Ricky Church reviews the eighth episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7…
The conclusion of Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ arc with the Martez sisters brought a lot of excitement and catharsis to the story as Ahsoka, Trace and Rafa worked together to escape the Pykes for good. The revelations surrounding Ahsoka’s past and how it affected her relationship with the sisters was surprisingly dealt with in a much more positive manner than anticipated while setting up the beginning of one of the most anticipated Star Wars stories in the past few years, Sequel Trilogy included.
‘Together Again’ continued the development between Ahsoka, Trace and Rafa, further building their chemistry and teamwork skills. Though Rafa was still a bit confrontational towards Ahsoka at the start, she wasn’t as guarded as she previously was toward the former Jedi. It was also nice to see each of them own up to their individual mistakes that got them into their current mess, but Ahsoka once again showed her quick thinking in how she was able to negotiate for the sisters’ temporary safety. The subtle understanding between Ahsoka and Rafa was really well animated and was the start of Rafa seeing Ahsoka in a whole new light. Even though the story split the group up after this point for a large chunk of the episode, the significance of their relationship was never lost as the impact of Ahsoka’s potential sacrifice hit both sisters.
From there, we got a pretty cool sequence of Ahsoka sneaking around the Pyke complex with the intent of dealing their spice operation some serious damage. It was nice to see Ahsoka using the Force more freely for the first time in this arc as she previously had to either not draw on her power or subtly use her powers without drawing much attention from the sisters or anyone else. While Ahsoka was committed to sneaking around, Trace and Rafa (with the elder sister taking more of the lead) decided to take on a more direct approach to cheat the Pykes and save Ahsoka by getting into a fight with the people responsible for loading up spice shipments. It was a good moment to see what they are capable of on their own, though Rafa definitely has more skill than her sister as she took on a Trandoshan worker, combing her physical skills with her mental ones as she first tried conning them all and then outthought the Trandoshan at a couple key points in their fight.
Of course, though, Ahsoka’s secret of her Jedi past was one of the big lingering questions in this arc since Trace and Rafa didn’t think too highly of the Jedi Order, a fact made much more personal last episode with the reveal the Jedi inadvertently killed their parents and basically shrugged it off. It seemed like that would be a breaking point for both the Martez sisters and cause them to push Ahsoka aside once everything was said and done. Thankfully and surprisingly, ‘Together Again’ didn’t go down the road and instead ended on a much more optimistic note as the sisters realized that while Ahsoka was a Jedi, she was one of the ‘good’ ones and has a good heart. It’s nice to see Ahsoka get a win after the losses she suffered and recognized for the good she does. The ending of her story with Trace and Rafa just reinforces her journey for a new purpose and possibly even lays down some of the work for her decision to join the Rebellion in between now and Rebels.
The animation was again well done, not just in the fights or the shuttle chase, but in the character’s faces and their emotions. The moments where Trace and Rafa learnt Ahsoka was a Jedi and their acceptance of her at the end were particularly good for the facial expressions they made. Ashley Eckstein, Brigitte Kali and Elizabeth Rodriguez provided some really great vocal work that matched the animation perfectly, highlighting the emotions each character went through. Rogriguez in particular did a nice job showing Rafa’s compassion towards Ahsoka before they went back to rescue her. The animation further shows how this season of Clone Wars benefitted from its long hiatus with the advancements in animation between its original cancellation and now.
‘Together Again’ was a nice conclusion to the Martez arc that ended on a much more positive note than anticipated, feeding more into the theme of purpose that ran through the arc as Ahsoka and the Martez sisters searched for new meaning in their lives. Of course, though, there was plenty to set up the next arc as Maul made a brief appearance and Ahsoka left the sisters to help Bo-Katan, finally setting in motion the long-awaited ‘Siege of Mandalore’. As enjoyable as this arc has been, next week can’t get here fast enough.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
