Summary

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars reimagines George Lucas' prequel characters and introduces new ones, becoming a masterpiece that changed how fans view the franchise.
• While some seasons of The Clone Wars are lauded over others, each season offers something for every Star Wars viewer to enjoy, from grandiose battles to quiet contemplative moments.
• Each season of The Clone Wars improved on the last as Dave Filoni and George Lucas experimented with the animation and tone of the series.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars single-handedly helped change how the audience views George Lucas’ prequels. In many ways, Dave Filoni’s masterpiece reinvigorates and reimagines Lucas’ characters, such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, while also introducing new ones like Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex. The Clone Wars spanned seven seasons from 2008 to 2020, and each season tended to improve on the last. From grandiose battles with constant action to the quiet contemplative moments in-between, the series offers something for almost every Star Wars viewer to enjoy. Nevertheless, some seasons of The Clone Wars tend to be lauded over others.

The Clone Wars and its characters have come a long way from the original movie that debuted in 2008. At the time, Ahsoka Tano had just been introduced as Anakin Skywalker’s spunky Padawan and was hated for supposedly breaking Star Wars canon. But every season of the show thereafter slowly established her as one of the most well-rounded and complex characters in the franchise. Now, Ahsoka has earned her own live-action series, featuring several live-action battles from The Clone Wars animation.

7 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1

Highlights: “Rookies,” the Malevolence arc, & the Battle of Ryloth

The Clone Wars season 1 is generally considered to be the weakest of the series. Filoni and Lucas were still experimented and finding the right tone and pacing for the show back in 2008. Many of the arcs are far slower and contemplative than the latter seasons. And while the first season did help establish the feel of the series, time has not been kind to the animation; many of the characters in season 1 are slightly clunky and look harshly lit.

Nevertheless, despite the problems with The Clone Wars season 1, it was monumental in paving the way for Star Wars’ return after the prequels. The Malevolence arc at the beginning of the season showed how the series could tackle large-scale threats. And the standalone episode “Rookies,” helped bring elevate a group of struggling clone troopers into some of the most beloved characters in the franchise. The Battle of Ryloth toward the end of season 1 also showed a softer side of the clones, as troopers Waxer and Boil help a young Twi’lek girl named Numa in the midst of the battle.

6 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 2

Highlights: introduction of the Darksaber, the Second Battle of Geonosis, & Cad Bane’s Raid on the Jedi Temple

The Clone Wars season 2 took several more liberties in exploring the galaxy than its predecessor, but still suffered from similar issues. While Cade Bane had his debut in season 1, his character pulled off the impossible at the beginning of the season by successfully raiding the Jedi Temple. The feat of stealing a holocron under the noses of dozens of Jedi firmly established him as one of the most fearsome bounty hunters in Star Wars.

The Clone Wars season 2 also featured one of the darkest and most gruesome battles in the series: the Second Battle of Geonosis. This battle truly showed what happens when all the Republic’s plans fail, since almost every gunship is shot down in "Landing at Point Rain," before the battle had even begun. Furthermore, season 2 also introduced Pre Vizsla, Mandalore, and the Darksaber, which later became a crucial plot point in The Mandalorian.

5 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 6

Highlights: Fives’ discovery of the inhibitor chips & Yoda’s trials in the Force

The Clone Wars season 6—also known as The Lost Missions—contains one of the most important arcs in entire series. Fives’ discovery of the inhibitor chips inside every clone trooper drastically changed everything about Order 66. With series like The Bad Batch, Star Wars is still exploring the implication of the clones not having free will during the Jedi Purge— even years after Fives’ discovery.

Despite starting with such an important arc, most of the other episodes in The Clone Wars season 6 leave something to be desired. Another highlight is the final arc featuring Yoda traveling to a mysterious Force planet where he learns the truth behind becoming a Force ghost. Season 6 also shows just how far the animation has come since season 1 and 2.

4 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 3

Highlights: the Mortis arc, the introduction of the Nightsisters, & the Citadel arc

The Clone Wars season 3 is right about when Filoni and Lucas really found the perfect formula for Star Wars. Season 3 steps away from the traditional feel of the franchise and embraces the mystical and philosophical side of the galaxy. With the introduction of the Nightsisters, the series added one of the first new on-screen Force-sensitive groups since the Jedi and Sith, greatly expanding how different beings harness the Force.

In just three episodes, the Mortis arc managed to create an allegory for the entire Star Wars franchise. By introducing the Mortis gods, Lucas revealed more about how the balance of the Force works than ever before. And right after the Mortis arc, the season descends to one of the darkest prison escapes in Star Wars: the Citadel arc. Overall, The Clone Wars season 3 was made with a mature audience in mind.

3 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4

Highlights: the Umbara arc, Maul’s return, & Obi-Wan faking his death

The Clone Wars season 4 takes everything that made season 3 great and improves upon on it. The Umbara arc is one of the Clone Wars’ most important stories, as it neatly wraps the brutality and injustice the clones faced during the war. Jedi General Pong Krell is meant to be their leader, yet he disposes and discards them at every turn. In a way, it builds on the same concepts presented in “Rookies,” where the clones are forced to rely on their own strength rather than that of their Jedi generals.

Not only is the Umbara arc fantastic, but The Clone Wars season 4 also features one of the series’ best espionage arcs when Obi-Wan fakes his death and assumes the identity of Rako Hardeen in order to infiltrate a band of bounty hunters. Meanwhile, Anakin flirts with the dark side over having lost his master. And of course, the season 4 finale resurrects Darth Maul from his “death” in The Phantom Menace, elevating him from a flat assassin into one of the most intriguing characters in the franchise.

2 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7

Highlights: the Siege of Mandalore & the introduction of the Bad Batch

While The Clone Wars season 7 has arguably the best arc in the entire series, the rest of the season tends to fall flat. The introduction of the Bad Batch and the rescue of Echo helped set them up for their own series, but the arc with the Martez sisters and Ahsoka is often glossed over or ignored. Of course, as it's the last season of the series, the animation is some of the best The Clone Wars has to offer.

Nevertheless, there’s a reason the Siege of Mandalore is so highly regarded. Kevin Kiner’s haunting score plays beautifully as the series finally meets up with Revenge of the Sith. Filoni brilliantly pits Ahsoka and Maul against one another, as they are both fallen apprentices whose Order has failed them. And as if their duel wasn’t poetic enough, he also shows how horrific and heartbreaking Order 66 was from Ahsoka and Rex’s point of view.

1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5

Highlights: Ahsoka leaving the Jedi Order, Maul’s conquest of Mandalore, & “A Sunny Day in the Void"

The Clone Wars season 5 consistently has some of the best arcs and episodes in the series. George Lucas’ personal favorite Clone Wars episode, “A Sunny Day in the Void,” features a group of droids wandering in a desert. The unusual episode manages to hold the audience’s interest for 27 minutes despite there being very little dialogue or action, highlighting just how bizarre Star Wars can get. Nevertheless, season 5 also features Maul’s conquest of Mandalore, the tragedy of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Duchess Satine, and the gorgeously choreographed lightsaber duel between Maul, Savage, and Sidious.

Finally, The Clone Wars season 5 ends with one of the most shocking twists in the entire series. Filoni and Lucas craft the perfect scenario for Ahsoka to come to with how corrupt and broken the Jedi Order has become. Despite many viewers looking up to the Jedi for five seasons of the show, it takes only four episodes for the showrunners to convince the audience Ahsoka’s decision to leave the Order is the only option. Both Ashley Eckstein and Matt Lanter deliver some of Ahsoka and Anakin’s best voice work. Overall, season 5 brings Ahsoka's journey as a Jedi to a close in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.