The Clone Wars Rewatch: Echo’s “Unfinished Business”
Opinions // FEBRUARY 11, 2021
There’s no going back, but Rex’s friend must find his own path forward.
To celebrate the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+, we’re undertaking a full chronological rewatch of the five original seasons, The Lost Missions, and the theatrical release. We’d be honored if you would join us for the weekly #CloneWarsRewatch — you can watch this week’s episode on Disney+ now — and share your thoughts on the award-winning series.
129: “Unfinished Business” (Season Seven, Episode 4)
“Trust placed in another is trust earned.”
Synopsis:
Echo hatches a plan to end the Separatist threat on Anaxes once and for all. But where do his loyalties really lie?
Analysis:
You can’t blame Captain Rex for wishing everything could go back to the way it once was now that his friend Echo has returned where he belongs. But there’s no going back.
Echo has been inextricably altered physically, emotionally, and mentally. Not only does he have to readjust to the freedom to control his own actions and the responsibility of collaborating with the Republic forces, but he’s being made to prove his loyalty at every turn. Rex still trusts his friend, but almost everyone else has their doubts (and no qualms about expressing them freely.)
It’s only through his selfless and brave actions that Echo is able to prove he’s still a valuable and trustworthy member of the Republic’s fight. Even then, it’s clear he no longer fits among his clone brothers.
Although the clones routinely try to differentiate themselves from one another, Echo’s ordeal goes far beyond a unique tattoo or a special haircut.
He’s been forever changed, altered by his experience, and the only people who can begin to empathize are the members of the Bad Batch — and perhaps Anakin Skywalker himself, always an outcast among the Jedi ranks. Echo’s path is different from that of an average clone. He doesn’t fit in anymore. But with the Bad Batch, he has a chance to truly find his place in the galaxy.
Intel:
- To echo the original trilogy, the war room is made to look like the command center on Yavin 4, while the Y-wings of Gold Squadron make a bombing run on the Separatist outpost, just like another squadron of bombers by the same name will do years later on the Death Star.
What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below and share on social with #CloneWarsRewatch!
Next up: Come back next Thursday when Ahsoka returns and the Siege of Mandalore begins in “Old Friends Not Forgotten.”
Associate Editor Kristin Baver is the author of the book Skywalker: A Family at War, host of This Week! In Star Wars, and an all-around sci-fi nerd who always has just one more question in an inexhaustible list of curiosities. Sometimes she blurts out “It’s a trap!” even when it’s not. Want to talk more about The Clone Wars? Hop on Twitter and tell @KristinBaver what you thought about today’s episode.
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