This is starting to get irritating now. The fifth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is easily the best season of the show so far, full of some great characterisation, incredibly violent yet awesome action sequences and some surprisingly powerful moments in the final arc. The problem with this show is they don't seem to want to focus on what the audience want. For every dark, violent storyline about Maul or for every emotional arc for Ahsoka we get an arc with the droids and an annoying commander which is 4 EPISODES LONG, making for a great yet frustrating season.
This season opted to change the formula of the season, with every storyline being a four-parter instead of the less consistent story lengths in previous seasons. This was very welcome with the incredibly exciting storylines, as it allowed us to get much more depth and development for both the characters and the storylines simultaneously. However, it ended up being a nuisance for the less investing storylines (especially the droid mission) as they felt incredibly dragged out. The quality of the stories was much more consistent in this season that previous, as there wasn't one storyline I didn't at least get some passable entertainment from. There were no dull political stories or dragged out character studies on characters I couldn't care less about - every storyline was at least entertaining. And the great ones were the peak of the show. The Maul storyline was possibly the darkest and most brutal way this show has ever gone, with some incredibly violent and dark moments. It also features possibly the best moment in Star Wars history, but I'll allow you to discover that for yourself. The storyline that rounded out the season was a run of episodes filled to the brim with dark themes, incredible action sequences and an extraordinarily powerful ending.
From a character point-of-view, this really was Ahsoka's season. She was a major player in three of the five stories here, and her growth as a Jedi was felt throughout these storylines. This climaxed into an incredible ending for her arc which I did not see coming, and I am incredibly excited to see what this show has in store for her next season. Obi-Wan also gets a lot of great depth here due to the return of his arch-nemesis Maul, and we get to see him go through some pretty powerful and horrific stuff.
The animation in this season is absolutely gorgeous, with the animators stepping up their game considerably from last season. The landscapes are much more fully realised here, the character movements and animations are much more fluid and any scene in the rain is truly stunning to look at. The best of this animation can be seen, oddly enough, in the worst arc of the series as the droids have to first get through a stunningly awesome comet field before landing on a gorgeously rendered planet to stop a multi-coloured explosion.
Overall, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has once again stepped up its game with a phenomenal fifth season that provides not only the incredible action and great development we've come to expect from this season, but also a surprising amount of emotion that I'm hoping to see carry on into the next two seasons.
Best Episode: The Lawless
Worst Episode: A Sunny Day In The Void
Overall Score: 85%
FROM A RELATIVELY AVERAGE START TO THE BEST SEASON FINALE TO DATE! :raised_hands:
This season has finally exposed the Jedi for the blinded, selfish, arrogant, conceited, know-it-all, hypocritical 'peacekeepers' they really are. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ashoka were, as always, great and multidimensional.
It would be an understatement to say that The Wrong Jedi is by far my most beloved episode that CW has ever put out. It was an experience and it had broken my heart for a second time. I remember watching it three times in a row and I stopped when it had finally made me cry.
Although it had pacing issues, the lead-up to the season finale was nothing short of breathtaking and full of excitement. Some parts moved either too slow for my taste or it was redundant or plain repetitive. However, when the actions kicked in, those really elevated the episode.
The Maul/Obi-Wan arc before that was overall fun and well-executed, though lacking in tension. The emotional beats were a little too short, but they still worked effectively. I think the Death Watch was poorly handled or maybe they are just that boring to watch and follow on screen, I dunno.
The R2-D2 and Gang storyline started out lame, but went out with a 'small' bang. The convenience was definitely at its highest in this season. The first two episodes didn't nothing for me. 'Missing in Action' and 'Point of No Return' were definitely a step in the right direction and upped the quality appropriately. It had even broken my disinterest towards this storyline and its protagonists.
I was really enjoying the Younglings' four-episode story... until I wasn't... and then I was enjoying myself again. It certainly had its fair share of highs and lows. Hondo turning good just for the sake of the plot and convenience was, to put it mildly, contrived. The 'Test of Strength' was definitely a testament to how not to write a 'villain' character. Hondo's reasoning here was ridiculously stupid, not to mention out of character if the episodes are watched in order of release. Though, I hardly doubt it makes any sense regardless of order. The preceding episode, The Gathering, was intriguing and enlightening as it expanded the Jedi and Lightsaber mythos.
The Onderon plot was rather safe and way too simplistic. Nothing over the course of this arc felt natural, least of all the much-hated love triangle contrivance. Plus, there was a lot of misdirection about what the Jedi could and couldn't do without being openly supportive towards the rebels. Let's just say, the writers had written themselves in a corner more than once and the only solution they could come up with was retconning the previous episode.
Overall = 6.6
The Clone Wars Seasons Ranked list --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/the-clone-wars-seasons-ranked?sort=rank,asc
My favorite season of the show so far easily. The worst arc this season was by far episodes 10-13 with R2 and his team of droids, as it just feels out of place and is another droid story that just isn't as engaging as the rest. But I actually didn't think it was the worst of the droid arcs we've gotten in the show and has enough heart to be decent. Beyond this, the entire rest of the season was good or better for me, and what really makes it my favorite so far is all of the focus on Ahsoka. I've always enjoyed her character, but this season makes me love her character. The final four episodes and especially the last one add an incredible amount of depth and nuance to her, and I loved the bold and unexpected direction they took things with her by the end. Easily the best season finale so far on all fronts. I loved how emotional it was, and especially how much you can tell Anakin cares for her. It's a relationship that has grown and developed over the seasons and I love them together so much that the finale was heartbreaking. And even earlier in the season during the younglings arc in episodes 6-9, Ahsoka takes a big leadership and mentor role and it shows just how far she has come. The Maul and Mandalore arc was just as good purely based on entertainment value. We got Maul, Savage, Death Watch, Mandalore, the Pre Vizsla/Maul fight, and to cap it off Palpatine coming front and center?? Come on. Even Obi-Wan and Satine added a great emotional weight to this arc. This has some of the highest of highs in the series so far with some points that can't match up, but as a whole I loved it.
8.0/10 -- Great
overall okay season, the darth maul and mandalorian stuff was interesting, the ahsoka trial could have been reduced to 2 eps and others were kinda boring. too many fillers.
Shout by LeftHandedGuitaristBlockedParent2020-04-11T10:23:34Z
A season of two halves, but while the first half may be decidedly average the second is likely the best the show has ever been up to this point. The story arc on Onderon is just not very interesting and feels dragged out, while the arc with the Jedi younglings is more fun it it's just an unimportant side quest. Then we get a painfully childish and silly run with the story of the droids on their mission. I was worrying that the show was really losing its way.
But it all gets turned around. Darth Maul and his brother return with a vengeance and their takeover of Mandalore is epic and gripping. It results in some painful deaths and is a visual treat with some truly stunning cinematography. The final arc concerns Ahsoka being accused of a crime she didn't commit and I was surprised how emotional I got at the ending. Season 5 displays both the worst and best this show has to offer, but it will leave you desperate for more.