Before the pitchforks and torches come out, calm down. I have a point. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, or just TCW, is an animated TV show set in the Star Wars universe during the prequels. It has 7 seasons, with seasons 1–6 set between Episode II (Attack of the Clones) and Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) of the Prequels. It features characters we already know (Anakin, Obi-Wan, Palpatine, etc.), and introduces us to new ones like fan favorite Ahsoka Tano.
TCW was, by all accounts, an excellent show. It deepened the Star Wars lore, adding character depth to some fan favorites while introducing us to new and excellent storylines and character motivations. It currently has an average Tomatometer score of 93%, and an 8.3/10 on IMDb. The writing was excellent, voice performances brilliant, and the animation steadily improved.
So why the title? What is there to support the assertion that TCW is the worst best TV show? In my opinion (which doesn’t count for much), TCW highlights the egregious shortcomings in the Prequel Trilogy. Few people will dispute the assertion that the Prequels is the weaker trilogy (we are gonna pretend the sequels don’t exist). The writing is muddled, character ambitions are all over the place, and my God, the acting. The acting is some of the worst I’ve seen put to film (“I hate sand”, what?). So, what does this have to do with TCW? Well, TCW is formed with the same source materials. Same characters (minus a few additions and resurrections), same war, same internal conflict. But Dave Filoni actually took all the same building blocks and created a masterpiece. Watching this, you feel Anakin’s struggle between love and duty. You understand how the Jedi, the all-powerful entity, were tricked, bamboozled, and eventually defeated. And I challenge anyone to find 2 hours of Prequel film that can rival the “Siege of Mandalore” arc in season 7.
In summary, TCW is the worst best series, not because of anything it did, but because when you watch it, you are pained for what might have been for the Prequels, and the Star Wars universe as a whole.
