‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Season 7, Episode 4 ‘Unfinished Business’ Review: Brotherhood

Star Wars: The Clone Wars began its final season on the premise of Clone Trooper brotherhood. This episode is no different. After recovering one of their own from Separatist hands, the Clones, now more than ever, are eager to fight back. With the advantage of the predictive algorithm taken from them without their knowledge, the Separatists are vulnerable. As a result, the Bad Batch and the Republic gears up to take the fight to them.

On Friday’s episode of  Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Republic launches a final all-out assault on the Separatist forces led by Admiral Trench and Wat Tambor. Leading the battle on different fronts, Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) brings Captain Rex, Corporal Echo, and the Bad Batch on a stealth mission. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and Mace Windu (Terrence ‘T.C.’ Carson) attacks the droid foundry in Anaxes.

Goodbye Tactical Advantage

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With Echo on their side, the Republic now has the upper hand. The Separatists still recognize Echo’s signal as their algorithm, so the Jedi uses this to their advantage. With Bad Batch, Rex, and Anakin himself leading the stealth mission to Admiral Trench’s command ship, manipulating their tactics is easy. Despite this, however, Trench figures out their presence and is *this* close to finding up until he meets Anakin. Also, Trench has a countermeasure in the event of the algorithm being insufficient for a Separatist victory: a bomb capable of destroying Anaxes itself. Still, Trench did not count on meeting Anakin at the ship’s command bridge, let alone his questionable interrogation methods. In the end, the bomb is defused, Anaxes is safe, and the Republic lives to fight another day.

Echo’s Return

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Echo comes home a different man. After everything that he has been through, it is a surprise to see him geared up and ready for battle despite not being in prime condition. His return was not particularly easy, especially for Rex. Rex witnessed his close Clone Brothers die one by one throughout the duration of the war, some in battle while others through questionable circumstances. At this point, the Bad Batch themselves initially had doubts about Echo, too, but it eventually faded away. Also, Echo likely has a lot of unprocessed trauma, but he pushes on. His character best shows a Clone Trooper’s undying will and loyalty to the Republic, and more importantly; to his brothers, whether they are Regs or Enhanced Clones.

Farewell, Brother

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As if Rex’s losses were not enough, he had to say goodbye to Echo once more, albeit in a lighter tone. Echo may be back, but things were not the same; not really. Throughout the episode, one could see how misplaced Echo felt during the few times they were at the base. On the field, he risked his life and it felt natural. Echo likely enjoyed serving with the Bad Batch as he found himself joking around with them. Rex, being the compassionate man he is, gave Echo the opportunity to choose for himself. Echo and Rex’s reunion was as bittersweet and as short as it happened, but it was enough for the two men.

‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Season 7, Episode 4 ‘Unfinished Business’ Final Verdict

Finally, Star Wars: The Clone Wars ends this chapter with a touching resolution. While it may not be directly related to the eventual fall of the Republic, some snippets of the episode show how the characters are closely approaching their convictions up to the point of Revenge of the Sith. As Rex says goodbye to an old friend, one cannot help but think about what he would do next, given what he knows about the Inhibitor chips. Anakin, on the other hand, draws closer to the dark side every chance he gets, especially when he faced Trench. A nice balance of humor and action makes the overall tone of this episode light yet serious at some points; something that Star Wars most certainly always does well.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues Friday, March 20 with ‘Gone With a Trace’ at Disney+.