The Malevolence arc in The Clone Wars is Star Wars at its best

In 2008, many people were wondering what the future of the franchise would be. The film Star Wars: The Clone Wars was poorly received, though it did usher in new fans. Still, there were many questions about the new animated show of the same name from Dave Filoni. The first major arc of the series, though, provided a solid start to the groundbreaking series and represented what was best about the story.

The first season started with "Ambush," a Yoda-centric episode with Asajj Ventress. What followed was the Malevolence Arc. The arc was about the Separatist ship, the Malevolence, which had an ion canon that disabled any ship, small or large, in its path. The three episodes, "Rising Malevolence," "Shadow of Malevolence," and "Destroy Malevolence," follow Jedi Master Plo Koon, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, and C-3PO as they all take on the mighty gunship in the hopes of destroying it.

One thing that stood out during the three episodes was the character development, particularly of Plo Koon during the first episode, "Rising Malevolence." This episode gave the audience more insight into the background character in the prequels. It displayed his prowess as a Jedi Master and the care of his clones under his command, making his death at the hands of the clones in Revenge of the Sith all the more emotional.

It also began to establish Ahsoka as a Jedi whose Force abilities are evident and added more depth to her and Anakin's teacher-student relationship. Going into her past and establishing that Plo Koon was the one who brought her into the fold as a Jedi Padawan was also a nice touch. The humor throughout the arc was also evident. In particular, the sarcasm displayed by the battle droids gave them more character, and their annoyance with the Jedi was laugh-out-loud funny at times.

The callbacks to the first six films probably brought in many longtime Star Wars fans to the series. Using the Y-wing bombers in the "Shadow of Malevolence" as Anakin and Ahsoka lead their men into battle brought a warm heart to any fan of the first film, A New Hope. The final episode shows a wonderful scene between droids C-3PO and R2-D2. It was akin to their banter in the original trilogy despite the new characters being displayed throughout the arc.

The heroes may have destroyed the Malevolence in the show, but these three episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars set the tone for what was to come.