Warning Full Spoilers for “A Distant Echo” below

Last week we were graced with the triumphant return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The season premiere was met with nearly universal praise from both fans and critics alike, uniting the Star Wars community since the divide made by The Last Jedi, Solo, and The Rise of Skywalker. This week’s episode, “A Distant Echo” kept up the action, tension, drama and added a little more nuance to Anakin, Rex and Obi-Wan’s relationship as we reach closer to the events of Revenge of the Sith. The search for long thought dead clone Echo is underway as the Bad Batch, Rex and Anakin make their way to Skako Minor to find the truth about Echo and see if he is still alive.

So far this season, the story has been pretty light as we seem to be getting a greater emphasis on closing out character-arcs and bringing the development full circle, as this is now the final season of the long running show. Rex is finally dealing with the loss of not only his comrades but also his brothers and family. The Clone Wars lasted three years, and in that time Rex saw his brothers perish time after time. In that time we see Rex slowly reach his breaking point. Being on this journey with Rex and seeing the dark and heartbreaking performance when they found Echo gave the series a much needed tone.

We see him fight with his emotions and struggle to separate his personal feelings from the mission. These are some of the same issues that Anakin struggles with throughout the Skywalker Saga and seeing him try and give Captain Rex the same advice that Obi-Wan has been giving him for years foreshadows Anakin’s turn to the dark side. It also just adds that little extra layer that helps improve the flawed prequels.

Anakin is a major player in this episode and we get to see a softer side as he interacts with his secret wife Padmè while Rex keeps watch. As Anakin shares an intimate moment over a holo-call he explains how everyone is on edge due to the war and that he is worried about his friend. Here we are finally seeing how the Jedi and their outdated rules have eventually lead to the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi.

The action this episode was heavy and seeing lightsaber combat in the upgraded animation is beautiful, Anakin’s motions are fluid and just mesmerizing. The action isn’t the only part of the animation that looks stunning. The characters have subtle movements in their faces from a small twitch of an eyebrow to signify confusion or doubt, to the small gestures the models use, it is truly outstanding to behold.

So far, season seven has been truly something special. Even if these episodes did release in storyboard form in 2015, seeing the changes they have made and the improvements through technology is fantastic and I am glad to be on this journey one last time.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• This Episode Sets the tone for the rest of the arc
• Character dialogue is great
• Animation is breathtaking

Cons

• Story is straight forward