It’s finally happened. The moment we’ve all been waiting for, but dreading all the same. Order 66 has come to our beloved Ahsoka and Rex. A foreboding sense of creeping doom hung over the first half of the episode like a guillotine with the score, once again, being used to the fullest to build suspense and tension. When the order was finally given, we were treated to one of the most intense moments we’ve ever seen in The Clone Wars. However, it was Dave Filoni and his team's ability to continue to exceed our expectations, particularly for a scene we all knew was coming, that was truly impressive. Every beat felt perfectly crafted to fit the narrative we already knew, while at the same time felt fresh and true to the characters. So far, every episode in this 4-part finale has been near perfect Star Wars, and “Shattered” maintains that streak. Which leaves us with one final episode to wrap up the series, and no matter what happens in part 4, I think we can all agree, it's been one hell of a ride.

It’s hard to say whether or not last week’s episode, part 1 of this 4-part finale, was better than this week’s part 2, but it almost doesn’t matter because they’re both almost perfect. Picking up at the exact moment that we left off on last week, “The Phantom Apprentice” begins like it ends, in a confrontation with Maul. With everything in between dripping with subtext and nuance as Maul deals with Ashoka’s arrival on Mandalore. All of this is keystoned by a lightsaber duel for the ages that includes the return of Ray Park to the role of Maul for one last fight. But as good as this episode is, ultimately we know where this leads. Order 66 looms large, and will likely be addressed in part 3, giving us a chance to see the iconic moment from a new perspective.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars has reached the final stretch, and they aren’t messing around. Part 1, of the final 4-episode arch, kicked things off with a bang! From the very first frame showing the green “Lucasfilm Limited” title card, to the humming of lightsabers over the final credits, you could feel how special this was. Every scene felt purposeful, every line of dialogue thoughtfully written. There was a certain air of importance that seemed to hang over everything. Nothing driving that home more than the music. For the first time, The Clone Wars was able to use the full John Williams score. It started with the opening fanfare and continued with perfectly cued-up classic Star Wars themes throughout the episode, driving the emotional core. And what an emotional episode it was. Dave Filoni and the gang at Lucasfilm poured so much heart into the final goodbye between Ashoka and Anakin alone, that there couldn’t have been a dry eye in the audience. Nevermind the other 28 minutes of the episode that spared no opportunity to tug at the heartstrings. Overall it’s a near perfect episode of The Clone Wars, and will likely go down as one of it’s best.

Although one episode longer than we might have liked, this week’s episode, one of the best of the arch, brings the Martez story to a close - at least for now. Ashoka and the Martez sisters found themselves in an overly familiar location at the beginning of this week’s episode but it quickly improved from there as the Pikes, with their own neck on the line, gave them one last chance to “return” the spice. What followed was some Han Solo-esque hijinx from the Martez sisters and a little Jedi espionage from Ashoka. It all felt very crisp and snappy, despite the somewhat clunky final moments. We can now turn our gave toward Maul and Mandalore as we move into the final quarter of the season.

Coming out of a pretty strong outing last week, our expectation was that this episode was going to bring this arch to a close. Boy were we wrong! Not only does it continue into next week’s episode “Together Again”, but with the appearance of a certain Mando, it looks like it might flow directly into the Mandalorian arch as well. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if it didn’t feel like the show was dragging its feet somewhat. Nothing making that more apparent than how this week’s episode ended. That being said, in and of itself, “Dangerous Debt” brought some exciting action beats as well as a backstory to the Martez sisters (that may leave something to be desired for some).

After a lackluster episode last week, The Clone Wars storms back with a much stronger outing. Now that Ahsoka’s new friends have been established, we can finally head out on a larger scale adventure. It even takes us to a Clone Wars era Kessel, to further test Ahsoka’s faith in the Galactic Republic. Clocking in at 26 minutes, the episode is also one of the longest of the season so far and it uses the extra length well. It leans hard into some classic Star Wars adventuring and character work, while still taking a breath to set up a larger plot to this arch, which looks to come to an exciting conclusion next week.

With the engagement on Anaxes now dealt with, The Clone Wars turns its attention to Ahsoka and her recent self exile from the Jedi Order. She’s now on her own and apparently trying to find herself on the lower levels of Coruscant. The episode takes us to the notorious level 1313 (with even some fun easter eggs to the cancelled video game from a few years ago), when her chopper inspired (no not the droid) speeder bike breaks down, she’s introduced to a pair of hard on their luck sisters. In the process she reconnects with the everyday galactic citizen and has a run-in with a cross-wired demolition droid.

Julian and Rachel help unpack all the details, and discuss the ups and downs an episode that saw a recovering Echo, freshly removed from the grip of the Techno Union, looking to get back to work. Unfortunately, things are still not going exactly as planned on Anaxes for the Republic. According to Master Windu, they are losing their grip on the planet. Fortunately, Echo has a plan to sabotage the Separatist strategies and take back the planet for good. As per usual, things don’t go exactly as planned, and even though the Bad Batch harbour some distrust for Echo, things work out for the heroes, with a bonus of no longer having to deal with Admiral Trench.

Anakin and Rex have found and rescued Echo from the clutches of the Techno Union, but they’re now neck deep in droids and it’s time for an escape from Skako Minor! The Bad Batch and the rest of the gang are left to fend for themselves with no backup, hundreds of feet in the air, and completely surrounded. Luckily, they have a plan! Julian and Rachel break down a very action heavy episode, that also happens to be one of the shortest in the series. Unfortunately, It’s not the strongest episode either, but it does make you consider what choosing sides in a war really means, and how its not as black and white as it might seem. Oh and there’s a “Devastator”… that’s not that devastating.

Better late than never! A saying that could apply to this week’s episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as this podcast (snare drum*). This week Julian is joined by special guest, Rachel Wilkinson, to help break down the the action Speaking of action, there was plenty of it this week as Anakin joined Rex and the Bad Batch on their mission to rescue Echo. There was also plenty of character moments to go around, not the least of which being a rare scene between Padme and Anakin, that lead into an interaction with Obi-Wan that revealed a lot, in very little screen time.