Ah, The Clone Wars. Overrated? Underrated? Hard to tell. People seem to either think it's the greatest thing in Star Wars, or a childish imitation of the multimedia project that came before it. Lately, I gave the show a rewatch as part of my mega marathon that started on May the 4th, and I also reread the tie-in comics and "Dark Disciple". So here are some thoughts that absolutely no one asked for:If you ask me, the truth about TCW does lie somewhere in the middle. I think the show takes a while to gain its footing, to the point that I found myself mentally dividing it into two parts: before and after the models change for the heroes in "Heroes on both sides". I also think it can be very inconsistent in terms of quality and tone. One minute we're watching two episodes of R2 and 3PO on a trippy, goofy adventure, the literal next we're going to space Vietnam in the Umbara arc. Talk about tonal whiplash. In the earlier seasons (2 and half), I'd say the episodes that I thought were great/good include "Jedi Crash", "Ambush", "The Deserter", the Domino Squad arc, the Ryloth arc, the Geonosis arc and Boba's Revenge arc. The rest ranged from pretty decent kids entertainment, to forgettable or less than good. The writers that caught my eye were: Katie Lucas (Asajj betrayed arc. Nightsister massacre arc. Maul Returns arc. The Fives arc).Matt Michnovetz (The Citadel arc, Umbara arc and the Bad Batch arc)Christian Taylor (Mortis arc. Yoda's walkthrough arc),Chris Collins, (Onderon arc. Maul and Mandalore arc) I'd also give a very honorable mention for Daniel Arkin ("Heroes on Both Sides", "Pursuit of Peace")Charles Murray (Ahsoka's trial)Henry Gilroy (Slaves of the Republic. Although the comic handled Anakin and the subject of slavery a lot better)Dave Filoni (Siege of Mandalore) And I'd say that those were the arcs I loved. Most of the rest was decent/good, although some of it I didn't care for. We didn't need an episode about R2 and 3PO buying fruit to set up Cad Bane's attack on the senate, somehow, for some reason, D-Squad might be George Lucas' favorite arc, and the less said about Mace and Jar Jar's adventure, the better. The show sometimes rivals the best of the EU and sometimes feels like the children's entertainment it is. Now, some more thoughts: Anakin's portrayal:I've spoken before about that. I think the show jumped straight to the Anakin of early RotS. He's the cunning warrior, the accomplished general, and the bantering, yet loyal, friend. Albeit the show makes him more extroverted and charming. There are moments where angsty movie Anakin comes out, but they're kinda far and in-between. Personally, I wonder if the show could've realistically evolved Anakin from insecure Padawan to knight/accomplished general before introducing Ahsoka around the middle. Part of why I love comics like "Star Wars" by Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen is the effort the writers put into evolving the characters from one version to another. Luke goes from naive and green Jedi wannabe, to a more mature and seasoned, yet flawed, Padawan/leader. Han gradually becomes more loyal and involved when it comes to the rebellion, and proves his worth as a natural leader. Leia's relationships with Han and Luke are also fleshed out. Thankfully, TCW starts six months after AotC, I believe. In that period I squeeze the first attack on Kamino, the battle of Jabiim and Anakin's walkthrough with A'sharad Hett (all from the "Republic" comics). Not to mention "Brotherhood* by Mike Chen and "Age of the Republic - Anakin Skywalker" by Jody Houser. Together, they form that missing link. Ahsoka Tano: Oh, Ahsoka. At some point, probably my second favorite star wars leading lady. Now I'm not sure. Her existence is a little contrived given the lack of mention in RotS, but I can accept it. Especially since it came from George. Ahsoka goes from a reckless, snarky action girl, to a wiser and stronger individual with the courage to walk away from everything she knows. Personally, I find her to be a less interesting version of Luke in some ways, at least in TCW. And I can't help but find Anakin/Obi-Wan and Kanan/Ezra to be much more interesting master/padawan dynamics compared to Anakin's fairly simple relationship with Ahsoka. Nevertheless, she is a very enjoyable character who clearly resonated with a lot of people, and I still do love her. Asajj Ventress: Probably my favorite character arc in the show. Asajj's story is that of someone twisted by trauma, and redeemed by loss as she has to reevaluate her life and find a new path. Darth Maul: Okay his return was kinda stupid, but damn was he awesome. Every episode with him is a banger, and Sam Witwer owns every scene with his passion. The Clone Wars turns Maul into a sith arguably more tragic than Vader. Unlike Anakin, Maul never chose the dark side, he was born into it. And whatever twisted resemblance of love he found, was always taken from him. The Chips: Love the Fives arc, but boy am I mixed on the chips. On one hand, I see them as an expansion on the "genetically modified to be obedient" angle and a good explanation for order 66's high success. On the other hand, they were unnecessary, and took away the clones' agency in their most important role/scene. The EU offered more variety in their reaction and was more interesting, but ultimately, I find merit in both versions of order 66. Barriss: I haven't read the medstar duology. But as much as I overall quite like the "Ahsoka's trial" arc, Barriss was not handled well in it. She's mostly relegated to a plot device to drive Ahsoka's story/arc. We never see the journey of Barriss from selfless Padawan to disillusioned terrorist. It happens off-screen and we don't see what shaped it. The worst part is probably the "Barriss was right" crowd. The Mandalorians:Honestly, not much thoughts on them. The push/pull between tradition and the need for peace is interesting, but The Clone Wars never fleshes them out significantly. And You're basically stuck between death watch and the new Mandalorians. Factions like Jaster Mereel's were missing. I remember Mandies being better and more fleshed out in Rebels, partially because a main character was a mandie. Funnily enough, I remember the mandies in Rebels being more like Mereel's faction. via /r/StarWars https://ift.tt/Ig7WxwY
