3 Ups & 3 Downs From Star Wars: Clone Wars 7.5 - Gone With A Trace
Gone With a Trace is a step down from the last episode but a nice hello to an old friend.
Ashoka Tano is back.
The breakout character of Star Wars: The Clone Wars hasn't fully appeared in an episode of the show since she left the Jedi order in Season 5. She appears in Yoda's vision in Season 6's Destiny, but beyond that, she sits out the entire season.
To make up for Ashoka's absence in Season 6 and the first story arc of Season 7, she plays the lead role in Gone With a Trace, appearing in just about every scene. The episode follows Ashoka's misadventures with her new friend, mechanic Trace Martez. The two fight off debt collectors and rogue droids before Ashoka reveals herself to the public as a Jedi on the run, having to say goodbye to Trace and her sister Rafa for good.
The episode isn't as flashy as the previous story arc, which followed the clone troopers in battle. It's much quieter and goofier. Despite not doing much, it does what it needs to do: Reintroduce Ashoka, establish that she's in hiding from the Jedi, and give her something fun to do for an episode.
Here are 3 ups and 3 downs from Gone With a Trace...
6. Down - Bike Crash
The episode starts with Ashoka calmly riding her speeder bike throughout Coruscant. Out of nowhere, it starts to spark, and flips her upside down. She desperately tries to hold on to the bike, accidentally running on top of other people's vehicles, eventually crashing in Trace's workshop.
The bike crash felt very slapstick and silly. It didn't work as either an action piece or a joke.
Additionally, Ashoka's bike's randomly malfunctioning is a contrived way to start off the episode. It's a huge coincidence that her bike would suddenly stop working and that she would crash right by someone who could help her fix it. It would have been much more exciting to see the episode start with Ashoka running from a real threat, like people who would turn her in to the Jedi, rather than a malfunctioning speeder bike.