Why You Should Be Watching The Clone Wars

With season 7 of the The Clone Wars now having a release date of February 17th on Disney+, there is no better time than to watch the previous seasons. The show can be somewhat controversial amongst Star Wars fans and to no fault of the show. Older fans who grew up on the movies just can’t bring themselves to sit down and watch a cartoon “because it’s for kids” or any other slew of excuses. I’m here to tell you, you need to swallow that pride and give it a real shot if you love Star Wars. The show fills in the gap between Episode 2 and Episode 3 with wonderfully written stories and many exciting moments.

        With the recent massive success of The Mandalorian, Dave Filoni, one of the shows executive producers has been shot into the stratosphere of stardom for his writing. But if you are a fan of The Clone Wars this is not only nothing new to you, but extremely expected. He has a very good understanding of what it takes to create and develop characters. I’d say better than any other person creating canonical content for Star Wars today.

        Below is a short spoiler free list of the top reasons you as an old or young, grumpy, i hate cartoons, the OT is all that matters, loving star fan you are, should absolutely be watching the Clone Wars.

Anakin’s Fall to the Dark Side

Throughout the current 6 seasons of the Clone Wars, you will see more about Anakin’s slow fall to the dark side. In the theatrical movies this gets really rushed. It is almost hard to believe how quickly he went from true Jedi to killing younglings. There are many moments between Anakin and Palpatine where more seeds are planted to help make this turn believable in the end.

Obi-Wan and Anakin’s relationship

Again this is something that is very poorly done in the movies. Lucas didn’t show many moments with these two actually being “brothers”. Just a couple comments about it but how can we believe it without seeing it? Well in the Clone Wars there is true chemistry between the two. They work wonderfully with each other through dozens of missions and problems. They are saving each other and any viewer will see they do truly think alike, knowing what the other will do next. Filoni created a true bond between the two. That bond they forged makes Anakin’s fall to the dark side hurts 100x more to watch with the addition of the Clone Wars content.

Order 66

In a small story arc in 6th season Filoni goes deep into exactly how Order 66 is setup and executed. There isn’t much here for me to explain without giving anything away but in the movies there is zero explanation on how/why the clones all of a sudden just obeyed a random order sent out to them from Palpatine. The explanation is very believable and is almost heartbreaking to watch unfold.

The connection to The Mandalorian

For folks who watched the Mandalorian and watched Moff Gideon carve his way out of the tie fighter with a black lightsaber like sword, I’m sure they were shocked. Because it is the first weapon like a lightsaber, that isn’t one, they have ever seen. Well fans of the Clone Wars jaws dropped for other reasons. This Darksaber is wielded and shown extensively throughout the show in the hands of a character by the name of Pre Vizla, who is voiced by the one Jon Favreau. We get a small introduction to the sword but it goes much deeper in Star Wars Rebels. Another great connection is we get to see the planet of people of Mandalore in multiple story arcs. The viewer gets a great understanding of what the real mandalorians are in their homeworld and not just what has been portrayed on the big screen. 

Ahsoka

C’mon no Clone Wars list is complete or even accurate without including Ahsoka Tano. She is revealed as a padawan to Anakin and assigned by Master Yoda. Yoda knows that Anakin cannot let go of his past. So by having a padawan, the hope is Anakin will learn to not be so protective of the ones he loves. Ahsoka’s development through the show is carefully crafted and flows wonderfully. She is included in two of my favorite story arcs in the entire show. It is very easy to understand why Ahsoka is one of the most beloved characters in all of Star Wars after you see her in action.

More autograph opportunities!!

This one doesn’t need much explanation but there are so many awesome and talented voice actors behind these characters. They are easily the nicest people I have met in my time collecting autographs. Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka) and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan) are so fun to meet every time because of the care. The excitement they show in meeting each and every fan is unlike anyone else. You’ll never get that from Mark Hamill or Daisy Ridley at a table signing graphs. Plus the voice actors are almost always cheaper than theatrical actors. They typically sign for $40-$50 and you’ll get an interaction to remember forever.

I could go on forever on why you need to watch this show if you love Star Wars. Every fan loves lightsaber fights and you get easily the best of them dozens of times. Most episodes! They are true works of art to watch and a thrill. But the only thing you can do now is fire up Disney+ and binge the heck out of the show until season 7 comes out. You will not be disappointed.