Oh man. So close. Sooo close now. I’ve been editing the final three episodes at the same time, since all three come from the same arc, but it just so happened that I’ve finished the final episode first. Naturally, I won’t upload them till they’re all ready, but it’s been such a privilege working on this final arc, because it’s so damn strong and really in many ways justifies the existence of the whole show. I’ve managed to get my favourite track (‘Clones Sad’) in there too, which I’ve wanted to since the beginning. I’m also pleased with my opening text - I think it’s useful to have an actual reminder of what’s going on in the Revenge of the Sith story at this point, since the overlap is important.

I have put in a vanity card, which I wasn’t sure about (it’s something I’ve avoided throughout), but I figure I’ve probably earned it after two years and 45 episodes. Though the main reason I included it was because it fit naturally into a bit of audio space between the end of the episode and the start of my credits.

I have managed to very cleanly remove the reference to clones knowing the name ‘Darth Sidious’, and in fact all of the places where I’ve split or merged content in this arc are now particularly clean - I’ve adhered very very closely to the original arc’s unique musical cues and tone, so my edit should feel like a very light touch inclusion into my format.

VERY EXCITING!

Don’t worry, it’s already cleaned. The original line just flows around it, they talk about the orders without naming who gave them. It works fine as they were all there for Order 66 and have already discussed the orders with Rex, so no context is lost. Lovely and smooth, you won’t notice the cut.

Yeah, Rebels does need a trim, but it’s not as offensive as TCW in its original form. It has some kiddy humour, but it’s at least tonally consistent with itself, which is why I think most people are OK with either a list of which episodes should be watched or skips, or a tightening like g00b’s. His might be the R:R you’re looking for, to be honest, since his goals sound very similar to mine. He hasn’t needed to faff around with opening text or new presentation either.

I’d be down for a book feedback chamber! My synthaurs, and vampires as proof that the sun’s a deity, need an outlet!

RELEASED - THE FINAL THREE-EPISODE ARC

This is the show’s final arc - the Siege of Mandalore - taken from its original four-episode format and simply turned into three episodes that break more naturally around story breakpoints. It flows a bit more cleanly around a watch of Revenge of the Sith this way.

What an incredible arc! Arguably the strongest arc in the entire show, and one which, does a great job to justify the existence of the show and elevates it to one of the Star Wars saga’s greats. It’s this arc which finally paid off on the show’s main throughlines - Ahsoka and Mauldalore - and in so doing created us a solid ‘spine’ which flows through the entire show. It’s that core throughline which I designed this edit around, trying to emphasise and enhance those moments and keeping them in focus, to help build toward this arc in particular. I hope that’s worked for you as a viewer.

Very importantly here, I strove to preserve much of what makes this arc unique, especially in terms of the unique music and audio cues, and some visual choices, to preserve its special tone. So really, I’ve made only the tiniest tweaks to the actual content, and all I’ve done here is repackage the finale into the TCW:R conventions, with slight changes to fit this unique tone, so it should work from all angles.

More detail below.

RELEASED - S05E02 - THE SIEGE OF MANDALORE (v2.0)

• RELEASE VERSION.
• Our second episode of season five (the final season).
• This one should be watched BEFORE Revenge of the Sith.
• Comprising the original episode Old Friends Not Forgotten, with one extra scene from A Distant Echo (from the Bad Batch arc), and one scene from The Phantom Apprentice (which followed this one originally).
• Running 34 minutes.
• DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
• Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.

This is the first episode of the arc, Old Friends Not Forgotten, but concluding on the opening scene from The Phantom Apprentice. The original ends on a cliffhanger as Ahsoka faces Maul - this version shows us that fight and Maul’s escape before concluding the episode (for a cleaner break when watching chronologically).

It also includes most of the Padmé scene from the Siege of Anaxes, as shown in A Distant Echo, part of the Bad Batch arc. On review, I decided that the Bad Batch arc doesn’t belong in TCW:R. (It’s just not that strong and distracts us from the important momentum toward this finale, so instead it should belong as an optional episode zero ‘flashback’ of the Bad Batch show… which you could always choose to watch here chronologically if you wanted to.) But the Padmé content belongs in this show, not the Bad Batch, so I wanted to preserve it. To that end, I’ve included it as the opening scene of this episode. (It doesn’t have any Anaxes references now, though if you wanted it to it’d still fit as what happened after that Bad Batch arc.) In the new context, the battle they’re talking about is this episode’s Yerbana fight, and Rex’s tension is regarding the Order 66 revelations (which’ll pay off in this arc) rather than Echo.

Noteworthy changes:

• The episode is titled ‘The Siege of Mandalore’, really just to get that conflict’s name in the show.
• The opening crawl is used to give us a little context on the state of the war immediately prior to its conclusion (including that we haven’t seen Dooku or Grievous in ages), to remind us of Rex’s knowledge of some of Order 66 (relevant in this arc but also to recontextualise Anakin’s opening worries about him), and to reference the ‘risky’ Yerbana strike (again to smooth over some dialogue in the new opening conversation).
• We open on the siege staging ground from the Bad Batch episodes, but without an establishing shot. Used here it can either be that same one, just after that content, or if you like it’s another similar staging ground since, as I say in the opening crawl, every battlefield feels the same now.
• We transition from the staging ground to a slightly truncated opening from the movie, skipping only the opening aerial combat (just to make the transition work) but keeping all of the bridge fight.
• The episode then plays out exactly the same, until-
• It transitions smoothly from Maul’s appearance into the opening fight against Maul from the second episode.
• I close the new conclusion with the original episode’s dramatic musical trill, for consistency and to keep the new ending moment punctual.
• New closing credits music and timing, shared with the second episode in this arc too. The music is a custom composition of a few opening and closing cues from this arc, so I’m glad to have been able to preserve them.

RELEASED - S05E03 - THE MASTER PLAN (v2.0)

• RELEASE VERSION.
• Our third episode of season five (the final season).
• This one should be watched AFTER Revenge of the Sith if you haven’t seen the movie before. It can be watched BEFORE if you have seen the movie or if you don’t mind spoilers, and it does enhance the movie’s tension quite well this way.
• Comprising the original episode The Phantom Apprentice.
• Running 25 minutes.
• DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
• Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.

This is the second episode of the arc, The Phantom Apprentice, but skipping the opening scene from the previous episode, Old Friends Not Forgotten, because I’ve added that to conclude my first episode in this arc. Now we simply open on the meeting which followed that scene originally.

This episode fits chronologically after Palpatine’s rescue, but before Anakin discovers Palpatine’s secret - during the period of tension and doubt in Anakin’s mind.

I’ve deliberately split this arc here because it allows you to mentally fit in a few days’ time jump if you want to - which the movie also implies around this time.

Noteworthy changes:

• The episode is titled ‘The Master Plan’, since its main focus is a lot of conversations and tension, first focusing on Maul’s purpose on Mandalore and then on Sidious’ plans for the war.
• The opening text reminds us what’s happened in RotS (Palpatine is saved, Dooku is dead), then it reminds us what Rex and Ahsoka are up to. I mention that Maul’s forces are striking from the undercity, which is mentioned in this episode, since it also gives Ahsoka something to have been doing if we do want to imagine a time-jump between this and the prior episode. I also reference ‘What Maul truly wants’, a theme of this episode, first ‘revealed’ to be revenge against Palpatine, then partially implied to just be ‘chaos’ he can thrive in, but also potentially in the last moments revealed to have been his own death.
• Other than the removal of the opening scene, the episode remains unchanged.
• We end on the alternate end credits music and timings also shared by the first episode in this arc.

RELEASED - S05E04 - LOYALTY AND FATE (v2.0)

• RELEASE VERSION.
• Our fourth episode of season five (the final season), and the final true episode of the season and series.
• This one should be watched AFTER Revenge of the Sith.
• Comprising the original episodes Shattered and Victory and Death.
• Running 48 minutes.
• DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
• Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.

This is the final episode of my edit, comprising the final two episodes of the show, which play back-to-back almost literally shot-for-shot (we don’t need the second episode’s new establishing shot). It’s perfect, and there’s not much to say about it.

I technically could have used this episode’s opening scene (Ahsoka takes Maul to Bo Katan) as the conclusion of the previous episode. That would have been neater from a chronological perspective, and left another useful implied timeskip before Maul (now in a Jedi prison) is handed off from Bo Katan to the Republic. However, in this case, the previous episode’s ending (Ahsoka staring doubtfully into the future), and this episode’s opening, are just too strong.

Noteworthy changes:

• The episode is titled ‘Loyalty and Fate’. I wanted something as punctual as the original ‘Victory and Death’, and I also wanted something with the same syllabic cadence. ‘Loyalty’ was key for me because it explicitly gives us the question overhanging Rex’s whole journey, but also references Ahsoka and her relationships, Rex with her, the entire story going on in parallel in Revenge of the Sith, and even Maul as he’s released. And ‘Fate’, naturally, is the fate of all these Clone Wars plot threads, the Galaxy, and most importantly here Ahsoka.
• The opening text uses an alternate musical cue and structure from Shattered, with the usual TCW:R opening content added to it. We’re going maximum ominous tragedy now.
• We transition completely smoothly from Ahsoka and Rex awaiting their door being broken down from the first episode, into their door being broken down from the second episode, without skipping a beat.
• The only actual change to body content in this episode is the removal of two lines which implied that some clones knew the name ‘Darth Sidious’. That opens up too many questions, so we’ll just have the plot bypass that idea cleanly instead.
• Before the end credits, I add this show’s only TCW:R/EddieDean vanity card, and thankyous for the artists, my supporters here on OT.com, and the viewer.
• The end credits use the usual TCW:R conventions, but finally we play out to my beloved track Clones - Sad, which I’ve intended to include at this moment since before I made this show’s first edit. So do be sure to stick around after the thank yous!

Onwards to a little extra nugget of content - the Maul and Obi-Wan coda.

RELEASED - S05E05 - CODA: OLD WOUNDS (MAUL AND OBI-WAN) (v2.0)

• RELEASE VERSION.
• Our little coda for the show, showing the conclusion of the Maul/Obi-Wan plotline.
• This one should be watched AFTER everything else. And probably after the Kenobi series if you were watching chronologically (but skipping Rebels).
• Comprising the Star Wars Rebels episode Twin Suns
• Running 14 minutes.
• DOWNLOAD LINK is in the tracker spreadsheet, PM me for access.
• Note: It’s recommended that you download this before watching, rather than streaming it directly from Google Drive.

This is a little extra, just to close out the Maul/Obi-Wan plotline that’s been such a key feature of this series and the prequel era. It’s intended for people who DON’T intend to watch the rest of the Star Wars Rebels animated show. To that end, I’ve removed all Rebels context, allowing the plot to focus on Maul and Obi-Wan, with Ezra just being a context-free tool of Maul - though he still has character. As to how he’s a force-sensitive with holocrons and knowledge of Maul and Obi-Wan, well, the viewer would have to watch more of Rebels for that.

Noteworthy changes:

• No Clone Wars Refocused trappings for this episode - it’s a bitesize standalone thing.
• We use the original episode’s opening, until Maul plans to use the holocrons to somehow draw Obi-Wan out.
• I replace the original Rebels logo with this coda’s episode title card.
• We then skip to Ezra already in orbit of Tattooine, looking at the holocrons in his hand. That’s all the context you get (to begin with) to link him to Maul.
• I trimmed some of Ezra in orbit to remove humour and Rebels-only context. Ezra then lands.
• I changed Ezra saying “The sith holocron!” to “A sith holocron!” just to smooth out the lack of viewer context.
• I trimmed some of the more goofy elements of Ezra being attacked by the Tuskens.
• I trimmed some of the scene of Ezra wondering what to do, to remove Rebels-only context but show that he’s aware of Maul and here to hopefully help Obi-Wan. Chopper doesn’t argue when he wants to go into the desert.
• We transition to Ezra in the sandstorm, with some more trims to keep the focus on this plot.
• I trimmed some of the scene of Ezra in the baking sun, so he doesn’t overdo his relationship with Chopper (it’s not our focus), and instead passes out a bit more quickly. I also cut the more overt Maul vision from this, as adding additional unnecessary complications.
• I smoothed the transition from baking sun to Obi-Wan finding him, and from that scene into Obi-Wan by the fireplace.
• I trimmed some of the Rebels-oriented dialogue, mainly to not have Obi-Wan here less anchored to a specific point in the timeline, and to avoid possible conflicts with Rogue One and the Kenobi series. Now they’re mainly just discussing Maul being here for Obi-Wan, and Ezra having been manipulated.
• The Maul-Obi-Wan scene plays out in full.
• After that scene concludes, we skip over Ezra’s conclusion (he’s left the scene and our story) and wipe straight into Obi-Wan monitoring the Lars homestead.
• We use the original episode’s end credits and music, including the Star Wars Rebels logo. I figured that keeping that was fine - this is a Clone Wars Coda but it’s still Rebels content, so there’s no harm in being honest about that.

Onwards to - ope, nothing! We’re all done!

Well then.

That’s all that, eh. Forty six episodes, down from 137, in just under two years. Sixteen hours trimmed. Over twenty eight hours released.

Of course, that isn’t all that, not really. Two episodes need final polish, and eleven need a little tweak to opening and closing credits and another once-over. And naturally there’s more of your feedback to be accommodated. Oh, and whatever the Tales of the Jedi shorts add for us in a few days’ time. But that original goal, of producing complete episodes comprising a full end-to-end show, has been achieved.

Well, not really. There’s still optional extended versions of five episodes, five optional ‘wider canon’ arcs, and as many as fourteen ‘I’m more tolerant of the bad stuff’ optional episodes still to be made. But then I’ll have a version of this for any audience.

Well, not quite. There’s still Bad Batch episode zero to create, plus the movies to consider mucking around with. But then I’m done-done.

Anyway, forget all that, I’m still counting this as The Major Milestone, dammit!

What’s to say, but thanks for all your support and sense of community these past two years. I wouldn’t have started, continued, or finished this project, if it wasn’t for all of you. Every last word posted in this thread has been valuable to the process, and to the final product. Please - still - don’t consider any decision made here final, keep your feedback coming, and I will keep these edits living. I am always, always, willing to refine this content to make it the absolute best possible experience for all of you.

I would sincerely love to know what you guys think of the finished product - especially how the Mauldalore content works when the show is watched end-to-end. I’m very happy to run a weekly community watchthrough of one episode at a time, if there’s interest in that, and I’ll definitely have the as-yet unpolished episodes polished by the time we get to them in a live runthrough if so.

Thank you my dears!

Alright! I did cut together the ending credits in a way that lets me chop and change. Let’s see how Tales of the Jedi goes next Wednesday then I’ll make the call.

This is absolutely a major milestone! Congratulations!

The only thing better than seeing an awesome, ambitious project like this is seeing it get finished. Congratulations and I look forward to catching up!

Thank you all so so much.

Hinvention, there’s a short arc in TCW that makes an optional episode zero of Bad Batch, but while it is set during the Clone Wars, it’s not part of TCW:R. I’d just watch it when you choose to pick up Bad Batch. The spreadsheet marks this all out - ctrl+F for ‘Bad Batch’ should illuminate all you might need to think about.

Congratulations on your release. The work that’s been put into this is extremely inspiring and I look forward to binging everything when I get time