The execution of Order 66 is going to be a lot harder to handle in Star Wars: The Clone Wars than it was in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. When the seventh and final season of The Clone Wars was announced, fans were rife with anticipation. Getting to see George Lucas’s final contribution to the Skywalker saga come to fruition was something few thought would ever happen. While it is reasonable to be excited, a certain infamous order should be cause for hesitation.
Order 66 was, as any Star Wars fan would explain, a huge turning point in the clone wars and galactic history as a whole. Given by Emperor Palpatine, the command instructed all active clone troopers to eliminate the Jedi they served under as well as any others they came into contact with. It was a gruesome turn of events that caught the entirety of the Jedi Order by surprise, causing their culture to collapse and their political sway in the Republic to disintegrate.
The scene was first shown in Revenge of the Sith as a montage of various Jedi meeting their demise. As the now iconic track “Anakin’s Betrayal” by John Williams played them out of existence, fans’ hearts wrenched at the sight of the heroes falling in such dramatic fashion. This of course was before The Clone Wars gave fans a significant amount of time with both the Jedi as well as the clones. Since the events of the season will overlap with the Revenge of the Sith, its character development will make its coverage of the event incredibly painful.
The Order 66 Montage Was One of the Best Scenes In the Prequels
Regardless how the prequels were perceived as a whole, they provided some genuinely powerful moments, and Revenge of the Sith was especially strong in this regard. Of course, this was all done in such a way that set up A New Hope, and one of the biggest subjects it had to tackle was the extermination of the Jedi Order. This is where Order 66 originated, and it was without a doubt one of the single best scenes of the trilogy. From the moment Obi-Wan and Boga fell to their “doom” on Utapau, it was as if the entire mood of the film had changed.
Seeing Jedi Master Plo Koon blasted out of the sky, Ki-Adi-Mundi betrayed mid-battle, and Aayla Secura gunned down all by their own troops was devastating. The reaction of Yoda, dropping his cane and clutching his heart made viewers do the same. Even though there wasn’t much context to these characters, there was still a tremendous sense of loss to it all. No matter how poor some of Jedi Council’s choices were, there was no doubt sympathy for the Jedi.
The Clone Wars Has Done More to Develop the Characters Who Die in Order 66 Than the Movies
Back in 2005 when Revenge of the Sith was released, fans knew little of the side Jedi who would perish in the montage. Obi-Wan and Anakin were the main focus, with Yoda and Mace Windu acting as supporting characters. There was no time to develop these other members of the Order, so while their demise was still sad, it did not carry as much weight as it could have. Thankfully, The Clone Wars offered up a retroactive solution. When it wasn’t ironing out the politics of the Star Wars trilogy or expanding the lore of the Force, the series took the Jedi Order in a bold new direction.
Taking place between Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the show was able to give more time to minor characters. Eeth Koth, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and countless others had an opportunity at the spotlight, which made them feel important. They stood as individuals with emotions and fully realized characters with full arcs. This is what made their deaths feel even more emotionally charged than before, outside the confines of a trilogy of two-and-a-half-hour movies.
The Clones Turning Against Their Will is Made Tragic By The Clone Wars
Even more so than the Jedi, the clones in the Grand Army of the Republic got more development than could have possibly been anticipated. They were faceless in the films, not even real people but rather CGI renderings. There was no Captain Rex at all or a Commander Cody with anything resembling a personality. The Clone Wars changed all that, making them individuals with operating minds and a uniqueness about them. Even regular grunts such as Fives and the miraculously living Echo got some time to shine.
Though it was great then, it is going to be a hard pill to swallow soon enough. When Order 66 is eventually set into motion, these clones will have no choice but to change teams in the worst way. The inhibitor chips as introduced in the series will in essence turn them into killing machines against their will. After spending so much quality time in “filler” episodes with these characters as the protagonists, it will be just as tragic to see them kill their generals as it will to see those Jedi be killed in the first place.
Will Clone Wars Show a New Order 66 Montage?
One of the chief concerns among fans of The Clone Wars is whether or not this final season will include a new Order 66 montage. The first one was tear-jerking enough, and now with the added attachment to not only the Jedi but a great many of the clones as well, it could be even more emotionally resonant. Given where the season figures itself into the Star Wars timeline and that the finale will run concurrently to the events of Revenge of the Sith, there’s likely to be another Order 66 montage.
The Siege of Mandalore will be one of the defining events this season, as Darth Maul will finally battle Ahsoka Tano in a story that has already been spoiled, and the battle for the sovereignty of the planet will rage. This is all exciting enough as it is, with plenty of action and iconic characters to enjoy, but what will give it an added edge will be the inclusion of Order 66. Surely Ahsoka will get caught in the crossfire, and it is not unlikely other notable Jedi will meet their ends. It will be difficult to witness fan favorite characters get either killed or turn evil so abruptly.
When Star Wars: The Clone Wars began, fans knew what they were signing up for. There was only so much time between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith before things had to come to a head, which they finally are all these years later. A lot happened throughout the show’s run, and all of the story-building and character progression that the series has made room for will make the end a bittersweet viewing experience. Though it is common knowledge what will happen, the world will collectively hold its breath when they once again hear the words “Execute Order 66.”
