In The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 7, “Dangerous Debt,” we get a chance to dive in deeper with these characters. More of the Martez sisters’ backstory is revealed and the trio gets into another tight spot. We were also introduced to a character that may show how Ahsoka gets involved with the siege of Mandalore.

Brief Synopsis

When we last left Ahsoka and the Martez sisters, they were attempting to flee the Pykes after deceiving him about the spice shipment. The Pykes captured them and now they are in a prison on the planet Oba Diah. Rafa opens up about what exactly happened to their parents and the connection to the Jedi, a moment that makes Ahsoka very uncomfortable.

Rafa is then taken by the Pykes and tortured. The Pykes want to know where the spice ended up and of course, Rafa doesn’t know because it was dumped in hyperspace. Rafa returns to the cell visibly out of it. Trace is livid but is quickly taken away to be tortured herself. She fakes passing out to trigger an escape while Ahsoka frees herself and Rafa. The trio makes for the landing platforms, in the end, they end up right back where they started locked up in a cell.

Life on the Other Side

Ahsoka looking downtrodden and filled with regret — Ahsoka struggles as she listens to Rafa’s story

During a prison break on the surface of Coruscant, well-known gangster Ziro the Hutt was chased by the Jedi. The chase ended in tragedy as Ziro’s henchmen caused a series of events that ended in the Jedi forcing an out-of-control transport into a portal wall. The act saved many lives on the nearby platform, but the resulting explosion left Rafa and Trace orphaned.

One of the Jedi tried to comfort Rafa at the moment but in the typical Jedi way. The Jedi says to her that she had to make a choice, but not to worry the Force will be with you. Needless to say, Rafa did not find those words comforting. She remembers the Jedi vividly. Rafa describes her in great detail and based on the description, the unknown Jedi is most likely Luminara Unduli.

Secret Skills

In the first two episodes of this arc, Trace comes off as a naive young woman. She seems out of touch as to how the world outside of the underground of Coruscant. Rafa is the leader of the two of them and whatever she says goes. In this episode, Trace showed that she has some know-how when it comes to blasters and defending herself. She is able to trick the Pykes with fake fainting and grabs one of their blasters. She has good shooting skills for being so out of touch.

I am wondering how she acquired these skills. She never mentions having to ever use a blaster. The life she describes to Ahsoka with her parents in the jail cell does not seem to be harsh. I am curious to know that if she needed these skills to defend herself in the lower levels of Coruscant, particularly after being orphaned.

Rafa’s Character

Rafa fakes concern for Ahsoka when speaking to Trace — Rafa tries to convince Trace to leave Ahsoka behind

Throughout Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 7, Rafa shows her true colors. She already demonstrated that she is selfish and a little ruthless. In this episode, she does a few things that rubbed me the wrong way. When the trio was locked in the cell at the beginning of the episode and the Pykesee come to take her away to be tortured, Ahsoka steps in and demands they leave her alone. Rafa then shoves Ahsoka and says “take her”. Rafa was more than willing to throw Ahsoka under the bus to avoid suffering the consequences.

The other example of Rafa being selfish was when the group is trying to escape. There is a bridge with a gap in it. The gap is slowly getting wider and without much, thought Rafa runs and jumps across. She has little to no thought about how the others would get across. Trace makes it but it looks like Ahsoka has no chance of making it. Rafa doesn’t seem to care, she and Trace turn to continue their escape. Ahsoka uses the Force and easily gets across. Rafa and Trace are both shocked that she was able to make it.

Ahsoka’s Continued Evolution

Ahsoka demonstrates her resourcefulness several times during Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 7. She is quick to make decisions and come up with plans. In the previous episodes in this arc, she has doubts about her abilities and is more hesitant to use the Force. She is able to use the Force secretly in order to save her and the other girl’s skins. She also drops hints to Rafa and Trace that she is a Jedi. They do not catch on and after hearing their tragic story she does not push it.

Trace describes their late mother as someone who was always willing to help those that needed it. Ahsoka has characteristics similar to her because of her Jedi training. Ahsoka opens up to Rafa and tells her that where she comes from people help people that need help. She reminds Rafa that Trace should not be involved in the family business, but Rafa still thinks she is doing the right thing and that Trace has a choice to be involved or not. Ahsoka reminds her that Trace is her sister and would have a hard time saying no.

Rafa’s Realization

At the end of the episode, Rafa has a realization that this whole thing started with her decision to work for the Pykes. I never thought Rafa would ever admit any wrongdoing. She has proved time and time again that throwing someone else under the bus or placing blame where it doesn’t belong is easy for her. I don’t think she’s a bad person, but a victim of circumstance. She lost her parents in a tragic accident and was left to raise her little sister. She does the best that she can.

The sisters live in a rough part of Coruscant that has fallen to the side of crime due to being a forgotten place. Rafa is doing what she thinks is right in order to survive. A lot of the time she forgets about others and focuses on herself only. But here in this moment at the end of the episode after all that has happened she admits she was wrong. I’m curious to see how this will play out and how this arc will conclude.

Mysterious Mandalorian

Three female Mandalorians stand on a roof watching the action from above — Mandalorians watching from above

In this episode, we get a brief glimpse of three Mandalorians, who are surveilling Ahsoka. The leader appears to be Bo-Katan Kryze, but we never get a good look. I think this is how Ahsoka is going to get involved with the siege of Mandalore, the final arc of the season. I also wonder if this is a tie into the alleged appearance of Ahsoka in The Mandalorian season 2.

Score

The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 7 was good in that added to the plot of the arc, but also we got more of the back story of the Martez sisters. I didn’t like how the trio escaped the prison on Oba Diah only to end up back in the same cell at the end. I also liked how we may have seen Bo-Katan. I’m interested to see how this story will evolve.

I give it a 7/10. Not much of consequence happened on the surface, but the character development really kept the story going.