Star Wars: The Clone Wars Missed One Exciting Opportunity
Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ final season did everything right–but missed one very exciting opportunity to connect to Revenge of the Sith.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is often considered to be one of the greatest anthology series of all time. Over the course of seven seasons, the animated series plugs some of the plot holes strewn throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, lending greater nuance to characters from the films while also introducing plenty of fan-favorite original characters along the way. Despite the franchise’s fanbase being notoriously difficult to please, The Clone Wars seems to have near-unanimous support from viewers, who praise its storytelling, characters, and resonant themes.
In its seventh season, Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ timeline catches up to Revenge of the Sith, resulting in a four-part story arc that ties into the events of the film. The final arc of The Clone Wars dovetails perfectly with the tragic events of Revenge of the Sith, following Ahsoka Tano as she narrowly escapes death during the execution of Order 66. This story works as the perfect closing to the long-running anthology series, leaving the vast majority of audiences satisfied. However, as heartbreaking and perfect as the finale of The Clone Wars was, however, there remains one unexplored opportunity that could have made the final season even better.
The Clone Wars’s final season failed to explain how General Grievous and Count Dooku were able to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine just prior to the events of Revenge of the Sith. When the film begins, audiences learn of Palpatine’s capture in the opening crawl, which merely asserts that Grievous was able to infiltrate Coruscant’s forces and abscond with the leader of the Republic. However, Star Wars never elaborates on how Separatist forces were able to successfully infiltrate the capital of the Republic and kidnap its most important personality. The seventh season of The Clone Wars happens to take place at the same time as this infiltration and even references Palpatine’s capture at one point, but never depicts the kidnapping itself.
The mission to rescue Palpatine was a major part of Anakin Skywalker’s downfall, and was no doubt carefully orchestrated by the secret Sith Lord. While he was a willing captive, Palpatine still would have had to put on a good show for the Jedi on Coruscant to make his kidnapping look real. Moreover, Grievous himself never knew of Palpatine’s true identity as Darth Sidious, believing that the entire operation was real as well. Even a single episode dedicated to the Separatist attack just before the Battle of Coruscant would have been a terrific way to tie The Clone Wars into the beginning of Revenge of the Sith. Unfortunately, the series elected to leave this opportunity unexplored.
Although The Clone Wars never did so, a Star Wars comic devoted to General Grievous could explore the Siege of Coruscant in all its glory. Chancellor Palpatine’s kidnapping would have been a major moment in the Clone Wars, as the leader of the Republic found himself in Separatist clutches. These events deserve to be seen in full, even if it is on the pages of a comic book rather than onscreen. Additionally, a comic devoted fully to Grievous’s story leading up to Revenge of the Sith could further explain his part in Sidious’s plan, including how much (or how little) he knew about the real plot to overthrow the Republic and the Jedi.
Grievous is one of Star Wars’ most brutal characters, whose greatest victory of the Clone Wars deserves to be told in greater depth. The franchise could even adopt the droid general’s story into a different anthology series altogether, perhaps in the same vein as Tales of the Jedi. A series of short episodes exploring unexplained plot holes and mysteries in the Star Wars universe would certainly be an intriguing project, especially if it included the infamous kidnapping of Chancellor Palpatine.
As monumental as General Grievous’s attack on Coruscant was, audiences see very little of the operation in Revenge of the Sith. Although The Clone Wars didn’t seize the opportunity to depict this mission in its seventh season, that doesn’t mean that audiences won’t ever see it. A franchise as expansive as Star Wars always has room to tell these stories–in whatever medium works best for each.
