Agent Justin here! This week, in honor of Star Wars Celebration, we have a special on field report from special guest Agent Cassie! Take it away Cassie!

When I first started watching The Clone Wars, I was hesitant to enjoy it. It’s understandable, right? Because the climate of fandom for Star Wars was cloudy. The Clone Wars was released following episodes 1-3, which offended many fans of the traditional episodes 4-6.

Even though all the episodes have made a lot of money, many fans are strongly opinionated about which ones are the best. Of course, there are lots of reasons for these disagreements, primarily the vast age differences among fans, seeing as Episode 4 was released 37 years ago.

I was one of those fans of episodes 4-6 who did not appreciate episodes 1-3. Why would I like The Clone Wars? It has the same characters as episodes 1-3 and George Lucas created it. That is why I didn’t watch The Clone Wars until six years after it was released. I suppose I waited so long because I wasn’t ready to forgive the people who were responsible. So I grew up and, after a while, I was ready to give The Clone Wars a try. I started with the movie from 2008. I went in preparing myself to be disappointed again, but that is not what happened at all.

I fell in love with The Clone Wars almost instantly. It had everything I loved about episodes 4-6, including intense light saber battles, political drama, and strong characterization.

The world of young Anakin Skywalker works better in animated form, I would argue. I think the reason for that is because some of the concepts work better in a more creative medium than in live-action and CGI film. For example, some of the alien species who appear cute and charming in animated form but less so in the live-action films (specifically Gungans).

I think a lot of that has to do with the improved writing as well. For example, did you know the television show passes The Bechdel Test in multiple episodes? You’re probably as surprised as I was, since not many shows pass The Bechdel test. But check out season 1 episode 9, season 2 episode 6, season 3 episode 10, and more to see how Ahsoka Tano and Padme Amidala converse with themselves and other named female characters to accomplish their goals without relying on men.

It also improved in the writing of Padme and Anakin’s relationship. It failed to interest me in the live-action films, but I was quite invested in them in the animated show. The show seemed to give their relationship the right dimension. While I’m on the subject, in the show I believe Padme and Anakin show healthy affection while not overdoing the physical relationship. This is crucial for pre-teens and young teens that are learning about relationships. They need role models in healthy relationships who do not focus on the physical side of the relationship. That will help them understand that the basis of a relationship should be emotional stability. Not to mention, that Padme and Anakin have their own lives and have individual goals outside of their relationship. That’s just another way I think they model positive relationship habits for young teens.

I just want to share The Clone Wars with you all, especially if you, like me, were reluctant to watch it because you didn’t like the movies of episodes 1-3. Don’t give up hope on the Star Wars franchise or George Lucas. It is possible for him and everyone at Lucasfilms to still create good movies and shows. Now, I’m even excited about Episode 7, which will debut in 2015. So watch The Clone Wars for yourself and see if it doesn’t make you into a fan again.

 

Thanks for writing in on this Cassie! You can follow her on twitter at @GeronimoLetsGo!