“Never become desperate enough to trust the untrustworthy.”

The penultimate episode of the fifth season of The Clone Wars continues the Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) arc that sees her framed for the murder of a bombing suspect. With nods to Hitchcock titles the collection of episodes was written by Charles Murray and first aired on 23 February, 2013.

Ahsoka is on the run, and in the criminal underworld of Coruscant finds an unlikely ally. Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman), working now as a bounty hunter captures Ahsoka, but the pair work together to mutual advantage even as a cadre of clones led by Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Plo Koon (James Arnold Taylor) set off in pursuit of them.

Ahsoka still believes she has help on the inside to discover who framed her, and is in contact with her fellow padawan, Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger). But is it enough?

After it appears that Asajj turns on her, Ahsoka is captured, and Anakin, upset that his padawan is apparently guilty of the crimes she has committed takes her into custody and the episode closes with her being returned to the Jedi Temple for trial.

It’s a great episode, playing out as one long chase, and it’s very obvious who the real murderer is at this point (if not before) and that puts us ahead of Ahsoka, which is unfortunate… investigation-wise I wish we were at the same point. We know something is off, and we’re this close to the truth, we just can’t quite see it.

Sharp-eyed viewers already know who is responsible, and now we’re waiting for Ahsoka and the rest of the Jedi to catch up.

“Never give up hope, no matter how dark things seem.”

The final episode of season five, aired on 2 March, 2013, and puts Ahsoka on trial before the Jedi Council and the senate.

Anakin is still determined to prove his padawan’s innocence and sets off in pursuit of Ventress. But things aren’t going to go easy for these characters, and whether her innocence is proven or not, the episode’s end reveals a new path for Ahsoka.

In fact, to ensure she gets a fair trial, Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) demands that she be expelled from the Jedi order, and a military trial by the Senate is the only way for a transparent resolution. The council agrees, and even after Anakin proves that Barriss is the one responsible for the murder, and the bombing, Ahsoka decides not to return to the Jedi.

They didn’t trust or believe in her, how can she do the same?

It’s a poignant ending to Ahsoka’s arc in the series. Or at least this far in the series, as I know she returns in season seven, but this reveal at what seemed to be the last episode of the series at the time, this was a powerful way to end off.

The series would return a year later with a season known as The Lost Missions, but they take place after Ahoka’s departure from the Jedi.

Next week, the battle rages on, as I begin season six of The Clone Wars. Until then, may the Force be with you…

Always.