REVIEW: The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 9 Old Friends Not Forgotten

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The end is nigh. The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 9, Old Friends Not Forgotten kicks off the “Siege of Mandalore,” the final story arc of the series. At this point, we’ve caught up in the timeline to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. We’re in the endgame now, and if the first episode is any indication, we’re in for one hell of a finale.

Brief Synopsis

Old Friends Not Forgotten starts out with a battle scene between the Republic and the Separatists on Yerbana. Commander Cody leads the charge against General Grievous’s Droid Army. Obi-Wan and his troopers get pinned down during the battle. Anakin shows up cocky as ever with a plan. Anakin approaches the Droid Army and makes it seem like he is going to surrender, only to spring a trap and attack with the 501st.

With the battle over, Admiral Yularen notifies the Jedi generals that someone code-named Fulcrum is trying to contact them. When they get back, Anakin is shocked to see his friend and former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, on the holo with Bo-Katan. Bo-Katan informs them that they may have found the renegade Sith Lord, Maul on Mandalore.

Before heading off to Mandalore, Ahsoka has a little time to talk to Anakin. He presents her with a few surprises. Rex and the other clone troopers found out she was coming and painted their helmets with markings similar to hers. Anakin also gives her back her lightsabers that she left behind when she left the Jedi Order.

After a thrilling battle sequence Bo-Katan makes her way to the throne room to take on the Mandalorian leader, Almec while Ahsoka searches for Maul. She finds Maul, but not before Maul and his Mandalorians kill her clones.

Old Friends Not Forgotten

The title of Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 9 says a lot. Ahsoka and Anakin worked side by side for years when she was his Padawan. She abruptly left the Jedi Order and hasn’t seen him in a while. Since she left she has grown up a lot and has started to transition into a more mature version of herself, setting her on the path she’ll take in the Ahsoka novel. She is more aware of her capabilities and knows what she brings to the table.

Anakin has clearly missed her from the way he interacts with her to the expressions on his face. His cocky attitude immediately washed away into a surprise and emotional response at seeing his Padawan. They had a strong bond and that kind of relationship is not easily severed. Before Ahsoka leaves for Mandalore, she says “good luck” to Anakin, preceded by Anakin’s acknowledgment of Obi-Wan’s famous disbelief in luck. The audience knows that is the last time that Anakin and Ahsoka will see each other before his fall from grace and echoes their fateful meeting on Moraband years later.

Overall Thoughts

Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 9 was a pivotal episode in the set up for the end. The episode showed the beginning of the Seige of Mandalore, which is where Ahsoka is during Order 66. We also got a glimpse of where other Jedi were during the order. My biggest take away from this episode was the way Ahsoka reacted to Obi-Wan choosing the rescue the Chancellor Palpatine over helping Bo-Katan save Mandalore. Ahsoka reacted exactly how I wanted her to. What hurts though is even though we knew how Obi-Wan was going to react (placing him in line for the beginning of Episode III), his rejection of Bo-Katan for his idea of the greater good shows the pain the Jedi Order can cause others who truly need them.

Over the course of the last arc, she got to see firsthand how regular citizens, like the Martez sisters, feel about the Jedi. The Jedi are seen as selfish. They only seem to care about themselves, getting the job done, and they don’t care who gets caught in the crosshairs. When Obi-Wan sides with the Chancellor and decides recusing him is more important than saving innocent lives Ahsoka takes great offense to that. Now that she is outside of the Jedi Order she can see how decisions the Jedi are making are wrong.