Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode 9 recap: Siege of Mandalore gets off to incredible start

We’re within the endgame now, with the ultimate arc of the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Old Friends Not Forgotten, the season’s 9 episode, hit Disney Plus on Friday, kicking off the long-awaited Siege of Mandalore.

We decide up with ex-Padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) after her slightly listless solo arc, when she opted to be part of one-time enemy Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and her Mandalorian buddies in kicking former Sith apprentice Maul (Sam Witwer) off the planet for good.

This is a fully spectacular episode, like Star Wars rock ‘n’ roll from starting to finish. At the chance of sounding gatekeepery, it exemplifies why this present is crucial viewing for each fan. If you are studying this and have not performed so, it is all on Disney Plus.

Anyhoo, on with dem SPOILERS.

Fortune cookie

There is not one. But if there was, it’d learn “Oh, it is ON now!” Which could be much less a pearl of knowledge than it could be pure hype for this superb beast of an episode.

Instead, we get the outdated Lucasfilm emblem and a touch of Ahsoka’s theme earlier than a blast of John Williams’ Main Title over a blood-red model of the present’s emblem, which fades into the starscape like one of the flicks. This is basically govt producer Dave Filoni promising us one thing actually epic and a reminder that we have hit the ultimate stretch of the final Star Wars challenge that creator George Lucas had a direct hand in.

One final have a look at my mates

We meet Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) as he rescues former grasp Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) from an enormous droid military like an absolute hero, When Anakin steps out and all of the droids take purpose, it visually echoes a second that’ll occur a long time later, when his son Luke’s Force projection steps out to meet the First Order on Crait in The Last Jedi. 

After Anakin fakes his give up, composer Kevin Kiner’s rating mirrors the second on Jabba’s Sail Barge in Return of the Jedi — suggesting a sneaky-sneaky plan. Anakin simply wished to draw out the tactical droid, which he takes out with one shift stroke, and depart the military susceptible to the clones (or an Attack of the Clones, if you’ll).

With the battle received, they reunite with Ahsoka. Anakin is considerably much less slick in her presence — he was clearly hoping for an emotional reunion along with his Padawan and she or he’s all enterprise. Obi-Wan is uncertain about committing Republic forces to liberate Mandalore (as a result of politics!), but it surely goes off the desk once they get phrase that General Grievous has attacked Coruscant.

With that, the present has reached the occasions of Revenge of the Sith, so Anakin and Obi-Wan have to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. He is a beautiful fella, in any case, and positively will not twist Anakin right into a monster.

Even although they cannot assist, Anakin has some surprises for Ahsoka. He presents her with a platoon of clone troopers, led by the newly promoted Commander Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) with helmets painted to match her markings. It’s a reasonably highly effective second, particularly since it is the final time Ahsoka will see pre-Vader Anakin, and presumably Obi-Wan.

“I killed Maul as soon as,” the Jedi Master says. “Best to seize him, he would not appear to keep useless.”

Don’t even fear about it Obi-Wan, you will deal with him in CGI animated followup present Rebels!

Anakin additionally provides Ahsoka the lightsabers she left behind on the finish of Season 5. He changed her inexperienced crystals with blue ones, so her blades match her cool new outfit. How handy.

“Anakin, good luck,” she says, in her remaining phrases of friendship to her former grasp.

Mandos for the darkish facet

As Ahsoka, Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians attain their homeworld, they hear from sleazy Prime Minister Almec (Julian Holloway)

“Your time has come Almec,” says Bo-Katan. “We know you are Maul’s puppet, and we’re coming for him.”

On the planet, we see that Almec is working with Gar Saxon and Rook Kast (Ray Stevenson and Vanessa Marshall), the pair who rescued Maul within the incredible 2014 Son of Dathomir comic series. Saxon will even go to function Emperor’s Hand and grow to be the Imperial Viceroy of Mandalore in Rebels.

Saxon’s Maul-style Mandalorian Supercommando helmet is so superior — I’m undecided why followers do not make an enormous fuss about these. They are the one of coolest issues I’ve ever seen; Star Wars is one of the few franchises the place I root for the dangerous guys simply as a lot because the goodies.

Even weasely Almec dons some fairly candy ornate Mandalorian armor later within the episode, but it surely would not cease Bo-Katan from beating him down just like the idiot he’s. This is the way.

Left with out a jet pack, Ahsoka leaps out of the troop service like Captain America on the start of Winter Soldier. Unlike Cap, she leaps from service to service, killing dangerous Mandos and using on the facet of a crashing ship till she reaches the floor (the place she halts her momentum by stabbing her lightsabers into the bottom because the ship explodes behind her). Am-az-ing.

“Beat you,” she casually tells Rex.

The ex-Sith emerges

In the sewers, that are very clear, Ahsoka and the clones are ambushed by Kast and a bunch of others. You know the clones are all gonna die, as a result of Rex is not with them and that makes them expendable. Dark and unhappy, however true.

Once they’re useless and solely a devastated Ahsoka stays, she’s rapidly surrounded by Mandos. We hear a sinister clankity-clank of metallic ft stepping from the shadows, and who’s it? It’s solely our outdated monstrous bud Maul (Sam Witwer)

“I hoped for Kenobi,” the previous Sith apprentice purrs threateningly. “Why are you right here?”

I absolutely anticipate him to pull the basic Sith “Join me” routine on Ahsoka within the subsequent episode, which hits Disney Plus on April 24, as we hurtle in direction of the May Four collection finale. 

Easter eggs and observations

• We catch a glimpse of Grievous within the new animation type in the course of the intro recap. He appears to be like superb; it is a pity we did not see extra of him this season.
• Also within the intro, we see a younger Caleb Dume along with his grasp, Depa Billaba,. This lad will survive Order 66, go into hiding and alter his title to Kanan Jarrus — a component of his life seen 2015 comedian collection Kanan: The Last Padawan. The relaxation of his story will play out in CGI animated collection Rebels.
• Ahsoka makes use of the alias “Fulcrum” when contacting the Republic. She’ll later undertake it when working in opposition to the Empire in Rebels, however we be taught right here that Saw Gerrera used it in the course of the Clone Wars.
• Until the the remaining of the troops, Rex would not put on a helmet painted with Ahsoka’s colours once they arrive at Mandalore. Maybe he determined it clashed with the remaining of his armor?

Come again Friday for one more recap!