Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The 10 Best Arcs, Ranked
The sequel trilogy may have had a tone of underused material, but the Star Wars saga is still one of the most successful and popular movie franchises in history. The saga takes place in a galaxy filled with countless alien species, but they are all connected through The Force, which creates an energy field around all living things.
In 2008, Lucasfilm released Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and although it has a terrible rating, it led to the creation of an animated TV series. The show started off a bit boring, but over the course of seven seasons, every facet of the series improved. The series has quite a few boring and mediocre story arcs that can be very off-putting, but there are also several arcs that are strong.
10 Yoda's Force Journey Took Him Down A Dark Path
Master Yoda was one of the best characters to come out of the original trilogy, and he received his fair amount of screen time in The Clone Wars, but his best story arc comes at the end of season six when he goes on a quest to better understand the Force and how to achieve life after death.
This is how Yoda learned how to become a Force Ghost, and it all started when a dead Qui-Gon Jinn communicated with him. He first traveled to Dagobah, where he confronts a manifestation of his own dark side. He later travels to the Sith homeworld of Moraband where he confronts the spirits of several Sith Lords before battling Darth Sidious alongside Anakin.
9 The Bad Batch Gave Fans A New Team Of Clones & Showed Anakin's Dark Side
Clone Wars's final season started off with a 4-part story arc that focused on a ragtag unit of clone troopers who were all designed with genetic mutations. Wrecker had enhanced physical traits, while Tech had increased intelligence and mental capacity. Crosshair possessed enhanced eyesight and marksmanship, and their leader, Hunter had enhanced sensory abilities.
This "Bad Batch," was brought in to help the Republic on the planet Anaxes, but the operation soon becomes a rescue mission when Captain Rex realizes that his fellow trooper, Echo is still alive and in Separatist hands. This arc had great action sequences, and fans got a glimpse of Anakin's dark side when he tortured and killed Admiral Trench.
8 The Mandalore Trilogy Introduces Fans To The Woman Obi-Wan Loved
Mandalorian history is fairly interesting, and Star Wars fans got to visit Mandalore quite a few times over the course of The Clone Wars. The entire Mandalore saga began with a 3-part story arc in season 2, and it introduced fans to Duchess Satine Kryze.
For the most part, Mandalore was a pacifist society during the war, but there were a variety of internal issues thanks to several factions who wanted to return their society to its militaristic roots. Death Watch was one of these factions, and they attempted to usurp Satine multiple times. The Jedi send Obi-Wan to protect her, but he quickly develops feelings for her.
7 The Nightsister Trilogy Saw Asajj Ventress Turn Against The Sith
She may have not appeared in the movies, but Asajj Ventress is definitely one of the best characters to come out of the prequel era, and it wasn't until the Nightsister trilogy that fans got an arc that centered around her. The arc starts off with Sidious ordering Dooku to kill Ventress for her repeated failures, and when she escapes, she vows to get vengeance.
She returns to her homeworld of Dathomir, where she uses Nightsister magic to create a new apprentice for Dooku. This led to the creation of Savage Opress, who happened to be Darth Maul's brother. This arc follows a quick pace, but it all pays off with multiple lightsaber fights which made Dooku look unbeatable.
6 The Mortis Arc Delved Into The Force & Anakin's Future
Season 3 of Clone Wars included a 3-part story arc that originally felt out of place, but it is actually an interesting look into the origins of The Force. The arc begins with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ashoka investigating a 2,000-year-old Jedi distress signal, which strands them on the planet Mortis.
This hidden planet exists outside of normal time and space, and it is home to 3 living beings who each represent one side of The Force. The Brother represents the dark side, and after throwing the Force out of balance, he shows Anakin his future. Anakin resisted, but he eventually succumbed to the dark side, and in order to keep time intact, The Father was forced to erase his memories.
5 Ashoka On The Run Showed The Flaws Of The Jedi Order
Star Wars Battlefront 2 has an array of Light Side heroes, but there is one major omission: Ashoka Tano. Ashoka is arguably the best character in the series, and the final arc of the 5th season sees her being framed for a bombing at the Jedi temple.
This arc has amazing character development, and aside from the great action scenes, it showed how out of touch the Jedi Order was. Ashoka ends up clearing her name but refuses to rejoin the order. This leads to an emotional scene with Anakin, who now begins to have doubts about the Jedi himself.
4 The Umbara Arc Proved That Not All Jedi Cared For The Clones
One thing that The Clone Wars excelled in was showing the various relationships between the Jedi and their clone troopers. Most of these relationships involved respect and admiration, but the Umbara arc proved that not all Jedi were good.
This 4-part story arc saw Captain Rex and his troopers assigned to Jedi master Pong Krell, who sees the clones as nothing more than lab experiments. During the planet's occupation, Rex discovers that Krell is a traitor, and this results in an impressive battle that ends with Krell's capture and death.
3 The Conspiracy Arc Explained Why The Clones Carried Out Order 66
Season 6 started off with a clone trooper killing their Jedi commander on the battlefield. It was during this arc that fans learned that the clones only carried out Order 66 because they all had an inhibitor chip in their head.
Fives is a beloved trooper, and he was the one who almost uncovered the entire conspiracy, but he died before he could reveal the truth to the Jedi. This marked one of the saddest deaths in the entire series, and the entire arc is noteworthy for all of its suspense and tension.
2 The Shadow Conspiracy Arc Put Maul On The Throne While Causing Obi-Wan Great Pain
There were several underused characters in the prequels, including Darth Maul, who became a much more fleshed-out character in The Clone Wars. The 5th season sees Maul rise to power and become the ruler of Mandalore and several crime syndicates.
It is during this arc that Maul kills Satine in front of Obi-Wan, and the audience gets to see a distraught Kenobi in mourning. The arc ends with Darth Sidious paying his former apprentice a visit on Mandalore, and the impressive battle ends in Savage's death and Maul begging for mercy.
1 The Siege Of Mandalore Tied Seamlessly Into Revenge Of The Sith
The show's final 4 episodes focused on the Siege of Mandalore. These episodes took place during the events of Revenge of the Sith, and they managed to tie into the movie seamlessly. Ashoka agreed to cooperate with the Jedi and free Mandalore from Darth Maul, and this resulted in the best action and lightsaber duel in the series.
The arc also dealt with Order 66, as Ashoka was forced to defend herself against clone troopers she had been friends with for years. Maul's force powers were on full display, and the shot of Ashoka standing in front of a mass grave and Darth Vader finding it years later was a haunting way to cap off the series.
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