“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.”
-George Krstic,
Star Wars: The Clone
Wars Season 1, Episode 19, “Storm Over Ryloth”
Every episode, except the final four, of Star Wars: The
Clone Wars began with a version of John Williams’ seminal “Star Wars Theme” playing under
a quote that espoused that episode’s theme or moral. 127 episodes featured
these quotes. And yet, the one that best describes The Clone Wars is
from an episode that aired over a decade ago, during the show’s initial season.
Seven seasons over 12 years is quite a long journey, but today, 4 May 2020, the
journey ended. Not without some bumps along the way. But it is those bumps that
taught the show how to be great.
When George Lucas and Dave Filoni assembled a team to create
a cartoon aimed at children and set between Episode II and Episode
III, I don’t think they imagined the show would become arguably the most
popular piece of Star Wars media released since 1983. That is probably because
they did not begin with a show of that quality. The Clone Wars was
largely forgettable during its first season and much of the second. That began
to change late in the second season and continued during the third. The
animation was suddenly much more fluid. The stories more mature and emotional.
The focus shifted away from villain of the week type stories to longer term
story arcs. And yet, it built upon everything those early seasons had
established.
Spoilers for every episode of Star Wars: The Clone
Wars, including the series finale “Victory and Death”.
While the show presents itself as a gigantic ensemble, it
truly focuses around five characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Darth
Maul, and newcomers Captain Rex and Ahsoka Tano. Even within that group, the
show most often focuses on the journeys of Anakin and Ahsoka. The theatrical
film that preceded the series introduces Anakin, still a padawan himself, to
his new protégé Ahsoka. From that point, their stories are entwined. They grow
and learn from each other. As the later seasons of The Clone Wars show
Anakin slowly slipping into the mindset that causes him to ultimately become
Darth Vader, Ahsoka rejects the Jedi in a different manner. Not by turning to
the dark side, but by realizing that the Jedi are not the only well-intentioned
people to wield the Force. These two remain the heart of the show until it’s
closing moments.
Remember that opening quote above? Ahsoka and her reception
by the fanbase is the perfect encapsulation of that quote. In the beginning,
she was a brash, snarky teen that was a little many, yours truly included, found
insufferable. She remained this way for what felt like hundreds of episodes.
But then, over time, Ahsoka began to actually listen to those around. While she
tended to be a hard-headed act first, think later type like her master, Ahsoka
learned from Obi-Wan’s more tempered guidance and befriended Padme Amidala,
where she learned more about patience and thoughtfulness. This all began in the
back of Season 2 and early in Season 3, as the show’s dramatic upswing in
quality began. And that is no coincidence. As the show became better, so too
did its primary characters.
The Clone Wars does a lot to redeem Anakin as a character.
Here, he is shown to be a brash swashbuckler like both his apprentice and
master, but with hints of the darkness that brews inside of him that would lead
to him becoming Darth Vader. Anakin was portrayed as much more charismatic and
a better leader than he was during the films. At first, that was all he was
shown to be. Like Ahsoka, Anakin’s character truly came into its own during the
show’s period of quick quality increase. A large factor in this is his growth
from interacting with and learning from both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. But it is also
his resistance to growth despite seemingly being taught certain lessons
repeatedly that makes him a multi-dimensional character and seem human,
something he has rarely, if ever, been portrayed as before. That is also when
his connection to the dark side of the Force became a recurring B-plot bubbling
under the surface, ultimately paying off in the final scene of the series.
If Anakin and Ahsoka are the most important figures of this
story, the clones the titular Clone Wars are named after come in third.
Headlined by Captain Rex and ARC Troopers Fives and Echo (Rest in peace 99, a
true inspiration), the clones form the vast majority of the Grand Army of the
Republic. Cloned from the bounty hunter Jango Fett, these soldiers are faceless
bodies that can be killed in action scenes in the films. Here, they are much
more. Viewers come to realize that each clone is his own individual human
being, with all the good and bad that comes from that. This humanity being
bestowed upon the clone sis ultimately a long con: Because you know the clones
are their own humans, a right they must constantly fight for throughout the
series, the activation of Order 66 in the final episodes is incredibly
heartbreaking. Yes, countless Jedi die and that is horrific. But these millions
of men have their humanity stripped from them. They lose control themselves and
can only follow orders. It is exceptional storytelling that started with a
one-off episode about a middle of nowhere base being attacked in the fifth
episode of the series.
This all brings us to the final season of The Clone Wars,
a season that acts as a microcosm of the entire show’s journey. This season was
split into three (But really four) story arcs. The first, focusing on the Bad
Batch unit and Rex, is by no means bad. There are several incredible looking
action scenes and thought-provoking character interactions. It is also at least
one episode longer than the story it had to tell making it often feel inflated
and dull. The following story was a marked significant improvement while,
unfortunately, remaining an episode too long. Showing viewers what Ahsoka had
been doing since her last appearance in the fifth season finale is a great idea
that serves two purposes: Show Ahsoka’s state of mind leading into the big
finale and provide a reason for her to go to said finale despite no longer
being a Jedi. It all works even while feeling bloated.
And then there is the final arc. Split into two smaller arcs
(The Siege of Mandalore and Order 66), this is the only story in the season
that could have used an extra episode. While all four episodes are excellent
and some of the best in the show’s history, they don’t have the time to breathe.
The siege of Manadalore is supposed to be an incredibly impactful event in the
Star Wars universe and it is solved in less than two full episodes with little
focus on Mandalore at all. Instead, the story focuses squarely on Ahsoka and
Maul. I would never want to give up any of the material surrounding those characters,
especially their final duel, which rivals anything Star Wars has done in any
medium. The choreography, the music, the emotional stakes. Everything about the
scene is as good as it gets. I just wish there was more time for Mandalore
itself.
The final two episodes pick up from the end of the siege and
quickly move the setting to a star destroyer in space, transporting Maul to
Coruscant. During this trip, Darth Sidious (Who gets name checked several times
in these episodes) activates Order 66 and the clones all turn on Ahsoka, including
her good friend Rex. It is emotionally devastating to watch all of these men
that have painted their helmets in honor of and to show their respect for
Ahsoka be forced to attack her. It even devastates Rex (Once he gets his mind
control chip removed) and Ahsoka so they choose not to kill any of their
comrades. Rex sets his guns to stun and Ahsoka (very obviously) always directs
shot away from people instead of back at them, as is typical.
Maul has a temper tantrum and causes the star destroyer to
crash into a nearby moon. Not before he, Rex, and Ahsoka make it off, of
course. Rex and Ahsoka return to the site of the crash later and create individual
graves for all of the fallen men. Each man’s helmet is displayed proudly at the
edge of the cemetery. Standing in front of them in a cloak, Ahsoka surveys the
damage done. She then quietly drops one of the lightsabers Anakin gifted her
mere episodes ago to the ground, as if to say that this is the final straw.
This is when Ahsoka Tano turns away from the Republic that has turned her away
at every opportunity.
But it is in the final scene that The Clone Wars
makes clear the lesson it wants to impart to viewers. Some indeterminate amount
of time after the rest of the show, Darth Vader arrives at the star destroyer
crash site in the dead of winter. There, he finds a lightsaber and ignites it.
For a brief moment, it seems as though Ahsoka has connected with her mentor.
Just as quickly, Vader puts the saber away, letting go of his past self just as
Ahsoka did by leaving it here. Just as Rex did when he escaped the star
destroyer. The series ends with a 15 second shot of a clone trooper’s helmet
laying in the snow. The helmet is
cracked and scratched, a sign of the hardships of the war. The helmet’s
reflection shows Vader stalking away from it, away from the Clone Wars, from The
Clone Wars. As we must now do. There are no more episodes coming. There
will be no more saving the show from cancellation. Things are different now and
one must let go of the past to move forward. For no matter how rocky the road
to get here, the way to greatness is always forward.
If you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way to help with costs:
No comments:
Post a Comment