Thanks to Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars finally gets the conclusion it deserves. I was glad to see the return of Ahsoka; she was missed in the previous season. All of the episodes were rather epic, but what really moved me was the four-episode conclusion, which ties into Revenge of the Sith and does so quite well. RotS was a big deal to me; not only did I see it on the big screen--which I've only done with three Star Wars movies, and the IMAX version I saw of Attack of the Clones was cut--which made it all the more moving, but, that was also around the time I discovered the Expanded Universe, which also had a big impact on me. So, those episodes brought back very fond memories.
Fans of Star Wars knew from the beginning that this show wouldn't have a happy ending; even if you've only seen the original trilogy, you know that Anakin becomes the evil Darth Vader, and that Obi-Wan and Yoda have to go into hiding. Instead of giving us sweet schmaltz, the makers decided to go with the prequels' vibe...and it worked very well here. It's a shame that the same storytelling talent couldn't have been applied to the films; barring a reboot, the movies have been forever stained by the epic fail that was The Last Jedi. Still, I have to give Disney credit in this case; they did it right. Maybe, someday, they'll realize how badly they flubbed with the flicks and give us the Thrawn trilogy on the big screen. One can only hope...
Parts of this sixth season are really well done. Between appearances by Liam Neeson and Mark Hamill, a few epic story arcs, and the usual fabulous animation and great action sequences, a good part of it is true to Star Wars, and will likely make longtime fans happy.
However, other parts bothered me. First off, a two-episode story featuring the most annoying character in a galaxy far, far away--Jar Jar, to be exact--was unnecessary. Didn't Lucasfilm learn from the staunch criticism they got from his excessive presence in The Phantom Menace? Also, I missed Ahsoka; save for one brief cameo, she was entirely absent here. The biggest problem I had, though, were with the last two episodes. I don't dislike Yoda, but I can only take so much of his backward speech; having him be the most verbose among the few speaking characters drove me nuts. Even more annoying were the Five Priestesses, whose GPS-system voices were positively nerve-grating. The scary monsters were a bit much, too; I know that frightening creatures have been part of this franchise since the early days, but Darth Bane and the dark version of Yoda made Jabba the Hutt look like Cookie Monster in comparison.
After this, I'm actually surprised that Disney decided to reboot it with a seventh season; then again, maybe it needed it, as this sixth season ended on a bit of a sour note. Hopefully, the House of Mouse won't ruin this show like they did the movies with the garbage that was The Last Jedi.
The good news about this eighth season is the animation is vastly improved. In the earlier episodes, it was obvious that different studios did each one, because character designs would vary from scene to scene; not so here. Also, the action and heroism that was a hallmark of the heroes in a half-shell's television serial from the beginning is definitely present here.
The bad news is that the mood is much, much darker. Gone are the wisecracks, the breaking of the fourth wall, and the overall lighthearted feel; most of these episodes take place entirely at night. Based on the opening sequence, I would guess they were trying to evoke the feel of the first live-action TMNT film; that was a bad choice, in my opinion, because that version of the Turtles is the worst I've ever seen, especially from a content perspective. (Then again, I've never read the original comics, which were reportedly very, very dark.) While the Turtles don't use the profanity here that said flick contained, I still liked this show better when it was lighter and funnier; this season almost felt like a cartoon version of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies at times. I've seen about three and a half seasons of the 2003 cartoon, and, while they're overall edgier than the earlier episodes of this one, they still contain moments that will make you laugh or at least chuckle; not so much here. Plus, for most of the episodes, Shredder and Krang don't appear; the Turtles fight other mutants that are rather unconvincing villains. Even the theme song wasn't as good. I think this season is when this series "jumped the shark"; unfortunately, it happens to pretty much all long-running shows, so, it had to happen sometime.
Still, there are two more seasons left, albeit with only eight episodes each; we'll see if the makers were able to recapture the magic that made the first seven seasons such a blast.
