Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a 12-episode wrap up to conclude the series. The show has followed a number of characters fans know and love, and has introduced new ones that had deepened the Star Wars lore of the prequel era. Season 7 is meant to tie the loose ends between where the show left off and Revenge of the Sith.
The plan for Clone Wars was always to end the series at Order 66, the command that makes all the clones kill the Jedi. Throughout the season, there have been a number of references, easter eggs, and homages to the live-action films. Here are the top 10 so far. (Spoilers for season 7 up to episode 10, "The Phantom Apprentice.")
10 Episode 4- Gold Leader & Y-Wings / A New Hope
In episode 4, "Unfinished Business," a small battalion of Y-Wing fighters can be seen entering the space battle alongside Jedi Master, Mace Windu on Anaxes. They are queued by the Jedi with the quote, "Gold Leader, you're cleared for launch." The group immediately take off and enter the fray.
The same code name for the Y-wings is used in the Battle of Yavin during A New Hope when the rebellion attack the Death Star. Luke Skywalker is part of the X-wings pilots as Red 5 fighting right alongside a new Gold Leader, who, unfortunately, gets blown up by Darth Vader.
9 Episode 5- Opening Scene / Attack Of The Clones Chase Scene
We first see Ahsoka Tano, the protagonist of The Clone Wars who left the Jedi order, on a beat-up speeder bike in episode 5 "Gone with a Trace," driving through the lower districts of Coruscant. Something with her bike goes haywire and causes the speeder to jerk her off, throwing her into an array of traffic.
The scene feels incredibly familiar when compared to Anakin and Obi-Wan's chase scene of the assassin in Attack of the Clones. Here, Ahsoka feels reminiscent of Anakin in that era, probably being the same age now as he was then. Between the oncoming ships and the maneuvering, she must do around them all feels like a direct reference or homage to Anakin fumbling around Coruscant.
8 Episode 9 - Red Logo & Intro / Revenge of the Sith
Episode 9, "Old Friends Not Forgotten," is the beginning of the Seige of Mandalore arc. Things are officially coming to ahead of all of the characters as stories are wrapping up, and new ones just unfolding. But just as this episode beginnings, something is immediately different from the rest of The Clone Wars series. At the very beginning of the episode, before the opening even, fans are graced with the old school Lucasfilm Limited Productions logo.
Immediately after, The Clone Wars logo appears, only instead of the brilliant gold, it is now a deep red. To accompany it is the Star Wars Theme by John Williams. This new intro is exactly like that of Revenge of the Sith, letting fans know everywhere what exact time period we are in.
7 Episode 9 - Anakin's Surrender / Sarlacc Pit Showdown
At the beginning of the episode, Obi-Wan's forces are being overtaken by the battle droids and are taking cover when Anakin appears. He tells his old master that he can take it from here, with a rash plan he has up his sleeve. Anakin, alone, walks up to the frontlines of where the droids are on the bridge and begins to surrender. He gives the droids an entire speech as his men get ready for their ambush. During Anakin's speech, music from Return of the Jedi plays in the background. The music is from the scene at the Sarlacc Pit, The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assult by John Willaims.
6 Episode 9 - "Grievous Has Taken The Chancellor Captive" / Battle of Coruscant Revenge Of The Sith
Just as Ahsoka is asking Obi-Wan and Anakin for their help to capture Maul in the Seige of Mandalore, the two Jedi get word that Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by General Grievous and is being held hostage right outside of Coruscant. This plot may seem a bit familiar to fans of the prequel trilogy. Revenge of the Sith opens up on what is known as the Battle of Coruscant. Grievous and Count Dooku have taken Palpatine hostage and it is up to Anakin and Obi-Wan to save him. In the episode, they also mention that Shaak-ti, the Togruta Jedi, was guarding the Chancellor during the invasion. She does not appear in the third movie, and this is because Grievous kills her while stealing Palpatine away. Now fans know that this is the final moment before Revenge of the Sith begins.
5 Episode 10 - Anakin Killed Dooku
During a holocall with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka discovers that Anakin has killed Count Dooku. When she finds out, her face warps into fear for her old master and friend. Killing as a Jedi is a tricky subject. If it does with emotions it could easily lead to the dark side. Dooku has been a troubling villain for the duration of the Clone Wars and the prequel trilogy. As fans of the movie would know, Anakin kills Dooku with aggression after being manipulated to do so by Palpatine.
In this same holocall, we also learn of the secret mission the Jedi have given Anakin, to spy on the Chancellor and of Obi-Wan's chase of Grievous. Once again, the show is informing viewers exactly where they are on the timeline of Revenge of the Sith.
4 Episode 10 - Dryden Vos from Solo Talking to Maul
Dryden Voss, the public face of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate from Solo: A Star Wars Story, is working for Maul. We knew of Maul's involvement with Crimson Dawn due to his brief appearance at the end of the film when speaking to Qi'ra.
Seeing him appear in this episode, "The Phantom Apprentice," makes the timeline and involvement even more clear. Maul is the secret leader of the crime syndicate, and at this moment, he is discussing plans with his men before hanging up to go to battle.
3 Episode 10 - Join Me / Kylo Ren
During the throne room scene on Mandalore, Maul makes more than a few references to the live-action films. One of the most prominent instances was the moment when Maul asks Ahsoka to join him in defeating Darth Sidious and his plot. Maul raises his hand for Ahsoka to take. This scene is incredibly reminiscent of another moment from The Last Jedi, in which Kylo Ren asks Rey to join him as the new leaders of the First Order. The pair had just finished their own battle in the throne room after Kylo kills Snoke. Both Rey and Ahsoka seem tempted by their offers before rejecting the dark side users.
2 Episode 10- "Join Me Or Die" / Darth Vader "He Will Join Us Or Die, Master"
After a brief intermission, we see Maul and Ahsoka still in the same state. Maul is begging for Ahsoka's help against the upcoming plot. But as Ahsoka rejects him, Maul grows more and more impatient. He gets angry. In an explosive command, Maul tells the former Jedi "Join me or die." A quote fans have heard in the past. In Empire Strikes Back, when discussing Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader tells Emperor Palpatine "He will join us or die, master." And bouncing off the last entry, Kylo Ren also tells Rey "I want you to join me." The quotes all convey the same message and are all said from a dark sider to a light sider. It seems like the Sith may need some new catchphrases.
1 Episode 10- Fight Scene, Maul's fighting in Phantom Menace
For the final moment on this list, it was no doubt that the fight scene between Maul and Ahsoka wouldn't go mentioned. This fight scene is incredibly impactful for a number of reasons plotwise. But one of the biggest tidbits of this scene is the fact that Ray Park, the stunt actor behind Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace has come back. This episode used motion capture to fully grasp the extension of Maul's combat skills, something we haven't seen much of in The Clone Wars. For the first time in this series, Maul uses his iconic double-sided lightsaber again.