In Retrospect: The Clone Wars (Season 7)

On this hallowed day, I wish to look back on an item that must be revisited.

Now I will say this now, so let it be written so let it be done, my overall stance on the final season of Clone Wars has not changed. I still feel as a culmination, a finale, a true and final goodbye to an excellent piece of television that through years of good storytelling and fan ressurection was able to conclude, it did fall flat. Mostly. I voiced my opinion on several platforms and was met with harsh critique with scoffs and guffaws aplenty, but I defended and discussed my views on the matter because it is how I genuinely feel. I wanted to take the time to see it again if only wondering if I was a bit harsh on it. Not so much on production in terms of animation, voice acting, and direction but the actual storylines presented. I was so not there for the Bad Batch storyline but on rewatch there were good elements, with Rex wanting beyond hope that Echo could still be alive, and the Bad Batch though ridiculously simple in terms of character traits and inspiration from 80s actionsploitation did have humorous moments and didn't feel shoved in the story unnecessarily, plus the scene with Anakin and Padme was incredibly endearing. I now see it as an okay arc but still not a story that was dying to be told in the final season. Now on the flipside, the Ahsoka arc with the Martez sisters is still absolute shite, completely wasting the reintroduction of a character that people have wanted to see again since Rebels ended, the plot is the definition of padding and roundabout accomplishing nothing besides the most basic yet most interesting part of the story which is nothing but setup for the final arc. The Martez sisters I almost say are the most hated Star Wars characters of all, and the only reason I can't say that is because I have not read all the books and comics to undisputedly confirm that. I have never witnessed in all my years of television viewing a more skippable slate of episodes that I feel is an inexcusable waste of time not just for the viewer but the overall story. Final arc, 12/10. Absolute god tier Star Wars to this day, spending every second creating an atmosphere of dread, uncertainty, and the loss of all hope. To see Ahsoka be pushed to an unparalleled point, to see Maul cement his final stake as one of the best characters in this universe, I cannot stress how perfectly they crafted this final story. I would pay theater prices to see it, I would buy those last 4 episodes alone on video, I will sit on this hill to my dying day that the siege of Mandalore arc is the best finale to any show ever. It pays it all off in nothing short of aces. Yet I still shout from the highest mountaintops to the lowest depths of the valleys, why oh why was that all there was of such a remarkable and brilliant story? I feel it is such a monumental missed opportunity and I genuinely hope The Bad Batch does not suffer a similar fate. I'll get that review out when all the episodes are present. I bump my score up to a 7/10, and I'll be back with some Mando goodness next time.

The Clone Wars: Season 7

I'm a bit disappointed guys.

Really? R-really?? This is the last season of Clone Wars, you ended it the way that you did, the show can never come back, and this is how you handle it? Don't get me wrong the last 4 episodes are spectacular, gorgeous, outstanding, amazing, some of the best Star Wars media I have ever seen in my days. But the other 2/3 of the series? Jesus. I don't know what to say. Okay, so we pick up after season 6 with three story arcs, one focusing on a group of clones called The Bad Batch as they work with Rex and Anakin on just a standard mission with the possibility of rescuing a familiar face, one where we see what Ahsoka has been doing in the most mind numbingly worthless arc I have ever witnessed in The Clone Wars, and the final arc where events are interwoven with Revenge Of The Sith as Ahsoka faces off against Maul and fights for her survival. I'm absolutely dumbfounded at the choices presented. Granted the animation is breathtaking at times like we're talking better than Pixar level quality and you just think about that for a second! I thought the animation was pretty great from the last two seasons but this is just through the stratosphere in terms of quality. I could not dream of better animation with slight but still logical design changes to the characters. The voice acting is still excellent with all the regulars returning, with huge love to Ashley Eckstein and Dee Bradley Baker this time around. But the stories are what murders this season before my very eyes. I just....this should not be how it ends. I feel like I jumped dimensions where this is the reality where the last season of Clone Wars was just an underwhelming and mostly disappointing finale to a beloved and frankly amazing show. You know, all seasons of Clone Wars have dud episodes that you can skip, that is just the world of TV series. But I just feel like we wasted more than half of this final season on superflous stuff. I could have never watched this show weekly because I think I would have quit real early on. In fact it took me considerable time to actually get into the Bad Batch arc, for the first time ever I was actively rooting for the clones to die, they were such annoying dipshits with way too much of a 80s action hero vibe to them to the point where I was facepalming regularly. Do not lie to me or to yourself, he was Rambo. I will say I was in love with their armor, and I liked seeing Anakin and Rex one last time, and even the ending was strong. But after the second arc I was seriously becoming more appreciative of the first arc. So we get an arc with Ahsoka (Hurrah!) where we see what she's been up to since leaving the Order which consists of helping two completely f***ing useless characters from getting killed after they get roped into dealing with gangsters. Seriously, I was fuming mad at these sisters and their uncanny quality of being absolute dipshits with no substance of character or even enjoyment. It is without a shadow of a doubt the most worthless episodes I have ever seen in this show. They did nothing! All it was was to set up the vastly superior next group of episodes. We don't get hardly any interesting character development, or fun action and banter, or compelling stories! You get nothing!! You lose! Well at least we don't get some forced romance bullf***ery. But then comes the last four episodes, exceeding every expectation and reality in crafting one of the best stories in Star Wars history, with lots of character moments, compelling action, well written dialogue, and truly engrossing storytelling. So riddle me this, why was this all that we got? I really would not have much to complain about if either A.) We got more Clone Wars episodes so we can get more stories like that, or B.) If this wasn't the last season, which to be perfectly frank I was gonna call quadruple bullshit on because I had a suspicion they were going to give us one more season after this, but the story elements and how the show truly ends quickly put that theory into it's grave. This is it. This is the end. It's never coming back. I hope you enjoy that Disney+ subscription because I can gurantee you that if this was the only reason you got it, then you have mostly wasted your money. I understand that these stories were created before the show got cancelled on Cartoon Network, I understand that the 6th season was finished but premiered on Netflix and was released on video, I understand why they chose these stories. We get a focus on the clones, and the survival of a character. We get an Ahsoka arc where she's still dealing with leaving the Jedi, meets other people who kind of prove why she left, and we get some cool Jedi Fallen Order stuff with her trying to hide what she is. We have a story that caps off not only the event of the clone wars but also the show with every ounce of drama, action, and character you could squeeze out of it delivering a truly unforgettable story. But were the first two stories the best that could be told? You get to wrap up your show that you have been creating for years, you get one shot to make the biggest and best season of this show ever, and this is what you do with it? Because when you boil it down to each little story goes as follows, a no stakes, average at best, somewhat retconning arc. A worthless, almost devoid of character, complete roundabout that accomplishes nothing or says anything (seriously take a shot everytime one of these people get caught). And a spectacular weaving of both film and show, with strong characters, excellent action, and enough intrigue and excitement that does not disappoint, culminating in a final end to the series. This pains me to say but the final season of Clone Wars is average. Because what happens if you add a great and bad arc? It equals an average, and what happens when you add average with average? You get middle of the road. I can scarcely believe it. Is this how people felt with the final season of Game Of Thrones or how people felt with The Rise Of Skywalker? My love has not waned for Rise Of Skywalker but this could be the hardest slap in the face I have endured as a fan since the word "midi-chlorians", in fact I sensed something was going to be off just based on the episode count. When I heard there was only going to be 12 episodes I was nervous, how do you wrap up a show in 12 episodes? You better have crafted one of the most tightly written stories, dialogue, and action ever, akin to more like a mini-series style of writing, which they did....only in the last 1/3 of the season. How could it be that hard? You've had 4 to 5 years, 5 years since the last episode aired on Cartoon Network, 4 years since season 6 hit video, and this is all there is?? Oh my God! I know Dave Filoni was busy with Rebels but if anything that should have given him even more ideas to connect back to Clone Wars that we could see and admire, maybe not a lot but just a few bits. To be honest by my count, Filoni only wrote the last 4 episodes which shock of all shocks were the best ones but he didn't write the others. Dave Filoni gets Star Wars, the man can create brilliant stories with everything great about Star Wars incorporated into it. So I am not hating on Dave. It just feels underwhelming when it's supposed to be a climactic end to an event that literally shaped the galaxy. Now what would I have done personally? Pretty much keep the mini-series aspect of it, kind of half and half with the second half focusing on Episode 3 with the battle over Coruscant and Order 66 happening across the galaxy and the drama coinciding with that, still keeping the Ahsoka and Maul plot of course, and the first half would be focusing on Anakin and the clones showing him and the 501st in action alongside Obi-Wan as we see the toll of the war on Anakin and how he is getting a bit more violent and dark on the battlefield as an ominous mood hangs over our heroes that we have been watching for years. Really pull on the heartstrings and infuse drama as we witness the climax and fallout of the end of the clone wars. Now I will say with nothing but sincerity and love, the actual ending was perfect, I could not have dreamed of a better ending in a 1,000 years. No dialogue, just scenery, music, and emotion. It was ridiculously good and the perfect way to showcase the end of an era. But even that cannot save this mixed bag. 2.5 stars, 6.5/10. I still very much urge people to watch it and come to your opinions because I know a lot of people really enjoyed this season, and while my feelings were in a practically nonexistent niche you just gotta do you. Next time, we revisit the rise of Palpatine, uh I mean Skywalker.

The Clone Wars: Season 6

The end, for now.

It's always a sad day when you finish a show you greatly love. Season 6 or The Lost Missions are the closing episodes of the series, or so we thought. It already begins with an excellent four part story dealing with one of our oldest clone allies Fives who after a clone trooper kills a Jedi is researching the clone development process and comes across a crucial part of the soon to be Emperor's plan. It's rough to watch at the end. It has so much weight to it because you've known this soldier for 6 seasons and his story comes to an end, and you don't want it to. Pull a Force Unleashed, take the canon and shoot it out of a cannon into the next galaxy. But sadly it does not come to pass. Then we get a really good story with Padme and Anakin's relationship coming to a breaking point, and actually gives some great substance to the relationship and tests their love. It makes the gag inducing romance subplot of Attack Of The Clones somewhat tolerable. And right before the end we have a true tribute to the fantasy movies of the 80s, seriously if you recount the plot it screams movies like Beastmaster, Ladyhawk, and so on. A brave warrior, Mace Windu teams up with his bumbling sidekick, Jar Jar to save a queen from an evil witch. That's fantasy story 101 and if you're a fan of that kind of stuff like I am it's a fun adventure before the finale. The last story arc deals with the Jedi finally looking into the Jedi Master who created the clone army and coming to a few discoveries and Master Yoda hears from an old friend beyond the grave setting him out on a quest to know the secret of life after death. Not only do we get some good old fashion trials, more Force entities, and getting more and more hints of things that have not yet come to pass but you get to finally have a story dedicated to Yoda. How interesting that the first episode and the last episode center around Yoda. And it ends pretty definitively, I could pop in Revenge Of The Sith right now and feel a complete story was told. It even plays that heart aching music when Ahsoka left, so the finale is a very nice but somber ending which makes sense when you reach the events of Episode 3. It was great going back and watching the whole series one last time before it left Netflix, and regardless of ending I am excited and interested to see what they will do next with this series. Thank you all for joining me, I felt it was time to talk about a great show based off my favorite thing in the world, maybe I got you interested to try it out or just pitched in with the discussion of the show between fans. There's so much to talk about that I couldn't cover everything but if you want to ask a question about this or that or start a discussion I certainly can't say no to you. Thank you very much, see you next time, and as always may the force be with you.

The Clone Wars: Season 5

Well unfortunately this season suffers much like the last but Jesus does it end in an unforgettable way.

It starts out really blah, with young Saw Gerrera leading a rebellion, and like the water war of last season it goes on and on, but then it perks up a bit with Ahsoka leading young Jedi to find their lightsaber crystals and it's a good episode. Then it just keeps going. And going. And going like the damn Energizer bunny! It's worse than Saw's rebellion, at least that had content to span out over a few episodes, the young Jedi arc should have stopped after the first part. Then we get a adventure story with R2 and a handful of other drouds going on a mission which is all fine and good, yes it drags but we get to see a Republic Commando in action and for hardcore fans it makes up for the okay story. It's kinda sad how the "last" season of Clone Wars is padded out so much, literally half of the season is padding! But if you make it past that, Maul goes on a tour de force amassing a criminal empire and exacting a bit of revenge on Obi-Wan which some could argue is the best part of the season, not only does it show off Maul's combat prowess against Pre Visla the head of Death Watch, in a fight so excellent it has gained over 10 million views on YouTube, but also the most dark side fueled duel in history. Mother of mercy this is f***ing hardcore man! But in my humble opinion, the last story arc is the best. Ahsoka Tano, a beloved character we have seen grow and develop into a true Jedi is framed for a bombing on the Jedi Temple itself, leading both her and Anakin to try and find the true culprit. And it's a giant pushing force for Anakin to do what he does in Episode 3, but causes waves of events to happen and some we have not seen yet. It's hard not to get choked up at the end. Imagine if you watched that when it was on TV, imagine if this was the last Clone Wars episode ever. No season 6 on Netflix, no continuation of the series five years after it ended, nope it just ends. That is a downer ending! I'm almost afraid to watch future Clone Wars episodes because it can seriously damage the emotional reputation of this episode. It's why the season two finale of Rebels was a big deal! I know we will talk about the 6th season tomorrow, but for me this is how The Clone Wars ended. Not with an exciting bang, but an emotionally charged finale.

The Clone Wars: Season 4

Well I wish I could say it started off strong.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not a Gotham situation where every season until the 4th has been great, it's still pretty damn good with a lot of great stories and character moments but jeez is there some padding before the good stuff. We start off with an underwater invasion on Mon Cala, which is okay....if it didn't go on for 4 damn episodes. It gets old. Fast. Why couldn't we have this for the invasion of Kamino? There's nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it's a welcome change of pace in terms of the battlefield, it's interesting seeing a young Admiral Ackbar, but it just goes on, and on, and on. How can a season begin and already pull the drag chute? But wait there's more! Then we go on to R2 and 3PO meandering about for 2 episodes and it is not an improvement on the first four episodes. You can immediately skip 6 episodes in this 22 episode long season already. But thankfully after that it's hit after hit until the end and I can safely say the Umbara four parter is excellent, dealing with Captain Rex under the command of a brutish and unsympathetic general, and honestly I was getting 'Nam flashbacks like crazy. Soldiers brought into a battlefield where the enemy is hardly ever seen and completely decimates ground forces to the point they need to call in air strikes, and a leader who will not pull the troops out of a hopeless situation. Yeah. It's grim. And as each episode goes on the tension mounts until shit goes down. I mean Jesus! That is how you should start this season! We move along to a decent three parter with Anakin and friends dealing with slavers, which hits home for our Chosen One but also Ahsoka who's people are captured and used as slave labor. Good story, good character development, solid B+. I will admit I like the premise of Ahsoka teaming up with a past Separatist who battles bounty hunters from Mandalore, but the only problem is I hate this kid. Yeah there's a lot of hate for kids in this show for me, he's an unlikable whiny jerk who tries to martyr himself and the only thing I can say is, I do NOT ship it! But don't worry, we get more bounty hunter adventures with Obi-Wan faking his death and going undercover, so we get awesome angry Anakin moments, a fantastic entertaining episode called The Box, and of course Cad Bane. Woop woop! And then we end on a high note. Darth f***ing Maul is back. And it is every bit of awesome as you think! That is how you end a season. You gurantee a surplus of viewers for the next season to see the best part of Phantom Menace back and kicking ass more than ever! Beautiful, perfect, 10/10! Yeah I'm biased towards the Sith, but only the wisest are. I will say the animation got better and for good reason, the creators wanted to get Maul to look impressive and real so they upgraded the quality of the graphics and it does look excellent, not to mention Starkiller voice actor himself Sam Witwer who is the biggest pimp in Star Wars next to James Earl Jones of course, dude deserves awards and more fans, that's all I'm saying! I am stoked for next season so I can gush relentlessly over Maul so stick around!

The Clone Wars: Season 3

*WARNING what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Another fine addition to this collection, and the best season yet all around. We begin very much how we ended last with further situations arrising on Mandalore before we are whisked away to bounty hunting with Cad Bane, an invasion of the clone world of Kamino, more backstory into Asajj Ventress and the introduction of an old Sith's brother, the introduction of Captain Tarkin, and quite possibly the best story arc in the entire series. So yeah, lots to talk about! Mandalore is an interesting planet and the stage for even more future events, and always seeing Satine is a pleasure. She's such a well rounded character, and we see a friendship begin with Padme which is a lot of fun and starts the season off well. Then we jump straight into Cad Bane further proving why he is the best at what he does as he accepts a job from the Hutt's to hunt down a member of their family, and yeah it hardly feels like Star Wars and more an episode of In The Heat Of The Night but hey, any episode with Cad Bane brings the entertainment factor to the max for me! Then we move along to a massive invasion of battle droids at the very heart of the Republic's army and you know what, this episode bugs the shit out of me! Why? One simple answer, it isn't long enough. You'd think with such a pivotal battle with a lot on the line, they would take multiple episodes to show off this siege but it's wrapped up in one episode. Granted, they utilize every single last second and make it absolutely amazing but it just made me really want to see more. We get some decent episodes of Ahsoka, who's developed a lot more in terms of power and character and is forced to acknowledge the fact that war is far from simple, and it's great to see her grow up a bit and to become her own Jedi, though of course still taking after Anakin. And we'll get back to him in a moment. Then we get some much needed Ventress screen time, her episodes are excellent, not only showing off a new world and culture of literal witches, magic and all no powers drawn from the Force, that delve into her history and how she came to be the way she is. That was incredibly interesting, and leads to the best lightsaber duel yet with Count Dooku that wows me everytime I see it. Even if you don't watch the show, watch the duel. It really does show off how much better the combat, animations, and graphics have gotten, and they only get better from here which says a lot! And last but certainly not least we have the Mortis story arc. Oh my gawd! This does everything right. We get new character insights, a return to the mystical Force and not just scientific betrayals, literal personifications of Light Side, Dark Side, and Grey Side of the Force with so much allegory and parallels to the Star Wars...everything that it would take me weeks to fully talk about it. I really don't think future episodes surpass this, until perhaps the end of the 6th season and even then I'd have to think about it. I mean wow, they really did some inventive, great, and entertaining things with this season. But you can't have your resounding successes without your crippling failures which aren't that many, hardly at all but it has it's fair share of skippable episodes. About 5 in my count, most of them don't matter in the grand scheme of things whether in plot or character, including a murder mystery so uninteresting I planned better ways to eliminate my enemies, Ahsoka dealing with a bunch of f***ing kids who go full Scooby-Doo mystery solving that made me do other things besides watch it, and this weird like, Star Wars meets The Most Dangerous Game where Ahsoka and a bunch of other kids get hunted down by Trandoshans and Chewbacca is there and I really, really could not care less. Also what the hell is with the voice acting this season? Nothing horribly wrong with our leads but I caught at least 3 major WTF accents, one of the Hutts Ziro and his girlfriend sound like there from the bayou boy, it's like whaaaat?? And this guy, this like warden of this super duper impossible to escape super prison tower....I have no idea what he sounds like. Other than an asshole. The best I came up with is if you took Willem DaFoe and Christopher Walken with a splash of Jersey dickhead, I have no idea what this guy is on. Well, at least they got a good actor for Tarkin. So yeah, it has problems but few and far between with such excellent stories. And Season 4 is right around the corner.

The Clone Wars: Season 2

WARNING: what follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

More interesting tales to see. Yet another fine season, surpassing the last in terms of stories and new characters. We already start off strong with an interesting three part story showing the debut of the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, Cad Bane. Yes, I will argue this with you. Cad Bane is a better bounty hunter than Boba Fett! I mean what's not to love? Cool design based heavily on westerns, badass voice, cool demeanor, excellent array of skills, the dude is one of the best mainstays of the whole series. Hell the first 3 part storyline and the last of the season are some of the best episodes of the whole season. The last three part story arc revolves around Mandalore and an old flame of Obi-Wan which is greatly fascinating and leads to a lot of good banter between him and the Duchess Satine. And to see Obi-Wan in such a position with such a remarkable lady it's hard not to ship it you know? It gives us a lot more info about Kenobi before Episode 1. It's a pivotal story arc which will be revisited in the future. Throw in a good tribute to Akira Kurosawa, a mish-mash of Aliens, The Blob, and Invasion Of The Body Snatchers with a zombie twist, and a really good episode that focuses solely on Ahsoka, and you got a really really good second season. Granted there are about 6 episodes that you can skip but by no means are they bad, if you want to see a young Boba Fett try to exact revenge on Mace Windu, or a King Kong style story set in the Star Wars universe, then be my guest and have fun. There just wasn't much there for me to really praise. But come on, you have a complete Seven Samurai tribute with pirate Ohnaka and some really badass looking bounty hunters duking it out for some villagers. Then you get a disturbing deeper look into Genosis which takes a lot of good inspiration and uses it well with very moody lighting, genuinely creepy monsters, and caps off with Ahsoka against an entire ship full of zombified clone troopers. What's not to love? Speaking of her, an entire episode dedicated to Ahsoka retrieving her lost lightsaber sounds like a filler episode if you ever heard one but it tells us a lot about her character and even stirs up some controversy of her training. What will happen after the war is over? How do you go from warrior commander to peacekeeper pacifist? That's a really good part of the show that they keep referring back to, solidifying why this show continues to have such a dedicated and loving fanbase. It truly does rise above just another cartoon show. Through every episode the animation is better, the voice acting is excellent, the stories offer tons of variety and intrigue, and you get to know more about new and old characters. It's hard to go wrong with that! There's so much to talk about in the coming seasons and I greatly look forward to it. So until tomorrow my friends!

The Clone Wars: Season 1

*WARNING: What follows is the geekiest review you have ever read. You will witness the true scope of my lifelong love for Star Wars. Be advised!*

Now we're doing Clone Wars. Yeah I know, it took me awhile but it's high time we talk about this series and if you know one thing about me, it's that Star Wars is life. Now I will freely admit I was so against this show when it was on the air you thought I was on a boycott, I refused to watch this show. Cause what was the point? We already have a Clone Wars series from back in 2004, hand drawn animation, created by the same guy who did Samurai Jack Genndy Tartakovsky, fits between Episodes 2 and 3, perfection! Why do we need a damn 3D animated Clone Wars series?? Well after a long time, we're talking like two maybe even three years after the show was cancelled, I finally caved in and watched it on Netflix. In short, I was wrong. This is a brilliant series, it takes everything not so very good about the prequels in every way and improves it to where you love it. And what I kinda like about it is how not only can you pretty much watch whatever episodes you want in any order you want because the show was told through little chunks of story from all over the place in terms of time and space, and to fully understand it just Google "clone wars chronological order" and you will see what I mean. But not only that, the creators were pretty much given free reign to do whatever they wanted with the lore accumulated up until that point and could invent new things. When I heard Anakin had an apprentice, I practically howled betrayal but you know what, I think Ahsoka Tano is one of the best Star Wars characters ever. At first you think she's essentially the Scrappy-Doo of the series but through time you see her grow, develop, and become a great character. You grow to love and care about her very quickly! I feel I need to issue a personal apology to Lucasfilm and Dave Filoni, because I was closed minded and refused to see new Star Wars content. THAT is the true betrayal! They bring a lot of character to new faces and old favorites and that's really what the show is about, the old Clone Wars show was about showing the vast battles and more the spectacle and visuals than story and character. This show is all about the characters. Anakin is not a creepy, violent, utter piece of shit, he's a headstrong, capable, adventurous young Jedi who can leap into action, make a witty retort, and proves to be a great master to Ashoka. Obi-Wan is everything you love about Obi-Wan on steroids, he can make really bad jokes but you laugh regardless, he can be diplomatic, is very strong in the Force, and is a deadly combatant, it really would make Ewan McGregor proud. We get to know more Jedi that we see in the films briefly, and they have more prominent roles each with their own personality, style, and views on the war and the future, I swear you meet a Jedi Master for a grand total of about 4 minutes before he gets killed and you genuinely feel heartbroken. Even Jar Jar Binks has one episode where he isn't completely useless and stupid! Yeah who would have thunk right? And you actually give a damn about the clone troopers, they are not just cgi video game characters used for blaster fodder, they are their own people. If you watch season 1 episode 1, there's a scene where Yoda talks to them and gives them advice and tells them they are not things but living people and how important they are. Stuff like this happens all the time in this show, we meet tons of clones who all have identity and likeability. There was one mission where there was a squadron of clones in Y-Wings, and one got scratched on one of the wings and I legitimately flinched. I did not want to see any of them die, and these were clones you meet for the first time with no past experience. That's some mighty fine writing and characterization. But even the technicals are done well, the lighting, use of color, and each planet and ship having their own unique art design is something to be admired. I have no idea how people do 2D animation, hand drawn or not because that takes time, patience, and understanding of the craft but I am beyond words how you make a complete 3D animated show. The animation quality gets better and better through each season but even the first one has really good animation. I will say there are some episodes you can honestly skip, you can drop about 4 or 5 episodes if you so wish. But that's the beauty of the show, you can watch it anyway you want, I mean sure there is continuity but you still have that freedom to watch any episode arc of your choosing. I can say the best episodes of season 1 are, the Malevolence trilogy, Dooku Captured, the Ryloth trilogy, Clone Cadets and Ambush. So out of 22 episodes, I only dropped 5 episodes so that's not bad. And there's plenty to watch and experience so I'll be back tomorrow for season 2.