REVIEW: The Clone Wars – Season 7, Episode 8, “Together Again”

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

In “Together Again,” Raffa feels betrayed when Trace sides with Ahsoka, saying that the deal with the Pykes is what got them into trouble. When the three are brought out for questioning, Ahsoka offers to stay as a prisoner while the Martezes are allowed to “bring back the spice.” She says if they don’t bring it back, she’ll tell the Pykes where the Martez family is. The sisters steal a shipment of spice and offer it in exchange for Ahsoka’s freedom. While they’re away, Ahsoka breaks out of her cell, eavesdrops on Marg Krim’s meeting with Maul, and places bombs around the Pyke headquarters. However, the Pykes re-capture Ahsoka and discover her Force abilities after she tracks Maul’s hologram signal to Mandalore. The Martez sisters return with the stolen spice, but it’s too late, as Marg Krim now wants to execute Ahsoka to gain favor with Maul. Just as he orders the Syndicate to execute the three girls, the bombs detonate, giving them time to escape aboard the Silver Angel, pursued only by Bo-Katan after blowing up several Pyke ships. Once they arrive back on Coruscant, the Martezes make clear that, while they have their issues with the Jedi Order, they value what Ahsoka did for them and consider her a friend. Bo-Katan approaches, and initially, Ahsoka tells the sisters to run, but the former reassures her that Death Watch is gone, and she wants Ahsoka’s help removing Maul from power on Mandalore. Ahsoka is reluctant at first, afraid that accepting this mission will bring her right back to the Jedi. But Trace and Raffa insist she continue helping people who need her, Raffa going as far as to say it’s what Ahsoka is meant to do. The former Jedi leaves her bike with her new friends as she embarks on her next adventure with Bo-Katan. 

“Together Again” is another visually stunning episode with impeccable voice work and an exceptional musical score. Elizabeth Rodriguez and Brigitte Kali Canales have really grown on me in their portrayals of Raffa and Trace, respectively. I still don’t love these two or anything like that, but now that we’ve seen the whole arc and know how the story ends, I would take this over another romance for Ahsoka. After all, it didn’t work out with Lux Bonteri, and we know it couldn’t end well this time either. She’s single when the time of Rebels rolls around, and in that show’s epilogue, she has become something more. I would assume “Ahsoka the White” is above that kind of thing entirely. While Ahsoka no longer wants to be a Jedi, she does exemplify many of their best beliefs and qualities, especially selflessness. Being in a romantic relationship would compromise that, and it would be redundant anyway. Ahsoka loved someone once and it didn’t work out; whether they wanted to pair her with a male or female, we don’t need to watch this scenario play out again. I’m pleased that this storyline wasn’t about that because it wouldn’t introduce anything new to Ahsoka’s arc, and also because we won’t have to listen to people fight over it until the end of time. I was surprised in “Together Again” when Raffa had the idea to trade stolen spice for Ahsoka. I’ve thought more than once that she seemed to have ulterior motives, and maybe wasn’t really prioritizing the well-being of her little sister. She’s also thrown Ahsoka under the bus a few times, never paying any heed to the fact that Ahsoka protected them time and time again. It’s a good moment when Ahsoka lies to the Pykes, threatening a family that Trace and Raffa don’t even have for leverage. Raffa says, “I won’t forget this,” indicating to the Pykes that she is indeed worried about a theoretical family somewhere, but really meaning that she won’t forget what Ahsoka did for her and she’ll be back.

I do feel somewhat frustrated with the tension between the three girls, which I don’t feel was really resolved. Ahsoka tried a couple of times to show Raffa that her line of work wasn’t right for her younger, idealistic sister. I thought this subplot was coming to a head in the beginning of “Together Again” when Trace agrees with Ahsoka that Raffa was wrong to accept this job. Raffa feels attacked and betrayed by her sister, who has always stuck by her in the past. However, while Raffa thanks Ahsoka for helping them, and even goes back to save her, it feels like no progress was made on this particular issue. Of course, the Martezes stay together on Level 1313 while Ahsoka leaves with the Mandalorians, but Trace never says anything for herself about these dangerous odd jobs. Does she want to keep doing them? Is it worth it to her if she gets to live well, or has this encounter with Ahsoka and the Pyke Syndicate put things in a new perspective for her? We don’t know, and I doubt we ever will. I’m just not sure why they brought this particular issue up if the intent wasn’t to explore and eventually resolve it. They also made Raffa unbearable and basically evil in the first three episodes only to do a complete turnaround with her in 22 minutes. I’m all for moral ambiguity and exploring complexities within people, but Raffa had essentially no redeeming qualities until she decided to risk her and Trace’s lives to rescue the person whom she previously felt was tearing them apart. It feels like a lot of the fillery moments in “Dangerous Debt,” in which very little actually happened, could have been better used to serve this issue and how the sisters will proceed in the future. The show is about Ahsoka and not them, but it’s weird to emphasize something so much to simply drop it at the end of the story arc.

The action sequences in “Together Again” could use some work. Ahsoka taking on the Pykes was pretty good, albeit a very short scene. However, the fight between the Martezes and the spice suppliers is silly and difficult to take seriously. As we’ve seen with Ahsoka, you can show a conflict where one relatively small person takes out several goons effectively. However, the way they go about doing so is ridiculous; Raffa talks them into giving her the spice without clearance and then tricks the taskmaster into falling into a hole. This is just another on a list of problems I have with the Martez sisters, starting with their designs. As I said, the actresses are pretty good, but they don’t have much else going for them.

Overall, I enjoyed “Together Again” quite a bit, and much more than the mostly superfluous “Dangerous Debt.” Although I still have my issues with the Martez sisters and some of the action in “Together Again,” this episode reunites Ahsoka with Bo-Katan Kryze, brings Maul back into the fold, and ends the story arc on good enough terms while setting up the Siege of Mandalore. I can’t wait to experience each chapter of this final story arc.