her home planet. Obi-Wan wishes to consult the Jedi council prior to making any decision on the matter, but Bo-Katan says there isn’t enough time. Obi-Wan refuses to relent, however, and Bo-Katan says to Ahsoka, “I told you this was a waste of time.” As Anakin brings Ahsoka through the halls of the ship, she says the clones shouldn’t salute her anymore, since she’s no longer a member of the Jedi Order, but Anakin knows they still respect her. He brings her to see more troops and Captain Rex, who has painted his helmet to resemble Ahsoka’s facial markings.
Anakin says he has one more surprise for Ahsoka, but they’re interrupted by an alarm going off– General Grievous has attacked Coruscant and the Jedi must choose between helping Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and assisting the Mandalorians in confronting Maul. Anakin proposes dividing the 501st Legion, and Obi-Wan agrees to promoting Rex to Commander, sending a division of troops to Mandalore. Kenobi advises Ahsoka to capture Maul instead of killing him, as the Dathomirian has a pesky habit of surviving. Anakin gives Ahsoka back her lightsabers and she tries them out, demonstrating she is still capable of wielding the Jedi weapons.
On the way to Mandalore, Rex’s dropship receives a transmission from Mandalorian Prime Minister Almec (Julian Holloway), who Bo-Katan accuses of being Maul’s puppet. While Almec prepares for the Republic attack, Bo-Katan’s contact on the surface confirms Maul has not left the capital city of Sundari. The battle begins in the sky, with Ahsoka using her sabers and Force abilities to kick Mandalorian butt. They land in Sundari and the invasion begins. Maul’s Mandalorian super commandos report to Almec and are told to escape to the undercity. “We can’t sustain a long siege,” Bo-Katan says. “You must find Maul.”
The clone troopers find a system of underground tunnels and Ahsoka decides to pursue the city’s leadership through them, while a captured Almec reveals to Bo-Katan that Maul wanted her to bring the Jedi to Mandalore, but she ended up bringing the wrong one. Bo-Katan tries to warn Ahsoka that she’s walking into a trap, but it’s too late. In the tunnels, Ahsoka and the clones are ambushed by Maul’s forces, and many of the clones are massacred. Ahsoka finds herself cornered as Maul himself emerges out of the darkness. “I was hoping for Kenobi,” he declares. “Why are you here?”
The first nine episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars season seven are now streaming exclusively on Disney+.