i'll love you with all the madness in my soul
My cold has upgraded from "I'm dying!" to "I'll live, but I won't like it!" so that's....good? I guess?
Anyway.
This post started life as a comment I made to
coffeeandink, who asked me when The Clone Wars gets good, and who probably was not expecting quite as much information as I provided. Um. I just really like this show!
Okay so The Clone Wars is a still-canon TV show set during the titular Clone Wars and it takes place between "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." It follows the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Learner Ahsoka Tano, and various clones and other characters who come in and out of their various orbits.
In brief, the two jumping on points I would recommend, if you don't want to start with the movie (which I didn't love but it has its moments, and it does introduce Ahsoka, whom I love A LOT), are Holocron Heist (and the two eps that follow), or Landing at Point Rain (and the three eps that follow in that arc). Those are where I perked up and went, "hey this show is getting good!" So obviously this list is geared to my interests, YMMV, disclaimer disclaimer etc.
The show works best watched in arcs of 2-4 episodes at a time. This is what I'd consider essential (things in brackets aren't essential but are good viewing or do contribute to the long term storylines or character development) out of the 121 episodes:
(Order and titles based on this Clone Wars chronological viewing order since I watched in chronological rather than aired order (don't read the episode summaries, though, if you don't want major spoilers.) I've left out content warnings except in one instance, but it is a show that takes place fully within the context of war, so there's quite a lot of death and brutality and some torture, and the occasional threat of sexual violence [the latter is mostly implied, since it is technically a kids show])
Clone Cadets / Rookies
Clone Cadets introduces some of the clones who become important later on (Fives, Echo, et al.) and Rookies follows them on their first mission, and includes Rex and Cody (who are Anakin's and Obi-Wan's clone second-in-commands, respectively).
[Dooku Captured / The Gungan General
I know I said to skip Jar Jar episodes, but I feel that the hilarity of Hondo Ohnaka - introduced in these episodes - holding Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dooku captive together outweighs the awfulness of Jar Jar's appearance and you can ff through his bits.]
[Blue Shadow Virus / Mystery of a Thousand Moons
I think this is the first time Padme and Ahsoka are teamed up, but again, Jar Jar, so it's up to you]
Holocron Heist / Cargo of Doom / Children of the Force
Darth Sidious is creepily seeking out Force-sensitive children to experiment on; Anakin and Ahsoka try to stop him. This was the first time the show really surprised me, I think, with doing some interesting things I wasn't expecting at all.
[Bounty Hunters
Star Wars does The Magnificent Seven, though I can't remember if it gets as meta as something like that should, given the influence The Seven Samurai was on the original film]
[The Zillo Beast/The Zillo Beast Strikes Back
Star Wars does Godzilla, pretty well, and kind of upsetting in the end. Entertaining but not necessary]
[Senate Spy
Skippable, but introduces Rush Clovis, and Anakin's jealousy of him, and the strains keeping their relationship secret has on Anakin and Padme]
Landing at Point Rain / The Weapons Factory / Legacy of Terror / Brain Invaders
The first ep of this arc is where I was really impressed with the visuals and big-picture-ness of the show. It's very much a war story - it reminded me of the D-Day episode of "Band of Brothers" - and the next three follow on with the mission, though each is a different genre. Ahsoka and Barriss get some good stuff here, and through them, Anakin and Luminara as well (plus, Luminara and Obi-Wan doing the thing where I have to believe that they were totally doing it at some point).
[Lightsaber Lost
A fun Ahsoka-focused episode, not necessary for overall arc purposes, but enjoyable]
The Mandalore Plot / Voyage of Temptation / The Duchess of Mandalore
Obi-Wan and an old friend of his bicker their way across the galaxy. The romance (such as it is) in these episodes is very much to my taste (exes who are still in love but separated for legitimate reasons), so these are among my favorite episodes of the series. And they're important for showing Anakin (and us) a different side of Obi-Wan.
[Assassin
Ahsoka has a Force vision about Padme being assassinated and accompanies her as her bodyguard to a conference on Alderaan; notable mostly because all three main players are women]
ARC Troopers
Catching up with Fives and Echo et al.
[Hostage Crisis
Die Hard in the Senate building, with Anakin as John McClane; enjoyable but not required]
[Senate Murders
The show plays around with genre again, putting Padme and Bail Organa in a noir murder mystery]
Nightsisters / Monster / Witches of the Mist
Ventress-centric episodes.
[Overlords / Altar of Mortis / Ghosts of Mortis
I think some people think these are great or at least important episodes, but I find all the Force mumbo-jumbo mostly a bore, though there are a couple of interesting things here, including a guest turn by Liam Neeson, and the first [I think?] use of the Imperial March for Anakin.]
The Citadel / Counter Attack / Citadel Rescue
Prison break!
[Padawan Lost / Wookiee Hunt
Ahsoka-centric "Most Dangerous Game" two-parter; good for showing Ahsoka's growth, but not necessary]
Darkness on Umbara / The General / Plan of Dissent / Carnage of Krell
Star Wars goes BSG, with a clone-centric arc about a Jedi General who doesn't see clones as people, and how they respond to that. Surprisingly dark.
Kidnapped / Slaves of the Republic / Escape from Kadavo
The closest the show ever comes to engaging with Anakin's childhood as a slave (and the Republic/the Jedi's inability to do anything about slavery in the galaxy) and how that informs his entire worldview etc. Content note: these episodes contain depictions of chattel slavery.
[Deception / Friends and Enemies / The Box / Crisis on Naboo
Obi-wan goes deep undercover as a bounty hunter. Notable mostly for planting some seeds for Anakin's [misplaced] mistrust of Obi-Wan.]
Massacre [/ Bounty]
Ventress-centric; the former is worth watching but super dark; the latter gives her character and arc some nice shading despite its obvious beats.
[Brothers / Revenge
Opress and Maul hunt Obi-wan. Has implications for later on, but depends how high your tolerance for Opress and Maul is. Otoh, I find Ventress' appearance worth the time]
A War on Two Fronts/ Front Runners / The Soft War / Tipping Points
Ahsoka-centric arc where she basically learns how to run a resistance/rebellion.
[The Gathering / A Test of Strength / Bound for Rescue / A Necessary Bond
Another Ahsoka-centric arc, where she shepherds a group of younglings on an adventure, also featuring Hondo Ohnaka. Cute but not essential.]
[Revival / Eminence / Shades of Reason / Lawless
Obi-Wan's two main storylines collide when Maul and Opress end up on Mandalore; important but also containing the worst of angry-making clichés so I wouldn't make it a must-watch]
Sabotage / The Jedi Who Knew Too Much / To Catch a Jedi / The Wrong Jedi
Absolutely must-watch Ahsoka arc.
The Unknown / Conspiracy / Fugitive / Orders
The payoff of all those earlier clone-centric episodes and also a key piece of RotS.
[An Old Friend / The Rise of Clovis / Crisis at the Heart
Notable mostly for highlighting how dysfunctional Anakin and Padme's relationship is; iirc, it should probably have a warning for domestic abuse]
[The Lost One / Voices / Destiny / Sacrifice
Interesting arc about Yoda and the Force]
This leaves out a lot (even without counting the droid- and Jar Jar-centric episodes I didn't even watch), but as I said up top, I think watching either the Holocron Heist arc or the Landing at Point Rain arc will give you an idea of whether it's a show you could be interested in.
It does a good job of making Anakin Skywalker into a fully-fleshed out character who I at least came to care about a lot more than I ever did in the movies (which was zero) and gives him facets that aren't whiny or murderous, all while showing you his penchant for making terrible decisions even when he thinks he's doing the right thing. There's a reason I have a tumblr tag that says #i hate that i have ~feelings about darth vader now, and the reason is this show.
After watching it, I actually believe Obi-Wan's claim to Luke that Anakin was his best friend/brother, and also it's made very clear that the Jedi were complicit in their own downfall, having become rigid and dogmatic in their adherence to the Code [as any millennia-old organization is bound to], and also corrupt in their relations with the Republic. While it doesn't deal with the question of droids-as-slaves I've seen some people mention, it does engage with the ethics of using clones as soldiers and also does a great job making the clones people who are not all exactly the same despite being, well, clones. Plus, Padme gets some chances to shine outside of her relationship with Anakin (which shows neither of them in the best light ever), and I love Ahsoka and Ventress and Satine a lot.
Others who've watched and enjoyed it, anything you'd add or remove?
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/806883.html.
people have commented there.
Anyway.
This post started life as a comment I made to
coffeeandink, who asked me when The Clone Wars gets good, and who probably was not expecting quite as much information as I provided. Um. I just really like this show!
Okay so The Clone Wars is a still-canon TV show set during the titular Clone Wars and it takes place between "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." It follows the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Learner Ahsoka Tano, and various clones and other characters who come in and out of their various orbits.
In brief, the two jumping on points I would recommend, if you don't want to start with the movie (which I didn't love but it has its moments, and it does introduce Ahsoka, whom I love A LOT), are Holocron Heist (and the two eps that follow), or Landing at Point Rain (and the three eps that follow in that arc). Those are where I perked up and went, "hey this show is getting good!" So obviously this list is geared to my interests, YMMV, disclaimer disclaimer etc.
The show works best watched in arcs of 2-4 episodes at a time. This is what I'd consider essential (things in brackets aren't essential but are good viewing or do contribute to the long term storylines or character development) out of the 121 episodes:
(Order and titles based on this Clone Wars chronological viewing order since I watched in chronological rather than aired order (don't read the episode summaries, though, if you don't want major spoilers.) I've left out content warnings except in one instance, but it is a show that takes place fully within the context of war, so there's quite a lot of death and brutality and some torture, and the occasional threat of sexual violence [the latter is mostly implied, since it is technically a kids show])
Clone Cadets / Rookies
Clone Cadets introduces some of the clones who become important later on (Fives, Echo, et al.) and Rookies follows them on their first mission, and includes Rex and Cody (who are Anakin's and Obi-Wan's clone second-in-commands, respectively).
[Dooku Captured / The Gungan General
I know I said to skip Jar Jar episodes, but I feel that the hilarity of Hondo Ohnaka - introduced in these episodes - holding Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dooku captive together outweighs the awfulness of Jar Jar's appearance and you can ff through his bits.]
[Blue Shadow Virus / Mystery of a Thousand Moons
I think this is the first time Padme and Ahsoka are teamed up, but again, Jar Jar, so it's up to you]
Holocron Heist / Cargo of Doom / Children of the Force
Darth Sidious is creepily seeking out Force-sensitive children to experiment on; Anakin and Ahsoka try to stop him. This was the first time the show really surprised me, I think, with doing some interesting things I wasn't expecting at all.
[Bounty Hunters
Star Wars does The Magnificent Seven, though I can't remember if it gets as meta as something like that should, given the influence The Seven Samurai was on the original film]
[The Zillo Beast/The Zillo Beast Strikes Back
Star Wars does Godzilla, pretty well, and kind of upsetting in the end. Entertaining but not necessary]
[Senate Spy
Skippable, but introduces Rush Clovis, and Anakin's jealousy of him, and the strains keeping their relationship secret has on Anakin and Padme]
Landing at Point Rain / The Weapons Factory / Legacy of Terror / Brain Invaders
The first ep of this arc is where I was really impressed with the visuals and big-picture-ness of the show. It's very much a war story - it reminded me of the D-Day episode of "Band of Brothers" - and the next three follow on with the mission, though each is a different genre. Ahsoka and Barriss get some good stuff here, and through them, Anakin and Luminara as well (plus, Luminara and Obi-Wan doing the thing where I have to believe that they were totally doing it at some point).
[Lightsaber Lost
A fun Ahsoka-focused episode, not necessary for overall arc purposes, but enjoyable]
The Mandalore Plot / Voyage of Temptation / The Duchess of Mandalore
Obi-Wan and an old friend of his bicker their way across the galaxy. The romance (such as it is) in these episodes is very much to my taste (exes who are still in love but separated for legitimate reasons), so these are among my favorite episodes of the series. And they're important for showing Anakin (and us) a different side of Obi-Wan.
[Assassin
Ahsoka has a Force vision about Padme being assassinated and accompanies her as her bodyguard to a conference on Alderaan; notable mostly because all three main players are women]
ARC Troopers
Catching up with Fives and Echo et al.
[Hostage Crisis
Die Hard in the Senate building, with Anakin as John McClane; enjoyable but not required]
[Senate Murders
The show plays around with genre again, putting Padme and Bail Organa in a noir murder mystery]
Nightsisters / Monster / Witches of the Mist
Ventress-centric episodes.
[Overlords / Altar of Mortis / Ghosts of Mortis
I think some people think these are great or at least important episodes, but I find all the Force mumbo-jumbo mostly a bore, though there are a couple of interesting things here, including a guest turn by Liam Neeson, and the first [I think?] use of the Imperial March for Anakin.]
The Citadel / Counter Attack / Citadel Rescue
Prison break!
[Padawan Lost / Wookiee Hunt
Ahsoka-centric "Most Dangerous Game" two-parter; good for showing Ahsoka's growth, but not necessary]
Darkness on Umbara / The General / Plan of Dissent / Carnage of Krell
Star Wars goes BSG, with a clone-centric arc about a Jedi General who doesn't see clones as people, and how they respond to that. Surprisingly dark.
Kidnapped / Slaves of the Republic / Escape from Kadavo
The closest the show ever comes to engaging with Anakin's childhood as a slave (and the Republic/the Jedi's inability to do anything about slavery in the galaxy) and how that informs his entire worldview etc. Content note: these episodes contain depictions of chattel slavery.
[Deception / Friends and Enemies / The Box / Crisis on Naboo
Obi-wan goes deep undercover as a bounty hunter. Notable mostly for planting some seeds for Anakin's [misplaced] mistrust of Obi-Wan.]
Massacre [/ Bounty]
Ventress-centric; the former is worth watching but super dark; the latter gives her character and arc some nice shading despite its obvious beats.
[Brothers / Revenge
Opress and Maul hunt Obi-wan. Has implications for later on, but depends how high your tolerance for Opress and Maul is. Otoh, I find Ventress' appearance worth the time]
A War on Two Fronts/ Front Runners / The Soft War / Tipping Points
Ahsoka-centric arc where she basically learns how to run a resistance/rebellion.
[The Gathering / A Test of Strength / Bound for Rescue / A Necessary Bond
Another Ahsoka-centric arc, where she shepherds a group of younglings on an adventure, also featuring Hondo Ohnaka. Cute but not essential.]
[Revival / Eminence / Shades of Reason / Lawless
Obi-Wan's two main storylines collide when Maul and Opress end up on Mandalore; important but also containing the worst of angry-making clichés so I wouldn't make it a must-watch]
Sabotage / The Jedi Who Knew Too Much / To Catch a Jedi / The Wrong Jedi
Absolutely must-watch Ahsoka arc.
The Unknown / Conspiracy / Fugitive / Orders
The payoff of all those earlier clone-centric episodes and also a key piece of RotS.
[An Old Friend / The Rise of Clovis / Crisis at the Heart
Notable mostly for highlighting how dysfunctional Anakin and Padme's relationship is; iirc, it should probably have a warning for domestic abuse]
[The Lost One / Voices / Destiny / Sacrifice
Interesting arc about Yoda and the Force]
This leaves out a lot (even without counting the droid- and Jar Jar-centric episodes I didn't even watch), but as I said up top, I think watching either the Holocron Heist arc or the Landing at Point Rain arc will give you an idea of whether it's a show you could be interested in.
It does a good job of making Anakin Skywalker into a fully-fleshed out character who I at least came to care about a lot more than I ever did in the movies (which was zero) and gives him facets that aren't whiny or murderous, all while showing you his penchant for making terrible decisions even when he thinks he's doing the right thing. There's a reason I have a tumblr tag that says #i hate that i have ~feelings about darth vader now, and the reason is this show.
After watching it, I actually believe Obi-Wan's claim to Luke that Anakin was his best friend/brother, and also it's made very clear that the Jedi were complicit in their own downfall, having become rigid and dogmatic in their adherence to the Code [as any millennia-old organization is bound to], and also corrupt in their relations with the Republic. While it doesn't deal with the question of droids-as-slaves I've seen some people mention, it does engage with the ethics of using clones as soldiers and also does a great job making the clones people who are not all exactly the same despite being, well, clones. Plus, Padme gets some chances to shine outside of her relationship with Anakin (which shows neither of them in the best light ever), and I love Ahsoka and Ventress and Satine a lot.
Others who've watched and enjoyed it, anything you'd add or remove?
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/806883.html.
people have commented there.