WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, streaming now on Disney+.
One of the biggest gripes Star Wars fans have had over the years was how the prequels came out. The Phantom Menace had potential due to Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi's partnership, as well as Darth Maul, but Attack of the Clones really felt like a wasted opportunity, so much so most of that era was later fleshed out with cartoons.
As for Revenge of the Sith, many felt Anakin's turn was too rapid and forced, although his fight with Obi-Wan did win some fans back over. Still, the prequels are filled with bad acting, rushed arcs and, overall, they just didn't come off the way George Lucas planned when he wanted to explore the rise of Palpatine's Empire and the birth of Darth Vader. However, the seventh and final season of Clone Wars is finally giving us the prequel movie we deserve thanks to the Siege of Mandalore.
Apart from Obi-Wan, fans struggled to emotionally connect to other characters in the prequel trilogy, but in the final four episodes of Clone Wars, the show has constructed a movie that's split apart, but in a way that fix the errors of old. This "movie" will lead into Revenge of the Sith, and already "Old Friends Not Forgotten" is playing to the strengths of what made the original trilogy tick.
Not only are characters voiced pretty well, but The Clone Wars already feels like the true turn of Anakin to the Dark Side as he departs with Obi-Wan to rescue Palpatine from General Grievous. In Revenge, his torment didn't feel as anguished, but here, as he leaves his former pupil, there's a clear tension inside Anakin. And as Ahsoka talks to Obi-Wan about abandoning Mandalore, you get a sense of how the Jedi Order had cracks and it's other issues -- which is what drove Luke away years later.
In other words, the Force and its agents are just dissected way better and with more nuance than a fable from Palpatine during a space opera. As for the villains, the Siege of Mandalore is about toppling the worthy Darth Maul, so already we're getting one of Star Wars' most beloved enemies back in play, not to mention the war unfolding here has the action vibe fans loved in Rogue One. The prequel films never really felt high stakes, and while we know what's going to happen here, there's a gravity to the proceedings because of the execution. This is obvious when Ahsoka makes her big arrival, jumping off a carrier jet, showing this "movie" can balance style, spectacle, and substance. More so, the air of the underdogs versus a bigger tyrant just feels more wholesome than a bunch of overpowered Jedi fighting armies.
What also gives these episodes a lot of weight is they're still covering ground and providing context for the Empire's rise, as it spreads the Jedi thin for when Order 66 is greenlit. It also shows Palpatine's full genius rather than making viewers fill in the gaps about how he's playing Anakin, adding to the politics of the Republic. Obi-Wan really wades into how it can't get caught up in another issue with Mandalore and you can see here how both Ahsoka and Anakin wonder what have they been fighting for all along. These episodes flesh out the fragile galaxy the heroes want to save in better fashion, as well as their villains, who have a real sense of purpose. We're more invested as this realm is a dire place beyond the Sith and Jedi. In so doing, The Clone Wars team covers a lot of ground the prequel films didn't in, truly shaping the Siege of Mandalore as a major turning point in the Emperor's ascension.
Streaming on Disney+, the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars stars Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex and the clone troopers, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan and Sam Witwer as Maul. A new episode arrives each Friday.