Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, Episode 5: A fan favorite returns

At long last, The Clone Wars reunites fans with an old friend. Although the adventure here is standard stuff, it lays the groundwork for a fascinating character journey.

After spending some time with the troops on the front lines, The Clone Wars now reintroduces us to Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s wayward apprentice who walked away from the Jedi Order at the end of Season 5. Not only is this a welcome return for one of the show’s primary characters, but it also provides a prime opportunity for growth.

Fans probably know that Ahsoka shows up again in Star Wars Rebels as a rebel leader and mentor to that show’s characters, but there’s still plenty of ambiguity as to how she got to that point. How did she go from disillusioned student to confident hero? What were some of the steps in that journey? Well, this episode starts to answer those questions.

As the story starts, Ahsoka is wandering the streets of Coruscant when her speeder breaks down. To fix it, she reluctantly enlists the help of the Martez sisters, who have their own dangerous dealings with the criminal element.

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As you’ve probably guessed, our hero is clearly lacking the purpose and belonging she once felt amongst the Jedi. When she witnesses someone in trouble, however, she simply can’t resist the urge to do something about it. Jedi or not, she still maintains much of the same noble values. Seeing her draw on past experiences without revealing her background was fairly engaging, as it forced her to behave in a more guarded manner than we’re used to. Whether this changes as she becomes more familiar with her shady new friends is a question that should prove intriguing.

Of course, you can’t have Ahsoka without the voice of Ashley Eckstein, who steps seamlessly back into the role. Not only does she still believably convey the purity and slightly snarky attitude endemic to the character, but she also finds a comfortable midpoint between the youthful energy she displayed in the original Clone Wars show and the wise maturity of the Rebels version.

Sadly, the episode surrounding her character is relatively underwhelming. Set in the seedy underbelly of Coruscant known as “1313,” which is surely familiar to those still bitter about a certain video game cancellation, the storyline here felt somewhat limited by its producer.

The writers try to sell this idea that the Jedi and all semblance of law and order have abandoned this lower level of the city. Crime runs rampant, and it’s every man for himself. Granted, we get a bit of that from the two sisters who feel the need to swindle other people in order to survive, but the locale as a whole never exhibits much danger or grit.

Maybe the creators could have gone further with the content if this wasn’t an animated show on a Disney service. For the most part, the interactions and set pieces all boiled down to a bunch of wacky hijinks and escapades. It was all beautifully animated, but it was more akin to the ridiculous Star Wars Resistance than The Clone Wars.

Perhaps the stakes will raise as we get into future episodes. As it stands, though, it was difficult to feel much suspense with this first outing.

What did you think of this episode? Was Ahsoka’s return a welcome one? Where do you think this story arc will go?

You can currently stream Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney Plus.