Tag Archives: Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Dec 20 2020

The Mandalorian Expands The Star Wars Mythos In Its Second Season

mandaolorian s2 poster

The second season of the Disney+ TV show, The Mandalorian, streamed its finale recently and not only has the second season of The Mandalorian pleased Star Wars fans but expanded its universe.

The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal as the mysterious bounty hunter known to many only as the Mandalorian, though his real name is Din Djarin. The other star of the show is Grogu, the infant member of Jedi Master Yoda’s equally mysterious race known for their connection to the Force. Originally in the first season of show the Mandalorian was hired to deliver Grogu to the remnants of the Galactic Empire (the show takes place several years after Return of the Jedi and the Empire has been defeated) for nefarious purposes. However, the mysterious bounty hunter developed a bond with the Child (as he was called then) and refused. Now hunted by the Empire, the Mandalorian spends most of the second season trying to learn more about the Child and find a proper home for the aforable, little impish being.

mandalorian and grogu

As it turns out the bond became quite powerful and over the course of the second season, Djinn became a father figure to Grogu and when the small Force-wielder was threatened the bounty hunter went all out to protect his adopted son.

In its second season, The Mandalorian expanded its mythos and embellished the Star Wars Universe as we were shown how the universe evolved after the events of Return of the Jedi. What was left of the Empire had been driven to the outer edges, perhaps this was the genesis of the First Order from teh Sequel Trilogy. Naturally, the Imperials are in dire straits as the New Republic attempt to restore order to the galaxy. There are signs the New Republic is having a hard time doing this, and again this provides clues to the backdrop of the Sequel Trilogy. In some ways, The Mandalorian is fullfilling the same role that Star Wars: The Clone Wars did in that that show fleshed out the worlds of the Prequel Trilogy, which led many to better appreciate those films.

Speaking of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, characters and details from that revered animated show, as well as Star Wars: Rebels, made live-action appearances in the second season of The Mandalorian, including the exiled Mandalorian princess Bo-Katan (played by Katee Sackhoff, who voiced her in Star Wars: Rebels), and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), the popular Jedi featured in both animated shows. Seeing these characters, especially Ahsoka, was a thrill to watch and gave validity to the Star Wars spinoffs as they are rightfully part of the Star Wars Universe. Even though it was a bit odd not to hear Ashley Eckstein’s voice coming out of Ahsoka, Dawson did a fine job interpreting a more mature Jedi warrior, who provided important details about the Child to the Mandalorian, starting with his name.

djinn and fett

Another popular Star Wars character finally returned alive and well. That being the most famous bounty hunter in the galacy, Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), who is more of an anti-hero in his appearances in the show. However, we do not learn how he escaped his grisly fate as a meal for the sarlacc in Return of the Jedi. But the final episode gave us the biggest surprise appearances, which elevated the show to a whole other level. More on this later.

Continue reading →

May 4 2020

The Final Season Of Star Wars: The Clone Wars Concludes

Star Wars: The Clone Wars has had many homes from Cartoon Network to Netflix and now Disney+. Focusing on the adventures of the Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), his apprentice Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and assorted characters from the Republic Era, The Clone Wars was widely acclaimed for its enriching storylines that fleshed out the prequel films. They added much needed context to the films and in some ways improved them and fully realized George Lucas’ vision for the prequel era. The show was canceled shortly after Disney acquired the Star Wars property and apparently wanted everyone to forget the prequels and anything related to them existed. However, the love for Star Wars: The Clone Wars refused to go away and finally, a new season was produced and began streaming earlier this year on Disney+. The seventh and sadly final season of the animated classic series concluded on May the 4th. Yes, it probably was timed to stream on the unofficial Star Wars Day, and it was a grand way to celebrate the day.

Essentially, the season is broken up into three story arcs. The first one told the story of a platoon of clone troopers that are sort of misfits from the clone army in that they have distinctive characteristics. These troops nicknamed the Bad Batch prove themselves in battle as clone commander Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) searches behind enemy lines for his lost comrade Echo. The second arc follows Ahsoka after she left the Jedi order in season six and how she falls in with two sisters who run into trouble with the underworld of Coruscant. This allowed Ahsoka to see a different way of how the Jedi are seen by the downtrodden. This arc directly leads to the final one which was the best of the three.

While not a perfect season, it does wrap up many lingering plot threads from the previous seasons and leads up succintly with the final Star Wars prequel film, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The standout episode of the final arc was the penultimate episode “Shattered”, which takes place at the same time with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In the episode and the finale, we get to see another side of the infamous Order 66 and how Ahsoka escaped from being killed when the order was given.

As thrilling as the final episodes were, they took on a distinctly ominous tone that differed from the rest of the show. Even the opening intro departed from the norm by eschewing the triumphant score of The Clone Wars, its opening opening pseudo quotes and bombastic opening narrator. Instead, the final four episodes flow seamlessly together as if they were an actual feature-length film. Throughout the final episodes there was a sense of disquieting unease and dread which paid off as Order 66 was executed and everything Ahsoka believed in fell apart. The final arc elevated the season and made it stand up there with the best of what the previous seasons offered.

As can be guessed, Ahsoka was the true main character in this season while Anakin and Obi-Wan were mostly guest characters. The only other characters who had important roles in this season were Rex and Maul (Sam Witwer), who displayed an impressive range as a villain. He demonstrated in the episodes that he is not only a complete powerhouse of a villain (and one of the best Star Wars foes) but a tortured and complex character as he too, was betrayed by his beliefs as Ahsoka was.

While the stories in these final episodes were fine, it is too bad, the showrunners did not finish the Utapau-based episodes that were never completed the original sixth season of The Clone Wars. Yes, we can see them on StarWars.com, but it is puzzling why they were not finished. On another note, the seventh season episodes were so well-made it boggles the mind why Disney did not commission more episodes to be produced. More of them would have fleshed out the season, which felt a bit abrupt.

It is a bit odd seeing this final season come to life. The original run of Star Wars: The Clone Wars opened with a story about Yoda and ended with the diminutive Jedi Master Yoda and ended with him in the classic episode “Sacrifice”. For the longest time, “Sacrifice” was the series finale and a fitting one, as Yoda realized that the Clone Wars were irrelevant as opposed to bringing balance to the Force and the hope for the galaxy was in the future. Now that has to be discarded with the more downbeat “Victory and Death” episode that focused on Ahsoka and her disillusionment with her former mentor and all that she stood for. In many ways, “Shattered” and “Victory and Death” served as complementary pieces to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and its pessimistic outlook. However, unlike that film, which provided in its final moments a sliver of hope for the future and in “Sacrifice”, “Victory and Death” is missing these types of optimistic scraps. That would have to come later with Star Wars: Rebels.

All in all, it was great to watch these final stories of Star Wars: The Clone Wars; they will certainly please fans as they embellished and elevated the Star Wars prequels.

Mar 6 2018

Star Wars Rebels Has A Fitting Farewell

Star-Wars-Rebels-Season-4-Banner

Star Wars Rebels has now finished its run and has seemingly tied up the loose ends fans were wondering about when these new characters were introduced during the series’ beginning. Specifically Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus, and his apprentice Ezra Bridger. In the case of Kanan, his story concluded in the episode “Jedi Night” where he sacrifices himself to save his friends and destroy an imperial installation. The antepenultimate episode “A World Between Worlds” truly embraced Star Wars’ mystical side with seemingly magical wolves on Lothal aiding our heroes. Plus, Ezra transported to a nexus in time and space by using a Jedi temple mural and rescued Ahsoka Tano from her supposed end while fighting Darth Vader in the season 2 finale “Twilight of the Apprentice”.

All of this sets up the final episode “Family Reunion and Farewell”, where the remaining heroes launch a final plan to free the planet Lothal from the clutches of the Galactic Empire. Ezra Bridger faces his fears and feelings for his lost parents and withstands a final temptation by Emperor Palpatine. Ezra is also able to help his friends free his homeworld, kidnap Grand Admiral Thrawn and disappear with him into parts unknown by using interstellar space whales that can travel in hyperspace. Yes, you read that right. The epilogue is very interesting in that it shows the other characters fans have come to know and love surviving the Galactic Civil War. General Hera Syndulla had Kanan’s child and took part in the Battle of Endor, as did Zeb Orellios, Rex and Sabine Wren. Sabine herself states in the episode’s final moments that Ezra is still alive and out there somewhere, and along with Ahsoka, they both set out to look for him.

Thus concludes Dave Filoni’s companion piece to his earlier show Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The fact that he was in charge of Star Wars Rebels helped to maintain a sense of continuity between the shows, with several characters from the first show appearing in  Star Wars Rebels, especially clone trooper Rex, the pirate Hondo,  and Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan Ashoka Tano. Similar to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the quality of Star Wars Rebels increased as the series went on.

The very beginning had Ezra Bridger with a slingshot, which seemed silly and stoked fears that Rebels was just going to be just a dumbed down kids show about Star Wars, but he matured as the show went on and the relationships between the crew of the Ghost developed quite nicely, as well as their trials and tribulations as a small band of partisans trying to do good in the galaxy. “Family Reunion and Farewell” showed quite well how our heroes’ struggle against the Empire finally ended with freedom for their homeworld. Also, the Rebellion finally took a stand against the Empire, and the fight for freedom truly starting to take shape.

The show added quite a lot to the lore of Star Wars by showing the origins of such varied things like the B-Wing fighter, Mon Mothma and Senator Bail Organa organizing the beginnings of the Rebel Alliance, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian in early adventures with the show’s characters, bringing fan favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn out of the Heir To The Empire books, and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul having a final confrontation on Tatooine. It also gave something of a conclusion to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, (something the show was denied when it was canceled by Disney) by having Ahsoka’s fate revealed and with her confrontation with  her former master.

Star Wars rebels mural

 The two shows are linked in this way obviously due to the involvement of Filoni who oversaw both series and is now in charge of overseeing all of the Lucasfilm animation projects. This bodes well for the future of Star Wars shows, since he was able to maintain a high-quality storytelling throughout the run of both Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars and hopefully will be able to continue this when the next eventual animated show comes along. I have a feeling that this next series will take place between the original and sequel trilogies and bridge the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. A clue indicating this is that Lucasfilm has trademarked the title Star Wars Resistance. I trust that Filoni will be able to bring new and interesting ideas to the new era of Star Wars; something that is needed. But regardless, the legacy of Star Wars Rebels has been set with its emphasis on a crew who became a family, struggling and fighting against seemingly impossible odds and finally overcoming everything and helping to defeat the imperial juggernaut. Not bad for a kids show on Disney XD.

C.S. Link

Mar 5 2017

Top Ten Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episodes & Arcs

star-wars-the-clone-wars-characters
Star Wars: The Clone Wars was an epic TV series that vastly expanded the Star Wars canon and was a boon for Star Wars fans after the conclusion of the prequel trilogy in 2005. The animated show originally aired on the Cartoon Network from 2008 through 2013 and since then has been available to stream on Netflix. However, Netflix will stop streaming it very soon (March 7, 2017) and the only way to see this terrific series is through downloads or DVDs/Blu-rays. It has lots of devoted followers because it had so many different adventures and stories that spanned the galaxy and showed the reach of the huge conflict that engulfed the galaxy. Star Wars: The Clone Wars also took its heroes to so many different places, not just physically, but in terms of their lives and development as characters. Here are 10 of the best story arcs and episodes of the show.
cad bane
10. “Hostage Crisis” Season 1, Episode 22: The first season finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced the notorious bounty hunter Cad Bane and it was a memorable debut. He was someone who specialized in hunting Jedi, thus, he has armor at the sides of his neck to prevent Force chokes. The cruel executions of hostages in his invasion of the Senate building was both shocking for an animated series and also let the audience know that he was no pushover. His later appearances in the show further cemented his place in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as a great adversary for its heroes.
obi-wan-undercover
9. “Obi-Wan Undercover” arc Season 4, Episodes 15-18 (“Deception”, “Friends and Enemies”, “The Box”, and “Crisis on Naboo”): A very interesting storyline that has Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi going undercover as a prisoner in a Republic detention facility, in order to gain information about a plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine. This arc has him attempting to survive life on the inside, then going on the run with bounty hunter Cad Bane with a vengeful, fellow Jedi Anakin Skywalker in pursuit, who believes Obi-Wan was killed by the person Obi-Wan is impersonating! This story is quite different from the usual Star Wars plot and shows the strength of the show in that it really expanded the idea of what Star Wars could be.
chewbacca-clone-wars
8. “Padawans Hunted” arc Season 3, Episodes 21-22 (“Padawon Lost”, and “Wookiee Hunt”): Another familiar character in a new setting is fan favorite Chewbacca, who appears on the show when Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano is captured by Trandoshans and sent to a world to be hunted. She allies with other Jedi padawans to escape and meets Chewie, who was also captured by the Trandoshians. Together, they are able to turn the tables on their captives and escape. Having Chewbacca on the show is a nice link to the original trilogy and demonstrates Chewie’s heroism and resourcefulness, as well as a nice back story to an iconic Star Wars character.
darth-maul-and-savage-opress-vs-obi-wan-kenobi
7. “Darth Maul Returns” Season 4, Episodes 21-22 (“Brothers” and “Revenge”) and Season 5, Episode 1 (“Revival”): Darth Maul’s return to Star Wars was a nice surprise for fans of the great Sith villain. The introduction of his brother Savage Opress was also an interesting revelation. Their back story as natives of the world of Dathomir and Opress finding his long lost brother in a state of insanity on a distant Outer Rim junk world with mechanical legs are definite highlights of the show. Maul (obsessed with getting revenge) and his confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi was thrilling and a treat for fans of the much maligned Phantom Menace.
vader-vision-on-mortis
6. “Mortis” Season 3, Episodes 15-17 (“Overlords”, “Altar of Mortis”, and “Ghosts of Mortis”): Anakin Skywalker actually sees his future as Darth Vader in this set of episodes. He, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano are stranded on the mysterious world of Mortis that has only three beings on it, Father, Daughter and Son. They seem to embody the Force itself and the Son sees Anakin as the Chosen One and gives him a vision of his future as a Sith Lord. This causes Anakin intense grief and pushes him to ally with the Son against the other two. The Father eventually erases Anakin’s memory of his future, thus sparing him further pain, but at the cost of letting Anakin continue on his eventual path to evil. Again, this shows how Star Wars: The Clone Wars puts familiar characters in fascinating situations that were previously unknown to audiences.
clone-conspriacty-with-fives-and-tup
5. “Clone Conspiracy” season 6 episodes 1-4 (“The Unknown”, “Conspiracy”, “Fugitive”, and “Orders”): This group of episodes starts the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on a very ominous note. Clone troopers Tup and Fives are embroiled in a conspiracy which takes them from the clone home world of Kamino to the heart of the Republic on Coruscant, as they try to uncover the reason behind Tup’s sudden violent attack on a Jedi Master. This results in them discovering the secret of Order 66 and Chancellor Palpatine’s plot to destroy the Jedi. Unfortunately, they are thwarted at every step as they try to unmask all of this treachery as Palpatine’s all-pervasive power in the Republic is shown, which will have very tragic consequences for the galaxy.
landing-at-point-rain
4. “Landing At Point Rain” Season 2, Episode 5: This episode most embodies the name of the show. A clone war. This action-packed story shows the Jedi and their clone troopers assaulting Geonosis and a massive droid factory. The special effects are great and demonstrate the high quality of the work done for this series. The fighting is both intense and brutal, and demonstrates the horrific cost of Darth Sidious’ plans to embroil the galaxy in this seemingly never-ending conflict.
Star Wars malevolence
3. “The Malevolence Trilogy” Season 1, Episodes 2-4 (“Rising Malevolence”, “Shadow of Malevolence”, and “Destroy Malevolence”): This story arc kicks off the show with a bang and has Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker, his apprentice Ahsoka Tano and Master Plo Koon attempting to destroy a new Separatist warship called Malevolence. These episodes feature great space battles and visual effects and really showcase the huge struggle between the Galactic Republic and Separatist Alliance. They also introduce the iconic Y-Wing bombers to Star Wars canon and demonstrate their usefulness to the Republic and of course, later on to the Rebellion.
ahsoka-quits
2. “Ahsoka’s Trial” Season 5, Episodes 17-20 (“Sabotage”, “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much”, “To Catch A Jedi”, and “The Wrong Jedi”): Ahsoka Tano’s last appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars was both memorable and tragic. She is framed for a bombing at the Jedi Temple and forced to go on the run, chased not only by Republic forces, but also by her mentor Anakin Skywalker. The betrayal she feels at being abandoned by the Jedi Council and her subsequent decision to leave after she is exonerated is one of the most striking events in the whole series. Ahsoka’s last scene shows her sadly walking off into the sunset as her devastated mentor can only watch. This no doubt had a huge influence on Anakin and his feelings toward the Jedi as a whole.
yoda-in-last-star-wars-clone-wars
1. “Yoda’s Journey” Season 6 episodes 11-13 (“Voices”, “Destiny”, and “Sacrifice”): The last arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the best one. Master Yoda hears the voice of Master Qui-Gon Jinn and journeys to the Sith home world to find the origin of the Force, all the while his Jedi Council members fear for his sanity. This last series of episodes goes right to the heart of Star Wars mythology and shows how Master Yoda was able to persevere in the dark times of the Empire; by using the lessons he learned from his departed friend and from the Force itself. His last words in the final episode of learning lessons that will help not only during the Clone War, but for all time, demonstrate the lasting power of his wisdom.
C.S. Link
Feb 25 2017

Top Ten Star Wars Spinoffs We Want To See

han-solo-cast

Thanks to the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the promise of next year’s Han Solo film, all Star Wars fans are speculating over what other Star Wars spinoffs will see the light of day. Due to the fact that the Star Wars universe is so rich and layered with fantastic characters and captivating stories, there are many possibilities. Here are the best ideas and characters for future Star Wars spinoff films.

the-knights-of-ren10. Rise of the Knights of Ren—An exploration of the time period in between the Original Trilogy (OT) and the new one would largely depend on the next two films coming out. They will probably provide some more details of how the new Jedi Order fell and how Snoke and Kylo Ren rose to power. From there, Lucasfilm can use the new information to build a film dealing with that time period.

knights-of-old-republic

9. Knights of the Old Republic—The popular RPG video game and comic book is ripe for a Star Wars spinoff film or three. Taking place thousands of years before the films, the story explores the early conflicts between the Jedi and the Sith, which would give filmmakers a fresh slate of characters and situations or adapt the characters from the game and comics.

bail organa

8. House Organa—While we’ve seen much about the Skywalkers and will learn Han Solo’s back story, we still don’t know a lot about Princess Leia and her adopted noble family. Actor Jimmy Smits is certainly game to reprise his role of Leia’s stepfather, Bail Organa, as seen in Rogue One. The character also appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, so a Star Wars spinoff film could easily focus on the ruling family of Alderaan and the role they played in the Galactic Republic and the Empire.

rebels-meeting

7. Seeds of the Rebellion—This could be expanded from the current animated series Star Wars Rebels, actually such a film could simply be a live-action adaptation of the series. In that show we’ve seen how the Rebellion started to gain traction against the Empire before the OT. A live-action film could either use the characters and situations seen in Star Wars Rebels or go back to an earlier period and show how the Rebellion began right after the Prequel Trilogy (PT).

boba-fett

6. Boba Fett and the Bounty Hunters— Originally Josh Trank was supposed to direct a Boba Fett film and it was close to being produced. But Trank’s career meltdown following his ill-fated Fantastic Four reboot placed the Fett film on hold. Boba Fett is a favorite among fans and a showcase for the galactic bounty hunter is a film too good to pass up. Throw in other galactic bounty hunters like Bossk, Cad Bane, Aurra Sing and IG-88 and you’ve got a classic Star Wars film.

shadows-of-empire

5. Shadows of the Empire—The popular multimedia project from the ‘90s would do for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi what Rogue One did for Star Wars Episode III and A New Hope. That is to be a companion piece that sets up and bridges those two films. It may be tricky to pull off since convincing CG will be needed to recreate young versions of the original Star Wars cast, but the storyline could largely focus on the smuggler Dash Rendar, the evil Prince Xizor, Boba Fett and, of course, Darth Vader.

clone-army

4. Clone Troopers—Thanks to Star Wars: The Clone Wars the nameless and countless clone soldiers have been given distinct identities like Captain Rex, Cody, Fives, and Echo. Many great episodes of that animated series were devoted to the clone troopers and a film could cover their point of view in the Clone Wars or their part in the infamous Order 66. As long as Temeura Morrison is willing to revisit the role(s) then a film focusing on the grunt soldiers of the Republic is an idea worth exploring.

wise-yoda

3. Yoda—The wise and surprisingly mighty Jedi Master has a way of throwing people off guard as to his true nature. This was best demonstrated in The Empire Strikes Back when he first appeared as a harmless and daffy creature that later showed a jaw-dropping mastery of the Force.  Another instance came in Star Wars Episode II when he displayed his fighting prowess to the shock of audiences. His small stature and Zen-like demeanor hide much about Yoda, which is why a Star Wars spinoff film is a perfect vehicle to explore his centuries-long history.

ahsoka-1

2. Ahsoka Tano—As the most popular original character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the young Padawan of Anakin Skywalker won over many fans with her plucky attitude and bravery. Throughout the series Ahsoka grew from an immature warrior into a more seasoned and moral-centered Jedi who surprised everyone when she left the Jedi Order in disillusionment. Later, she turned up in Star Wars Rebels as an adult fighting for the Rebel cause and even confronted her former teacher, Anakin, now turned into Darth Vader. She is one of the best developed female characters in all of Star Wars and a live-action film devoted to Ahsoka Tano is just begging to be made.

obi-wan-kenobi

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi—The noble Jedi Knight, as portrayed by Ewan MacGregor, was one of the best characters in the PT films. The actor has expressed an eagerness to return to the role and rumors are swirling that one or two films are being planned featuring Kenobi. We’ve made the case before as to why Obi-Wan Kenobi deserves a Star Wars spinoff film and it could explore his history as a Padawan and his time in between the PT and OT when he watched over the one who would truly bring balance to the Force, Luke Skywalker.

So, would any of these characters and stories make your own list of future Star Wars spinoffs? Or are there others missing from this list? Let us know!

José Soto