Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels had a number of amazing story arcs and continuing plot elements that further deepened the history, world-building, and overall mythology of the franchise. Sometimes, however, it is too difficult to find all the episodes necessary to gain a clearer understanding of the stories and theme being told. Today, I hope to begin alleviating some of your frustration by providing you with episode guides to story arcs, themes, and character developments, big & small, found in The Clone Wars and Rebels.
These guides are entirely opinionated, so if you think I missed something or would like to share your own thoughts, feel free to message me anytime on Discord or Twitter. Look out for more upcoming guides and let’s hope we can update those existing guides once Resistance premieres.
Episode Guide: Mysteries of the Force
A guide to viewing and discussing the mysteries & beliefs of the Force within the Star Wars mythology
The Mortis Trilogy
The middle of The Clone Wars Season 3 provided fans with the most divisive piece of Star Wars content until The Last Jedi. The story, coming directly from George Lucas with assistance by Dave Filoni, explores the duality of the Force, the interpretations of the Chosen One prophecy, love & family, predestination v. free will, and freedom vs. subjugation. It is by-far one of the most complex story arcs in all of Star Wars, leaving both the audience and in-universe characters pondering, as with Dorothy, whether the events on Mortis were real . . . or just a dream.
CW 315 – Overlords
CW 316 – Altar of Mortis
CW 317 – Ghost of Mortis
Yoda’s Journey
The final four episodes of The Clone Wars series center around Grand Master Yoda as he begins to discover hidden truths concerning the Force and life after death. The arc introduces the concepts of the Living Force and Cosmic Force, as Yoda attempts a pilgrimage, spurred on by the remnant consciousness of Qui-Gon Jinn, to converse with the ancient Force Priestesses who hold the secret to retaining one’s consciousness after death. The four-part arc also provides a brief history of the Sith, while exploring the concepts of one’s inner darkness, self-sacrifice, and hope.
CW 610 – The Lost One (introduction)
CW 611 – Voices
CW 612 – Destiny
CW 613 – Sacrifice
Mysteries of Lothal
The plot involving the phenomena on Lothal spans the entirety of Star Wars: Rebels. Beginning in Season 1, Kanan and Ezra discover a lost Jedi Temple hidden under the surface of Lothal. In Season 2, Ezra and Kanan, along with Ahsoka Tano, return to the Temple with the intent of discovery a way to defeat the Sith and are prompted to visit the planet Malachor. Ezra’s return to the temple in Season 4 reveals more mystical properties of the Temple, as well as the powerful connection between the Force and the planet itself. The Jedi Temple on Lothal is revealed to be a gateway into a dimension through which the Cosmic Force is ever-present.
The plotline of Lothal greatly references many of the story arcs depicted in The Clone Wars, including the Mortis Trilogy, Maul’s Return, the Trials of Ahsoka, and Yoda’s Journey. Additional references are made to Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi. The themes of this elongated story arc include the preservation of Life, selflessness vs. selfishness, overcoming temptation, love & loss, the power of nature, failure & success, and coming-of-age.
Rebels 110 – Path of the Jedi
Rebels 218 – Shroud of Darkness
Rebels 221 – Twilight of the Apprentice pt. I
Rebels 222 – Twilight of the Apprentice pt. II
Rebels 406 – Flight of the Defender (first appearance of the Loth-wolves)
Rebels 407 – Kindred
Rebels 409 – Rebel Assault (sets up the events of Jedi Night and A World Between Worlds)
Rebels 410 – Jedi Night
Rebels 411 – DUME
Rebels 412 – Wolves & A Door
Rebels 413 – A World Between World
WAIT, WAIT! Josh, what happened to the Bendu? The Nightsisters? Or any of the episodes that take place in and around the Jedi Temple on Coruscant? Believe me when I tell you that I wanted to include them in this guide, but some of those topics deserve their own guides or play a role in a much bigger story arc.
About the Author
Joshua Sosa is a New Yorker, born and raised, who has guest hosted on different podcasts such as Focused Fire Chat – A Destiny Lore Podcast, The Tolkien Road, and also even Echo Base. He also contributes to The Lore Network, a cross-cultural blog under the umbrella of Focused Fire Chat. As a self-proclaimed mythologist-in-training, with a B.A. in Classical Studies from CUNY Hunter College, Josh spends of his time writing notes and ideas pertaining to comparative mythology & storytelling with hopes of one day publishing scholarly essays.
Josh has an interest in a number of different franchises including Star Wars, Tolkien’s Legendarium, J.K. Rowling Wizarding World, A Song of Ice & Fire, Godzilla, Doctor Who, Westworld, and much more. He is both an avid reader and gamer, with a somewhat “home-body” disposition, who enjoys his coffee, Chillhop Lo-Fi jazz music, and some good anime. You can find Josh on Twitter @chattingmyth or on the Random Chatter Discord server @Josh[Demigod]. Feel free to message him whenever you want to discuss myth and storytelling in Star Wars or other forms of storytelling.