Star Wars: The Clone Wars has sometimes introduced the darkest and most tragic storylines in all of Star Wars. Over the course of The Clone Wars’ seven seasons, there were multiple brutal, multiple-episode arcs that sometimes made viewers question whether the show was really designed for children or not. Star Wars has always been political, and The Clone Wars at times really leaned into politics, morality, and ethics surrounding different scenarios.

While The Clone Wars did showcase some amazing character development, and helped expand on the content seen in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, it also allowed for George Lucas to dig deeper than he had previously. Characters like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi became even better following The Clone Wars, with the animated show improving and recontextualizing everything audiences had seen in the prequels. That being said, one of the darkest arcs in The Clone Wars is even more horrible when thought about on a macro level.

The Slavery Arc in The Clone Wars Was Dark—But Had an Even Darker Message

The Clone Wars Dug Into Anakin’s Past

When Anakin Skywalker was introduced in Star Wars Episode I —The Phantom Menace, Anakin and his mother Shmi were slaves on Tatooine. The movie didn’t spend much time exploring Anakin and Shmi’s lives as slaves, but it was clear that it had left its scars on Anakin’s soul. During The Clone Wars, Anakin’s past as a slave is rarely brought up, and at one point his Padawan Ahsoka Tano revealed he’d kept it from her. The Clone Wars season 4 had a three-episode arc that brought back all those repressed memories for the Jedi.

Running through The Clone Wars season 4, episodes 11-13, this arc showed Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Captain Rex attempting to infiltrate the Zygerrian slave trade and free a colony of Togrutas who had been kidnapped. The arc was dark, with all four characters temporarily enslaved by the Zygrrians and unable to help the people around them. Even more concerning, though, even if an individual had the strength fo stand up and fight, they would be risking the lives of others as they fought for freedom.

Obi-Wan and Rex were sent to a work camp, where every time they tried to stand up to the slavers, the Togurta people were punished instead of them. This led to Rex and Obi-Wan becoming submissive in just a short while. At the same time, Anakin was assigned to be the personal slave and bodyguard of the Zygerrian queen. Anakin understood that if he fought back in any way, the Queen would harm his friends and the other enslaved people. Seeing some of the most powerful Jedi become slaves was incredibly dark and, at times, hard to watch.

The Zygerrian Queen Was Right About Anakin

She Was Able to Read Him

The Zygerrian Queen easily pinpointed that Anakin Skywalker used to be a slave – and she used this against him. According to the Queen, Anakin was still a slave to the Republic as long as he acted like a Jedi. Anakin vehemently denied this and continued to see the Queen as a monster. When Count Dooku made a move to take over the Zygerrian slave trade and kill the Queen, Anakin actually saved her, if only to interrogate her.

The Zygerrian Queen died in Anakin’s arms as they made their escape. After telling Anakin how to find Obi-Wan, she told him that there is “No escape for any of us…You were right Skywalker, I am a slave, just as you are.” Her final words cement her earlier point that everyone — including Anakin — is trapped and enslaved by the systems around them. Unfortunately, the Queen was right. Not only was Anakin a slave; this was also true of the rest of the Jedi Order, as well as the entire Clone Army, even if they were the “good guys.”

Anakin Skywalker Was Always a Slave to Someone Else

He Was Never Truly Free

Throughout all stages of Anakin Skywalker’s life, he was at the mercy of someone else’s will and was never truly free. He began as a slave living on Tatooine and was told what to do by Watto. When Anakin was freed by Qui-Gon Jinn, he instantly became entrenched in the Jedi Order. While a less tragic way of life, Anakin was constantly at the beck and call of the Jedi Council, and was rarely allowed to make decisions for himself without getting admonished for his actions.

When Anakin fell to the dark side in Star Wars Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, he switched from having the Jedi Council as a master, to becoming a slave for Palpatine. As Darth Vader, he did everything Palpatine asked, no matter how dark and horrible. Additionally, because Vader lost Padmé Amidala, he was in constant anguish, becoming a slave to his anger. Palpatine was able to use this anger to further entrench Vader as his personal slave.

When viewing Anakin Skywalker’s life through the lens presented by the Zygerrian Queen, it rewrites so much of how audiences understand his character as a whole. Anakin was never free, despite being freed from bondage in The Phantom Menace. This retelling of Anakin Skywalker’s story might just made the Zygerrian slave arc the darkest in all of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.