Talk to me about the Clone Wars (animated show)

[FloatOn]

I'm not a super hardcore star wars fan. I've seen the movies and played a few games but nothing outside of that.

I love the original and sequel trilogy but mostly hate the prequels. However, The Mandalorian may be my favorite bit of Star Wars yet. I also really enjoyed/was intrigued by seeing Darth Maul in Solo.

I understand that The Mandalorian is tying in elements from Clone Wars with Ahsoka and Bo Katan and I think I would enjoy seeing more about them.

My hesitation comes from the fact that this show is apparently 7 seasons long which is a pretty big time investment and it revolves around movies I really didn't like.

So, would you recommend Clone Wars for a casual Star Wars fan who didn't like the prequel movies or give it a pass and wait for the other live action shows to come out?

 

[BossAttack]

Someone post the image. I'll post the video (bit dated since pre s7):

 

[FalconUlsix]

There's some episodes that you can skip for sure also it's not in chronological order AFAIK so you can basically jump directly into the stories you find interesting knowing the basic background.

 

[Chromie]

Why force yourself to watch it?

I do think Clone Wars is so good it makes the prequels retroactively better. Not GREAT just better but if you do want to watch, there's an official chronological list order. For some reason, they didn't do it...well normal.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chronological Episode Order | StarWars.com

Lucasfilm presents the official sequential order for the beloved animated series, including all 121 shows and the original feature film.

www.starwars.com

 

[MGPanda]

If you have the time, watch the whole show. It has a few duds, but it's an incredible SW experience. If not, watch the ones on that picture (and the honorable mentions as well, there's some amazing arcs in there). This goes up to S5, but you can easily watch S6 and S7 in full, they're god-tier Star Wars (specially the latter one).

 

[Rare Opiums]

The best CGI TV series of all time

 

[PeskyToaster]

It's like all of Star Wars in that the lows are pretty low but the highs are the best in its class. I say don't mess with a weird watch guide, just watch it straight through. You need the lows to truly get the highs.

 

[FliX]

Skip anything with comic relief droids and you're good.

 

[YolkFolk]

These are the best episodes to watch and were taken from a post on here.

Watch all Series 7.

 

[Jag]

I was hesitant to watch them and I am so glad I did. Use the watch guide. The end of S7 is some of the best SW content ever and i've been a fan since ANH came out in the late 70s.

 

[Yerffej]

I'm in the middle of it and I'm really into it. Never been a huge SW fan, but I think this show is starting to make me a bigger fan overall. It's just...good.

 

[ColonialHawk]

I followed the guide posted above and I quite enjoyed my self. Seasons 3-5 are the good seasons and and I think theres some good stuff in s6 (but it was made as kind of an addendum to some of the show questions) and then the final episodes of s7 are damn good.

My biggest complaint/critique will always be that the artstyle is bad and I had to force myself over that hump to start enjoying the characters.

 

[pitt_norton]

Watch it all.

 

[SpoonyBob]

Why force yourself to watch it?

I do think Clone Wars is so good it makes the prequels retroactively better. Not GREAT just better but if you do want to watch, there's an official chronological list order. For some reason, they didn't do it...well normal.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chronological Episode Order | StarWars.com

Lucasfilm presents the official sequential order for the beloved animated series, including all 121 shows and the original feature film.

www.starwars.com

Click to shrink...

I think I found a similar list somewhere else but I can't imagine how annoying it would've been watching the show as it aired with the stories jumping around back and forth.

I ended up watching through the show in the past year and really enjoyed the ride though, even as someone that's not a huge star wars fan.

 

[Reluctantly Gumblesmug]

I think it's worth watching, just keep in mind- if an episode feels skippable, skip it. It's got some really high highs, but some pretty garbage episodes too.

 

[Deleted member 9479]

With no love for the prequels Clone Wars is good.
Not ALL good, but way more good than bad. In places it soars. Feel free to just skip an episode when it feels like it's focusing too much on something you think is dumb. Like Jar Jar.

 

[Septy]

I think I found a similar list somewhere else but I can't imagine how annoying it would've been watching the show as it aired with the stories jumping around back and forth.

I ended up watching through the show in the past year and really enjoyed the ride though, even as someone that's not a huge star wars fan.

Click to shrink...

The stories don't jump around at all. Each arc was broadcast in order. But each arc was not always in chronological order because it didn't always need to be. Making these lists of chronological order episodes honestly only confuses new people.

 

[Haloid1177]

Any list that has the Mortis arc as not required viewing is bullshit, it literally plays a role in Rebels.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

An over all very satisfying experience especially the final season, the final season alone has some episodes I would consider to be some of the best star wars content ever made.

I would recommend just watching the whole thing if you can, like others have said it's got some duds but it's just such a fun ride. I would also recommend watching Rebels afterwards.

Spicy hot take below

Spoiler

I kinda wish that every single live action movie was non-canon (yes including the OT) so that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau could have full creative control on the progression of star wars as a universe

 

[Dali]

It's the best thing to come from the prequels. You don't have to watch it all at once and stuff like droid based episodes you can skip altogether. It takes the characters introduced in the prequels and fleshes them out. I said this before in another thread but it adds context to the hissy fit that Anakin had for not being given the rank of master in the movies. He was a highly successful general in the clone wars.

Outside of adding depth to characters like Anakin, Dooku, and Maul, the characters introduced like Asohka and Ventress are similarly unforgettable. Watch it.

 

[Blader]

As someone who was quite skeptical of it before sitting down to watch it this year, I really enjoyed it. Most of the show is just fine, neither great nor bad (and I think I skipped a lot of the infamously bad episodes). But it does have about a dozen really great to excellent arcs. The last four episodes in particular are phenomenal. I started watching the show largely because of all the hype around that Siege of Mandalore arc and it's well deserved.

I think I found a similar list somewhere else but I can't imagine how annoying it would've been watching the show as it aired with the stories jumping around back and forth.

I ended up watching through the show in the past year and really enjoyed the ride though, even as someone that's not a huge star wars fan.

Click to shrink...

It's not that noticeable. The only time I thought stories running out of chronological order really hurt the show was with the pair of clone episodes at the beginning of S3. In the second one you realize that this is actually supposed to be a trilogy of episodes, but the part 2 of the story aired as a one-off in S1 ("Rookies"). It's really the only case where I'd insist on watching it in chronological order because I think you lose a lot of impact by watching Rookies so far away from Clone Cadets and ARC Troopers (and likewise, some of the impact of those two eps is lost without watching Rookies right in between).

 

[KOfLegend]

I'm currently watching the first season and my god is it not great. I'm pushing through though, as I've heard the series gets better in the middle of S2. I'm also watching in chronological order, but the beginning is S1 gl heavy either way.

 

[Kyrios]

I'm currently watching the first season and my god is it not great. I'm pushing through though, as I've heard the series gets better in the middle of S2. I'm also watching in chronological order, but the beginning is S1 gl heavy either way.

Click to shrink...

Show gets significantly better in Season 2 and in Season 3 it becomes immediately noticeable that the show got a bigger budget. I just finished S4 and it's been amazing, a lot of really dark episodes I was not expecting.

 

[YolkFolk]

I'm currently watching the first season and my god is it not great. I'm pushing through though, as I've heard the series gets better in the middle of S2. I'm also watching in chronological order, but the beginning is S1 gl heavy either way.

Click to shrink...

Watch the episodes on the list I posted.

 

[Nerokis]

i'm doing a watch right now and i've been really enjoying it from the very beginning

just watched Season 4's The General yesterday and goddamn was that some great Star Wars

 

[janusff]

Grievous Intrigue

 

[Septimus Prime]

It has some of the highest highs but also some of the lowest lows of the franchise. Luckily, it's formatted such that you won't stick to any arc for more than three or four episodes at a time.

 

[Nikus]

Don't listen to people and just watch all the episodes.
Don't look at a list with chronogical order; "best episodes" or whatever BS. Start at the beginning and keep going.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Hot take: you can ease into it by watching Rebels first. Yes, it's sort of a sequel series, but it worked for me because I strongly prefer the OT aesthetic, which Mando is closer to.

 

[Relix]

It's the best Star Wars media available. It's that good.

 

[Kard8p3]

TCW (and Rebels) are the best Star Wars has EVER been, no exaggeration. The amount of characterization for not only the Jedi but also the army of clones is phenomenal. I will also say that TCW has the BEST prequel era fight, and Rebels has the best OT-era fight.

Don't listen to people and just watch all the episodes.
Don't look at a list with chronogical order; "best episodes" or whatever BS. Start at the beginning and keep going.

Click to shrink...

Also this.

 

[Duane]

Hey OP: just sit down and watch it all the way through (including Rebels). There are some dud episodes and it takes a while to really get its footing in the first season or two, but they're only 20 minutes each, and even the ones I'm thinking of usually have some kind of characterization that continue to add to the whole. Take your time, enjoy them all, and behold as Dave Filoni and his team slowly turn the disjointed mess that is the prequel trilogy and the fall of Anakin Skywalker into something that actually makes sense.

 

[Big Baybee]

I'm halfway through season 5 right now, and this show is great. No idea how it's rated pg cause goddamn lol. I tried watching it way back when it was first released, and the first season just didn't do it for me so I dropped it. But it gets progressively better. I love it.

 

[molnizzle]

I posted this in the other thread. Makes it easy to skip the worthless episodes while watching in the correct order.

Alright.

I took the image that's been posted a bunch in here and cross-referenced with every other "these are the Clone Wars episodes you should watch" list that I could find. If an episode was included on one list but not the other, I included it here. As a result, this list includes most episodes. My assumption is the only episodes excluded are the ones that are really shit. I then took the list and merged it with the official chronological order from StarWars.com with the included links to each episode on Disney+.

Mostly posting this for myself so it's easy to get to the next episode on my iPad.



Movie The Clone Wars theatrical release | Stream on Disney+

301 Clone Cadets | Stream on Disney+

102 Rising Malevolence | Stream on Disney+

103 Shadow of Malevolence | Stream on Disney+

104 Destroy Malevolence | Stream on Disney+

105 Rookies | Stream on Disney+

109 Cloak of Darkness | Stream on Disney+

110 Lair of Grievous | Stream on Disney+

115 Trespass | Stream on Disney+

119 Storm over Ryloth | Stream on Disney+

120 Innocents of Ryloth | Stream on Disney+

121 Liberty on Ryloth | Stream on Disney+

201 Holocron Heist | Stream on Disney+

202 Cargo of Doom | Stream on Disney+

203 Children of the Force | Stream on Disney+

217 Bounty Hunters | Stream on Disney+

218 The Zillo Beast | Stream on Disney+

219 The Zillo Beast Strikes Back | Stream on Disney+

205 Landing at Point Rain | Stream on Disney+

206 Weapons Factory | Stream on Disney+

207 Legacy of Terror | Stream on Disney+

208 Brain Invaders | Stream on Disney+

209 Grievous Intrigue | Stream on Disney+

210 The Deserter | Stream on Disney+

211 Lightsaber Lost | Stream on Disney+

212 The Mandalore Plot | Stream on Disney+

213 Voyage of Temptation | Stream on Disney+

214 Duchess of Mandalore | Stream on Disney+

220 Death Trap | Stream on Disney+

221 R2 Come Home | Stream on Disney+

222 Lethal Trackdown | Stream on Disney+

307 Assassin | Stream on Disney+

302 ARC Troopers | Stream on Disney+

304 Sphere of Influence | Stream on Disney+

122 Hostage Crisis | Stream on Disney+

309 Hunt for Ziro | Stream on Disney+

310 Heroes on Both Side | Stream on Disney+

312 Nightsisters | Stream on Disney+

313 Monster | Stream on Disney+

314 Witches of the Mist | Stream on Disney+

315 Overlords | Stream on Disney+

316 Altar of Mortis | Stream on Disney+

317 Ghosts of Mortis | Stream on Disney+

318 The Citadel | Stream on Disney+

319 Counter Attack | Stream on Disney+

320 Citadel Rescue | Stream on Disney+

321 Padawan Lost | Stream on Disney+

322 Wookiee Hunt | Stream on Disney+

407 Darkness on Umbara | Stream on Disney+

408 The General | Stream on Disney+

409 Plan of Dissent | Stream on Disney+

410 Carnage of Krell | Stream on Disney+

411 Kidnapped | Stream on Disney+

412 Slaves of the Republic | Stream on Disney+

413 Escape from Kadavo | Stream on Disney+

414 A Friend In Need | Stream on Disney+

415 Deception | Stream on Disney+

416 Friends and Enemies | Stream on Disney+

417 The Box | Stream on Disney+

418 Crisis on Naboo | Stream on Disney+

419 Massacre | Stream on Disney+

420 Bounty | Stream on Disney+

421 Brothers | Stream on Disney+

422 Revenge | Stream on Disney+

502 A War on Two Fronts | Stream on Disney+

503 Front Runners | Stream on Disney+

504 The Soft War | Stream on Disney+

505 Tipping Points | Stream on Disney+

506 The Gathering | Stream on Disney+

507 A Test of Strength | Stream on Disney+

508 Bound for Rescue | Stream on Disney+

509 A Necessary Bond | Stream on Disney+

501 Revival | Stream on Disney+

514 Eminence | Stream on Disney+

515 Shades of Reason | Stream on Disney+

516 The Lawless | Stream on Disney+

517 Sabotage | Stream on Disney+

518 The Jedi Who Knew Too Much | Stream on Disney+

519 To Catch a Jedi | Stream on Disney+

520 The Wrong Jedi | Stream on Disney+

601 The Unknown | Stream on Disney+

602 Conspiracy | Stream on Disney+

603 Fugitive | Stream on Disney+

604 Orders | Stream on Disney+

610 The Lost One | Stream on Disney+

611 Voices | Stream on Disney+

612 Destiny | Stream on Disney+

613 Sacrifice | Stream on Disney+

705 Gone with a Trace | Stream on Disney+

706 Deal No Deal | Stream on Disney+

707 Dangerous Debt | Stream on Disney+

708 Together Again | Stream on Disney+

701 The Bad Batch | Stream on Disney+

702 A Distant Echo | Stream on Disney+

703 On the Wings of Keeradaks | Stream on Disney+

704 Unfinished Business | Stream on Disney+

709 Old Friends Not Forgotten | Stream on Disney+

710 The Phantom Apprentice | Stream on Disney+

711 Shattered | Stream on Disney+

712 Victory and Death | Stream on Disney+

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[VorpalNonsense]

This is a newer up-to-date watch guide I recently used (which includes all seasons) and it's watching this guide that finally turned my partner into a Star Wars fan

over the years she'd seen every movie with me and was still pretty lukewarm, but watching Clone Wars per this guide is what finally did it, she was crazy about this and she screamed when ahsoka showed up recently

I think the highlighted episodes come to ~65, which in terms of shows like The Office or Star Trek TNG is only like two and a half seasons worth. You can totally do that.

(and if you're ever craving more after that, it's super easy to jump in anywhere and keep watching, since every episode starts with a fast recap that tells you all you need to know)

 

[Winston1]

At the beginning of every episode, there's a quote that ties in with the theme of the episode. One of the quotes was, "It's a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." That pretty much is the perfect way to describe The Clone Wars. When Clone Wars is great, I'd say it rivals the best parts of Avatar the Last Airbender. When it's bad, it's worse than the worst parts of the prequels by a long mile.

As said, the show is rough, particularly in the first two seasons. But if you can make it through the not-good episodes (or just skip them) you will experience some of the best stories and character development in all of the Star Wars brand. The series finale alone is easily one of the best things to come out Western animation in recent years.

 

[Darknight]

Clone Wars is absolutely worth watching and don't worry about it connecting to the movies. It can be watched as its own thing. I also consider the final four episodes of the series to be the third best Star Wars movie of all the movies.

 

[Shin Kojima]

I'm watching it now for the first time, up to the beginning of se3 currently.

I'm enjoying it in general but there are some uninteresting episodes. The battle droids are annoying and stupid as ever and there's even a bit of Jar Jar.
On a whole I much prefer it over the prequels and it's kind of helping me to accept the lore established by that trilogy.

Curious to see how they flesh out Anakin.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

I still think somehow people care about that other show:

 

[Halbrand]

I highly recommend starting with the Season 2 Death Watch arc, The Mandalore Plot / Voyage of Temptation / Duchess of Mandalore. Great introduction to the series and ties into The Mandalorian.

edit: heh yeah this is my watch guide

These are the best episodes to watch and were taken from a post on here.

Watch all Series 7.

Click to shrink...

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Clone Wars and Rebels are personally the best Star Wars stuff period.

 

[LhommeCornichon]

My girlfriend was never that much into Star Wars, but we are doing a run of everything together. Actually she was the one pushing for us to keep watching Clone Wars (she really love Ahsoka). And yes, there are some tedious episodes but after season 3 it's become really good and as I keep saying in every SW thread, the last 4 episodes are just amazing.
And I'll had a semi spoiler but the fact that Darth Maul was returning was off putting for me, but I have to admit he is one of the best characters in the show. Very nice addition and solid acting/writing.

 

[Sayuz]

It's like all of Star Wars in that the lows are pretty low but the highs are the best in its class. I say don't mess with a weird watch guide, just watch it straight through. You need the lows to truly get the highs.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't even say the "low" points are all that low. The season 5 droid arc about the 4 droids trying to uncover a Separatist plot and getting stranded on an abandoned planet has one of my down-low favorite episodes in "A Sunny Day in the Void". Even the title is perfect. It's such a weird episode (and the 100th episode, no less), but it's like, one of those experimental films Lucas always wanted to make (and it shows, as the concept is from him), but it works, and it's so different than anything else in Star Wars. I love it.

This quote (from here) kind of sums it up:


"Then there's the character dynamics. Our protagonists are droids — four of which don't talk — and a tiny green alien. On an empty void planet, that's a strange cast to follow. And to see Gascon hallucinate and eventually reduced to a cackling loon is bizarre — but also very funny. For all his faux-military bravado, Gascon is no match for an existential crisis and a little dehydration. Even the episode's title, while appropriately accurate, has a wry ironic wink; I don't imagine the weather changing much in voids of any kind."

And that's why I can't recommend ever skipping any episode. Even the not-so-liked episodes have some good stuff in them. It's worth judging and watching for ones self.

 

[Amibguous Cad]

Newt Gingrich
Ronald Reagan

Nute Gunray

 

[AnimaRize]

it's better than most of the movies, and retroactively make movies like sith better than what they originally were

 

[Teddy]

The show is best of Star Wars when it hits its highs, but it does have some low lows.

Seasons 1 and 2 are rough, Season 3 you see the pieces come together and then the show smashes it from Season 4 onwards. If your not enjoying the early parts of the show, then maybe skip to Season 3 and then double back to Season 1 if you want to at the end.

 

[DarthWalden]

The Clone Wars cartoon is some of the best Star Wars console available right now and I highly recommend taking the time to go through it.

Season 1 and parts of Season 2 are pretty bad though so you'll have to kind of commit to get through that. If you just want the best episodes there is a handy "clone wars" guide that basically tells you what to watch and what to skip to get all the main story beats and watch all the interesting episodes but I would still recommend going through them all because I found them all pretty good.

Rebels is pretty good too but it is no match for The Clone Wars which basically makes the characters and the story beats that happened in the prequel movies so much better. Clone Wars Anakin and Ashoka are amazing characters.

 

[Saifu]

Like most, I agree that the first two seasons are pretty rough.

A lot of filler episodes that don't necessarily move the plot forward or develop the characters all that much.
Majority of the bigger plot and character developments honestly takes place in season 3 and beyond.
This is also why I'm hesitant to recommend people too many episodes from the first two seasons.

Also, constantly seeing enemies like Dooku and Grievious escaping from battles gets real repetitive after a few episodes.
You know that these characters are always going to get away because of what happens in Revenge of the Sith.

 

[IDreamOfHime]

Mando S2 is finished and I have time off over Xmas plus the UK is about to go into another lockdown, what better time to watch Clone Wars? (especially since there's nothing I want to watch on D+ until Wandavision)

So here's the question. Do I watch in the order they come or follow the StarWars.com chronological order from the below post?

there's an official chronological list order. For some reason, they didn't do it...well normal.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Chronological Episode Order | StarWars.com

Lucasfilm presents the official sequential order for the beloved animated series, including all 121 shows and the original feature film.

www.starwars.com

Click to shrink...

 

[Psittacus]

I'm enjoying it in general but there are some uninteresting episodes. The battle droids are annoying and stupid as ever and there's even a bit of Jar Jar.

Click to shrink...

I think that's why they start leaning on commando and tactical droids more and more as the show goes on. But even the B1s get a few non-eye rolling moments like in The Hidden Enemy where they just silently walk in and merc everyone.