Over the past month, I binge-watched Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars from beginning to end. Before watching the final season I wanted to rewatch the entire series so that everything was fresh in my mind when I experienced the series finale. I finished it last week and it completely blew my mind! Especially the final four episodes!

Those last four episodes alone were better than anything we got in the final trilogy of Skywalker saga films. Those are an absolute mess when compared to what The Clone Wars series accomplished. The story that The Clone Wars told was so powerful and emotional. Those are a perfect example of master Star Wars storytelling!

This is just more proof that Dave Filoni should have been leading the charge on the story for the final trilogy from the beginning. I honestly think that guy understands the world of Star Wars more than George Lucas! He recently dropped some mind-opening Star Wars knowledge on Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian regarding The Duel of Fates in The Phantom Menace and the end of Luke’s story arc in The Return of the Jedi.

Anyway, I know a lot of people who are fans of the original Star Wars trilogy have skipped out on the animated shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels. For one reason or another, they won’t dive into it. I’ve heard people say that because they are cartoons they won’t be as good. I’ve also heard that they are turned off by the animation style. Then there are fans that feel the original trilogy are the only films that exist in their minds.

I totally get it! I was actually late to the game on watching these shows because I felt the same way. But, they expand on the story in such an incredible way! If you have not watched The Clone Wars yet, you need to get on that shit! When you see how the story plays out, there’s no denying that it tells one of the best and strongest stories in the entire franchise and it will inspire you to continue on to watch Rebels.

I honestly can’t get over it! I’ve watched the last four episodes a couple more times already so that I could continue to soak it all in. Then to see how certain elements of that show continue on in Rebels is so damn satisfying.

Another reason to start watching is because it’s clear that some of these story elements are going to play a big part in The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian is turning into a live-action extension of The Clone Wars and Rebels. As soon as I saw Moff Gideon come out of that crashed TIE Fighter holding the Darksaber, I knew that we were going to see characters from these animated shows introduced into the story, and it’s happening!

Characters like Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Captain Rex (Temeura Morrison), Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and Sabine Wren (possibly Sasha Banks), the last two of which have wielded the Darksaber, will be making their live-action debuts in The Mandalorian and it’s exciting! While some people are calling this fan service, it’s really just an extension of the story that is being told with these characters and I couldn’t be more excited about it!

Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni planned out their entire Mandalorin story arc from the beginning and introducing these characters was always a part of the plan for their story.

There are more reasons to watch The Clone Wars than to not watch it. The most important reason is the strength of its story and where it leads. So, if you are one of those people that has avoided watching the show, stop it! Embrace The Force and start watching it! I promise… it will be a rewarding and wonderful experience.