While Star Wars: The Clone Wars has always managed to deliver on spectacle and thrilling fight sequences with amazing choreography, the heart of the show is in the intimate moments between the characters.
Dave Filoni’s hit animated series mostly serves as an exploration of the Prequel Era and the Clone Wars, giving us a deeper look into the lives of the Jedi and their struggle to bring back peace to a divided galaxy. But beyond that, the writers have also tried to capture the dilemmas of the Clones or even explore their sense of identity outside the war. That’s why, to kickstart things again, the final season began with a story arc that revolved around the return of Arc Trooper CT-1409, aka Echo.
After realizing that the Separatist army is using Echo’s subconscious to implement counter-strategies against the Republic, Anakin and Rex mounted a rescue mission and brought him back. In the fourth episode, “Unfinished Business,” Echo comes up with a plan to defeat the droid army on Anaxes, but the Bad Batch and even the Jedi Generals doubt that his loyalties might have changed after the Skako Minor incident.
Ultimately, though, Echo once again proved his dedication to his Clone brothers by coming through and besting the CIS algorithm, which allowed the Republic to win on every front and reclaim their shipyard.
At the end of the action-packed episode, Echo decides to join the Bad Batch, as he feels that he no longer belongs with Rex and his squad. The commando unit that utilizes unconventional methods quickly turned out to be a fan-favorite this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if they make a comeback in later episodes, with CT-1409 now part of their wacky, yet professional team.
At any event, with this particular story arc out of the way, Star Wars: The Clone Wars can now focus on other plot elements like the Siege of Mandalore and Order 66. So be sure to catch new episodes as they premiere every Friday on Disney Plus.