Star Wars: The Clone Wars might have ended in 2020, but it’s still held in high regard, thanks to its mature themes and focus on less popular heroes. The show also served as a perfect continuity bridge by answering all the questions regarding what happened between the events of Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Most importantly, it had some of the most action-packed episodes out of any show in the franchise.
While the likes of Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi have sometimes been criticized for sacrificing action set pieces in favor of storytelling, Clone Wars delivered plenty of warfare-related scenes throughout its seven seasons. However, among the 133 episodes, there are some that fans will remember more because they offered so many more such sequences in their 22-minute running times.
10 “Ambush” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The stakes were high right at the start of the series, with both the Separatists and the Republic scrambling to form an alliance with the neutral Toydaria. The fate of the planet lay in Yoda’s hands, and he didn’t disappoint. First, he was ambushed by Banking Clan frigates while orbiting the Rugosa moon, but having been no stranger to such situations, he escaped easily. Shortly after that, Asaji Ventress challenged him to a fight. If he won, Toydrian would join the Galactic Republic and if he didn’t, it would join the Separatists.
The terms were fair and direct, but the battle ended up being one of the toughest that Yoda has ever participated in because he and his clone clan were heavily outnumbered. But as the military strategist that he is, he did his best to motivate his team by pumping them up first with words such as “You are real beings, not just copies.” And when a couple of them found it hard to regain their morale, he still stepped up and tackled the droid army by himself. In the end, he emerged victorious.
9 “The Lawless” (Season 5, Episode 15)
“The Lawless” was quite a treat for fans as it featured two of the greatest Star Wars villains — Darth Maul and Darth Sidious. The latter’s presence triggered even more excitement since he had only been used sparingly in the series before then. The action began with Maul playing his usual dirty games. He first lured Obi Wan Kenobi to Mandalore before murdering Sartine. Hell would then break loose after Bo-Katan and her Death Watch faction rescued Obi Wan and began a war against Maul.
It’s this particular development that drew Sidious to Mandalore. As a courageous know-it-all person, he strongly felt he could fix it, so he showed up and began fighting Maul, who he saw as a rival. Watching the two baddies take on each other was refreshing, but what was more surprising was seeing the ever-competent Maul lose so easily. The episode would eventually end with Sidious torturing Maul.
8 “The Bad Batch” (Season 7, Episode 1)
The Season 7 premiere heavily focused on strategy, with both the Republic and the Separatists heavily relying on intelligence to defeat each other. After their battle-fleet production facility had been captured, the Republic fighters had to go back to the drawing board and find out how their enemies were always getting the better of them. They thus made a plan to infiltrate the Separatist Cyber Center and steal any information they had on them.
Events played out like those in action-packed spy movies, with the heroes using sneaky tactics and quietly taking down any slight obstacle that stood in their way. The best moment came when they were aided by the defectively born clones known as “The Bad Batch.” Whether it was lifting entire ships by themselves or dodging shots, this group proved tactically superior, giving the Republic fighters the help they desperately needed.
7 “Carnage of the Krell” (Season 4, Episode 10)
General Krell’s mischief was always going to catch up with him, and in “Carnage of the Krell,” his downfall eventually happened. The episode featured one of the most epic chases in the franchise, which occurred after members of the 501st Legion and the 212th Battalion realized he had tricked them into attacking each other.
The Mad-Max type of chase was incredibly satisfying to watch, and as evil as Krell was, anyone watching couldn’t help but wish for him to stay on the run longer so that the fun would continue. Unfortunately for him, he was no match for the pursuing clones. His capture also highlighted the sense of humanity among the clones, with some of them becoming conflicted on whether to execute him after his capture.
6 “Old Friends Not Forgotten” (Season 7, Episode 9)
With the recent announcement of the main characters of the upcoming Ahsoka TV show, fans have every reason to be excited. The character has been consistently impressive in other Star Wars shows and “Old Friends Not Forgotten” is undoubtedly one of the best episodes that center around her. In it, she recruited Skywalker and Obi Wan to help her invade Mandalore in order to take down Maul but had to do it without them anyway after the two were called away to protect Coruscant from Grevious.
Thankfully, Ahsoka still benefited from the help of Bo-Katan and Rex (who had recently been promoted to field commander). Throughout the invasion, the group demonstrated bravery and resilience, forcing Maul’s men to retreat. Prime Minister Almec was also arrested. However, the episode would end on quite the cliffhanger, with Ahsoka falling right into Maul’s trap and her fate remaining uncertain.
5 “The Phantom Apprentice” (Season 7, Episode 10)
“The Phantom Apprentice” continued the events of “Old Friends Not Forgotten,” with Ahsoka and Maul engaging in a tough duel that rivaled the iconic lightsaber fights of Star Wars movies. What was fascinating about the fight was the two rivals attempting to reach an understanding while still throwing everything they had at each other. Maul wouldn’t stop talking, telling Ahsoka that Sidious was the real enemy and that he had mega plans to destroy the republic.
Ahsoka’s decision to prevent Maul from falling to his death might have irked some fans, but it proved that she is good-hearted in nature and that not even the thirst for vengeance can compromise her moral standing. Ahsoka’s fight with Maul wasn’t the only highlight of the episode as it also featured an impressive battle Bo-Katan and Rex against Maul’s Mandalorians. In addition to that, the episode had several references to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, reminding fans that this was still the same world.
4 “Revenge” (Season 4, Episode 22)
Maul was always too good a villain to discard and in Season 4, he was back at his best after Opress and Talzin restored his sanity and created a new pair of mechanical legs for him. Burning with a need for vengeance, he massacred an entire village in order to draw out Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was successful in capturing the hero but Asajj Ventress (now serving as a bounty hunter), saved the day by rescuing Kenobi while attempting to capture Opress at the same time.
Apart from delivering plenty of incredible fight scenes, the episode was euphoric because of the unlikely alliance between Ventress and Kenobi. Without the collaborative efforts of the two, it’s highly likely that Kenobi would have been at the mercy of the malicious brothers for a long time to come.
3 “Shades of Reason” (Season 5, Episode 15)
The mayhem in “Shades of Reason” stemmed from Maul and Savage’s decision to overthrow Duchess Satine and take back Mandalore. In order to do that, they teamed up with one of Clone Wars’ outstanding villains, Pre Visla, but he instead went on to announce himself as the new leader after the victory. It was a classic game of greed and one that was obviously going to not end well.
As expected, Maul waged a war against Pre Visla in which he emerged victorious but paid a huge price for it. Realizing he could no longer be trusted, the Death Watch vowed to no longer be loyal to him. But in as much as the fall of Satine and Visla was sad to see, the flawless execution of the coup was something to behold.
2 “Citadel Rescue” (Season 2, Episode 20)
The tense prison break storyline began in the 18th episode, “Citadel’ but it’s in “Citadel Rescue” where the action truly kicked in. The franticness was visible right from the opening minute as Obi-Wan and Skywalker attempted to avoid the brutal warden known as Osi Sobeck in order to get break the prisoners out of Citadel. All that became even more difficult when their ship was destroyed, forcing them to wait for rescue.
The journey to the rendezvous point wasn’t a smooth one either since they had to battle numerous droid squads. It almost felt like their plan had failed in the final minute after they were cornered by Sobeck, Luckily, Ahsoka stabbed him to death just in time to allow everyone to escape.
1 “Gungan Attack” (Season 4, Episode 2)
Clone Wars was always a decent show because the protagonists were never too perfect. The Republican forces were defeated many times, including in Season 4’s second episode, where their attempt to stop Mon Cala from falling into the hands of the Separatists failed once again. This was despite them calling in reinforcement from the Gundgan Army and Jar Jar Blinks.
In the end, everyone was captured, a reality check that sent the heroes back to the drawing board. The developments were at a testament to the might of the Separists and painting them as even more formidable, the show gave fans an even greater reason to look forward to their eventual defeat, no matter how long it would take.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
