How To Watch ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ In Chronological Order And Why You Should
Image Source: IMDb
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is still one of the most popular Star Wars series of all time. It premiered in October 2008 on Cartoon Network and would run for six seasons before Disney cancelled it in March 2014. Thankfully, the studio heard fans’ cries for more, and in 2020, the series was renewed by Disney+ for a final season.
The series is set between Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and there is substantial crossover between the final season and Episode III. The series not only introduced us to the clone troopers like never before, but also gave us new characters such as Ahsoka Tano, Cade Bane, and Asajj Ventress, who have all appeared in newer content. We also got to know Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi Council better, learned what happened after Boba Fett lost his father, and got to spend more time with Anakin and Padmé. The series brought a lot to Star Wars fans, and it is definitely a must-watch, due to both its own quality and its enhancement of all the newer content.
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There are 133 total episodes, plus a film that was released ahead of the series. When watching the series, you may notice that the stories do not always feel linear, and that is because they were released out of order. Lucasfilm has never explained why they chose to do this, but the series does gradually fall into a linear timeline toward the end. Starwars.com shared an official sequential order watch list, and my husband and I spent the last few months following it. This was our fourth rewatch of the series as a whole, and I can say that following the chronological episode order definitely increased our enjoyment.
There were two main things that my husband and I both noticed while doing this rewatch that made us decide to never do another non-sequential viewing. I have broken down these top two reasons:
Stories Had More Impact
Image Source: IMDb
The stories in The Clone Wars are some of the most impactful in Star Wars. Part of this is because they explain a lot of plot holes and mysteries present in the other films, but also because we get to spend more time with each character. The clones are not just CGI extras – instead, they are actual characters with their own personalities and dreams. We get to see more of Padmé and Anakin and understand the tension between them in Episode III, we get to know the Jedi who we later see become victims of Order 66, and we get to see much more of Darth Maul. Watching the series in order intensified our relationship with and understanding of the characters, which made each story and arc more impactful.
The Series Was Easier To Follow
Image Source: IMDb
The Clone Wars is my ultimate comfort show, and I have watched certain arcs more than 20 times. I never realized that certain arcs got a little confusing until I was watching it in sequential order. Watching each story to its completion before switching to another helped to follow exactly what was happening. For example, an arc with Cade Bane and Ziro the Hutt is broken up across multiple seasons if you watch the episodes in order of release. There were times that I completely forgot that arc was still going on because so many other things had happened since we had last checked in. Watching it in sequential order made it easy to understand each arc, and it also made it easier to keep all of the facts and timelines straight.
You can find the watchlist HERE, and you can find the entire series (plus the film) on Disney+.
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