Last season, we got to see the beginning of a then-unexplored time period in Star Wars history, with old and new faces joining for the ride. In season two of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we get to see the show expanding in significant ways. With their focus redirected towards things such as key battles and dialogue changes, this feels more like the true “Season 1” of this series than the actual one. 

The Characters

When I started rewatching this season, the first thing I noticed is how much deeper we explore into the characters. In cases such as Ahsoka, I kept thinking about how everyone talks about her character arc and how it’s led to the rebel we know and love. Knowing this, I couldn’t help but see the beginning of that journey in the first episode, where her brash actions in a battle got her into trouble. From there, we start to see Ahsoka slowly learning that she needed to think before acting. Whether it was risking her life to destroy a battle droid factory, or slowing down to find clues about pickpockets and bounty hunters, Ahsoka gradually becomes less like Anakin and more like herself. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s still fascinating to see the beginning of her character growth. 

However, this season doesn’t just explore the newer characters, but we also get to dive deeper into older ones. Specifically, we get the surprise of peeking behind the curtain of Obi-Wan’s sassy and confident persona. The best example of this is during the Mandalore arc, where Obi-Wan is mainly seen protecting or helping the ruling Duchess Satine. We not only find out they had a history back when he was a padawan, but that he actually had feelings for her at some point. However, as much as he tries to deny it, we can clearly see Obi-Wan still possess some of those feelings for her all these years later. Admitting that he would’ve left the Jedi at her request is the closest we’ll get to a confession of love, but it also blends with a sense of duty to the Republic and Jedi. Since we knew little to nothing about the Master of the High Ground prior to this show, it was satisfying and interesting to see this side of him. 

The Dialogue

One of the things I love the most about this particular season is the fact that they’ve improved the dialogue and scripts from season one. Now, I want to make clear that it isn’t perfect, and I’m honestly a little disappointed and annoyed with a couple small moments. For example, a battle droid in “Cargo of Doom” beat around the bush with kid-friendly statements about someone dying before finally saying “he’s dead.” Or whenever Padmé elaborated on how “close” she and Rush Clovis were instead of outright saying they used to date or something. 

However, ignoring that, I found that almost every other word in the script follows the story more closely. Even the side discussions in between action scenes are meaningful, rather than serve as fillers. For example, in “Weapons Factory” during the second battle of Geonosis, Anakin and Ahsoka have an argument because she felt like he didn’t trust her to do things. Later on, when Ahsoka and her friend risk their lives to destroy the factory and get buried alive, Luminara encourages him to let go if she’s dead, but Anakin passionately fires back that he’ll celebrate victory with her in person. He never gave up on her, and trusted she was alive until they finally rescued the two padawans. 

But of course, what analysis on the dialogue of this show would be complete without mentioning a few of its pearls of wisdom? There’s honestly so much I could unpack here, but one of my favorite moments was when Ahsoka teamed up with the old Jedi Master Tera Sinube. He may be old and a bit slow, but he gives a very good reason for it: “You need to be more quiet, young one. Not quiet with your mouth, quiet with your mind . . . If you relax, you would know [the pickpocket] is in this room.” This would especially apply to people like me, who like to rush and get things done at a set time, but Sinube shows that having a little patience can produce big results. 

The Story/Action

The dialogue isn’t the only thing that’s been improved, as the action and story have also gotten a lot better. This is most likely because this season touches on more important battles or plot points, such as the Second Battle of Geonosis. After all, that planet was where the Clone Wars started in the first place, so retaking that planet means that there’s no room for distractions or needless violence. Therefore, the action feels more natural because of the setting while also keeping up with the pace of the story. While the Battle of Ryloth in season one is arguably an important conflict, the rest of that season had less significant battles filled with forced violence and messy dialogue. 

It’s not even just the important battles that have good action, but the filler episodes have good scenes with however much they have to work with. For example, in “Lightsaber Lost,” when Ahsoka finally catches up to the thief who stole her lightsaber, the thief struggles to even turn it on. After finally doing so, we see her recklessly slicing through stuff and even a brief blade-to-blade duel with Tera Sinube. I love seeing how they perfectly capture someone who’s never wielded a lightsaber try to use one, because it shows that lightsabers aren’t as easy to use as we think, neither are the fighting styles that you use them with. In addition, with arcs like the one with Cad Bane in the beginning of the season, I find it so fascinating to see Bane fight and even win against the Jedi. Granted, Ahsoka and Anakin weren’t at their full potential yet, but I find it so fascinating to see someone with no Force potential whatsoever manage to hold their own against such people with nothing but blasters and gadgets. 

Aside from the action, though, I mainly love that this season calls attention to important plot points in the overall Star Wars story. There’s the previously mentioned Second Battle of Geonosis, but then we get the debut of Mandalore. Years ago, I never would’ve thought much about this arc, but the more I think about what happens to this planet in the future, the more I appreciate shining the spotlight on it. Besides that, I love seeing how the Duchess and Obi-Wan’s talks reveal more about the political landscape and its varying effects, such as the results of a Republic occupation on Mandalore. 

However, while these kinds of episodes deserve high praise, the filler episodes shouldn’t be ignored either. Even though filler episodes have a hit-or-miss reputation among fans of any show, the Clone Wars breaks that trend and uses those opportunities to establish character growth or thought-provoking lessons. The episode “Bounty Hunters” is a great example, because it has multiple lessons at once. There’s learning to stand up for yourself and not solely relying on others to fix your problems, but then we also get a surprisingly positive look at bounty hunters. Sure, their loyalty mainly lies to whoever’s paying the highest, but they show moral codes and even soft sides. This only shows you can’t always judge a book by its cover, you’d be surprised what you’d find in the contents. 

Conclusion

Overall, I give this second season a 5.5 out of 10. Like I said, this season has made many improvements since the first season, but it’s not as great as future seasons of this show. Even so, this season takes everything established from season one and expands upon it, which I love the most about this particular season. Every episode had me hooked, most of the arcs were amazing, and I loved seeing powerful character moments for the millionth time. 

I recommended in my last review that this show was worth a watch, and I hope this season proves that point (but this isn’t even the best part yet)!