The Clone Wars Double Take: Deal No Deal

Welcome to The Clone Wars Double Take—where Fabio and Ross (and maybe even special guests) will give some quick thoughts regarding the latest episodes of The Clone Wars (Season 7) on Disney+. On this article we will cover The Clone Wars: Deal No Deal.

Fabio’s Double Take

The all-female trio—Ahsoka Tano, Trace and Rafa Martez—are back in action and right into trouble as they get themselves involved in a dangerous spice run. Deal No Deal continues to develop the dynamics between the three female leads of this story arc—and it brings a nostalgic Solo: A Star Wars Story flair with the inclusion of a Kessel run, the Pyke Syndicate, and of course a dangerous cargo of “medicine”. Here are my favorite moments from the episode:

• Skywalker Academy: Ahsoka cannot fully let go of her past. She spent most of her life as a Jedi alongside her Master Anakin Skywalker—and it deeply shaped who she is as a person. She inherited many things from her Master—his mechanic skills for one—but also his sense of humor. Ahsoka’s effort in hiding the truth about her academic past—changing from Jedi to Skywalker Academy—was hilarious! On the other hand, her brief encounter with Anakin through the Force was a beautiful and emotional moment. I can’t wait for the two to have one final reunion before Order 66.
• The Silver Angel: The modified Nebula Class freighter finally gets a name reveal. I think Silver Angel perfectly fits with Trace’s young and hopeful personality and it will guard our heroes through the risky path they have taken. My heart soared as the ship lifted off from the lower levels to the breathtaking cityscapes of Coruscant to finally jump into hyperspace—thanks to Kevin Kiner’s gorgeous musical accompaniment that is as Star Wars as it can possibly be.
• Spice Run, Kessel Run: Probably my favorite part of the episode was our heroes’ journey to Kessel. The episode took us to the spice mines—a location that chronologically will later be visited by Tobias Beckett and crew, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The Silver Angel’s captain Rafa Martez negotiates a deal with Kinash Lock of the Royal family of Kessel to transport spice to Marg Krim of the Pyke Syndicate on Oba Diah. That’s when the deal goes sideways after some bad decisions by each one of the Silver Angel’s crew that got me cursing—then laughing—after Trace dumping 30,000 credits of spice into space!

This episode picked up the pace and the stakes for the newly established Silver Angel crew. I absolutely enjoyed the new character dynamics between Ahsoka, Trace, and Rafa. I can’t wait to see how it will evolve and how much more trouble they will get into with the Pykes!

Ross’ Double Take

Ahsoka Tano is experiencing growing pains as she attempts to transition out of the only life she has ever known. On her own—away from the Jedi and their morals—the real world is proving a tough pill to swallow—especially when home base is Level 1313 on Coruscant. Her only reprieve is her new friend Trace Martez—but there is major culture shock there as well, both coming from different places and means of survival. Two events in this episode screamed homage to the original trilogy to me and there was also some Solo: A Star Wars Story love to “spice” things up (#dadjoke):

• Pressure: The tension continues to bubble with Trace, Rafa and Ahsoka throughout the episode as the Togruta is finally a source of positive influence in the younger sister’s life. Rafa recognizes the threat and becomes even more territorial, knowing her sister is an important asset. At some point Trace is going to have to make a tough decision.
• Bad Decision: Speaking of Trace making decisions, she makes an irrational one—and pays homage to Han Solo and the reason Jabba the Hutt put a bounty on his head—when she dumps the spice shipment they are supposed to deliver to the Pyke Syndicate. Now they are out 30,000 credits worth of product and have to figure out how to escape the scenario (which we won’t know more about until next week). This also made me wonder what we’re going to learn about a certain Resistance pilot in Star Wars: Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura scheduled for an Aug. 4, 2020 release.
• The Yaruba Kingdom: Hello political statement. Trace and Rafa have been so worried about getting by their while lives that they have no idea slavery is rampant on Kessel. They start by visiting the palace of the Yaruba family where the King’s majordomo, Kinash Lock, explains, “The Yaruba family of Kessel has always been a promoter of health and happiness across the stars.” The mines on the other part of the planet boldly state otherwise as their slaves work lines their pockets.
• Mirror: No, this is not the reflection off Trace’s starship, the Silver Angel. It is the shot-for-shot sequence of Anakin Skywalker feeling Ahsoka through the Force as the three females make their way off Coruscant to run Rafa’s mystery job. It is masterfully paralleled with the sequence from Return of the Jedi as Luke Skywalker and friends attempt to reach the forest moon of Endor—and Darth Vader senses his son is on the ship and allows them to pass. Bravo, Dave Filoni and team.
• #makesolo2happen: I loved seeing the Silver Angel emerge from the Akkadese Maelstrom—complete with storm clouds, lightning and rumbles of thunder as they left Kessel. So much nostalgia was packed into this episode.

We would love to hear your thoughts and reactions on the chapter through a comment below. If you choose to engage in the conversation on social media, make sure to use #TheCloneWarsSpoilers as we try to be mindful of fellow fans who may not have watched the latest chapter yet. Visit our Twitter and Instagram for more Star Wars fun and May the Force be with you!