Before Ahsoka: 5 best arcs in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, ranked
Star Wars: The Clone Wars aired its final episodes in 2020, when Lucasfilm mainstay Dave Filoni resurrected the show from the dead to finish Ahsoka Tano’s story on Disney+. Now he is creating a live-action show about Ahsoka which will further expand on storylines from The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, which are both animated series.
We were first introduced to former Jedi Ahsoka Tano 15 years ago on The Clone Wars, which has become a respected part of the Star Wars canon thanks to the way it deepened the lore and further developed many characters from the prequel era.
As we await another continuation in the Ahsoka TV show, here are the five best arcs from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
5. A distant Echo
Prior to getting their own show on Disney+, Clone force 99, aka the Bad Batch, debuted in the final season of The Clone Wars in a four-episode arc.
The Bad Batch are a group of clone soldiers — Wrecker, Hunter, Crosshair and Tech — with an independent streak. In their intro arc, Captain Rex and Commander Cody — a pair of higher-ranking clones who manage the Bad Batch — theorize that the Separatists are learning to adapt to the Republic’s military strategies and propose a plan to have the Bad Batch infiltrate a cyber security center to steal the Separatist algorithm held by Admiral Trench. Additionally, the group finds a signal from the Arc trooper Echo, a clone who was thought to have died on the Citadel during the rescue of the Jedi Even Piell.
Rex and the Bad Batch worked with Echo and are eager to trace his signal, but they are halted by Anakin Skywalker, who insists that Rex come with him to guard the door to a barracks while he contacts Padme. Anakin vents his frustrations while Padme reminds him to trust Rex and be there for him. They share a tender moment before Obi-Wan approaches Rex wanting to speak to Anakin, prompting a hilarious exchange where it is revealed that Obi-Wan already knows about Padme and Anakin’s relationship.
The crew follows Echo’s signal to a planet called Skako Minor, where they are pointed in the direction of Wat Tambor’s facility. When the signal goes cold, the group starts to theorize this is a trap and that Echo is not alive after all. Rex gets agitated and starts punching Crosshair after he says that he would have left Echo to die at the Citadel. Anakin breaks up the fight and tells Rex to prepare to face the reality that Echo is dead.
They make their way into the facility and fight their way through dozens of flying battle droids until Rex meets Wat Tambor. Rex accuses Wat of holding Echo prisoner, but Tambor says it does not matter because they will all die soon. After killing more droids, Tech and Rex move into a large room with a stasis chamber. Tech opens it up to find Echo with a series of wires plugged into his head and mechanical contraptions built into his now grotesque body. When he comes to, Echo is disoriented and still thinks he’s on the Citadel, but he is relieved to see Rex has come back for him.
Tech is able to safely unhook Echo from the Separatist machines and the team makes a hasty retreat into an exhaust vent. With the help of local flying lizard creatures called Keeradaks, the group escapes Tambor’s facility, which the locals decide to help take down. After the battle is over, Echo thanks Rex for coming to get him.
The final episode in the arc begins with the Jedi and Clones devising a plan to take down Admiral Trench. Echo offers a new strategy: with his knowledge of the Separatist network, Echo can feed the Republic forces information on all of Trench’s moves before he makes them. The Bad Batch escorts Echo, Anakin and Rex onto Trench’s dreadnaught cruiser while the Republic forces launch an offensive on Trench’s droid factory on the planet Anaxes. The crew makes their way to a mainframe where Echo plugs in and begins monitoring Trench’s moves. While Jedi Mace Windu and Obi-Wan are fighting off dozens of battle droids, Echo reroutes all of Trench’s forces to their location and neutralize them with an EMP.
All signs point towards victory until Echo picks up another order from Trench to detonate a massive bomb at the facility that would destroy a large chunk of the planet. Windu makes his way to the bomb and Echo helps him disarm it. Trench tries to interrupt but Anakin saves the day and kills the spider-like Separatist. The dreadnaught crew then fights their way off the ship and blow it up on their way home. With Rex’s encouragement, Echo decides to join the Bad Batch.