Full Spoilers for “Gone With a Trace” Below 

Last week ended “The Bad Batch” and I was a left disappointed by the ending. However, I was extremely optimistic going into the start of “Ahsoka’s Journey” as this will be her first reappearance in The Clone Wars since her departure back in season 5. Yes we have had her role in Rebels and a canon novel, but other then that information on the ex-Jedi have been scarce. With the new season kicking into high gear I am excited to learn more. With that being said, this was a poor episode to kick her story off.

Picking up right where her story ended, Ahsoka makes her way to the underbelly of Coruscant (1313 to be specific) and makes her way through the underground. She meets a struggling mechanic known Trace Martez as well as her sister Rafa. Rafa has found herself with a loan shark and the only way to pay off her debt is to take a job repairing dangerous robots.

If I could sum up “Gone With a Trace” with two words it would be missed opportunity. This episode takes place as soon as Ahsoka is leaving the Jedi temple. She is at a loss after she starts to see the Jedi as corrupt and misguided after the betrayal of her close friend Barriss Offee. We only get a small glimpse of her grieving about leaving the only life she has ever known. Also, there is a small conversation about how the Jedi have forgotten about the people of Coruscant to focus on the war, but it is pretty much left at that with no consequences later in the episode.

Having Ahsoka in this situation could have made for some truly intriguing character development, and some interesting story moments. instead the writers decided to pair her up with two characters who are so by the numbers bland that I had to google search their names after watching the episode twice. On top of that, they seemed to only be a plot device so Ahsoka could reveal her force powers, which she was trying to keep hidden as the people below the surface resent the Jedi.

Now this is the first episode of another four episode arc so things could start picking up in the second and third episode. Unfortunately I am already predicting that in the next episode or the third that Ahsoka is forced to reveal her Jedi path leading the sisters to distrust her until they eventually come around. I say this because this is a favorite arc that Clone Wars liked to revisit every few seasons. I do hope that this isn’t the case and we have some lasting impact with Trace and Rafa.

Star Wars The Clone Wars has been a favorite show of mine for years, and when it was announced to be coming back for a final season I was floored and overwhelmed by excitement. The first two episodes were fantastic but the past three episodes have left me disappointed and a little sad. Nothing much is being added and most episodes feel like filler to get to “The Fall of Mandalor” arc where we will see Darth Maul make his return and maybe even Order 66.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars

5

Score

5.0/10

Pros

• Great Facial Animation

Cons

• By the Numbers Story
• Missed Opportunity with Ahsoka’s story
• Boring Side Characters