6 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Arcs You Should Watch Before it Leaves Netflix

As of right now, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is scheduled to leave Netflix in early March. Now, that may just be a clerical error, or when one contract ends and another begins – as of right now, Lucasfilm, Disney, and Netflix have all remained silent about whether this is really happening.

So just in case – or just because Star Wars: The Clone Wars is awesome and you should be watching it anyway, we’ve picked out the one essential episode or story arc from each season that you should watch before March 7, 2017.

Season 1: Episode 5 “Rookies”

This held up through six seasons as one of the best single episodes of the entire series. Rookies lets us meet the Clones in a new way, seeing just how individual they really are, through the eyes of a group of young, fresh Clones out on their first real mission. The way they come together is beautiful, and feels like a real military unit. This group, Fives, Heavy, and the rest became so popular, they later got full arcs about them – but this is still the first and best of the bunch.

Honorable Mention: Episodes 17-18, Blue Shadow Virus and Mystery of a Thousand Moons

Season 2: Episodes 7-8 “Legacy of Terror” and “Brain Invaders”

Two words for you: Geonosian Zombies.

This was one of the first arcs that we really got to know Ahsoka Tano and see how she operated. It’s also one of the fun, crazy arcs that goes hog-wild into another genre, specifically horror. The Clone Wars took those risks every once in awhile, and really found its feet when it explored the galaxy in new ways.

Honorable Mention: The rest of the season? No, too much? Two-part Zillo Beast arc, the first episode, Holocron Heist (by Batman: TAS co-creator Paul Dini!), and the debut of Satine are all worth your while.

Season 3: Episodes 15-17, “The Mortis Trilogy”

The single most important arc to the mythology of Star Wars in all six seasons is in amongst the already outstanding season 3. We travel to Mortis to meet “The Ones,” living manifestations of the aspects of the Force: The Father, balance, Daugher, light, and Son, dark. We learn more about Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, get huge story revelations, and glimpse what Anakin is going to become. If you watch only one arc of the entire series, this is it.

Honorable Mention: Arguably the best season of the series has so much to offer, the three episodes prior feature the Nightsisters and Darth Maul’s brother, the episode “Heroes on Both Sides” gives a really deep look at war, and both Tarkin and Chewbacca guest star in the later episodes. Yowza.

Season 4: Episodes 19-22 “Nightsister/Savage/Maul Saga”

Things started getting really hairy for our heroes at the end of season 4. Here, the Nightsisters, as well as their “brother” Savage Opress, are front and center again. The nightsisters are massacred, Asajj Ventress becomes a bounty hunter, and Savage goes looking for his brother Darth Maul (and finds him. And it’s awesome. SO AWESOME).

Honorable Mention: Episode 5-6 is a fun short arc, and 15-18 is another long arc where Obi-Wan goes undercover as a bounty hunter.

Season 5: Episodes 14-16 “Maul Mandalorian Saga”

This storyline, where Darth Maul takes over the Mandalorian people (and wields the Darksaber), is an outstanding view of a corner of the Star Wars galaxy that fans loved before they even knew much about it. Episode 16 offers up one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire series (if not the most), and – man, episode 16 was really packed; we also see Darth Sidious in full Sith Lord action, and a crazy jetpack chase scene. Please, do yourself a favor and watch this episode and arc.

Honorable Mention: Man, it was hard to choose between these arcs; after that one is Ahsoka’s final arc as a Jedi, from 17-20, when she leaves the Jedi order eventually in another tear-jerker of a moment.

Season 6: Episodes 10-13 “Yoda’s Journey”

Yoda goes front and center for the final arc of the series (there were a few arcs not fully produced that wound up on StarWars.com and a couple unproduced ones that have made it into comics and novels). The diminutive Jedi goes on a journey to explore the Force, the Clones, Qui-Gon Jinn and Force ghosts, and meets with Force Priestesses and the spirit of Darth Bane, the originator of the Rule of Two.

Honorable Mention: Episodes 1-4, where we learn a little bit more about Order 66 and get one last story with Fives. And one last heart-breaking moment.