Animated Star Wars has proven to be some of the best Star Wars. The Clone Wars is famous for being incredible with its characters and stories, while Rebels may be the most underappreciated piece of Star Wars ever released. Resistance is less loved but still has its audience, while The Bad Batch recently got off to a great start.
Each show seemed to improve over time, but there are various reasons why one season of one show is better or worse than another. These include them having fewer or more episodes, consistency, having outstanding stand-alone episodes/arcs, and more, all of which IMDb can attest.
Updated on September 24th, 2021 by Rhys McGinley: The Clone Wars and Rebels are widely regarded as some of the best Star Wars content ever. The best seasons of Clone Wars have been compared to whole films, while Rebels has cemented itself as an underrated masterpiece to its adoring fans. They are not the only Star Wars animated shows, though, with The Bad Batch's first season being pretty great, and Resistance being decent fun more meant for children. IMDb and its reviewers reflect this, with there being a clear disparity between Resistance and the other shows, while there is a close battle between the best Clone Wars seasons and Rebels on the site.
Resistance: Season 1 (2018/19) - 5.81
- Season 1 of Resistance has 20 episodes.
The lowest-rated season of Star Wars TV by a long way is the inaugural season of Star Wars: Resistance, a series that failed to be a hit like every other Star Wars show in the canon.
Most of the episodes only have about 200 reviews, and given how meant for children the show is, it is doubtful the reviewers are the target audience which helps explain the low ratings. For all its criticisms, Resistance is far from totally unwatchable and can be a fun piece of Star Wars to enjoy for younger audiences.
Resistance: Season 2 (2019/20) - 6.87
- Season 2 of Resistance has 18 episodes.
With more advancement for the characters and some funner stories, season 2 of Resistance proved to be a step-up from the first, as reflected by IMDb.
The episodes kept the same amount of reviewers, but with the enjoyable series finale, and other relatively high rated episodes like "Rendevouz Point," "Rebuilding The Resistance," and "The Missing Agent," it earned a much higher average. The adventures of Kaz and co. could very well help younger audiences into the sequel era of Star Wars TV for a long time to come, but will probably fail in attracting the older audiences of The Clone Wars and Rebels.
The Clone Wars: Season 1 (2008/09) - 7.45
- Season 1 of The Clone Wars has 22 episodes.
The premiere season of The Clone Wars was far, far, and away better than the movie that preceded it, but that is not saying much, and it is the worst season of the hit series.
There is definitely some gold in the season, such as "Lair Of Grievous," "Rookies," "Cloak Of Darkness," as well as others, and many character introductions and explorations. Still, episodes like "Bombad Jedi" let the season down, along with a few average episodes.
Rebels: Season 1 (2014/15) - 7.74
- Season 1 of Star Wars: Rebels has 14 episodes.
Like all Star Wars shows, Rebels' second season is the lowest on IMDb, which makes sense given that for a good chunk of the season, many fans shunned the series for its art style and child-centric appeal.
By the end of season one, though, Rebels had proved itself with "Fire Across The Galaxy." The season only has fourteen episodes, and so, since it does not have many extraordinarily high or low rated episodes, it has a relatively average rating.
The Clone Wars: Season 2 (2009/10) - 7.79
- Season 2 of The Clone Wars has 22 episodes.
IMDb views the second season of The Clone Wars as an improvement on the first, and there is no denying it has some far superior stories and character work throughout, with a deeper look into dynamics and individuals.
The Second Battle of Geonosis stands as one of the best and perhaps most underrated arcs of the series, with the introduction of Satine Kryze also a big highlight of the season. Again, it gets held back by a slew of average-rated episodes and criminally low ratings for the Geonosis story.
The Clone Wars: Season 3 (2010/11) - 7.93
- Season 3 of The Clone Wars has 22 episodes.
Continuing the upward trajectory in the show's quality, the third season of the show falls just short of the 8.0 mark and kicks off the trend of The Clone Wars exploding with some of the greatest Star Wars stories ever told.
There are a lot of average and poor episodes throughout the season. But that is counteracted by the presence of two of the show's most excellent arcs, the Mortis arc and the Nightsister arc, two pieces of absolute brilliance. There is also the great citadel arc and more brilliant character work and growth from the story's heroes.
The Bad Batch: Season 1 (2021) - 8.0
- Season 1 of The Bad Batch has 16 episodes.
Season 1 of The Bad Batch has been widely heralded as the best inaugural season of a Star Wars animated show, and IMDb agrees. If the show continues on this path, future seasons could challenge the best seasons of The Clone Wars, especially when they answer questions left by the first season.
The season was far from perfect, of course. Some episodes failed to further the story or impress in their character development, and there were some fans who felt the show needed to pick up the pace at points. The finale too was not to everyone's taste, going a different direction from what most expected. Overall, though, it was a good season of Star Wars TV that earns a high rating.
Rebels: Season 3 (2016/17) - 8.06
- Season 3 of Star Wars: Rebels has 22 episodes.
Rebels season 3 is such a mixed bag. At its best, the season has some of the most brilliant storytelling in all of Star Wars by way of some of Rebels' best episodes, "Twin Suns," and other incredible episodes like "Zero Hour" and "Trials Of The Darksaber."
However, the mass hatred of "Iron Squadron" and the poor "The Wynkhathu Job" alongside a few other average entries pull the season's average down. Nevertheless, the journey of the Ghost crew as individuals and a collective is a joy to watch in this season, as is Maul, who proved himself as one of Star Wars' best villains.
The Clone Wars: Season 6 (2014) - 8.07
- Season 6 of The Clone Wars has 13 episodes.
The Clone Wars' sixth season was long thought to be the final one of the beloved show, and it got canceled before it could get given the finish Dave Filoni wanted.
Nonetheless, it has another two unbelievable and adored arcs in the form of Fives' conspiracy arc and Yoda's journey in the Force, both of which teach fans a lot and add a significant amount to the lore. "The Lost One" is also fantastic, but "The Disappeared" lets the team down.
The Clone Wars: Season 4 (2011/12) - 8.07
- Season 4 of The Clone Wars has 22 episodes.
There are fewer than a handful of arcs that most fans will consistently argue as being the very best of the best, the cream of the Clone Wars crop. The Umbara arc sits very much at the center of these debates, whose home is this season.
Season four also sees the return of a character that would, thanks to this show, become one of the most remarkable and most interesting characters in Star Wars in Maul. There is also a story that injects more tension into Anakin's stormy relationship with Obi-Wan and the Jedi Council. Low-rated, droid-centric episodes hurt the season's average significantly.
Rebels: Season 2 (2015/16) - 8.07
- Season 2 of Star Wars: Rebels has 22 episodes.
Season two of Rebels builds terrifically on season one and solidifies the show as genuinely great, even with the strange Yoda animation and the Purrgils. Thanks to Ahsoka and Vader, some fans put it atop their Rebels' seasons ranked lists.
With Ahsoka returning to the animated fold and Darth Vader making his debut, the journey of the two coming together is excruciating yet exhilarating. As if that was not enough, though, Maul pops back up, as do Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor, and there are a series of incredible lightsaber battles. The relationship between Ezra and Kanan, as well as their individual journeys, are exceptional also.
The Clone Wars: Season 5 (2012/13) - 8.1
- Season 5 of The Clone Wars has 20 episodes.
The hearty yet low-rated four-episodes long D-squad arc takes the overall average of what most consider to be the very best Clone Wars season down to second-best on IMDb. This is despite the season having some of The Clone Wars' best episodes.
Season five is home to what was long thought to be the Umbara arc's main rival as The Clone Wars' best, the Takeover of Mandalore arc. "The Lawless" is flawless; the whole arc is powerful, heartbreaking, and enthralling from start to finish. To add to those feelings, though, season five is also home to the Ahsoka accused arc, which sees her leave the Jedi Council, an excellent if not destructive story for audiences.
The Clone Wars: Season 7 (2020) - 8.13
Season five often finds itself first when ranking The Clone Wars seasons happen. The Siege of Mandalore, though, is a glorified movie and the most excellent animated Star Wars story ever told, putting season 7 above 5 on IMDb.
The Bad Batch arc is good, even great at times. The Martez sisters arc is key to Ahsoka's journey but drags on far too long with a lot of subpar stuff going on. Still, the Siege of Mandalore, with one 9.8 rating and three 9.9's, helps season 7 become the best season of The Clone Wars - on IMDb. It is spectacular, start to finish, and earns every bit of its praise it gets, giving a fitting send-off to the likes of Ahsoka and Rex.
Rebels: Season 4 (2017/18) - 8.31
- Season 4 of Star Wars: Rebels has 15 episodes.
It is funny to see Rebels' best season beat out that of The Clone Wars, considering the latter is so thought of as being the best. Still, it goes to show the consistent nature of Rebels and proves its episodic structure fairs better in these parameters than an arc-to-arc structure.
The final season of the show does earn its place, though, with some truly mindblowing and magnificent episodes such as "Jedi Night," "A World Between Worlds," "A Fool's Hope," and the two parts of "Family Reunion - And Farewell." The season does have the advantage of only having sixteen episodes without a cancellation looming over it, but that does not take away from the excellence of the stories within it. The final season of Rebels not only tops Rebels' seasons ranked but sits beside The Mandalorian as the best Star Wars TV show overall.