After a genuinely great second season, Season 3 of Clone Wars doesn't quite have the best first half, between a bunch of dull senator-related episodes and a confusing timeline. However, halfway through the season, things shift to some of the best episodes the series has seen yet.
Kamino Arc: While this arc containing both a prequel and sequel to Rookies might be confusing at first, it's still a genuinely great start to the season. Clone Cadets is a fun and entertaining underdog storyline, giving the Domino Squad a bit more time to get to know them, and a satisfying victory by the end of the episode. We also meet 99, the heart of the Domino Squad, and get the first appearance of Shaak Ti! She's nowhere near as badass as in the 2003 series, but a welcome addition nonetheless. ARC Troopers is even better, easily the largest-scale battle in the series to date, packed with dogfights, lightsaber fights, and shootout. Yet even with the massive cast of characters, the focus is still squarely on the Domino Squad, and 99's death hits really hard. Slot Rookies in the middle and you get a nearly perfect story arc, but even without it, this is an excellent batch of episodes and a strong start to the season.
5/5 Stars
Supply Lines: Okay, now this is where Season 3 starts to fall off in quality. Similarly to Cat And Mouse, this is a prequel episode to Ambush and the Ryloth arc that just didn't need to exist. It's a blend between the somewhat dull senator episodes and the generally weak Jar Jar episodes, a mix of some of the weakest aspects of the series. On one hand, I think limiting Jar Jar to diplomatic affairs is a good solution to the problem of his clumsiness, but we ended up getting the scene where he has to distract a Senate representative which is just so relentlessly unfunny. I didn't like this episode at all, it wasn't fun or interesting, and it didn't feel like I learned anything new about the events of Ryloth, which is what prequels are supposed to be meant to do.
1/5 Stars
Sphere Of Influence: This episode was just kind of dull, with most of the enjoyment coming from seeing previously established Star Wars characters and locations. It was nice to see the Pandorans again after Trespass, along with Jabba and his palace. I'd also say it was nice to see Greedo, but the decision to have him speak English was an odd one, especially considering that Jabba spoke his own usual language. Papanoida was also a bit of a waste since that they didn't bring George Lucas in to voice him given he and his family was modeled after Lucas and his. Otherwise, this episode was just okay, the main storyline about the kidnapping wasn't super compelling, but the Ahsoka scenes were pretty fun and tense. It just feels like this one could have been a bit more interesting given all of its ideas and characters.
2/5 Stars
Mandalore Arc: Hey, Mandalore's back! And so is Satine! The only problem is this arc is kinda boring. The fun dynamic with Obi-Wan, the interesting death watch arc, the themes on pacifism and neutrality, all of which are forgoed for a pretty meh storyline about a black market conspiracy. It's a shame because Mandalore is such a rich and interesting planet, yet it's just being used for a storyline that doesn't seem to utilize its interesting aspects. Corruption is easily the weaker of the two, it's a dull conspiracy plot with no fun dialogue or interesting themes. The Academy is a bit better since I kinda enjoy watching Ahsoka try to teach a bunch of kids, but whenever the storyline shifted to being about the black market, I started to lose interest. It's a shame, I think an episode about Ahsoka teaching a class could have been really fun, but The Academy just didn't go all the way. Overall, this second Mandalore arc isn't that great. It's dull, forgettable, and lacks any of the things that made the first arc so enjoyable.
2/5 Stars
Hutts And The Underworld Arc: In theory, this should be a great arc! It single-handedly ties up the loose ends left by both the first and second season finales, making it feel like a story that needs to be told unlike most of the episodes in Season 3A, and it got off to a really solid start too! Assassin is such a great Ahsoka episode, as she starts having force visions, and she has to stop Aurra Sing from killing Padme all on her own. We never see Ahsoka and Padme together, but they have a really sweet dynamic, and the episode as a whole balances being tense and character-driven. I liked this one. It's a shame I couldn't say the same about Evil Plans, however. I quite like the dynamic between R2 and 3PO, but they're separated for most of the episode, an episode started just because 3PO left to go shopping. It just felt so bizarre, like it's an entire episode about Cad Bane capturing the droids and then letting them go, what was even the point? Hunt For Ziro at least had a point, it was at least about the aftermath of the events of Hostage Crisis. I think the goofy tone was odd given how serious Hostage Crisis was, Ziro is insanely annoying, and Quinlan Vos was introduced only to not really get much depth, but it did have some neat. moments like the twist of Sy killing Ziro. It's bizarre how inconsistent this arc was in terms of tone and quality, ranging from one of the better episodes so far to one of the worst.
2/5 Stars
Padme Amidala Arc: Okay, did we really need a prequel to the events of Senate Murders? One of the weakest episodes of Season 2?! Once again, this storyline was kinda dull, especially in the second half, but unlike, say Conspiracy, there were some interesting ideas here. Heroes On Both Sides had a great opening sequence that clearly established how the war is taking it's toll on the Republic's money, and I love the concept that two people on different sides of the war can have the same opinions, it lends so much more nuance to the war. It continues to have Ahsoka start to realize that things aren't as black and white as they might seem, shifting towards a more neutral line of thinking. We even got an improved animation style with far better costumes than before. Don't get me wrong, I have nostalgia for the Season 1 outfits, but now Obi-Wan and Anakin actually look like Jedis, and Ahsoka looks a bit more mature. However, Pursuit Of Peace kinda wrecks all that good will in service of setting up Senate Murders. Ahsoka's interesting development is tossed to the side, Mina is killed off screen, and the general storyline is just dull. The only noteworthy things about it is that the politics are pretty realistic (especially nowadays), Palpatine's reveal at the end was pretty cool, and best of all, Season 3A is officially over! From here on out, the politics-focused episodes stop, the tone starts to become a bit more consistent, the show becomes a bit more action-driven, and the chronology starts to make a bit more sense.
2/5 Stars
Witches And Monsters Arc: And thus, Season 3B begins and the show takes a massive jump in quality. This arc is still a serious whammy, drastically changing the status quo of the series and setting up one of the biggest storylines of the series. Nightsisters was genuinely shocking when it aired, seeing Ventress get betrayed by Dooku was so unexpected, but it actually makes the character a lot more interesting. Her backstory isn't huge, but enough to give her a bit more depth, and her revenge plotline this episode was compelling. Add in some great action and a darker tone, and you get a truly excellent episode. Monster is the weakest of the three, mostly focused on introducing and fleshing out Savage Oppress. It's a pretty standard origin story, though with some powerful moments like Savage killing his brother, and it mostly just suffers from not having a big plot twist like the other two episodes have. Speaking of which, Witches Of The Mist is just so good! Dooku training Savage, Anakin and Obi-Wan meeting Talzin, the Toydaria sequence, the amazing final battle, and the final reveal that Darth Maul is still alive! That made me go crazy as a kid! It's a strong and jam-packed end to probably the best arc the series has had yet. It really does have everything! Action, drama, fan service, plot twists, game-changing shifts to the status quo, and heartbreaking deaths, Clone Wars at its best.
5/5 Stars
Secrets Of Mortis Arc: This arc is weird, like really weird. It's jam-packed with a ton of lore about the force and how it works, but it also has a ton of great character work to keep things somewhat grounded... only somewhat. Overlords is pretty exposition-heavy, but the Force ghosts sequence with Qui-Gon, Shea, and future Ahsoka is really cool, and the ending where Anakin is revealed to be the Chosen One is pretty neat too. Altar Of Mortis is my favorite of the three. Darkside Ahsoka is super creepy, and it's heartbreaking to watch her fight Anakin, but the most compelling part is the fact that it also forces some of Ahsoka's lingering problems with Anakin to finally come to light. We also get a pretty great fight between the Daughter and Son, along with the former dying twice to save the other characters. And then there's Ghosts Of Mortis, which is the weakest of the three, though still really good. The Darth Vader visions scene is iconic for a very good reason, though it's weird that Anakin never brings it up ever again. I also think the ending where all three of the force wielders are dead is suitably dramatic. I think I still prefer the previous arc a bit better, this one is really weird, but it's another showcase of the show's massive jump in quality.
5/5 Stars
The Citadel Arc: While it's not as groundbreaking as the Dathomir or Mortis arcs, I quite like the Citadel arc. It's super action-packed and has some really unique concepts. Wanna see Grand Moff Tarkin pre-Empire? You got it. How about the return of carbonite? Or how about battle droids manufactured for the Jedi? There's a lot of cool stuff here. The Citadel is a strong opening with some fun action, a cool cliffhanger, and a great subplot about the tensions between Ahsoka and Anakin becoming a bit more prevalent after the events of Mortis. Counterattack had some good stuff as well, as Tarkin's philosophy was super interesting, especially how he got along with Anakin, R2 leading the battle droids was fun, and Echo's death was surprising. Citadel Rescue continued the interesting exploration of Tarkin's views and Ahsoka's relationship with Anakin, while also giving us a massive space battle, sad deaths for Piell and R2's battle droids, and a satisfying escape. Honestly, it's hard for me to pick my favorite episode of the three, they were all equally strong! The similar environments throughout made it a bit repetitive at times, but this was still a solid arc.
4/5 Stars
Chewbacca Returns Arc: This arc is more of an extended episode than anything else, basically a Most Dangerous Game parody starring Ahsoka and featuring Chewbacca. Now look, Chewie is cool! Seeing him again in this episode was neat fanservice, but that's all it was: fanservice. Given that this is supposed to be the Season 3 finale, it really felt like a gimmick to increase views at the end of the season rather than do anything dramatic and large like most of the other finales. I also thought it was disappointing that after two arcs about Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship becoming strained, they end up resolving it so quickly and easy by having Ahsoka decide that Anakin was a good teacher the whole time! I'll say these episodes were generally pretty fun, the action was tense and brutal, and Chewbacca was once again really cool, but it definitely didn't feel like a finale, and it definitely didn't feel as thought-provoking or risky as the last three arcs. Still better than most of Season 3A, but a weak ending to an uneven season.
3/5 Stars
Overall, Season 3 is a mixed bag, far more of one than the more consistent Season 2. It suffers from a very rough and shaky start, but once the Nightsisters arc begins, the show takes a massive and permanent jump in quality.
3/5 Stars
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