Which ‘Star Wars’ Animated Series Had The Best First Season
As of the writing of this article, Star Wars has had four animated series. That equates to four first seasons of television throughout the years. Each of them came out at a certain point in Star Wars history. The question is which one had the best start? In this opinion article, I am going to do my personal ranking of which series had the best first seasons, from the weakest to the strongest. Which of these had the best kick-off?
4. The Clone Wars Season 1
Sometimes the first outing is always the roughest, and The Clone Wars Season 1 is the shakiest of the first seasons for sure. It is the first season of the first animated Star Wars series. Obviously, this would make sense, as it takes time for the new storytellers to get their footing and really get a feel for telling a Star Wars story in a brand new medium. The seasonal structure is a bit off with no real arc. There are several mini-arcs such as the Malevolent arc and the Ryloth arc, but they do not quite connect with each other. Also, the animation at that time is a bit choppy, but that is probably because they do not necessarily have the technology down yet.
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3. Star Wars Rebels Season 1
Rebels is in third place but with a massive jump in improvement. Much like The Clone Wars, this show also needs to find its footing in places as it is the first post-Lucas animated series without his unlimited resources. It now has a budget limit, and is also on cable television. Regardless, the season itself is far superior in terms of structure and focus. Rebels is about a small band of…well...rebels with the spotlight on Ezra Bridger. Some of its problems stem from a few animation errors and a bit of a slow burn. Overall, it is quite focused, character-driven, and leads to an epic season finale.
2. The Bad Batch Season 1
Many consider The Bad Batch Season 1 to be The Clone Wars Season 8. Personally, I think that may be an overstatement. While The Bad Batch has the same style as The Clone Wars, it does not share the same tone. It is more of a character piece in the same vein as Rebels. It also has the advantage of exploring a different era, showing the rise of the Empire, and continuing the clones’ story, as well as showing what is happening on Kamino. The season ends with a very personal story of the Bad Batch, with Crosshair in particular. It succeeds in maintaining its overall quality with good storytelling and characters.
1. Star Wars Resistance Season 1
The best of the best is strangely the most unique. Resistance Season 1 is able to pull off the subtlety of a long character arc while having mostly individual episodes that all build upon each other leading up to a grand finale at the end. As we follow Kaz’s time on the Colossus, the show evolves from a funny show about a space station in the Outer Rim to an important focal point in the sequel era. Its strong arcs, such as Tam’s fall to the First Order, really make Resistance’s first season the best on this list.
Star Wars has and will have many first seasons of animated shows. Some will be better than others, but each will show growth and change over time. Rating them is a fun exercise, not as a way to critique, but as a way to show how much they have improved over time and where they still need to grow. For what is Star Wars if not a tale of personal growth in the galaxy far, far away.
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Written By Joel Davis
Syndicated From Culture Slate