Star Wars: The Clone Wars bids farewell on Disney Plus

After seven seasons, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has concluded on Disney Plus. The beloved show became one of the only Star Wars properties to seemingly unify the entire fanbase.

The beginning of the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars didn’t get off to a great start. Its opening arc focused on a group of clone troopers nicknamed “The Bad Batch.” While these first four episodes weren’t necessarily bad, they weren’t up to the standard of the final season of an excellent acclaimed show.

This final season was only 12 episodes, which causes you to hope for more than an arc which seemed like it could have fit in any previous season. This is especially true when you realize what story arcs went unused for The Clone Wars, such as the Sons of Dathomir.

The second arc saw the return of fan favorite Ahsoka Tano. It was her first appearance on the show after she left the Jedi Order in season five. But much like the season’s first arc, it felt out of place and more like a set of filler episodes. It was nice to have more of Ahsoka, but her character deserved better than what she got out of those episodes.

Fortunately, the final arc of the season, and series, was some of the best on-screen Star Wars storytelling we have ever seen. It wrapped up the arcs of both Ahsoka and Maul and delivered a stunning lightsaber duel which immediately became one of the series’ best.

The final four-episode arc of season 7 was perfectly done. You can feel that this is what the show has been building to the whole time – there was a plan and a predetermined arc for Ahsoka. She first appeared as Anakin’s young, headstrong padawan, and concluded as a matured leader who knows exactly how she feels about the world around her.

It was the perfect sendoff for a character who has become a personal favorite of mine. She represents everything Anakin could have had, and as the epilogue shows, she will represent this ideal well into his future.

But of course, the titular clones are what make this show tick. Apart from adding to the lore of characters we already know like Anakin or Maul, creating timeless new characters like Ahsoka and Satine, The Clone Wars brought actual characterization to the clone troopers, who largely remained anonymous in the prequel trilogy. Their backstories and individual personalities were explored in a tender and special way.

Though, if you’ve seen Revenge of the Sith, then you know what eventually comes of the clones. Knowing how this plays out has a completely different effect once you come to understand the relationship the clones and the Jedi have. So going into the final arc, you expect an emotional gut punch. But somehow, the show delivers on that expectation even more than you’d expect.

Even with the first two-thirds of this final season being subpar, it still more than delivers overall. It serves the story and fills in gaps leading up to Sith and manages to be the best Star Wars content Disney has delivered.

Watch all seven seasons of The Clone Wars on Disney Plus!