REVIEW: Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 12 Victory and Death (Series Finale)

Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 12 was the episode that we have all been anxiously awaiting. Viewers were loving the season so for but with this episode being the series finale we wondered if writers and producers stick the landing. 

Brief Synopsis

Victory and death opens with ominous music playing. Which in my opinion, set the tone for the events to come. In episode 11, Shattered Ahsoka, Rex, and the droids were trapped in the medical bay of the ship after Ahsoka had R7 remove Rex’s inhibitor chip. 

Clone troopers were just on the other side of the door breaking their way in. Ahsoka comes up with a quick plan. Before the clones breakthrough, Ahsoka reminds Rex to put his weapon on stun. She doesn’t want to kill anyone despite the clones wanting to take her and Rex out. As soon as the clones get the open unsealed she uses the Force to push it back on them. The clones are caught off guard. Ahsoka, Rex, and the droids fight their way through the clones and make their way to the main hangar to find a shuttle to escape.

Maul is on the loose and listening to the clones conversation via stolen comlink that he took from a clone in the last episode. He makes his way to the ship’s hyperdrive controls and destroys them with the Force. The ship gets pulled into an unknown moons gravity.

Ahsoka and Rex make it to the main hangar and manage to get the doors open. They discover that is is one shuttle remaining. They just need a plan to make it to the shuttle. A large group of clones shows up, lead by Jesse. Ahsoka tells Rex again that she doesn’t want to kill any of the clones if they don’t have to. The clone troopers attack Ahsoka and Rex when her plan doesn’t work as planned.

The main ship crash lands on the unknown moon and the only survivors are Ahsoka and Rex. Rex is seen walking back toward his ship with a shovel. He stops and turns in the other direction where we see Ahsoka with her back to him wearing a gray hood. She is overlooking several rows of buried clone troopers while holding on to one of her lightsabers. 

Suddenly the scene changes and some time has gone by. There is snow on the ground. Stormtroopers and probe droids can be seen exploring the wreckage of the ship. Then we hear it the distinct sound of Darth Vader’s breathing. 

Key Moments

Clone Wars season 7 episode 12 is full of key moments that make it memorable. Let’s dive in and take a look at a few of them. 

Ahsoka and Rex

When Ahsoka and Rex are on the bridge of the ship overlooking the hangar bay she explains to Rex that she doesn’t want to kill the clones. He is shocked and says to her that the clones don’t care that his brothers will die and take them with them. She takes a minute and removes his helmet. He has one single tear rolling down his cheek. Ahsoka tells Rex that he is a good soldier and so are his brothers. She says that she isn’t going to be the one that kills them. 

In this scene, you can see Rex’s struggle. The other clones are his brothers and at this moment he realizes that this situation is bad and that many of his brothers are about to die. He knows they can’t help what they are doing that the chip is controlling them. He knows that he and Ahsoka have to fight to get out of this situation alive. As a viewer, I could see the internal struggle that Rex was going through.

Ahsoka’s Powers

As the series has gone on we have seen Ahsoka become more and more powerful. In this episode, she shows off some of her skills. Ahsoka’s fighting style is highlighted a few times in this episode. She uses a lot of flips and tricks to outmaneuver her opponent.  

The scene where she held the shuttle with Maul abroad was a testament to her power as well. She probably could have taken the ship down but had to ultimately let it go because Rex needed her help. 

In the middle of their fight Ahsoka and Rex are surrounded at one point by clones. She drops her lightsabers and by using the Force plunges them into the floor of the ship. She then uses the Force to make both of them to cut a circle in the floor allowing them to put some space between them and the clones.

Darth Vader’s Presence

At the end of the episode when Ahsoka drops her lightsaber, the scene then changes. Time has gone by but we aren’t quite sure how much. It’s now winter and snow covers the ground. A shuttle lands and stormtroopers appear in the foreground. The empire is exploring the wreckage of the ship. 

Stormtroopers and probe droids can be seen and suddenly we hear Darth Vader’s breathing. He appears and walks toward the wreckage. Standing there looking at the wreckage he looks down at the ground and spots Ahsoka’s lightsaber. He picks it up and studies it for a second, he turns it on. He looks up and sees a bird in the distance. He turns off the saber and turns and walks away with it.

This scene was powerful. This brought the series full circle and we were able to see the final outcome of what happened to Anakin. For a brief minute, Darth Vader was human. She didn’t say anything in this scene but he didn’t have to. The breathing, actions, and body language were enough to get the message across. 

Overall Thoughts

I really liked this episode but it had its flaws. It had some great moments but it left me with questions that may never get answered. I loved this arc of the story. I like how they used the red Clone Wars logo along with the older Lucasfilm logo throughout this arc. It gave the arc much more of a cinematic feel. 

Season 7 Episode 12 tried to tie everything up in a nice neat bow but failed in my opinion in a few ways. I know Ahsoka and Rex live. Part of Ahsoka’s story is told in the Ahsoka novel. I also know Rex lived because he shows up around 15 years later in Rebels. But what happened between the last scene they are in in the Clone Wars and when they resurface. 

Ahsoka’s story is told a lot more than Rex’s. In Rebels, he is in the middle of the desert with Wolffe and Gregor. How did he meet up with them and what was he doing before that? In the Ahsoka novel, the book begins a year after the Empire takes over on the first Empire Day. What was she doing for that year?

I did like how they brought the series full circle and had a brief appearance by Darth Vader at the end. I didn’t like that he found Ahsoka’s lightsaber, picked it up, and took it with him. In the Ahsoka novel in a flashback scene, Ahsoka recalls burying her lightsabers in a false grave with Rex’s armor. Making it appear that both of them are dead. 

I do not like a series finale that ends with questions that I might never know the answers to. I also don’t like inconsistencies. In episode 11, Ahsoka has rex’s chip removed by a R7. In Rebels Rex talks briefly about removing his chip himself.