The final season for “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” has been a bit of a drag. There have been some high points, sure, with battles, lightsaber sightings and Jedi winks. But for the most part, the beginning of the season has been, in a word, forgettable.
But like the title of the eighth episode suggests — it’s called “Old Friends Not Forgotten” — “Clone Wars” has returned, like an old friend, to its intriguing and action-packed ways.
We’re at an important part in the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” lore now, and that’s made evident right from the beginning. The episode had a much different introduction than previous episodes. A “Lucasfilm Ltd production” title card popped up, followed by “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” written in a red font. This is much different than the traditional format, which features the title written in yellow and often includes a single quote to kick off the episode (and it usually ties back to a theme).
This episode — deemed “part one” — seems to be the first of the finale storyline, which will apparently include the next four episodes. If they’re all connected, and told like a film, it would be the perfect conclusion to “Clone Wars” since it kicked off with an animated film (titled “The Clone Wars” back in 2008).
And this episode certainly feels like the first act of a movie. We begin with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi working their way through a Clone Wars battle. It’s an epic sequence that uses John Williams’ excellent score. The high-quality visuals are beautiful, a clear reminder of what battles in “Star Wars” films and TV shows can be.
Soon, they receive a transmission from Ahsoka Tano, who admits the planet of Mandalore needs the help of the Republic Army and the Jedi to put an end to Darth Maul, who has taken command of the city. From there, Ahsoka gains her own army and heads off toward the major Siege of Mandalore, an epic “Star Wars” battle that’s been talked about in the past but never seen. Now, we see the opening moments of it. Clone soldiers battling Mandalorians. Ahsoka pulling off her Jedi moves. Like many other “Clone Wars” battles, it’s visually striking and a near-perfect example of war in “Star Wars.”
We’re left with a cliffhanger for this episode. But it’s clear that the endgame is in sight. We’re getting closer to the epic finale, which we learned will air on May 4, “Star Wars” Day.
Based on several hints in the episode, the upcoming finale will bring us to two finale points. It will bring us to the Battle of Coruscant, which kicks off “Revenge of the Sith.” and the finale of Maul and his ever-changing storyline. A final battle between Maul and Ahsoka is coming. And we’re guaranteed to see it.
There’s no doubt “Clone Wars” has been a little slow this season. We’ve seen a huge emphasis on Ahsoka’s story, which dragged at points. But now the action is here. The lightsaber fights, the true battles and the final moments of clarity and catharsis are on the horizon.
There’s still a long road to go before we arrive at our conclusion, though. Many threads need to be tied up. We need to learn what happens to Maul, how Obi-Wan and Anakin hit the Battle of Coruscant, how Palpatine gets captured and what happens to Ahsoka before she appears down the road in “Star Wars Rebels.” There is a lot of threads to follow. But we are almost there, and it’s time to see them all play out.
This may be the final “Star Wars” action we get for a little bit. There isn’t any new material scheduled until fall 2020 with the second season of “The Mandalorian.” But there’s no doubt that it’ll finish the story of the “Clone Wars” with everything we need to understand it.
And based on this last episode, “Clone Wars” is setting up an epic conclusion we won’t soon forget.