10 Reasons You’re Wrong About The Star Wars Prequels
7. The Clone Wars Has Only Made Them Better
For all that the prequels had some bright ideas, they were notorious for executing them poorly. Take Attack of the Clones, for instance. On paper it should be the most interesting Star Wars film ever; you have Qui-Gon's former master revealed to be a new Sith Lord; a secret conspiracy to create an army for the Republic that seems like it was ripped straight from the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s, and obviously the beginnings of Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.
The issue is that these concepts weren't always explored to their fullest extent onscreen. We never get to see Anakin Skywalker, as either the legendary Jedi Knight or war hero he was meant to be, in either Episodes II or III. We don't get to see much of the Clone Wars at all, really. Or the little flourishes that make Anakin's fall - and indeed the collapse of the Republic - that much more emotionally galling.
Enter The Clone Wars TV show, as well as subsequent Star Wars offerings. The Clone Wars was spearheaded by Lucas and Dave Filoni, and addresses many of the gaps the prequels left behind. It also rectifies some of their mistakes, bringing back Maul and transforming him into a truly legendary character, whilst further developing the friendship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the other Jedi Knights in the galaxy, and the clones at their command.
Plus there's Ahsoka Tano, who has since become one of the most beloved Star Wars characters of all.
Watching The Clone Wars fundamentally makes the prequels better. They benefit from the added emotional context, and other Star Wars efforts have used its example to great effect, whether it be Claudia Gray's Master & Apprentice novel further exploring the relationship between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan pre-Episode I, or works like Star Wars Rebels and Jedi: Fallen Order unpacking the aftermath of Order 66.
The prequels are constantly getting better, and that has been really exciting to watch unfurl over the last decade.