The prequels never looked so good! (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, In Memoriam)

     There are few things that fans of the Star Wars franchise can agree on with the same certainty as the statement, "The prequels are the worst!" I never had too much of an issue with them, perhaps because I was too young to see the original trilogy in theaters, or perhaps because I was a little kid and much more open to things at that age. With the exception of Episode 2, I didn't have much of an issue with the prequels, I actually thought they were pretty good. As the years went by, however, I've grown to like them for how corny and weird they are, instead of thinking they're actually good. The prequel movies have gotten a lot of flack for a long time, but thankfully, Star Wars: The Clone Wars came along to actually improve a lot of aspects of the trilogy, as well as the series as a whole. This animated series began with a movie that was put in theaters for a time, and introduced the world to Anakin Skywalker's apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. In addition to introducing this new character (which appears to be a fan favorite if Disney's current streaming schedule is any indication), it also does a great job of further developing some of the characters from the prequels, as well as a few from Episodes 4,5, and 6.

Jedi Jamboree

    When I was a kid, Kit Fisto, Luminara Anduli, Ki Adi Mundi, and other characters were little more than other Jedi that you could play as in Lego Star Wars. Other than the scene in Attack of the Clones with the arena fight and the scene in Revenge of the Sith where it showed the Jedi being hunted and killed after Order 66, there wasn't much that we even saw of most of them. Mundi got a bit more screen time, just because he was a member of the Jedi Council, but he didn't have any major role in the franchise as a whole. That all changes with this show. There are major plots with Plo Koon, Luminara, Ki Adi, Kit Fisto, Shaak Ti, even the much hated Jar Jar Binks, showing some sides of them that we didn't see in the movies. Master Shaak Ti was apparently in charge of overseeing the cloning program on Kamino, which I certainly didn't realize, but the show did a great job of showing how she was like the headmistress of a clone academy. There are even several arcs entirely devoted to showing how the Jedi council is suspicious, but unable to prove that a Sith is coming to power somewhere in the shadows. Yoda himself has one of the most interesting arcs in the whole show after receiving a message seemingly from an old friend who died many years before. Yoda has always seemed like a perfect being, so it's interesting to have an arc where he's coming to terms with his own avarice as he's learning the secrets of the universe and the Force. I won't go into that storyline as it's heavy into spoiler territory, I just mean to say that the show actually makes the viewer care a lot more about what happens in Episode 3, as well as all of the other entries in the series.

Order 66: How does it work?

    Order 66 has always been confusing to me. In Episode 3, I assumed that the clones were always working for the Emperor and when given the order they were to drop the charade and immediately go into Jedi-hunting mode. The Clone Wars really changed that perception, though. The clones in the series all have different personalities, and although they all share the same genetic makeup, they all act like normal people with their own feelings. The clones have definitely been programmed, but not like droids. The truth of the matter is that the clones were all designed with an organic micro chip implanted in their brains that would be activated when Emperor Palpatine gave the signal, and that chip made the clones switch into Jedi-killing sleeper agents. I'm sure this information has been revealed in other ways, such as reference books that have been released in the years since 2004 when Episode 3 came out, but I've never been familiar with it until now. There's also something to be said about showing versus telling, as it means a lot more to the audience to actually see the mental change in the clones as opposed to simply reading about this situation. Of course, we do see Order 66 in the movie, but there's no evidence that they were anything other than paid mercenaries working solely for the Emperor. In The Clone Wars, we see years and years go by as the clones and Jedi fight side by side, creating meaningful connections and trusting each other through the whole duration of their conflict against the Separatists and the droid army, making this organic chip make much more sense. There are storylines in the series where clones discover this secret programming and are immediately hunted down by Count Dooku under orders from Darth Sideous, and these are among some of the most interesting concepts for episodes. We even see another account of Order 66 in the final season of the show, which I won't spoil, but it is a heartbreaking scene when you've grown attached to the characters for the past 7 seasons.

The Clone Wars isn't just about the clones

    It's not just the issue with Order 66 and the clones, of course. Every character is fleshed out in an interesting way, including Count Dooku, his secret apprentice, Asajj Ventriss, as well as many others. Dooku certainly gets much more development in this show, showing how he's not just a villain, he's also a beloved leader of the Separatist alliance, humanizing the other side of the issues in a way that is certainly never shown in the movies. Ahsoka, Anakin's apprentice, even gets a love interest in the form of the son of a Separatist senator. Nothing comes of it, really, other than Ahsoka beginning to see that the Separatists aren't that different from the Republic, and ends up seeing the war for what it is before the Jedi council can. She doesn't know about Palpatine being behind the whole threat, but she sees that someone is definitely pulling the strings on both sides, as there are many Separatists that feel the same way as the Republic leaders. Padme learns that lesson as well, while we see Anakin getting closer and closer to the war effort, befriending Captain Tarkin, who of course becomes Grand Moff Tarkin, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial army in the original trilogy of films. Anakin is constantly kept in the dark from plans in this show, giving better reasoning for his anger in Episode 3 which eventually turns him against the Jedi. We also see Obi-Wan given some very interesting character development that I can't expound upon, but we see that he may not be the perfect Jedi that he's always tried to be. Ventriss, Dooku's apprentice, begins a series of events that brings the Night Sisters of Dathomir into the spotlight for the first time as far as I'm aware. They are incredibly important to the series as a whole, as they also brought about one of the best known characters from the prequels. I don't want to spoil who I'm referring to, as they show up in this series as well. There are all kinds of great characters and cameos from other parts of the Star Wars universe that you wouldn't expect, and all of the characters that appear receive more development from being in this series.

There's a Tano to love about this show!

    Going into this show, I really only knew one thing, which was that Anakin has an apprentice named Ahsoka. She starts out as a kid essentially, learning from Anakin about the ways of the force, which he also doesn't understand that well. By the end of the show, however, she's an extremely well developed character and you have to worry about how her relationship to Anakin will affect her in the long run, given how her master ultimately becomes the greatest villain in the franchise. Ahsoka was truly the heart of this series, even though you don't realize it until almost the very end. Considering the second to last season is almost completely without her, when she finally shows up again in the final season, it really makes you appreciate her a lot more. I'm to the point where Ahsoka is definitely one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe, and I can't wait to see what happens with her now that she's getting her own live action series on Disney+. I feel bad for Rosario Dawson having to put all that make up on, there's no telling how much time that will take, but I'm so excited for whenever that show comes out.

    Obviously with all of this exposition, you'd think that I would have some sort of nostalgia for this show, but truly I don't. I actually just finished this series about two or three weeks ago after years and years of people telling me how good it was. I always assumed that this was more of a cash grab to make more merchandise, but there are a lot of stories here to tell. There's so much about this show that I really can't say here without giving spoilers, and honestly I may be giving spoilers away as it is. The point of this post is mainly to say, if you give Star Wars: The Clone Wars a chance, I can almost guarantee that you'll have a good time. A word of warning, however, the first season or two are not great. It definitely takes a while for this show to find it's footing, but once it gets into the groove, it keeps you hooked for the rest of the show. Dave Filoni, the showrunner for this series as well as Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorean, clearly knows what he's doing. Honestly, if Disney continues making Star Wars content like they have been, they would be wise to let Filoni in on the action, perhaps give him a similar role to the one that Kevin Feige has, but with the Star Wars universe instead of Marvel. That would be a Star Wars universe that people could get behind, perhaps slowly winning back the fans that were burned after Episode 9 didn't live up to expectations.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends! I know this would normally be my week where I would write about theme parks, but I thought I'd take a little break to talk about a show that I really ended up loving. If you've seen the show, maybe write in the comments about one of your favorite moments (spoiler free, of course). I may end up writing a piece on Star Wars Rebels as well, as I just finished that series recently and it was also a good time. I'll be back next week to discuss some Theme Park news and some exciting new ideas for them! I hope you're all safe and I hope you'll all have a good week. I'll talk to you next Friday!