Ahsoka Makes Her Long-Awaited Return on ‘The Clone Wars,’ Episode 5 — Review
It’s finally here! The day has come that Ahsoka Tano is back on our screens in Season 7 of The Clone Wars. Older, adult Ahsoka comes back in Star Wars Rebels, which takes place around 15 years after she left the Jedi Order. But we never got this final end to her Clone Wars journey or saw what she did after leaving. The Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnston gives fans more of a look into her life closer to Revenge of the Sith and confirms Ahsoka fought in the Siege of Mandalore. But most of that book takes place one year later.
Now, viewers get to see what part Ahsoka played in the final moments of the war, and this first episode in her arc establishes where she is and what leads her back into the war. [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for The Clone Wars, Season 7, Episode 5, “Gone With a Trace”.]
Ahsoka is having a rough time, but finds some lucky friends
As always, this Season 7 animation is off-the-charts gorgeous. And yes, Coruscant is an industrial, sometimes grimy planet, especially when you get to the lower levels. However, it’s stunning with this new in-depth, realistic animation. While it’s still that dingy city, it seems to have new life in this episode.
We catch Ahsoka on a speeder bike, already with a new coverall outfit to blend in a bit more, and her montrals are already longer. Her appearance, though different for the sake of new animation, is a bit more mature even though it hasn’t been more than a year since she left the Jedi Order. But that’s a good way to show time has passed.
Just her luck, the bike breaks down and she falls through the chasm, further and further into the Underworld of Coruscant. Even though she ends up on Trace’s landing pad, her tough new friend is actually pretty helpful.
She still defends the Jedi, but Ahsoka gets more of a look at how outsiders feel about the Order
This isn’t a filler episode by any means, but to establish Ahsoka’s newfound independence, this first episode had a lot more of Ahsoka’s surroundings and new relationships. While it would have been awesome to just dive right into her underlying issues with leaving the Order or have her reunite with some beloved faces right away, this sort of exposition needed to take place.
And it’s not boring at all. There’s quite a bit of action and even a droid chase like good ole times. Not to mention, the dynamic between Rafa and Trace is very interesting. While Rafa isn’t evil or meanspirited, she is a little more ruthless and ready to deal with criminals, even if that means others get hurt. This does not align with Ahsoka’s morals, even if she isn’t a Jedi anymore.
Speaking of, Ahsoka gets a very blunt view of the Jedi from Trace, who’s on the outside of the Clone Wars and the Republic system. Even though she lives on Coruscant, the capital of the Republic, Trace and many who live in the Underworld don’t really feel like a part of said Republic. And her views on the Jedi are common, as we saw in Ahsoka’s final Season 5 arc.
Despite Ahsoka’s hardships with the Jedi, she still comes to their defense when Trace said they started the war and police the people. She looks genuinely heartbroken, but she can’t argue too much further, without giving her true origin away. But something tells me that Trace’s hardships and dreams of leaving Coruscant will further affect Ahsoka’s position on the Jedi.
Ultimately, you can take the girl out of the Jedi, but you can’t take the Jedi out of the girl
Ahsoka was betrayed by the Jedi. They were the only life she had ever known and she had given up everything to be a Jedi. She worked hard to become one of the best fighters and commanders in the Clone Wars and risked everything. She was attached to the Order and her master, yet made sure she was always minding her emotions and trying to be the best Jedi she could be.
So that stab in the back from the Council, who chose to ban her from the Order without really looking into evidence and help her in her trial with the Chancellor, surely still hurts. But that conversation with Trace shows there’s still a lot of loyalty left in her to her old lifestyle.
While Ahsoka’s opinions on the Jedi are evolving still, viewers do get to see the former Padawan use the Force, which is a very cool moment. And a little Twi’lek boy witnesses it too. Not to mention, Ahsoka attributing her fighting skills to her “older brother” Anakin could make the strongest Clone trooper cry.
The blurb at the beginning of the episode read, “If there is no path before, you create your own.” Ahsoka has certainly already done that by leaving the Jedi and forging a new path. While we know where she ends up in 15 years, it’s unclear what the rest of that route looks like now. Episode 6 will surely be exciting for Ahsoka fans.
