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.
And now we reach the penultimate episode, with the season and series finale coming in just a few days on May 4ᵗʰ. Today, I will be looking at Episode 11: “Shattered”
Plot Summary
Bo-Katan is overseeing the joint Republic and Mandalorian forces as they take Gar Saxon and other prisoners when a Republic gunship arrives carrying Ahsoka and a captured Maul. As Bo-Katan hands Ahsoka her lightsabers, she notes at how in capturing Maul, she has succeeded where many before failed. Talk turns to Bo-Katan wishing that she could be good at something other than war and Ahsoka suggests the Mandalorians need a new kind of leader, though Bo-Katan points out that Satine tried that and she never understood her idealism. Rex arrives to tell Ahsoka that the Jedi Council is waiting to speak to her and when asked, confirms that Anakin was among them when they asked for her.
“I did my duty as a citizen.”
“Not as a Jedi.”
“No. Not yet.”
Holograms of the Council members Mace Windu, Yoda, Ki Adi Mundi and Aayla Secura await her on a nearby transport. Before Ahsoka arrives, the Council members are discussing how the Chancellor will need to be removed from office if he does not willingly give up his emergency powers once Grievous is destroyed. Ahsoka arrives with Rex and confirms their mission was a success. Maul has been captured and she will accompany Rex as he transports Maul to Coruscant. Yoda congratulates Ahsoka on her service, but she states that she did her duty as a Republic citizen. Ahsoka asks to speak to Anakin, but is informed that he has one to tell the Chancellor that Obi-Wan has engaged with Grievous. Ahsoka notes that the war may be over soon, but Windu states that it depends on the Chancellor. Ahsoka asks what he means, but he says that these are matters for the Council to discuss. Windu, Mundi and Secura leave, but Yoda delays and asks Ahsoka if she has a message for Anakin, Ahsoka chooses to wait until she sees him herself.
Bo-Katan and Ursa Wren escort Maul (who is encased in a Mandalorian Force-proof capsule) to the transport. Ahsoka is impressed with the capsule, which Bo-Katan says is a relic of a bygone era, referencing the old feuds between Jedi and Mandalorians. Ahsoka asks if Satine had outlawed such devices, and Bo-Katan says she had, but this was the last one. The pair bid each other farewell and Ahsoka joins Rex and Maul on the shuttle, which takes them up to Rex’s Star Destroyer, which then jumps to hyperspace. A force of clones remain on Mandalore. Maul and his capsule are taken to the detention cells.
“The Republic couldn’t have asked for better soldiers, nor I a better friend.”
Ahsoka and Rex are on the bridge of the Star Destroyer and discussing the impact the war has had on them. Ahsoka notes that as a Jedi, she was meant to be a keeper of the peace rather than a soldier, but since she was a Padawan she has only been a soldier. Rex notes that he has known nothing but war, but without the Clone Wars, the clones wouldn’t exist, to which Ahsoka notes that some good came out of the Clone Wars. An officer tells Rex that he is needed for a briefing. Rex invites Ahsoka along but she declines.
Both Maul and Ahsoka feel a disturbance in the Force as Windu’s duel with Palpatine reaches its end. In the briefing room, Rex receives Order 66 from Darth Sidious. Ahsoka enters the room, telling Rex that she feels something terrible has happened to Anakin. Rex is shaking and drops his helmet. The rest of the troopers on the bridge receive a message and turn their blasters on Ahsoka, but Rex tells them that he’ll do it and draws his pistols. His hands are shaking and he tells Ahsoka to find “Fives” before opening fire, however Ahsoka leaps over him and seals the door to the bridge, however more troopers enter from the other side of the room. These new troopers and Rex encircle Ahsoka and open fire, but she manages to escape into the ship. Rex sends 2 troopers to execute Maul, then informs the rest that the Jedi have been marked for termination for treason against the Republic, and that any trooper who does not comply with Order 66 will treated the same. He sends the troopers to search the ship for Ahsoka.
“He turned the Jedi’s own army against them.”
The two troopers enter Maul’s cell and open the capsule, however Ahsoka incapacitates them before they can execute him, before freeing him from the capsule. Initially, she believes Maul is involved in the clones’ betrayal, but he says that he was not privy to his master’s plan, but understands now that it was to turn the Jedi’s own army against them. Ahsoka allows Maul to go, using him as a diversion.
Rex receives a report that Maul and Ahsoka have both escaped the detention level, and orders the escape pods destroyed and hangar decks secured. A number of clones engage Maul in the hallways, but he uses the Force to pull panels from the walls and use them as both shields and weapons.
Ahsoka sneaks into the droid room and activates 3 astromechs – R7-A7, G-G and CH-33P – who all agree to help her. At her instruction, R7 patches into the Republic central computer to download all files on Fives. The files contain Fives’ medical records and a recording of Nala Se stating that a defect had been found in the trooper and the Kaminoans’ findings were accepted by the Jedi Council and Senate, but a grievance report had been filed by Rex. Ahsoka uses Anakin’s password to decrypt the report and finds that Rex had suspicions about the inhibitor chips following Fives’ death.
“Where is she?”
“I’m right here.”
The droids separate Rex from his troops by closing the blast doors in the hallways, and R7 activates a hologram of Ahsoka, who tells Rex that she has seen the report n Fives and knows that Rex has been programmed to turn against the Jedi. Ahsoka appears behind him and as he turns to face her, R7 stuns him. Ahsoka and the droids take him to the medical bay, and seal themselves inside while a medical droid begins scanning for the chip. The droid can’t find anything, until Ahsoka takes Rex’s head in her hands and begins to recite the Guardian’s Mantra “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.” The scan finally detects the chip and R7 sends Rex into the surgery chamber.
The clones begin to override the door and once it starts opening they try to make their way through while opening fire. Ahsoka deflects as much fire as she can but is being overwhelmed, until Rex – now with his chip removed – takes out his blasters and shoots the entering clones, giving G-G a chance to re-seal the door. Rex tells Ahsoka that he is OK, but that the entire Grand Army of the Republic has been turned against the Jedi. The pair turn their attention back to the door, where the clones are cutting their way through from the other side.
Review
With one episode still remaining (I can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to a Monday!), I already feel confident in calling this the best arc in the history of The Clone Wars and while I don’t think that it quite reached the same height as last week’s episode, it did very well to not feel like a giant drop-off after such an incredible episode.
“How widespread is this?”
“Ahsoka, it’s all of us. The entire Grand Army of the Republic has been ordered to hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights.”
Like the previous 2 episodes, the show did a fantastic job of linking us into the events of Revenge of the Sith, showing us one scene from the movie from a different point of view (the Council talking about removing Palpatine from office – it hurts so much when you realise Ahsoka missed seeing Anakin by just a matter of seconds!) while also then hearing the events between Anakin, Mace Windu and Palpatine as Ahsoka senses the disturbance in the Force. As well as keeping us in the know of where we are in relation to the movie, both scenes felt completely natural to the story, while the latter moment was actually somewhat chilling as we realise what is happening and the implications for the rest of the episode.
There was so much to love from the episode. The scene of Maul butchering clones in the hallway felt very reminiscent of Rogue One‘s hallway scene and I loved how the crew were not afraid to show troopers losing heads or arms or being crushed by the panels – it certainly felt like one of the most adult moments in the series. The moment of Ahsoka and Rex on the bridge discussing the impact of the war was a rare moment of happiness in the episode and was beautiful to see, highlighting the relationship that has formed over the years between the pair. Seeing Maul handed over to the clones and transported to the detention cells was amazing seeing so many troopers and Mandalorian warriors were in formation, while Maul in the capsule gave serious Hannibal Lecter vibes. Finally, hearing the events of Revenge of the Sith as Anakin fell to the dark side was a wonderful way of showing exactly what moment we were up to while also helping us understand the disturbance Ahsoka and Maul were feeling. It was nice to hear the actual audio from the movie using Hayden Christensen, but I really appreciated the decision to also have Matt Lanter say the final “What have I done?” to bring it back to the series – it was a lovely touch that I had to watch a couple of times before I picked up on it.
“Execute Order 66.”
“Yes, Lord Sidious.”
As for the droids helping, I initially thought this was quite a childish moment, and while the droids did feel a little lighter, I think the heavy episode needed them, while the more I thought about it today, the more I realised that it was fitting for Ahsoka to find help here as she was always so friendly to the droids and clones, but the droids would not have been affected by Order 66 like the clones were, while R7 was also a droid she had some history with, having been her co-pilot at the Battle of Ryloth.
And finally I come to the moment of the episode, as Ahsoka walks in on Rex right after he has been given Order 66. I loved seeing him tear up and his hands shaking so severely as he tries to resist his programming, holding on just long enough to throw out Fives’ name as a clue so that Ahsoka could find out what was happening. Even though I knew both would survive due to their appearances in later stories, I still felt tense wondering just how far Rex would go. And then to see the scene of Rex and the clones trying to take out Ahsoka while “Anakin’s Dark Deeds” played was a highly emotional moment. This played out so well, that when Ahsoka was being overwhelmed in the medbay and the camera cut to Rex coming around and reaching for his blasters, I still wasn’t certain who he would be aiming them at until he actually shot his brothers, a wonderful pay-off to everything that came before in the episode.
“May the Force be with you, Padawan.”
A few final thoughts on the episode:
- Though I imagine he’ll have a much more impactful role in the finale, Jesse felt horribly underused again in this episode. It took me quite a few attempts to pause the episode at the right moment to confirm that it was Jesse who entered with the clones after Ahsoka took out the first 2 and closed the door to the bridge
- The music was wonderful, staying dark and foreboding throughout, with “Anakin’s Dark Deeds” working as a wonderful crescendo when the emotion and action reached its peak
- I loved seeing Ahsoka have to release Maul due to the sheer necessity of needing a distraction, while the dialogue between them of Maul asking for a weapon and being told that she wasn’t rooting for him that much was a nice touch
- As great as this was, I still wish that these events tied in better to what was written in the Ahsoka novel, which made it sound as if Order 66 happened just after Mal was captured, while they were still on Mandalore. We were told that everything released would be canon, yet the last few episodes have been consistently going against what we have been told.
- I do like how Mace is once again shown to be a lot of what is wrong with the Jedi. The series and other media frequently show him to be arrogant and refuse to back down, while he is also one of the more militant members of the Council, in direct contrast to Obi-Wan and Yoda. Had he been willing to let Ahsoka hear their worries about the Chancellor, they may have found out that Anakin had supposedly been groomed as Sidious’ next apprentice, allowing them to react in a better way.
Moments in Canon
- R7 was Ahsoka’s co-pilot during the Battle of Ryloth
- The disturbance Ahsoka feels in the Force is from Mace Windu’s death and Anakin’s fall to the dark side
- Satine outlawed the Force-proof capsules
- The file on Fives included images of Tup and Jedi Master Tiplar, as Tup’s execution of Tiplar was what led to Fives’ investigation that saw him find out about the chips
What did you think of the episode?
Thanks for reading, and remember: Good soldiers follow orders.
The Canon Padawan 