10 Things That Don't Make Sense About 'The Clone Wars'

During its run over seven seasons, The Clone Wars made some bold choices, like giving Anakin a Padawan, resurrecting Darth Maul after he’d been cut in half, and broadening our understanding of the Force with the Mortis trilogy. The series also showed the progression of the friendship between Obi-Wan and Anakin and how the latter became the hero of the Republic that Ben tells Luke about in Episode IV.

At the same time, its “range of movement” was limited by being bookended by Episode II and Episode III. It was clear beforehand how the war had started and how it would end and who had to survive, in order to make Revenge of the Sith happen. Especially the first two and a half seasons suffered a bit from non-linear storytelling, where episodes jumped back and forth on the timeline, and only after the series started to more or less tell the events of the Clone War in a more stringent way did it find its foothold.

Nevertheless, George Lucas, his “padawan” Dave Filoni, and all the crews at Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound were able to create an amazing series, which, although targeted at a younger audience, often showed immense depth and strong storytelling moments. For most parts, the series did a good job holding the stories together and not contradicting the events of the films or itself in major ways. However, there are still at least ten things that doesn’t make sense in The Clone Wars.

1. Jar Jar The Juggler

Episode I presents Jar Jar Binks basically as a “bumbling idiot,” a character who stumbled from one self-inflicted trouble into the next. In The Clone Wars, Jar Jar, now a senator, mostly carries on in the same way, with one exception. In “Supply Lines,” the third episode of season 3, Jar Jar suddenly becomes a very talented juggler, in order to distract the Neimoidians, something that doesn’t match at all with his usual clumsiness.

2. The Coward General

The original Clone Wars series by Genndy Tartakovsky shows the cyborg General Grievous as a ruthless killing machine that could take down Jedi with ease. Also, Episode III paints a quite intimidating picture of the leader of the droid army. In The Clone Wars, however, Grievous is more or less as a constant coward, losing nearly every battle and running away at the slightest danger.

3. Spider Sith

Episode 14 of season 3, “Witches of The Mist,” gave a first hint that Darth Maul had actually survived not only being cut in half, but also falling down a bottomless pit on Naboo. More than 10 years after his “demise,” Maul returns, first as a crazy spider-like being, and later as the leader of the Black Sun criminal syndicate. And although the tattooed Zabrak is part of many of the best episodes of the whole series, it is still hard to believe that one who has suffered Maul’s fate could survive for more than a decade, just based on hate and the power of the dark side.

4. A Quick End To The War

More than once, there are events in The Clone Wars that could have ended the war much quicker if they had been exploited any further. Several times, both the Republic and the Separatists learn something, create something, or got into the possession of something that could easily defeat the other side. Of course, this could not happen, as there would be no Episode III otherwise. But still, there have been many chances to change the tides for both sides that are not taken without any explanation.

5. Not Sensing Obi-Wan

In “Deception,” the 15th episode of season 4, Obi-Wan is apparently killed by a hired assassin named Rako Hardeen and even gets a Jedi funeral. Anakin is unable to sense his master, who has actually taken over the identity of Hardeen, in order to prevent the kidnapping of Palpatine when the two men meet.

6. Lack of Consequences

Several times during the series, important things happen that are bound to fundamentally change the people who are involved in these events, but sometimes there are not many consequences. The clones killing Pong Krell on Umbara (sometime before Order 66) is such a huge event. The Zillo beast and what it could have meant for the war is another example. Or the events on Mortis, which are not even mentioned again until season 6. Star Wars has always been episodic, but it would have given the show a much deeper meaning if more consequences from earlier stories crept into later stories.

7. Did Dooku Not Know About The Master Plan?

On several occasions, Dooku makes serious pushes for the Separatists to win the war, and it is often merely a coincidence or luck on the side of the Republic that he does not succeed. Which begs the question: If Sidious has actually told Dooku that the master plan is not for the Separatists to win the war. Maybe Sidious knows at this point that the Count would soon be replaced by Anakin. But still, Dooku’s intentions seem odd at times.

8. Who Paid for This?

Season 6 reveals a bit more about Sifo-Dyas and the creation of the clone army. But there is never a clear and explicit explanation of who actually paid the Kaminoans for creating millions of clones and where the money had comes from. It clearly is not the Republic, and it is not the Jedi Order either. Ultimately of course, it seems to be Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious, who kill Sifo-Dyas and fund the further cloning, but it still seems strange that the Kaminoans do not request any payment upfront.

9. Obi-Wan Doesn't Tell

On several occasions, it becomes quite obvious that Obi-Wan is quite aware that Anakin and Padme are much more than just friends. Still, he never talks about this to the young senator or his own padawan. It is understandable that he does not tell the Council, as Anakin would have been expelled from the order. But with a man who has such problems with dealing with affection and Obi-Wan usually playing by the rules, one could expect for the Jedi master to speak his mind.

10. The Gungan and the Queen

In the two-parter “The Disappeared,” Jar Jar Binks accompanies Mace Windu to the planet Bardotta, to search for some spiritual leaders. There, we learn that Queen Julia is very close with Jar Jar, and the two even “meditate” in the Queen’s chamber for a whole night, which begs the question of how a senator who would hardly be sent on any mission alone is able to come in such close contact with the queen of a planet.

These points are basically griping at a high level and none of them break the series, which is and always will be a very important part of the Star Wars saga.

Written By Gerald Petschk

Syndicated From Culture Slate

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