The Clone Wars is back! The show that was cancelled after 5 and a half seasons returns on Disney + to get the ending it deserved. I was a huge fan of the show, so safe to say I’m thrilled that we finally get to see these episodes.
After really enjoying writing my episode reviews for The Mandalorian and Resistance, I couldn’t wait to do the same again for this final season of The Clone Wars. The reviews will take on the same format: an overview of the plot (so be aware, there will be spoilers!), my review of the show, then a few “Moments in canon” – references that link to other media and the galaxy as a whole.
I have been looking forward to this show so much, so there was no way that I wasn’t going to watch this as soon as I could. Unfortunately, even though the UK finally has Disney+, we are currently a few weeks behind in what episodes we are allowed to watch, so I’ve had to channel my inner Hondo Ohnaka to see this! Today, we’ll be looking at Episode 6: “Deal No Deal”
Plot Summary
Trace and Ahsoka are getting to know each other better (though Ahsoka continues to keep her identity as a former Jedi padawan a secret) while working on Trace’s ship, the Silver Angel. Trace convinces Ahsoka to stay with her a Rafa for a while.
Rafa arrives and explains that she had hired a ship and a crew for a job but they have all backed out so now she needs Trace and the Silver Angel. Trace is annoyed that Rafa did not initially ask her, but agrees to help with the job, with Ahsoka also joining them.
“You got any skills?”
“Only useful ones.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Trace pilots the ship out of level 1313 to the surface and begins heading out of atmosphere, but ends up entering a military lane, passing close to a nearby Star Destroyer. They are hailed by Wulff Yularen on the Star Destroyer, who threatens to confiscate Trace’s pilots licence – something she doesn’t have. Ahsoka cuts the communication and directs Trace into the correct lane. On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, Anakin Skywalker asks Yularen who is on the ship. Per Rafa’s excuses in the communication, Yularen reports that it was some rookie pilots on their first manoeuvres. He says that he was about to send a detachment to arrest them. Anakin reaches out with the Force and senses Ahsoka’s presence, so orders Yularen to let the ship go.
Rafa tells Trace their destination and they jump to hyperspace, but it soon starts becoming clear how inexperienced Trace is with flying such a big ship. The group make their way to Kessel, where Rafa says they are picking up medicine. The group fly to a location on the nice side of Kessel, where they are greeted by a Twi’lek called Kinash Lock, who introduces himself as the majordomo to King Yaruba and invites the trio to a banquet to thank them for their services.
“We’re working for a king!”
At the banquet, talk between the sisters and Kinash appears to be going well, but Ahsoka is dubious and asks what medicine they are to transport. Kinash explains that it is 3 containers of unrefined spice, and that a successful delivery will get them a continuous contract for King Aruba and full deliveries. The sisters are eager to start, but Ahsoka remains sceptical as to the real purposes the spice will be used for.
As the group prepare to leave to get their cargo, Asoka tries convincing the sisters of the dangers of transporting spice, but they are unwilling to listen to her. They make their way to the mining zone where they pick up the cargo, but not before seeing hundreds of workers, who Ahsoka claims are slaves. With the cargo loaded, the trio leave Kessel and jump to hyperspace.
Rafa says that they are taking the shipment to Oba Diah and Marg Krim of the Pyke Syndicate. Ahsoka argues against this, knowing the danger of the Pykes. Trace panics at the thought of losing her ship and dumps the cargo. Rafa and Ahsoka make it clear to Trace the danger that they are in without having the cargo as they are now heavily in debt to the Pykes, but Ahsoka comes up with a plan – though the other two don’t like it.
“I don’t trust anyone who isn’t a Pyke.”
They continue to Oba Diah and drop off the cargo with Marg Krim and the Pykes. Ahsoka subtly uses the Force to have Marg Krim give them the credits and allow them to leave before the cargo is opened. However one of the Pykes is suspicious and opens the cargo containers as the trio board the Silver Angel. Finding the containers empty, he orders patrol ships to intercept the Silver Angel. Trace is confident that she can outrun the patrol ships, but the Silver Angel gets caught in a tractor beam. Rafa tells Ahsoka she is blaming this all on her, but Trace counters that there is plenty of blame to go around the three of them.
Review
While I haven’t found myself enjoying these episodes as much as the Bad Batch arc, I really enjoyed this episode and felt that it was a step up from last week’s part one. Last week was a very small-scale story to introduce the characters and help us catch up with Ahsoka, but this week allowed things to get bigger by taking the trio away from level 1313 but still focusing on just Ahsoka and the Martez sisters, which quickly showed just how out of their depth Trace and Rafa were.
“Licence? Do we need one of those?”
I liked how in this episode, Rafa was less hostile towards Ahsoka, but made it more clear that she is not trusting her and thinks that she is playing an angle as that is what she is always doing and similarly everyone that she usually works with. Meanwhile, Trace’s naivety really becomes obvious this episode when she is taken out of her comfort zone. She feels like an even more naive version of Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo, which feels right for her age and upbringing as she clearly knows her stuff on 1313 and with speeders, but now going topside and having a cruiser that can take her off-planet, she is suddenly making mistakes like not having a pilot’s licence, getting in the wrong lane and forgetting to turn off the air brakes, while hearing that the Pykes are gangsters, she immediately thinks of something small-scale like Pintu, as her mind can’t comprehend something like a intergalactic crime syndicate.
I’m really enjoying seeing Ahsoka coping with everything during this arc. She is so used to being in this position of responsibility that has allowed her to get to know a lot about the galaxy, but has also left her feeling like she needs to act whenever possible, but now she is at a point where she cannot always do what is right and has found herself making droids for gangsters and now smuggling spice that she knows is almost certainly being used for drugs rather than medicine. I look forward to seeing how the trio continue to grow, and think it’s likely that we will start to see Ahsoka taking on more of a leadership role in the next episode, as well as Trace losing some of her naivety and Rafa becoming more caring and trusting.
“She’s not family, Trace. Remember that.”
The scene with the Star Destroyer was wonderfully done and though it almost felt like it wasn’t needed for the story, it helped to connect this individual story to the wider galaxy, while also bringing in a sweet moment of Anakin clearly sensing Ahsoka and trusting her to do whatever it is she is doing, while Ahsoka could also see it as a sign that she can’t escape her past at the sheer coincidence that of all the Star Destroyers in the galaxy, they would catch the attention of the one with Yularen and Anakin on. If nothing else, I loved the similarities in this scene to Han’s “boring conversation” on the Death Star in A New Hope and the scene in Return of the Jedi as the Rebels pass the Executor to reach the moon of Endor.
In terms of the story itself, I like how the mistakes early in the episode (Rafa taking on a job outside their comfort zone and not telling everyone the details ahead of time) just got worse as more and more mistakes were made, to the point that Trace panicked and – not understanding the full severity of the situation – dropped the cargo and made the situation a hundred times worse, while Ahsoka’s questionable plan for dealing with the Pykes left the group in danger.
“Between the three of us, there’s plenty of blame to go around.”
A few final thoughts on the episode:
- Considering the Clone Wars only lasted a few years, Yularen appears to have aged really bad from season 1 to now – probably my biggest issue with the episode
- I loved getting to see the nice side of Kessel. It created such a wonderful contrast between the side where the rich live and take advantage of the money they have made from illegal activities, and the mining side where you see the reality of the operation.
- It was a nice touch to have a Zygerrian overseeing the loading of the cargo, as this was a subtle way to help confirm that Ahsoka is likely right abut the workers being slaves.
- What’s wrong with the name Silver Angel?!!
Moments in Canon
“You know a lot about Kessel for a mechanic.”
- Marg Krim also appeared in the novel Dark Disciple, with Ventress and Quinlan Vos doing some work for him
- Unrefined spice can be used to make medicine or drugs
- Though Padmé mentioned in The Phantom Menace that the Republic had anti-slavery laws, seeing the slaves on Kessel was just the latest suggestion that this was not being taken seriously by many in power. Master and Apprentice shows slave labour being a key component of a large company in the Republic, while slavery has shown to still be rife on planets like Tatooine, Zygerria and Kessel through the movies and series
What did you think of the episode?
Thanks for reading. May the Force be with you.
The Canon Padawan 