I actually kind of prefer season 2 and parts of season 1 to chunks of the later seasons. Every later arc ends up being 3-4 episodes and a lot of them don’t really need to be. The highs are higher, but unlike in season 1 and 2 the show doesn’t move on from its lows fast enough.

I think this is why a lot of people suggest a specific viewing selection or order to those who want to get into it, so that they can skip all the bad or buy into the show easier off the bat. But the show’s batting average is a lot lower than watching its best in isolation would have you think.

My other Clone Wars hot takes:

Domino Squad were barely characters, Fives is the only notable one
The changes to Anakin’s character make him a more boring character than his film counterpart
Umbara arc didn’t stick the landing, nor did it need to be its 4 episodes and its entertainment value is 90% just being cool and fun not “dark or deep.” Not the show’s best.
Its at its best when it knows it’s a fun kids show
The action in this show can be too long and mind-numbing to watch at a certain point
The show did not make me care more or less about the prequel Jedi to make me any sadder about their deaths in ROTS
I always really liked Ahsoka
The Martez sisters were better than 85% of the stock characters used throughout the original run, and the Bad Batch