SPOILER ALERT: This article will discuss episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 7 and the Siege of Mandalore. If you haven’t watched it yet and don’t want to know what happens, stop right here! If not, carry on. This is the way!
The upcoming final episodes of The Clone Wars are shaping up to be the best yet. When we left off in Episode 8, Ahsoka joins Bo-Katan Kryze and her Nite Owls in a final push to remove Maul from Mandalore, and the board is set for some epic showdowns. No doubt, these episodes will likely have a long-reaching impact on what we see next in The Mandalorian also. But first, we need to know why this critical point is so important to the Skywalker saga.
Why is the Siege of Mandalore so important to the overall story?
The Siege of Mandalore was one of the last battles in the Clone Wars, and brings together a clash of two of the most popular characters in Star Wars: Ahsoka Tano and Maul. Maul controls Mandalore through Prime Minister Almec, and Ahsoka and Rex fight with the 332nd Legion to liberate it.
Episode 8 of The Clone Wars brings back together Ahsoka and Bo-Katan and should answer some interesting questions, especially about the fate of the Dark Saber. Remember in Rebels, Sabine Wren discovers it in Maul’s cave on Dathomir, where presumably it sat after his time of controlling Mandalore. The next time it appears in the hands of Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian. These little things all connect back to the pivotal events we’re about to see in the Siege of Mandalore.
The final piece that makes this battle so important is that Order 66 happens right in the middle of it. Ahsoka is left with the choice of ending Maul or saving Rex. She chooses to save Rex, and they all escape and go their separate ways. Sadly, this also plummets Mandalore into disarray, and the Empire takes control of the planet, where they establish an Imperial military academy.
The events of the siege fit nicely into what we can expect to see when Season 2 of The Mandalorian hits. The last person we see holding the Dark Saber is Bo-Katan Kryze before it appears again in the hands of Moff Gideon. Also, remnants of the Empire seem to be rolling in Beskar they captured during the Great Purge. This event has a long reach over how the galaxy plays out for everyone else we know in the Star Wars universe.
Siege of Mandalore: What do the actors have to say about this?
Bo-Katan’s voice actress, Katee Sackhoff, is a total Star Wars nerd and jumped at the chance to reprise her role as Bo in the final season of The Clone Wars. Sadly, during her interview she couldn’t elaborate on her arc for the final four episodes:
“I don’t want to say anything nor do I think I can, but I think that Bo-Katan will continue and will always strive to try to lead Mandalore to the best of her ability and the way that she deems fit. We’ll continue to see more of that from her.”
Katee Sackhoff to Discussing Film
The key word in there is “continue”. That phrasing suggests she survives the siege and has a future in more Star Wars projects. Though she didn’t come right out and say it, she hinted at a possible live-action appearance, and Katee has the credentials to pull off playing the role in real-life. She was asked about Season 2 of The Mandalorian on Disney Plus and a possible visit from Bo-Katan:
“…there are people that are going to jump to conclusions that Bo is going to be in The Mandalorian because on paper, it does make sense. But you know, we’ll just have to wait and see and cross all my fingers and toes. You never know.”
Katee Sackhoff
Ashley Eckstein weighs in on The Siege
The short-term fate of Ahsoka is already known. She survives the siege and goes on to become Fulcrum in Star Wars: Rebels. We know she goes on the search for Ezra with Sabine at the end of that series, and rumors are swirling she may appear in The Mandalorian, Season 2, so her story is far from over. But what happens to her in this short span at the end of The Clone Wars is a pivotal moment in her story, and it’s one we’ve all been waiting to see, including Ashley:
“I’ve been reading a lot of people’s comments and everyone wants to make the jump to the Siege of Mandalore. I mean, we’ve been waiting for that ever since Clone Wars was canceled at the end of season 5. Thankfully, because of Star Wars Rebels we know that Ahsoka lives, we know that she survives but we don’t know how or why or what happened. So I had all those same questions. So I understand why everyone wants to jump straight to it. You really need the Siege of Mandalore to understand everything that happens in the Skywalker saga. It’s pretty incredible.”
Ashley Eckstein to Comic Book Nation
Filoni on Maul
This final season of The Clone Wars has to end with a bang, but not just any bang. It needs to be a universe-creating big bang. Dave Filoni knows this, and is giving us a great gift in these last episodes: Ray Park is doing the motion capture for Maul’s fight scenes.
“I wanted this fight to be big. I wanted this to be an epic lightsaber fight… This one had to be among the best, if not the best we did. I went and, I know Ray Park, and I said, ‘Ray, wouldn’t it be great… why don’t we suit you up in mo-cap suit and be Darth Maul?’ So when you see Maul fighting, it’s going to be really Maul fighting… There’s just something unique about how Ray moves… It was a great moment having him perform it.”
Dave Filoni
The Maul we’ve seen so far has been done through traditional animation methods with Sam Witwer, the voice of Maul, providing all the action of the character. These final episodes blend the two actor’s performances in an incredibly unique way, and Witwer heaped on the praise for bringing Ray Park in for this one through Twitter:
We know Maul survives this as well, going on to meet his destiny at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. However, that doesn’t mean this battle will be a short one. This promises to be epic in scale and we’re in for a ride. We can’t wait to see it either, Sam.
Lingering questions about The Clone Wars, Season 7
The biggest question about this final season is why were we introduced to The Bad Batch? Rex’s effort to save Echo was noble, but did it warrant a four-episode arc? Echo’s fate wasn’t a hot topic of debate, so why bring in the baddest bunch of clones and excite the fans, only then cut to the dull story sequence of the bad-decision-prone Martez sisters?
The Bad Batch must have a critical role in the Siege of Mandalore. Otherwise, the first 2/3 of Season 7 would have been another glorious waste of good characters. Echo’s rescue must have a significant part as well. We already know Rex would lay down his life for any of his clone brothers, so why heap more on his already selfless reputation for no reason? Echo must have some major part coming up.
Help us, Dave Filoni. You’re our only hope…
Stay with That Hashtag Show for all your Clone Wars, Season 7 and The Mandalorian news and info! To learn more about Star Wars, you can also visit the official website at www.starwars.com.
Sourced from: ComicBook.com
