With three animated and two live-action series, 2023 was a busy year for Star Wars television. It began in the first week of January with The Bad Batch season 2, which delivered plenty of heartwarming and devastating moments.
At the beginning of March, The Bad Batch season 2 was still releasing weekly episodes when The Mandalorian Season 3 premiered, giving fans several weeks of getting two new Star Wars episodes every Wednesday.
On May the Fourth, all episodes for Star Wars: Visions season 2 dropped at once, featuring stunning animation from studios across the globe. Young Jedi Adventures, an animated series set in the High Republic era targeted at preschool-age children, also released its first slew of episodes on May the Fourth, and released more episodes at various points throughout the year.
The long-awaited Ahsoka series began in August and ran until early October, with many fans enjoying how the live-action series connects to and builds off of the beloved animated shows The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels.
As 2023 winds down and 2024 approaches, it’s the perfect time to look back at each Star Wars television series in 2023 and celebrate their best episodes.
The Bad Batch
Season 2, Episode 12: “The Outpost”
The Bad Batch season 2 featured many stellar episodes, but “The Outpost” is in a class of its own. In a single episode, The Bad Batch encapsulates the tragedy of the clones in the aftermath of Order 66, and provides a satisfying payoff for all of Crosshair’s character development since the series premiere.
The episode begins with Crosshair watching other clones being forced into retirement while new batches of stormtroopers march around in their shiny new armor. Despite these warning signs, Crosshair remains loyal to the Empire and still feels valuable as he and his unit are reassigned to the Imperial depot on Barton IV by the arrogant Lieutenant Nolan.
On Barton IV, Crosshair meets a clone commander named Mayday, who has lost all but two of his troopers (and he soon loses them as well) to defend mysterious cargo for the Empire. Through Crosshair’s experiences with Mayday and the mistreatment they endure at the hands of Lieutenant Nolan, he finally opens his eyes and understands that despite his loyalty and sacrifices, he means nothing to the Empire.
Crosshair and Mayday realize that the cargo they’ve been ordered to retrieve, which all of Mayday’s troopers died defending, is stormtrooper armor. This realization is one of the most gut-wrenching moments in all of Star Wars. It’s a culmination of the Empire discarding the clones, treating them like used objects instead of people, and forcing the ones that remain to die, protecting the armor of their successors.
Even though Crosshair indicated earlier in the episode that a fallen comrade is just deadweight, he guides a grievously wounded Mayday back to the Imperial depot, only for Nolan to berate the clones for failing their mission. Nolan also doesn’t get Mayday any help and lets him die. All the ways the Empire has mistreated and abused Crosshair and the clones boils over, with Crosshair shooting and killing Nolan, finally choosing to stand up to the Empire.
The cherry on top of this perfect episode is Crosshair waking up at Mount Tantiss, with this intriguing cliffhanger connecting his story back to Clone Force 99 and the show’s endgame.
The Mandalorian
Season 3, Episode 7: “The Spies”
More than any other episode in season 3, “The Spies” balances Din Djarin and Grogu’s relationship with the larger story being told about Mandalorians uniting to retake Mandalore and the growing power of the Imperial Remnant.
The episode starts strong with the triumphant and much-anticipated return of Moff Gideon, along with a glimpse of the Shadow Council, which includes Captain Gilad Pellaeon and Commandant Brendol Hux. It is the Mandoverse’s best look yet at the Imperial Remnant’s leadership beyond Moff Gideon.
As for Din and Grogu, Greef Karga gifting IG-12 to Grogu rekindles some of the silliness and father-son dynamics missing at times in Season 3. Grogu walking around as he controls IG-12 is delightful to watch, and Din’s frustration with the shenanigans Grogu tries to pull off is all too relatable.
Meanwhile, the various Mandalorian factions finally unite to retake their homeworld of Mandalore, with a reconnaissance group journeying to the Great Forge. This is an exciting development for the plot. However, the best part is arguably the character moments this journey creates in the episode, especially for Bo-Katan Kryze, Din, and Grogu.
The normally stoic Bo-Katan allows herself to be emotionally vulnerable as she reveals the full story of her role in Mandalore’s fall. In the following scene, when speaking only with Din, she shares her fears about being unable to keep all the different Mandalorians together.
As Bo-Katan struggles at this moment, Din is encouraging and sincere, emphasizing her many positive qualities while also telling her, “Your song is not yet written. I will serve you until it is.” This beautiful and empowering sentiment speaks volumes about how much Din respects and admires Bo-Katan.
During the journey to the Great Forge, Paz Vizsla and Axe Woves get into a fight, and Grogu uses what he learned from Luke Skywalker to break up the fight peacefully. It is a proud dad moment for Din, made even better by the respectful nod that Din gives Grogu, followed by Grogu nodding back at Din.
The episode escalates when the Mandalorians are attacked by Imperial troopers wearing beskar armor, commanded by Moff Gideon, wearing dark trooper armor made out of beskar. Din is taken captive, Gideon sends TIE interceptors and bombers to attack the Mandalorian fleet, and Praetorian Guards slay Paz Vizsla after making a valiant final stand that allows the other Mandalorians to escape. These events successfully raise the stakes for the season finale.
Star Wars: Visions
Season 2, Episode 2: “Screecher’s Reach”
“Screecher’s Reach” begins like a traditional Star Wars story, with the protagonist Daal and her friends longing for better lives and going on an adventure together. After escaping the oppressive workhouse, their journey to the mountain known as Screecher’s Reach is filled with joy, humor, camaraderie, and hope.
The episode’s tone changes when Daal and her friends enter the dark cave at Screecher’s Reach. The ghost that Daal confronts in there is genuinely terrifying and causes the episode to veer into a full-on horror story. When Daal strikes down the ghost with a red lightsaber, it is not a heroic moment. Instead, it feels like a dark point of no return.
Even after the ghost is vanquished and Daal reunites with her friends, the episode remains a horror story as the amulet around Daal’s neck glows red, and an ominous voice speaks from it. An individual known as the Sith Mother lands her ship, and it is revealed that Daal’s plan all along was to prove herself to the Sith Mother by confronting and striking down the ghost. In return, Daal can leave with the Sith Mother and begin a new life away from the workhouse.
Many moments in the episode, from Daal clutching and speaking to the amulet in difficult moments to Baython encouraging Daal to seize an opportunity to start a new life if that ever happens, take on a new meaning once the viewer knows how the episode ends, which makes “Screecher’s Reach” well worth a rewatch.
What begins as a relatively lighthearted adventure among friends becomes a Sith origin story, with Daal choosing to join the Sith Mother instead of staying with her friends. It is one of the most sobering, surprising, and compelling stories in Star Wars, let alone in Visions Season 2.
Ahsoka
Season 1, Episode 6: “Far, Far Away”
Since the Rebels finale aired in 2018, fans have wanted to know what happened to Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn after the Liberation of Lothal. Early episodes of Ahsoka revealed that they had been transported to another galaxy to the planet Peridea. It wasn’t until “Far, Far Away” that the audience got to see Thrawn and Ezra in live-action and see what their lives had become in this other galaxy.
Between the emergence of the Chimaera Star Destroyer, the battered yet formidable-looking stormtroopers chanting Thrawn’s name, and Kevin Kiner’s music, Thrawn makes a truly epic and unforgettable entrance. Seeing Lars Mikkelsen in the role and hearing him speak makes live-action Thrawn feel like a seamless continuation of Thrawn in Rebels. His unexpected alliance with the Great Mothers makes his return even more intriguing, and he wastes no time in being strategic and putting his plans into action so he and his forces can return to the known galaxy.
As for Ezra, his reunion with Sabine Wren is incredibly heartwarming and satisfying. Eman Esfandi perfectly embodies Ezra, even when it comes to little mannerisms. The banter and dynamic between Ezra and Sabine feels natural, and even though they have not seen each other in years, the essence of their relationship and brother-sister dynamic has not changed.
In addition to the long-awaited return of Ezra and Thrawn, this episode does some excellent world-building, making Peridea and the new galaxy feel distinct. The purrgil carcasses surrounding Peridea, the mysterious Mortis statues on the surface, the Great Mothers’ fortress, the Noti, and the formidable power on the planet that Baylan Skoll hints at all contribute to this world-building.
Young Jedi Adventures
Season 1, episode 14: “Charhound Chase”
For fans of Star Wars: The High Republic, it is incredibly rewarding to see Loden Greatstorm, Bell Zettifar, and Bell’s pet charhound Ember making their television debut in the Young Jedi Adventures episode “Charhound Chase.” These characters feel consistent with their depictions in the novels, comics, and short stories of The High Republic. It is exciting to know that a new generation of children are meeting these characters for the first time in this medium.
“Charhound Chase” works not just because of these familiar characters appearing, but because of how they further develop the main characters in Young Jedi Adventures, particularly Jedi youngling Kai Brightstar. Kai is embarrassed by some of his mistakes in this episode, but Bell refuses to let Kai feel defeated by his embarrassment.
Bell is normally a student, but he gets to be the teacher here. He is encouraging, reveals how he has made plenty of mistakes, and praises how Kai always keeps fighting and never gives up. The two Jedi work together to make sure Ember is safe and make it back in time for a special session taught by Loden. Kai learns some valuable lessons, and the episode shows how Bell has learned from Loden and is a great teacher in his own right.
That’s it for the 2023 Star Wars series. With plenty more from the franchise on the horizon, only time will tell what 2024 will hold for a galaxy far, far away.
Stay up to date with all things Star Wars here at Dork Side of the Force.