Star Wars: The Clone Wars Ends on a Somber Note

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, Episode 12

Somber. If I had to describe the final episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it would be somber. We’ve known for fifteen years how the Clone Wars ends, and we’ve known for five years how it ends for Ashoka and Rex. They escape, Maul escapes, and don’t meet again until Rebels. What I wasn’t expecting was how they all get out of Order 66, and it rivals the best the movies have to offer. Or video games, for that matter.

War Drives Men Mad

Picking up where the last episode leaves off, Rex is free from the madness of Order 66, and he and Ashoka have to get off the ship. Something that becomes harder when Maul single-handedly destroys the hyperdrive, takes the only shuttle, and leaves everyone to crash into a nearby moon. Classic Maul. Worse, thanks to Darth Sidious, the other Clones are beyond the point of reasoning. When Rex makes the logical argument that Ashoka’s not a Jedi and not subject to Order 66, the Clones don’t listen. 

Herein lies the true tragedy of the Clone Wars, in my eyes. This show helped to make the Clone Troopers human. Thus, fans feel compelled to care about them. To see them form bonds and friendship’s only to be turned into mindless drones by Sidious is heartbreaking. Thank the Force that Rex and Ashoka have enough compassion to avoid killing them; even if they’ll all die when the ship crashes.

Speaking of which, the final third of the episode is a cinematic masterpiece that would make Genndy Tartakovsky proud. No dialogue as the heroes endure high-flying, Tomb Raider stunts as the ship goes down. When the dust settles, the two are alone in a Galaxy ruled by the Sith. Before they set out on the next stage of their journey, Ashoka pays one final tribute to her former comrades. The sight of the Clones buried in graves marked by their helmets is something you’d see in photos of long-ago wars. It’s a haunting reminder of many people who go to war never come back from it. 

May the Force be With You

There’s probably some parallel universe where the show ended on Cartoon Network years ago. However, this universe gives us the courtesy of knowing that the two live to see the fall of the Empire. Their stories have yet to end, and if rumors are true, we’ll be seeing Ashoka in the next season of The Mandalorian. However, I think this is a perfect end to one chapter of Ashoka and Rex’s lives. Quiet, solemn, and a somber reflection of what they’ve lost. The war’s over, fans; no one wins. Except for Darth Sidious.

May the Fourth be With You.

I Give “Victory and Death” a 4.5/5. War’s Over

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