The Clone Wars - S7E9: Old Friends Not Forgotten
THE CLONE WARS - DISNEY +Finally, this is the Clone Wars fans have been waiting for. All the stops have been pulled out and the episode – the first in the new Siege of Mandalore arc – goes full speed ahead towards a nerve-jangling cliffhanger. Old Friends Not Forgotten makes the previous eight episodes, ranging in quality from redundant to middling to pretty good, seem like they were worth wading through to get here. That muck wasn’t pleasant, but it makes this episode seem like a giant burst of sunlight at the end of a pitch-black tunnel.
Even without having watched the rest of the show in a long time, it’s not hyperbolic to say that this is the most cinematic offering the show’s ever produced. From the opening battle scene, which features a superhero’s slow-mo entrance for Obi-Wan and a jet-pack-equipped clone army demolishing unsuspecting clones, it’s made overtly clear that bigger sometimes is better.
Not only are the battles bigger, but the scope of the universe is also larger than before. This is one of the few episodes where the world feels vast in relation to the machinations of one episode’s plot. There are references to key events that Star Wars fans know lead to Revenge of the Sith. Fortunately, the references are more than simple name-dropping: they are actually integral obstacles that force the characters to make decisions, act quickly and split up.
The parting of the show’s most beloved trio — Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka — is tinged with the sad fact that this will be the last time they see each other before everything gets messed up. This episode manages the careful balancing act of sentimentalizing their departure without making it too sappy. Actions speak louder than words here; the act of painting a helmet a different color will tug more heartstrings than a teary-eyed goodbye ever could.
As if this episode wasn’t already stuffed to the brim with action and pathos, the final few minutes add a dread-filled mission into the tunnels underneath Mandalore. Clone Wars aficionados know that nothing good ever happens in dark tunnels – and Old Friends Not Forgotten does too. It plays its audience like a puppet, revealing a menace that is hidden from the heroes until it is too late.
Sometimes, it is enough to deliver exactly what fans wanted. Old Friends Not Forgotten is proof of that. Perfectly paced action, emotional character interactions and a cinematic palette to boot, it is the quintessential Clone Wars episode and makes one wonder how the next three episodes can possibly top it.
