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I want to watch The Clone Wars but I don't want to watch the bad episodes, what do I do.
- Thread starter SolVanderlyn
- Start date
I agree season 1 and 2 were slow but clone wars beginning was even worse. Rebels has my favorite cast. Even the droids were really good. Sabine was a strong character.
Nah, I don't agree. I mean, I do agree that Season 1 and 2 of Clone Wars were the weakest, and also more kid-targeting... but they were not half of the series. They also were still better than Rebels' first two. Even with a lot of weak episodes, at least they had stories that went more than 20 minutes long. At least they developed some of the characters. Season 2 of TCW especially started to have some pretty good arcs like Geonosis, Death Watch, and Death Trap. Nothing in Rebels' first two seasons comes close to those. Rebels wishes it had a random episodic arc as good as something like 'Zillo Beast'. Even directly comparing 20 minute episodes, Rookies does a better job at developing a cast of characters and telling a pretty good (though still simple) story in one 20 minute episode than Rebels does in an entire season.
Like I said in the other post, I agree Sabine is a strong character... eventually. Like the rest, they don't even bother to try to do anything remotely interesting with her in the first two years.
I thought most of the ideas / scenes developped in TLJ were garbage, but that doesn't make them any less canon or important.
This being said the Story Group has shown they aren't adverse to retconing/ ignoring their own lore and scripts, so who knows if Mortis will ever be fully acknowledged in the main line films?
The most I can hope for is a tie-in in the rumored Rebels spin off, as they already dove in Force Mysticism with S4e13 "A World between Worlds" .
I mean if you like the themes of a story told with the subtlety of a nuclear bomb then sure
Whether you personally like it or not, they are not episodes people should be told to skip
It's worth noting Filoni was less involved in season 1 and took a more active role during season 2, hence the big glow-up in terms of quality, inclusion of Clone Wars characters, etc.
So with Mando S2 coming up I'm gonna try and fit in Clone Wars S6 and S7 and maybe Rebels too before my 3 month sub expires. Is there a watchlist for Rebels or do I have to watch the whole thing
Watch the whole thing. Some may argue most of season 1 is skippable, but I disagree, since it helps you get to know the characters.
Did you watch the rest of clone wars before S6? If you haven't, especially for Mando stuff, I would highly recommend at least watching S5 (apart from the droid arc) as well.
For Rebels I think most of S1 is skippable. As far as Mando-important stuff there isn't anything until S3, but I wouldn't miss out on the season 2 finale... provided you've seen season 5 of Clone Wars AT LEAST.
EDIT:
This isn't a horrible guide all things considered, though I really do believe there are even more skippable episodes than even this guide suggests... but at least it cuts out the truly painful ones:
The thing about the unimportant episodes of Rebels is that it does a lot of world building and really helps sell the crew as a family.
Also some of it comes back up.
How the hell is Lost Commanders skippable?Did you watch the rest of clone wars before S6? If you haven't, especially for Mando stuff, I would highly recommend at least watching S5 (apart from the droid arc) as well.
For Rebels I think most of S1 is skippable. As far as Mando-important stuff there isn't anything until S3, but I wouldn't miss out on the season 2 finale... provided you've seen season 5 of Clone Wars AT LEAST.
EDIT:
This isn't a horrible guide all things considered, though I really do believe there are even more skippable episodes than even this guide suggests... but at least it cuts out the truly painful ones:
Plot is side story but really important characters link up with the crew in that episode
It isn't saying it's skippable. The way I read the guide, the only "skippable" episodes are the ones greyed out. Ie, episodes like "Idiot's Array" or "Always Two There Are".
Going to use this, thanksDid you watch the rest of clone wars before S6? If you haven't, especially for Mando stuff, I would highly recommend at least watching S5 (apart from the droid arc) as well.
For Rebels I think most of S1 is skippable. As far as Mando-important stuff there isn't anything until S3, but I wouldn't miss out on the season 2 finale... provided you've seen season 5 of Clone Wars AT LEAST.
EDIT:
This isn't a horrible guide all things considered, though I really do believe there are even more skippable episodes than even this guide suggests... but at least it cuts out the truly painful ones:
I was watching the show weekly back then, butDid you watch the rest of clone wars before S6? If you haven't, especially for Mando stuff, I would highly recommend at least watching S5 (apart from the droid arc) as well.
For Rebels I think most of S1 is skippable. As far as Mando-important stuff there isn't anything until S3, but I wouldn't miss out on the season 2 finale... provided you've seen season 5 of Clone Wars AT LEAST.
EDIT:
This isn't a horrible guide all things considered, though I really do believe there are even more skippable episodes than even this guide suggests... but at least it cuts out the truly painful ones:
There's some forgettable episodes so follow the above list.
Did you watch the rest of clone wars before S6? If you haven't, especially for Mando stuff, I would highly recommend at least watching S5 (apart from the droid arc) as well.
For Rebels I think most of S1 is skippable. As far as Mando-important stuff there isn't anything until S3, but I wouldn't miss out on the season 2 finale... provided you've seen season 5 of Clone Wars AT LEAST.
EDIT:
This isn't a horrible guide all things considered, though I really do believe there are even more skippable episodes than even this guide suggests... but at least it cuts out the truly painful ones:
I always feel like charts like this are basically for people who only care about plot and not character development.
Yep.
They just want to hear about their looooooooooooooooooore, and world building.
You're obviously going to miss small beats of character moments by skipping any episode, but as you can plainly see even with that guide, not that much is cut out. Rebels especially is basically a saturday morning cartoon in the early goings that HAS NO character development outside of Ezra and Kanan. That's actually one of my biggest complaints with the whole series. Hera runs heavily on her personality but they barely get into developing her. Sabine essentially doesn't exist until season 3, when finally they then turn her into a great character over those final two seasons. Zeb never has development. Chopper is a droid. So really all you're missing, especially in the early goings, are these pre-established character archetypes interacting -- which is not a big loss.
This guide is only recommending to skip TWELVE episodes out of 75. That's really not too bad at all and easily saves over 4 and a half hours of viewing time.
I don't even get why you'd skip through a series which has 20-25 minute episodes. Some aren't as important no but what you get in character development and world-building is definitely worth the time invested.
There are so many subtle references in Star Wars that lots of emotional/important moments later on would just be robbed of their significance if you skipped past the moments where the seeds were sown.
There are so many subtle references in Star Wars that lots of emotional/important moments later on would just be robbed of their significance if you skipped past the moments where the seeds were sown.
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Not everyone has infinite time. Like I said earlier, just cutting the 12 episodes that guide recommends would save you over 4 and a half hours. I also don't believe anyone could make a good argument that episodes like "Droids in Distress" are worth the time investment or give you -any- greater character development or inform later "important moments".
who the hell is making these guides lol
this thread is great though, now i might actually give these series a chance
this thread is great though, now i might actually give these series a chance
My guess is of the Rebels characters, she is just the one who hasn't been otherwise earmarked for future use in TV/Film. And considering how Rebels ends, that makes sense. (Staying vague given multiple people in this topic have not yet seen the show)
I had to bail after a few episodes. It felt too muchh like children's programming. The Jar Jar and Padme episode was the breaking point. If a show is good I shouldn't need a chart to watch it.
And for everyone who whines about people using guides and how you should just watch it all: this is exactly why the guide exists.
I highly recommend you do try to follow the guide if you want to give the series a fair shake. Most shows, in any medium, regardless of target audience, have a rough first season as they find their voice and direction -- even those that don't recommend you use a guide to skip past that. But if you've already passed judgment based on the admittedly bad episodes, suit yourself.
Thanks for your input everyone! I think I will follow TDLink's guide because some of those early Clone Wars episodes were rough AF and turned me off the series for several years. I figure if I really like the show I can just go back and watch the 12 episodes that the guide recommends skipping.
Yeah, I watched through S5 earlier this year. I always intended to watch the rest of Clone Wars but I wanted to wait until S7 was out but then I decided to just wait for Mando S2 because I didn't want to pay for Disney+ just for 2 seasons of Clone Wars.
Yeah, I watched through S5 earlier this year. I always intended to watch the rest of Clone Wars but I wanted to wait until S7 was out but then I decided to just wait for Mando S2 because I didn't want to pay for Disney+ just for 2 seasons of Clone Wars.
Makes sense! What did you think of season 5? S6 (and 7) still has a lot of great episodes left, but I feel like S5's strength is partially why TCW has left a lot of people with such a strong impression.
It works as an anthology series so there will naturally be some arcs that work better than others. The first season is the roughest since they were still trying to find their footing at the time. It was also the season with the most amount of Jar Jar in it. If you want something early on that doesn't seem like it panders to kids then start with the Geonosis arc from season 2.
If it's any consolation, I don't think Rebels ever touches and of Clone Wars' lows. Especially if you enjoy the OT.
Personally, in terms of the canon cartoons, I'd say Clone Wars is allover the map in terms of quality but it's highs are REALLY high and it gets better and better with each season, Rebels is never as good or as bad but takes way longer to get amazing, and Resistance seems to be incredibly consistent at being 'that was ok' (though I haven't seen Season 2 yet).
Once Season 3 hits in Clone Wars the only episodes that aren't great, if I recall, are ones that tried to do something utterly insane and didn't pull it off. I don't remember Rebels getting good outside of season premiers/ends until the Rogue One crossovers started happening, and even then only the last season got close to the highs of Clone Wars.
See untill the final season of Clone Wars, Rebels personally had the highest highs(Twilight of the Apprentice, World Between Worlds, Family Reunion and Farewell)
Yeah, I kind of agree with both of you. On average, Rebels is better than Clone Wars, but I think its highs are more moments than episodes until late into the series.
Like, for me, just seeing that first lightsaber light up, and it's the thin one from the OT was a huge moment, and that was in the first episode! Or having Darth Vader show up and finally not be some loser jobber was really nice to see, too.
But at the same time, the series is a bit hamstrung by its younger target audience, and a lot of things are implied instead of shown, which is annoying compared to Clone Wars, which was just like, fuck it, watch this.
Like, for me, just seeing that first lightsaber light up, and it's the thin one from the OT was a huge moment, and that was in the first episode! Or having Darth Vader show up and finally not be some loser jobber was really nice to see, too.
But at the same time, the series is a bit hamstrung by its younger target audience, and a lot of things are implied instead of shown, which is annoying compared to Clone Wars, which was just like, fuck it, watch this.
When Rebels is firing on all cylinders it's a real sight to behold.
I feel like my problem with Rebels was that for awhile it struggled getting tone right due to being aimed at a younger demographic. You can definitely do it right, looking at stuff like Gravity Falls, Over The Garden Wall, and Ducktales (2017), but Rebels took forever to figure out how to balance things, so you'd get these theoretically intense plots or ideas tossed out that often felt toothless in execution due to lack of budget or bad tonal shifts.
I think that is very debatable. There are some pretty stinky Rebels episodes. And I think the normal 20 min storytelling time (vs variable, up to over a hour when we are talking about 4 episode arcs that Clone Wars has) really holds back the series across the board.
Sure I mostly agree with this. I think a further thing that hamstrung Rebels is that a very significant portion of its highs, including its highest highs, are basically coasting off of Clone Wars' highs as well. They had a hard time making the core Rebels cast as compelling as the Clone Wars cameos/recurrences throughout, until towards the very end.
It is kind of confounding to me how misused Zeb and Chopper felt for much of the show. Chopper they eventually got working, but Zeb was simultaneously the 'butt monkey' and the tragic 'last of his kind' which never gelled well for me. I just wanted the poor guy to get a break.
Hera/Sabine/Kanan were fantastic though, and I never disliked Ezra as much as I thought I would (especially towards the end).
Chopper was better than he had a right to be as a non-talking astromech droid character, but he was still a non-talking astromech droid. It could only be taken so far. Zeb had about two episodes total where they came close to actually giving him some development but ultimately he never was more than exactly what you see in episode one. I felt Sabine was treated the EXACT same way until season 3 when they suddenly did do work with her, so she ultimately ended up well. Hera was better by comparison to all of those, but not really because of real development she had (she is effectively the same character throughout the entire series), but more just because she has a really inherently likable personality.
Ultimately, of the main cast, I still feel the show really only did completely right by Kanan and Ezra -- though Ezra started from a place of being really inherently unlikable and generic, and ended up becoming merely alright and generic.
I finished the series last night~
The show definitely improved as it went on, though not to the degree that I fully understand the rabidity of the fanbase. It goes to some dark places, but it's still very much a kid's show ("the movies are for kids too" blahblah) with character development and plotting nowhere near as strong as I'd have liked.
Like, take the final arc of S5
Barriss Offee, who previously shared some screen time with Ahsoka in S2 but hadn't been given anything to do since, frames Ahsoka for the bombing of the Jedi Temple which results in her being hunted, etc. But like, the show had barely invested in Barriss, so her inclusion in this arc and the subsequent betrayal lacked impact. It came across as kind of like "...Oh, she still exists? And she's bad now? Ok." It's clearly supposed to have had a major effect on Ahsoka too, but outside of that one arc 3 years prior (!), we never saw their friendship depicted on screen so it doesn't really come across with the intended gravity. Imagine if Barriss had been a recurring character for a few seasons beforehand - how much greater an impact her betrayal would have made on the audience (and in turn, the characters). Instead, the linchpin to the most important arc in the series came across as an afterthought, which is really just inexcusable.
Anakin's turn in RotS also just doesn't mesh with his portrayal in Clone Wars (even factoring in the Utapau arc where he does some questionable things). In the final arc, Clone Wars Anakin goes off screen for 3 episodes and then he's suddenly Darth Vader at the end. I thought they'd have better merged the two Anakins (show and movies) by the end, but it was still super jarring. And the fact that
the series ends with Ahsoka just being like "Anakin became a sith lord overnight and all the jedi are dead cool better just fake my own death now" left me a tad baffled. She didn't, like, try to find Anakin to see if it was true? I get that she's in Rebels and maybe that happens there (Rebels ended years ago and S7 was this year, so if that's the case maybe the writers just assumed viewers already knew what happened in Rebels), but it was still an odd way to end the series. Seems like they could have used 1 more episode to delve into the fallout of everything.
Anyway, I don't want to seem too down on the show, as I did enjoy quite a bit of it. My favorite arcs were easily the ones involving the clone troopers - Cadets, Kamino, Umbara, Clone Conspiracy, and Bad Batch. I skipped over a lot of the stuff people said was bad (most of the Jar-Jar and Droid arcs) so I'd say my least favorite arcs were the ones involving Padme. Special shoutout goes to Gungi and Byph - where's their spin off.
7 = 5 > 4 > 6> 2 > 3 > 1
Glad you stuck with it to the end, and did end up liking it! I completely understand your criticisms, and agree with them. Barriss did feel like a major dropped ball, not just for that series, but also since that series. The way her story ended in season 5 makes it clear they had bigger plans for the character... and yet I don't think it is spoiling anything to say they still have yet to follow that up in any way.
They also did write Rebels in a way where Ahsoka doesn't realize Anakin is Vader until a specific point in that series, so I suppose they were kind of written into a corner with that for the end of TCW. But I agree an epilogue of some sort would have been nice, even if I really enjoyed the final arc.
It will be interesting how the upcoming Bad Batch spin-off series handles things, since there is a strong potential it can deal with a few aspects I would have liked to see at the end of TCW (albeit from a very specific point of view).
I'm also always going to hope more of the unfinished arcs get completed some day, even if it's just the already released Utapau story.
