How To Watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars In Order (Chronologically & By Release Date)

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" is one of the best things to happen to "Star Wars" since George Lucas tapped Irvin Kershner to direct "The Empire Strikes Back" and Lawrence Kasdan to write it. Coming off the success of the still visually stunning "Clone Wars" micro-series by maestro Genndy Tartakovsky, "The Clone Wars" took all the good ideas and concepts Lucas introduced in the prequel trilogy — yes, there are some great ideas here, even in "Attack of the Clones" — and gave them enough time to properly breathe and develop over time.

The result remains some of the best storytelling in all of "Star Wars." It's a show that gave us one of the best characters in "Star Wars" in the form of Ahsoka Tano, turned the faceless clone army into a group of dozens of fleshed-out and complex characters, and even expanded upon the politics of the Separatists and the titular conflict (in the process drawing parallels to the Iraq War, complete with a whole arc inspired by the Mujahedeen), all in the context of a series aimed at kids.

Many of the best things "The Clone Wars" ever did came about because Lucas, who was heavily involved in developing the show, threw ideas at its writers like bringing Maul back to life. In that case, the outcome was a fantastic character story arc that continued all the way through to "Star Wars Rebels."

Another element that made "The Clone Wars" unique was its anthology format, which was inspired by newsreels from World War II. Episodes would jump from one corner of the galaxy to another on a weekly basis, changing protagonists and, on certain occasions, even going back and forth in time. This can also make watching the cartoon a bit tricky due to its somewhat complicated timeline. So, whether you're looking to rewatch the acclaimed show or you want to experience it for the first time, this is your guide to the best watch order for "The Clone Wars."

The easiest way to watch "The Clone Wars" is to simply go by release order. This is how audiences first experienced the cartoon, with the story jumping around in time and space with every episode and occasionally rewinding the clock to expand on previous storylines. This order simply follows the release of each season like so:

• "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (the theatrically released movie) (2008)
• "The Clone Wars" season 1 (2008)
• "The Clone Wars" season 2: "Rise of the Bounty Hunters" (2009)
• "The Clone Wars" season 3: "Secrets Revealed" (2010)
• "The Clone Wars" season 4: "Battle Lines" (2011)
• "The Clone Wars" season 5 (2012)
• "The Clone Wars" season 6: "The Lost Missions" (2014)
• "The Clone Wars" season 7: "The Final Season" (2020)

There is a reason why the episodes seem out of order. Originally, "The Clone Wars" was very much meant to be an anthology, with a change in focus and protagonists in every episode. After a while, however, the story gets more linear, and the focus starts gravitating to Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka as the main characters. 

Watching "The Clone Wars" episodes in the order of their release admittedly means losing the impact of certain story arcs, like the fan favorite Domino Squad plotline. First introduced in the season 1 episode "Rookies," their story gets expanded by two prequel episodes in season 3 (which are themselves separated by an unrelated episode). Watching them in release order does have its merits, though, because it feels like watching reports from the front, with some stories getting expanded as new information comes by after a while. But at the same time, it also means you end up going a long time before seeing certain characters again.

If you want to watch "The Clone Wars" with a focus on the individual story arcs, rather than the anthology approach, then your best bet is to go the chronological order route:

• Season 2, episode 16, "Cat and Mouse"
• Season 1, episode 16, "Hidden Enemy"
• "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (the theatrically released movie)
• Season 3, episode 1, "Clone Cadets"
• Season 3, episode 3, "Supply Lines"
• Season 1, episode 1, "Ambush"
• Season 1, episode 2, "Rising Malevolence"
• Season 1, episode 3, "Shadow of Malevolence"
• Season 1, episode 4, "Destroy Malevolence"
• Season 1, episode 5, "Rookies"
• Season 1, episode 6, "Downfall of a Droid"
• Season 1, episode 7, "Duel of the Droids"
• Season 1, episode 8, "Bombad Jedi"
• Season 1, episode 9, "Cloak of Darkness"
• Season 1, episode 10, "Lair of Grievous"
• Season 1, episode 11, "Dooku Captured"
• Season 1, episode 12, "The Gungan General"
• Season 1, episode 13, "Jedi Crash"
• Season 1, episode 14, "Defenders of Peace"
• Season 1, episode 15, "Trespass"
• Season 1, episode 17, "Blue Shadow Virus"
• Season 1, episode 18, "Mystery of a Thousand Moons"
• Season 1, episode 19, "Storm over Ryloth"
• Season 1, episode 20, "Innocents of Ryloth"
• Season 1, episode 21, "Liberty on Ryloth"
• Season 2, episode 1, "Holocron Heist"
• Season 2, episode 2, "Cargo of Doom"
• Season 2, episode 3, "Children of the Force"
• Season 2, episode 17, "Bounty Hunters"
• Season 2, episode 18, "The Zillo Beast"
• Season 2, episode 19, "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back"
• Season 2, episode 4, "Senate Spy"
• Season 2, episode 5, "Landing at Point Rain"
• Season 2, episode 6, "Weapons Factory"
• Season 2, episode 7, "Legacy of Terror"
• Season 2, episode 8, "Brain Invaders"
• Season 2, episode 9, "Grievous Intrigue"
• Season 2, episode 10, "The Deserter"
• Season 2, episode 11, "Lightsaber Lost"
• Season 2, episode 12, "The Mandalore Plot"
• Season 2, episode 13, "Voyage of Temptation"
• Season 2, episode 14, "Duchess of Mandalore"
• Season 2, episode 20, "Death Trap"
• Season 2, episode 21, "R2 Come Home"
• Season 2, episode 22, "Lethal Trackdown"
• Season 3, episode 5, "Corruption"
• Season 3, episode 6, "The Academy"
• Season 3, episode 7, "Assassin"
• Season 3, episode 2, "ARC Troopers"
• Season 3, episode 4, "Sphere of Influence"
• Season 3, episode 8, "Evil Plans"
• Season 1, episode 22, "Hostage Crisis"
• Season 3, episode 9, "Hunt for Ziro"
• Season 3, episode 10, "Heroes on Both Sides"
• Season 3, episode 11, "Pursuit of Peace"
• Season 2, episode 15, "Senate Murders"
• Season 3, episode 12, "Nightsisters"
• Season 3, episode 13, "Monster"
• Season 3, episode 14, "Witches of the Mist"
• Season 3, episode 15, "Overlords"
• Season 3, episode 16, "Altar of Mortis"
• Season 3, episode 17, "Ghosts of Mortis"
• Season 3, episode 18, "The Citadel"
• Season 3, episode 19, "Counter Attack"
• Season 3, episode 20, "Citadel Rescue"
• Season 3, episode 21, "Padawan Lost"
• Season 3, episode 22, "Wookiee Hunt"
• Season 4
• Season 5
• Season 6
• Season 7

So, what is the best watch order for "The Clone Wars?" Well, it is kind of the same as with the live-action "Star Wars" movies, with different people arguing for a different order, all of them valid for different kinds of experiences. Still, the best way to experience the many thrilling story arcs of "The Clone Wars," and the development its many characters go through, is to watch the episodes in chronological order.

The reason is simple: with the chronological order, you get to see storylines play out in one go before moving onto the next storyline, rather than see them spread out and interrupted by other episodes. The chronological order also gives the impression of one single, long story rather than a collection of many separate stories. Take the Domino Squad storyline, for instance, which takes place early on in he series' timeline and does wonders to turn the clone troopers into proper, complex characters.

I am a big believer in not skipping episodes of a show — and a big defender of the value of a filler episode. Still, as much as "The Clone Wars" has some of the best stories in all of "Star Wars," not every episode is a sure-fire winner.

Indeed, though they all have merit, there are some storylines that don't really feel like crucial aspects of the franchise and don't add much to the overall watching experience. By far the worst storyline is that of Ziro the Hutt, one "Star Wars" story that has aged terribly with its terrible portrayal of Jabba's campy Truman Capote-inspired uncle. His plotline is dull, borderline offensive, and easy to skip on rewatch. Even worse is the story arc involving the kidnapping of Ziro's son, Rotta, a badly-done and otherwise pointless arc that's hard to defend.

That said, there's one controversial story in "The Clone Wars" that also happens to be Lucas' favorite — the droid arc. This storyline involves R2-D2 and the D-Squad lost in a desert and overcoming adversity while trying to be rescued. Considered boring, slow, and without much significance for the overall franchise, it's a series of episodes that's easy to skip. Still, it makes sense that it would be Lucas' favorite, given they are weird and mostly silent episodes reminiscent of "THX 1138."