Growing Up Skywalker

We finish Revenge of the Sith — the sweeping conclusion to the Prequel Era — with big feelings on Order 66 and the end of the Jedi Order, big love for beloved characters, and big thoughts on the cyclical story of Star Wars. As the Empire takes power in Revenge of the Sith, the galaxy is plunged into darkness. But is the sun setting or rising for our favorite characters? In our character study, we...

Another happy landing! This week, we’re army-crawling to the finish line of the Prequel Era. In our recap of Revenge of the Sith (Part One), we talk about the gorgeous visuals, tight plotting, absolutely delightful banter and compelling themes of Star Wars’ final prequel film. We talk about Anakin and Obi-Wan vanquishing their ultimate foes, R2 disassembling Grievous’s droid army, Palpatine’s comp...

Begun, the Clone War has! This week, we’re rewatching Attack of the Clones in all of its magnificent sprawl. We talk all about the rewards of a second watch-through after seeing the Clone Wars TV show, the huge differences in production between The Phantom Menace and Attack, the weirdness between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the iconic Yoda/Dooku duel. We have lots of thoughts about Padme and Anakin. And y...

Start your engines! Just in time for the Boonta Eve Classic, we’re getting back to our roots with a rewatch of The Phantom Menace. A lot has changed since we watched Phantom on the first two episodes of Growing Up Skywalker (and we have, too!). Our recap centers on the viewers we used to be versus the watchers we are today. We talk about how our perceptions of the main quartet — Anakin, Qui-Gon, P...

The Siege of Mandalore has begun — not with a bang, but with many. And also, Ahsoka somersaulting into Sundari, backlit by the carnage she has caused. This is some of the best action of Star Wars, and it is DELIGHTFUL. “Old Friends Not Forgotten” and “The Phantom Apprentice” (TCW 7.9–10) form the first part of the Siege of Mandalore Arc, which blends the action in the Clone Wars with the events of...

Season 7 of the Clone Wars only has three arcs, and we finished up the second by recapping 7.3–4, “On the Wings of Keeradaks” and “Unfinished Business.” The second half of the Bad Batch arc isn’t nearly as much fun as the first. Echo has to regain the trust of everyone around him (and find trust in himself). Rex has to carry his guilt over leaving a man behind. And Anakin has to face the fact that...

The Bad Batch is the Best Batch and that’s canon. This week, we recapped the phenomenal first half of the Bad Batch Arc (The Clone Wars 7.1–2, “The Bad Batch” and “A Distant Echo”). Anna cried, Sam mused, and we laughed a LOT. The Bad Batch are an elite special forces squad of “defective” clones with “desirable mutations.” In other words, they are fantastic — and different from Rex and Cody, who t...

The second half of the Martez Sisters Arc (The Clone Wars 7.7–8, “Dangerous Debt” and “Together Again”) has us debating the thorniest ethics questions around. But like, in a fun way. This arc sees Ahsoka, Rafa and Trace escaping from the Pyke prison — again — and again — and again. While their dashing escapes are foiled, we get to catch up with some old faves: Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls, that rand...

Do you ever have days when you just want to be part of a cool trio of BIPOC female minor criminals, and it’s just not working out that great for you? Ahsoka does! In the Martez Sisters Arc, Part 1 (The Clone Wars 7.5–6, “Gone with a Trace” and “Deal No Deal”) we find out what Ahsoka’s been up to for the last minute or two — trying to keep a disreputable minor crime-lord and her sister out of troub...

Season 6 of The Clone Wars ends not with a bang, but with a sigh of surrender — and hope for a different kind of victory. In the Yoda’s Journey Arc (TCW 6.11–13, “Voices,” “Destiny,” and “Sacrifice”) we follow Yoda from Coruscant to Dagobah, to the heart of the universe, and then finally to Moraband, the ancient homeworld of the Sith. His quest takes him through every step of the Hero’s Journey in...

In which the Jedi Council remembers they never bothered to have a funeral for Sifo-Dyas. We jest. “The Lost One” (The Clone Wars 6.10) is a dense and beautiful foreshadowing for the events of Revenge of the Sith. It also gives us a seven-layer tiramisu of MYSTERIES. Why did Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas have to die? Why did Dooku care about him at all? And what was the relationship between them? Also, who...

In the glorious Disappeared Arc of the Clone Wars, Jar Jar gets to be a love interest…the hero of the galaxy…and the one who gets the girl. Oh, Mace Windu is there, too. The Disappeared Arc (The Clone Wars 6.8–9, “The Disappeared, Part One” and “The Disappeared, Part Two”) introduces us to the Dagoyan Masters of Bardotta, ancient mystics who are estranged from the Jedi Order. But their mystics are...

Guess who’s back, back again? The Right Honorable Rush Clovis — except he’s wrong, and dishonorable, and wrecking not just Anakin and Padmé’s marriage but also the GALAXY’S ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM. In our recap of the Rush Clovis Arc (The Clone Wars 6.5–7, "An Old Friend", "The Rise of Clovis,” and "Crisis at the Heart”) we talk about why the Clone Wars chose to tell another economic story, and figu...

In which we discuss how Fives revealed the entire Sith ascension plan to some of the most powerful people in the galaxy…….and they didn’t listen. The end of the Conspiracy Arc (The Clone Wars 6.3–4, “Fugitive” and “Orders”) shows us how the truth dies: in a dark office, with Chancellor Palpatine gaslight/gatekeep/girlbossing you for all you’re worth. In this arc, we follow Fives’ desperate scrambl...

The first episodes of Season 6 of The Clone Wars (6.1–2, “The Unknown” and “Conspiracy”) tell us exactly why the Clone Wars exist. And that’s just the BEGINNING. In our recap, we talk about how Anna forgot Order 66 happened (but alas, social media exists). We deliver a treatise on why Fives is The Best, how this episode is a storytelling Russian nesting doll, and what the inhibitor chips really st...

Cue the tears. In the long-awaited (first) finale of The Clone Wars (5.19–20), enemies turn to friends…friends turn to enemies…and we cry a LOT. In our recap of the end of Season 5, we ask so many questions. Why does Ahsoka choose to leave the Jedi Order? What are Barriss’s motivations? Where was Luminara in all of this? Did Anakin suddenly become relatable? And most importantly — what have the Cl...

Fire up your righteous indignation. We’re recapping the Jedi Temple Bombing Arc (The Clone Wars 5.17–18) and seeing Ahsoka framed for murder. The Clone Wars is continuing to snap the pieces together to make a bridge between Episodes 2 and 3. In our recap, we talk about how the clones who once trusted and deferred to Ahsoka so quickly turn against her; the Jedi’s nosediving reputation; Jedi funeral...

Alexa, play “Taps.” The body count in the second half of the Revenge Arc might not be as high as the Umbara Arc. But as Mandalore descends into civil war and political leaders become cannon fodder, it feels like this is just the start of something bigger. In our recap of The Clone Wars 5.15–16, “Shades of Reason” and “The Lawless,” we dissect both spectacular darksaber duels blow-by-blow. We talk...

Buckle in, kiddos: It’s time for REVENGE. In the first half of the Revenge Arc (The Clone Wars 5.1 + 5.14, “Revival” and “Eminence”) Maul and Savage almost manage to take over Hondo Ohnaka’s pirate crew, but then very nearly become fishsticks floating in space. Then they effortlessly raise an army of terrifying criminals and set out to help Death Watch take over Mandalore — maybe. In our recap, we...

What do you get when you cross a clone, a bad case of amnesia, and 10,000 canisters of Rhydonium? The second half of the D-Squad Arc, that’s what you get. This week, we’re recapping The Clone Wars 5.12–13, “Missing in Action” and “Point of No Return”, a.k.a. two episodes that debuted at the top of Anna’s Cry-O-Meter. We meet Gregor, a MIA clone commando who has to embark on a hero’s journey to rec...

The lack of a reliable file-sharing system in Star Wars comes into play once again in the D-Squad Arc (The Clone Wars 5.10–11, "Secret Weapons" and "A Sunny Day in the Void"). It turns out that this critically-panned series of episodes is a fascinating meditation on inequality, oppression, meritocracy, the military-industrial complex, and why WAC units are indeed so wack. In our recap this week, w...

Hondo Ohnaka has a no-good, very bad day during the second half of the Ahsoka + Younglings arc (The Clone Wars 5.8–9, “Bound for Rescue” and “A Necessary Bond”). Our dashing crew of younglings have to infiltrate a traveling carnival to rescue Ahsoka from Hondo Ohnaka’s base — which Grievous promptly overruns. In our recap, we talk about all the ways Hondo Ohnaka would disappoint us if he was our u...

Hold onto your lightsabers, because Hondo Ohnaka is coming for them. In the first half of the Ahsoka + Younglings arc (The Clone Wars 5.6–7, “The Gathering” and “A Test of Strength”) we meet a crew of Jedi younglings who find their very own kyber crystals — just in time to almost lose them to Hondo’s pirate gang. (And they actually DO lose Ahsoka.) But don’t worry. Petro, Katooni, Ganodi, Zatt, By...

They never said revolution would be easy. In the final half of the Onderon Arc (The Clone Wars 5.4–5, “The Soft War” and “Tipping Points”) we see that Onderon’s rebels are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to throw off Separatist rule. In our recap, we talk about the rightful king, Dendup, and why he’s the worst. (Steela Gerrera 4 Queen of Onderon.) We figure out how you can successfully make...

Hot on the heels of our arc about brotherhood, we have another sibling story — and this time, it’s about Saw and Steela Gerrera. Our recap of the first half of the Onderon Arc (The Clone Wars 5.2–3, “A War on Two Fronts” and “Front Runners”) throws us into a rebellion of Anakin’s making. There is a fantastic training montage, a sort of meh love triangle between Ahsoka, Steela and Lux, and a deligh...