The Clone Wars Double Take: On the Wings of Keeradaks

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: On the Wings of Keeradaks.

Fabio’s Double Take

On the Wings of Keeradaks brings the first arc of The Clone Wars season seven to closer to an end as our heroes—comprised of Anakin, Rex, the Bad Batch, and the rescued Echo—soar out of the Techno Union headquarters and into more trouble. Although the episode’s duration is merely 19 minutes, the daring escape of our heroes is action packed and left me fully satisfied. Here are some of my favorite moments of the episode:

• The Decimator: Echo’s rescue intensifies as General Skywalker, Rex, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair continue to hold off the Techno Union’s endless droid reinforcements. They buy time for Tech who’s trying to decrypt Echo’s cerebral interface to ultimately unplug the clone from the processing unit. As the droids close in on our heroes, Wat Tambor—accompanied by two more Skakoans—decides to take the matter in his own hands (well, not quite). He deploys the Decimator, a deadly droid with energy tentacles that seeks out organic matter to vaporize (the full capabilities of this killing machine were actually cut from the final version of the show released on Disney+). Luckily for our heroes, Wrecker saves the day with his unnatural strength by throwing each clone up to the ceiling and into an exhaust vent (Anakin tells Wrecker he has got this, and Force jumps).
• The Keeradaks: Our heroes’ escape continues on the backs of the keeradaks, mighty local flying creatures that resemble the Gorgaras from Jedi: Fallen Order (although Cal’s encounter with the creature was less pleasant). I loved how this was Tech’s time to shine. His brilliant idea of using a pre-recorded (apparently, recording everything is his hobby) distress call to summon the flying creatures saved the day.
• Those things can fly: Just because they weren’t terrifying enough, the blasting D-Wing droids can fly. I can’t stress enough how much I am scared of these horrifying droids. They’re like mechanical flamingos, licensed to kill. As our heroes try to head back to the locals’ camp, the killing droid flamingos continue the aerial chase. The scene is oddly a homage (or maybe the other way around) to the Pasaana speeder chase in The Rise of Skywalker, where the heroes of the Resistance recite the infamous line “They fly now! They fly now? They fly now.”

The episode wraps up with a final confrontation between the native villagers and the army of the Techno Union—the latter succumbing to the hands of General “Show off” Skywalker and his team. Echo—after a long time of technological abuse—can finally go home to his family, to his fellow clones.

Ross’ Double Take

During this episode we were able to see Anakin being himself—maybe for the last time? We keep inching closer to Mustafar and Order 66 so it was so nice to see the chosen one displaying heroism, leadership and skill as he helped lead his small troop of clones through a very short, yet solid, 19 minute episode.

• General Skywalker—the Jedi: As Echo—in a lighthearted moment during battle—says, “Still showing off, uh, General?” and Anakin replies, “You know me, Echo,” it feels good to see the Jedi we love—knowing where he is headed. He runs and jumps off the cliff to land on the massive walker and starts slicing and dicing up the war machine like it’s a toy. His fluidity and power in the Force is breathtaking and there are so many beautiful examples of it in this episode.
• Tech: The cerebrally gifted clone continues to show his skills but I feel like he is being set up for even more. At the 2:57 mark is an amazing shot of his eyes reflecting off the red digital schematics of Echo as he works to disconnect him from the cerebral interface. And then to assist in their rescue he calls back on a pre-recorded sound made to call the keeradaks. Hunter explains to everyone about Tech that, “He records everything—it’s a hobby.” I’m waiting to see what he learns and records in a later episode and what impact it has on the Star Wars story moving forward.
• They fly now! They fly now? They fly now: Oh, the tricky battle droids of Wat Tambor. Just as our heroes appear to escape the enhanced army turns into metallic velociraptors with iridescent wings and continue the chase in the sky. Luckily for Anakin and crew, their shot in the sky is just as bad as it is on the ground. It is a fun touch but also scary how the Separatist forces keep evolving their weapons—backed by the banking clan and techno union.
• No One is Safe: At 12:43 the harsh reality of this season really kicks in. A native forced into battle for protection is slaughtered, close-up, by a battle droid. It is only the beginning of the devastation unleashed on this tribe—many of whom do not survive this battle. A sign of even more to come from the enemies of freedom and good.
• Just Like Old Times: That ending was ominous and I’m deeply concerned with Echo and what he truly is now that he is basically a cyborg. If this isn’t Anakin becoming Darth Vader foreshadowing I don’t know what is. Upon hearing the outcome of the battle, Tambor is upset at the potential loss of profits and recouping their profit margins. Echo ends the episode by agreeing with Rex, “Yeah. Just like old times,” but with trepidation, doubt and eyes that seem to be from a tired and tortured soul—as ominous music from Kevin Kiner’s excellent score haunts the close. What does Echo know?

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