Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7, episode 3, "On the Wings of Keeradaks" has cut a dark and potentially disturbing scene from its broadcast on Disney+. The final season of the animated series is currently airing on the Disney streaming platform, concluding a show canceled years prior and completing its bridge to the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
Not long after cancellation, however, a handful of Clone Wars episodes that had been partway completed were released online. These story reels were unfinished, consisting of rough animations set to the actors' recorded dialogue, but they did reveal some of the upcoming adventures Clone Wars had planned prior to cancellation. With the revival of Clone Wars on Disney+ for a final season, some of these previously unfinished episodes are now included in the new season 7. For instance, the first arc in Clone Wars season 7 involving the Bad Batch comes directly from those story reels. Yet, there have been a few notable changes between the original Clone Wars story reels and the episodes now airing on Disney+.
In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7, episode 3, "On the Wings of Keeradaks", there is a scene where Wat Tambor unleashes a weapon called the Decimator on Anakin, Rex, and the Bad Batch as they're attempting to escape with the recently rescued Echo. In the Disney+ episode, Tambor sends the droid into a room with Anakin and the clones, but they escape through a vent before it activates and attacks. As described in "On the Wings of Keeradaks", the small, round, levitating droid seeks out organic matter with energy tendrils, but the episode doesn't offer any details about what it does once it finds its target. In the original story reel for "On the Wings of Keeradaks", however, there's a scene of Tamboor demonstrating the Decimator on a Poletec and it shows the device's energy tendrils seek out the alien and turn him into goo. In the final version of the episode now available on Disney+, this scene is removed altogether.
A scene of an innocent alien being murdered is an example how Clone Wars became more mature as it progressed, though always within the realm of its TV-PG rating. Still, the manner in which it's suggested this Poletec is killed by the Decimator in the original Clone Wars story reel is unsettling, to say the least. Even without the finished effects, the scene of an alien being liquefied is a gruesome death, and far more graphic than a character dying by blaster fire or in an explosion. Though we don't yet know for sure, and the scene of Tambor demonstrating the Decimator could have been cut for any number of reasons, it's likely the scene was considered too intense for a children's show on Disney+. After all, Disney has already shown they will remove movies and series if they decide their content isn't suitable for the family audience the company caters to with Disney+. For example, the recent removal of Love, Simon spinoff from Disney+ in favor of Hulu.
Regardless of why the scene is cut, "On the Wings of Keeradaks" could still do with some explanation for exactly what it is Tambor sends to attack Anakin, Rex, Echo, and Clone Force 99. As it stands now, it's merely a nondescript killer ball droid, whereas in the story reel, the Decimator is a terrifying new weapon developed by the Techno Union. The Clone Wars season 7 has already shown the ingenuity of the Techno Union with the new Battle Droids, but a weaponized droid like the Decimator makes them even more dangerous. In the end, this change doesn't really effect the overall story of "On the Wing of Keeradaks", but As The Clone Wars continues its final season, it'll be interesting to note in what other ways the new episodes differ from the story beats that had been previously established.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 continues next Friday, March 13th with "Unfinished Business" on Disney+.