Welcome back to my series “Why I love Star Wars”. This is a series that was inspired by reading Ken Napzok’s Why We Love Star Wars: The Great Moments That Built A Galaxy Far, Far Away, a countdown of the top 100 moments from Star Wars that made him love it all, including canon stories from every medium. As I was reading this book, I found myself thinking of some of my own favourite moments and wanted to discuss them.
While there are certainly some films that I do not like as much as others, every movie has some wonderful moments that I would always say outweigh the bad, so for that reason I wouldn’t say that I hate any of the Star Wars films. With the way that too much Star Wars talk has gone down a dark hole in recent years, hopefully reminding ourselves of the great moments and focusing on the positives will help the fandom recover.
Why I Love Star Wars:
- A New Hope
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Return of the Jedi
- The Phantom Menace
- Attack of the Clones
- Revenge of the Sith
- The Clone Wars
- The Force Awakens
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- The Last Jedi
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- The Rise of Skywalker
Unlike in the book, I will not put the moments in any specific order (I do things like that enough in my Top 10s!) as the order would probably change on every viewing. With all the movies now covered, I have enjoyed doing these so much, I have chosen to carry this on to cover the series. Today I will be looking at The Clone Wars seasons 1-6
I have chosen to keep season 7 separate as there has been such a gap between the series, the storytelling is coming from a different place and the technology has jumped forward so much that it would unfair to compare with the original episodes.
Beware: this will contain spoilers for the series!
War on Mandalore
From season 5 episode 16 “The Lawless”
As Bo-Katan and her Mandalorian loyalists help Obi-Wan fight his way to a ship to get back to the Republic, a moment comes when the doors to the hangar open and – with the camera behind Obi-Wan – we see war. Just war, there’s no other way to describe it. Fire and explosions, Mandalorians fighting Mandalorians. I remember when the show first began and I refused to watch a “kids’ show”, but moments like this are a great reminder of just how serious the show can be.
Maul’s revenge
From season 5 episode 16 “The Lawless”
Sticking with the same episode and a moment earlier in the episode, Maul has captured Obi-Wan and Satine. Maul begins to choke Satine, trying to bait Obi-Wan into giving in to his anger, but Obi-Wan refuses. Maul gives into his rage and gets a chance for revenge, lifting Satine into the air with the Force and pulling her onto the blade of the Darksaber, before letting her fall and Obi-Wan taking her into her arms for her final breaths. Through the build-up the music grows ominously, and the change the moment she is stabbed leads to a beautiful melody as Satine becomes one with the Force. While a beautiful moment in itself, it also has a deeper significance, as this is the second person Obi-Wan loves who he has watched Maul kill (search Kenobi by Heroes Fan Productions on YouTube to see the similarities in Satine’s and Qui-Gon’s deaths edited beautifully – get your tissues ready!) and yet still Obi-Wan manages to stop himself giving in to anger and hatred and turning to the dark side, cementing himself as a great Jedi.
Ahsoka walks away
From season 5 episode 20 “The Wrong Jedi”
Ever since Ahsoka was introduced, there had been questions around why she isn’t seen or mentioned in Revenge of the Sith. The final arc of the fifth season gave us a reason as she was framed for a terrorist act and murder, only for the true villain to be revealed at the last second. Feeling betrayed that Anakin was the only Jedi to believe her and another of her closest friends had betrayed her and set her up, Ahsoka is offered her place back in the Jedi Order, but walks away. Anakin chases after her and tries convincing her to return, but he is unable to do so and she walks away, bringing an end to the series. The score from Kevin Kiner is beautiful throughout this scene and I love how Anakin even hints towards thinking of leaving the Order, and Ahsoka hinting that she knows the truth about him and Padmé.
“I understand. More than you realise. I understand wanting to walk away from the Order.”
“I know.”
Anakin’s future
From season 3 episode 17 “Ghosts of Mortis”
The Mortis arc was a strange one and certainly isn’t easy to get your head round, but it has some wonderful moments. The one I have chosen sees Anakin and Son in the Well of the Dark Side. Son is trying to convince Anakin to side with him, but Anakin refuses, so Son decides to show him his future. We see Anakin’s vision along with him: Palpatine’s Force lightning, killing younglings, choking Padmé, fighting Ob-Wan, the destruction of Alderaan, and then as he is overcome and falls to his knees, Vader’s helmet and breathing. The music again builds wonderfully through Anakin’s vision and it is great to see and hear familiar moments from Revenge of the Sith, while Matt Lanter does an amazing job voicing Anakin in such a distressing moment.
“Know yourself. Know what you will become.”
Friendly Fire
From season 4 episode 10 “Carnage of Krell”
The Umbara arc is probably my favourite arc of The Clone Wars seasons 1-6 and this is a big reason why. With the clones of the 501ˢᵗ struggling to cope with General Pong Krell in Anakin’s absence, they are sent to patrol the nearby area with intel that a squad of Umbarans have stolen clone armour. The 501ˢᵗ come under attack from a squad wearing the 212ᵗʰ’s armour and the 2 groups engage. As Rex sneaks behind enemy lines, he finds the body of one of the “clones”, but taking off the helmet finds that it is in fact a clone! Realising that they are attacking the actual 212ᵗʰ, Rex runs back to the battle and begins yelling at his troops to cease fire, taking off his helmet and running towards the enemy. We see a pair of 212ᵗʰ clones about to shoot him, but the one notices Rex is a clone just in time to stop the other, while Rex tackles a nearby 212ᵗʰ clone and rips their helmet off to show the 501ˢᵗ that they are allies. As the battle comes to an end, the 2 groups meet in shock, while Rex falls to his knees in horror at the unnecessary loss of his brothers. Kix calls Rex over to the platoon leader, Waxer, who has been mortally wounded. With his dying breaths, Waxer tells Rex that they were sent to the position by General Krell to deal with a group of Umbarans who had stolen clone armour, and it becomes clear that Krell had set the 2 platoons up to take each other out. Waxer’s death is incredibly emotional, with a tear rolling down his cheek, while Kiner’s score is once again beautifully horrific once the friendly fire becomes clear, before transitioning into a beautiful, sombre, militaristic melody as everyone tries to come to terms with what has just happened.
“We thought they were wearing our armor. But… it was… you.”
What are your favourite moments from seasons 1-6 of The Clone Wars?
Thanks for reading. May the Force be with you…
The Canon Padawan 