I wasn’t a fan of Star Wars: The Clone Wars when its first five seasons originally ran in Cartoon Network. I got to watch some episodes occasionally, but it wasn’t a show I followed closely and got invested on. Since it was set between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, I didn’t think it was necessary watching, since I already know what was going to happen after it. To me, it was just another superfluous product from which Lucasfilm could profit from.
However, The Clone Wars actually turned out being a hit with fans. According to what I read and heard, it actually enriched the lore and had some worthwhile stories to tell, although it does have a couple of irrelevant “filler” episodes. I contemplated getting into it a few times in the past, but never got the “push” to follow through. But with a seventh and final season airing earlier this year, I thought it was finally the perfect time to binge the entire series. To get through it easier, what I did was to watch just the episodes that were determined by the Internet as essential, and skipped the rest.
As what I found out, The Clone Wars totally improves the saga, and it has definitely helped me enjoy the prequels more (yes, on top of watching the animated series, I also re-watched Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith). Now, I don’t hate the prequel trilogy as many do. There are actually many brilliant things about it. Nevertheless, I do recognize that it also has terrible parts – fails in acting, writing, and execution. While The Clone Wars doesn’t necessarily fix anything – the flaws in those movies will always be there – it, however, smoothens out some of its roughness and further bolsters its biggest strengths.
For example, whenever Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker is on screen, he’s either obnoxiously whiny, obnoxiously arrogant, or obnoxiously emo. On the other hand, The Clone Wars’ Anakin Skywalker is more multi-faceted, well-realized, badass, and more likable than his live-action counterpart. And somehow, whatever goodwill the animated Anakin has developed is transferred to the original, live-action Anakin. Now, when I see the character in the prequels, he doesn’t irritate me anymore.
Anakin’s character arc also benefits as a whole. Prior to watching The Clone Wars, I already thought his turn to the dark side in Revenge of the Sithis terrific. However, it feels much more logical and powerful after seeing the animated series flesh him out more. It plants more seeds of his face-heel turn by providing more instances of him succumbing to emotion, Palpantine feeding his ego and low-key seducing him, and the Jedi’s hypocrisy and hubris beginning to disillusion him. Compounding them with the events in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin’s transformation to Darth Vader is pretty well-earned.
But, in my opinion, the part that this animated series has enhanced the most is Order 66. From watching just the movies, I thought that the clones were just soulless, disposable drones – basically just organic versions of the battle droids. But we see from The Clone Wars that they have personalities and conscience. They truly have developed close friendships with their Jedi commanders, and are fiercely loyal to them. As a result, Order 66 becomes more heartbreaking to behold in Revenge of the Sith.
This aspect becomes more evident in the recently finished season 7 – which is undoubtedly one of the best seasons of the show, if not the best. A large part of it is the fact that the animation is way, way superior to prior seasons’ animation. Tons of awesome action sequences and a cinematic feel arise from this. But more than the fantastic visuals, the season is great because it gives the show an extremely impactful narrative wrap-up.
Episodes 1 to 4 feature a riveting clones-centric story arc that once again endears the clones to the audience. I didn’t watch episodes 5-8 because these are the usual needless episodes that each season has. But episodes 9-12 are probably the best The Clone Wars has ever been. The last storyline follows Ahsoka Tano as she takes on Darth Maul. The two even get to have an epic lightsaber battle. However, what really makes these final four episodes noteworthy is that it occurs concurrently with Revenge of the Sith. Yes, with Ahsoka at the center of it, we get to see how tremendously tragic Order 66 is for both clones and Jedi. By hinging the climax on this, the series gets to finish on a strong, poignant note.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – or at least its essential episodes – has long been a splendid, must-see chapter of the Star Wars saga. However, season 7 absolutely doubled its repute.
Hmmm. Maybe an animated series is also the key to improving the Episode VII to IX watching experience.
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