Returned, The Clone Wars have...

It's finally here!!  Honestly, it feels like Christmas!  After a whole year of waiting and speculating, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has returned!  But before we get to the Top 10 Things To Look Forward To In Season 6, here's a couple of other cool things I want to share to help celebrate The Clone Wars.

But beware, there are spoilers for episodes and plot points in past seasons.  So if you haven't seen the show, don't read this.  Please don't read this.  Trust me, you don't want to spoil this for yourself.  It's all on Netflix now (all 6 seasons), and the first month is totally free, so you all have no excuse!  Go watch the show, and then come back.  Here's the link: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70155581

Alright, so to kick this off I'm sharing this really neat article on Why Ahsoka Tano is the best thing to happen to Star Wars in 20 years.  When Ahsoka first came on the scene back in 2008, a lot of fans didn't like her.  They wondered why this shrimpy teen with a little attitude was tagging along for the ride.  As Anakin's padawan, no less!!  But gradually, Ahsoka wormed her way into the hearts of the naysayers and quickly became a fan favorite.  She was the heart of the show, growing from a naive kid to a confidant warrior who was always willing to help those in need and always putting her whole heart into everything she did.  Plus, she's the first lady Jedi to have a spotlight, so that's pretty cool!  I love this character so much, and I really hope she shows up in Star Wars Rebels.

You can also celebrate by listening to the latest episode of the Rebel Force Radio podcast!  These guys have been huge supporters of The Clone Wars ever since it began.  They've done a roundtable discussion podcast for every single episode (and the movie) as well as interviewing members of the cast  and the production team.  They've talked to Dave Filoni (supervising director), James Arnold Taylor (voice of Obi-Wan & Plo Koon), Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka Tano), Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul & The Son), and many, many others.  In this roundtable, they play some never before broadcast interviews with some the actors and the writers.  It's a great listen, and I highly recommend it!

And now onto the meat...The Top 10 Things To Look Forward To In Season 6!

10) Embo

This guy made his first appearance back in Season 2 and became an instant fan favorite.  Alien, mysterious, and extremely badass, it's always good to see Embo in action.  In Season 6, it looks like he's been hired to take out Padme Amidala!  Of course, we all know how that will end but that won't make it any less awesome!  Fun Fact: Embo is actually voiced by the supervising director Dave Filoni!  The alien language you hear him speak is actually very modified audio of Dave reading from a French Smurfs book.

9) Anakin & Padme...and Rush Clovis

One thing in the films that we didn't see enough of was Anakin and Padme and their relationship.  In the Clone Wars, we were treated to a more in depth look at their love.  We even saw an old flame of Padme's appear back in Season 2: Rush Clovis (whom Anakin instantly loathed, which was actually rather hilarious).  I assumed he was dead, but he's coming back for a three part story arc where he's with Anakin and Padme, on the run from the pursuing Embo.

8) Fives

CT-5555, known better as Arc Trooper Fives, was introduced to us in the beginning of Season 1 in the episode titled "Rookies", which instantly became a fan favorite.  In that episode, we were first introduced to a group of clones we would later learn was called the Domino squad.  Sadly, Fives would eventually be the last survivor of his squad.  A brave warrior who loved his brothers and wasn't afraid to call out those in command if he thought what they were doing was immoral, Fives was always adamant about the fact that the clones were more than just numbers.  In Season 6, Fives appears to be wrapped up in one of the biggest mysteries of the Star Wars story...Order 66.

7) Dagobah

This is something I'm very excited about because it's something I've been wanting for years: to return to the planet Dagobah!  We all know that Dagobah is the chosen planet for Yoda's exile, but there appears to be much  more happening on the surface than we know.  Why did Yoda choose this planet for his exile?  And what's up with that mysterious tree?

6) Yoda

Speaking of Yoda, how great is it to have a story with him as the main protagonist again?  The last time that happened was actually the very first episode to air on television, titled "Ambush."  We've seen him from time to time, but he's never really had the spotlight since.  And I can't think of a more appropriate arc for Yoda to star in than the last four episodes of Season 6, which will go deep into the mysteries of the Force.

5) The Return of Qui-Gon

And that leads right into the return of one of my personal favorites, Qui-Gon Jinn!  Voiced by Liam Neeson, no less!  We all remember seeing Qui-Gon back in Season 3 in the Mortis episodes.  The only reason Qui-Gon was able to appear to Obi-Wan was because Mortis was so strong in the Force.  In Season 6, Qui-Gon can only speak out to Yoda, asking him to complete what he could not.  What could that be, I wonder?

4) Mother Talzin

This woman is one of The Clone War's biggest mysteries.  Ever since we saw the leader of the Dathomir witches appear, her motives have completely baffled me.  She offers to help Ventress get revenge on Dooku.  Then she offers to help Savage find his long lost brother, Darth Maul.  Then she helps Ventress again by welcoming her back into the Nightsister fold after Dooku tried to kill her, only to then tell her she needs to forge her own path after Dooku had Grievous wipe out said Nightsisters.  And then she restored Darth Maul's health and sanity and let him loose upon the galaxy!  But why??  To what end??  I've given up trying to figure it out, because I honestly don't know.  I'm just going to watch the episodes and enjoy seeing Mother Talzin in all her wicked glory again.

3) Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas

This guy is another one of Star Wars biggest question marks.  We first heard of Sifo-Dyas in Attack of the Clones.  Apparantly he secretly commissioned the clone army for the Republic.  But why did he do it?  Did he even know about Order 66?  He must have been involved with Dooku somehow since it was Dooku who went and found Jango Fett as the template for the army (under the guise of Lord Tyranus).  Was Sifo-Dyas friends with Dooku?  Did he also agree with Dooku that the Jedi had lost their way?  And how exactly did he die?

2) The Sith Homeworld

I literally screamed like a little girl when I saw this in the trailer.  The Sith homeworld is another thing I've been dying to see in the series, and it looks like it's going to be absolutely amazing!  There's some fan controversy going around about the name of the planet.  For years in the Expanded Universe, the name of the Sith homeworld has been "Korriban."  Here, it seems that George's official name for the planet is "Morriband", which translates to "Bound for Death" in Latin, I believe.  I'm totally fine with this, personally.  George likes to use names that have meaning, and I think "Morriband" is perfect.  Another Fun Fact: Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker himself, voices a Sith of some kind in one of these episodes!

And the #1 thing to look forward to is...

1) Order 66

Ever since we first saw the execution of Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith, so many questions were brought up about the order that the movie didn't answer.  What caused the clones to give the order?  Genetic programming or secret training unbeknownst to the Jedi?  Who is responsible for it?  The Kaminoans, Sifo-Dyas (more on  him later), or someone else?  Well, it looks like we'll be getting the answers now, and I can't wait!  

So enjoy your weekend, everyone!  Go watch some Clone Wars, and May The Force Be With You!