Hello and welcome to Laughing Place’s weekly recap of the final season of Lucasfilm Animation’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series on Disney+. This week’s episode, “The Phantom Apprentice,” finally catches up with the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the film that saw the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire.
We begin with former Sith Lord Darth Maul (voiced by Sam Witwer) confronting former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) in the bowels of the planet Mandalore: “I can’t say yours is a name familiar to me,” he ruminates, though he admits they must have “several mutual friends.” Nearby, Ahsoka’s clone trooper allies trace her signal while Maul continues his speechifying. It seems he was hoping for Obi-Wan Kenobi to show up and wants to know why he sent Ahsoka in his place. He also knows Darth Sidious is primed to take over the galaxy.
When the clone troopers arrive, Maul uses the Force to throw one of them at Ahsoka and escapes down a tunnel. Ahsoka and the troops return to the surface, where they receive a holotransmission from Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor). When asked about Sidious, Obi-Wan says the Jedi Council suspects the Dark Lord had orchestrated the Clone Wars from the beginning, playing both sides against each other. He also informs Ahsoka that Anakin Skywalker has killed Count Dooku, so he wants the group on Mandalore to capture Maul in order to gain more information on Sidious while he goes to Utapau to track down General Grievous.
When Ahsoka asks for Anakin, Obi-Wan asks to speak to her alone and explains that Skywalker has been given a special assignment to observe Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, but Kenobi also wants Ahsoka to speak with Anakin to help defend the council’s choice in this matter. Unfortunately, they’re interrupted by the clones– there’s been another attack with more troopers dead, and Maul has evidently kidnapped the clone named Jesse. In the underworld of Mandalore, Maul tells a captive Jesse (Dee Bradley Baker) that the clones were all part of Sidious’ plan from the beginning. He’s apparently fairly bitter about having played his part and then having been discarded by the Sith Lord. Maul then sends Gar Saxon (Ray Stevenson) to “take care” of the Mandalorian Prime Minister before he starts talking to the Republic forces, and starts probing Jesse’s head for information about Ahsoka.
Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) visits Prime Minister Almec (Julian Holloway) in his cell and asks him to spill the beans on Maul’s plan. Almec says Maul has been experiencing a strange sense of dread for weeks and was concerned with an individual who was not Sidious or Obi-Wan, but before he can utter the name he’s struck by an assassin’s laser blast. With his dying words, Almec mutters, “Maul had a vision– a dream. The name came to him: Skywalker.” The Mandalorians pursue Saxon, who had fired the killing shot, and Bo-Katan fights him and his flamethrower in an elevator shaft but he gets away.
Maul tells the Syndicate leaders to go into hiding and says he relates to Dooku as they were both pawns in Sidious’ plan. “Soon the galaxy will be remade, and in the chaos we must seize what power we can,” he says to his Death Watch cronies as he promises them that if they should die, it will be in battle as warriors. The clone troopers move Mandalorian citizens into shelters, but Bo-Katan says the Republic occupation cannot last much longer, as the people will not stand for it and neither will she. Ahsoka says the Republic forces will depart as soon as they capture Maul, but as they enter into the next chamber they find Maul sitting on the Prime Minister’s throne with Jesse in binders next to him. Maul returns Jesse to Ahsoka as “a show of good faith,” and Jesse confesses he told Maul everything about her.
Bo-Katan leaves to deal with a Death Watch incursion outside, and Maul begins talking to Ahsoka about her having left the Jedi Order. “You were motivated to leave by the hypocrisy of the council,” he states. “We were both tools for greater powers.” He tells her that Sidious has been behind everything, but when Ahsoka asks him for his help in stopping the Dark Lord alongside the Jedi, Maul says it is too late. “The time of the Jedi has passed.” But he also says that should he and Ahsoka combine their efforts removed from the Jedi they could take down Sidious together. “Every choice you have made has led you to this moment,” he declares.
Outside, the battle rages, causing the windows to explode in the throne room as Ahsoka agrees to help Maul. “But you must answer one question,” she says. “What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?” “He is the key to everything,” Maul replies, revealing that Anakin has been groomed to take over as Sidious’ new apprentice. He also admits to having started this Mandalorian conflict to lure Kenobi and Skywalker to the planet and kill them, “depriving Sidious of his prized pupil.” Ahsoka rejects Maul’s vision of the future and ignites her lightsabers. The two Force users fight, but after an exciting duel Maul defenestrates and Ahsoka must chase after him.
Saxon calls Maul for backup, but Maul says his ship is arriving any moment and is leaving the warrior to his fate: “Die well, Mandalorian.” Ahsoka shows up, saying “Obi-Wan was right– you are difficult to kill,” and they fight in the city’s rafters. “We could have destroyed Sidious,” Maul laments. “Only for you to take his place,” Ahsoka counters. Maul’s ship arrives with an unknown female pilot calling to him and he attempts to board but is stopped by Ahsoka. On the ground, the clones capture Death Watch and Saxon, while Maul says, “I give you one last chance. Join me or die.” “Never,” reaffirms Ahsoka. Maul falls in the ensuing clash but Ahsoka grabs him with the Force. “Let me go. Let me die,” he begs.
Republic dropships show up and the clones snare maul in their cables with the help of the Mandalorians. “We’ll take it from here, commander,” Rex says. Ahsoka looks up toward the stars, wondering about the fate of Anakin and the galaxy.
The first ten episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars season seven are now streaming exclusively on Disney+.