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I've read that the TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars did not air in chronological order. Is there a consensus or authority on the recommended viewing order? Are there any benefits to watching it in airdate order versus chronological order?

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  • Is there anyway I could improve my answer?
    – Rogue Jedi
    Jun 19, 2016 at 0:05

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Having watched them in the airing order, it is safe to say there isn't any reason you couldn't watch them that way and enjoy the series just as much.

  • The benefit of watching them in chronological order only matters if you are a stickler for continuity and don't want to be informed of ANY future events before watching. Only five episodes are out of sequence anyway so there isn't much discontinuity to be worried about at any rate.

  • If you are consuming them via a streaming source, and you ARE able to watch them in chronological order, I would recommend you do so for MAXIMUM enjoyment. You will also have the benefit of watching them without the unexpected stop in the Asoka Saga when the show was interrupted while it was on-air.

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    By the way, he asked whether there was any benefit in watching in airdate order over chronological order, not the other way around :)
    – Kidburla
    Oct 27, 2014 at 21:02
  • Just to add to your answer, I would say that some (all?) of the out of order episodes are better placed how they are. The ones I have in mind are (from my memory) very flash-backy, and add insight to characters/events you might not have if you were to watch them in order.
    – Broots Waymb
    Aug 26, 2015 at 18:57
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Is there a consensus or authority on the recommended viewing order?

Yes, there is. Leland Chee, a Lucasfilm employee who was in charge of continuity, put the order of episodes as this:

~~~~Air # Title

  • 1 216 Cat and Mouse
  • 2 116 Hidden Enemy
  • T The Clone Wars theatrical release
  • 3 301 Clone Cadets
  • 4 303 Supply Lines
  • 5 101 Ambush
  • 6 102 Rising Malevolence
  • 7 103 Shadow of Malevolence
  • 8 104 Destroy Malevolence
  • 9 105 Rookies
  • 10 106 Downfall of a Droid
  • 11 107 Duel of the Droids
  • 12 108 Bombad Jedi
  • 13 109 Cloak of Darkness
  • 14 110 Lair of Grievous
  • 15 111 Dooku Captured
  • 16 112 The Gungan General
  • 17 113 Jedi Crash
  • 18 114 Defenders of Peace
  • 19 115 Trespass
  • 20 117 Blue Shadow Virus
  • 21 118 Mystery of a Thousand Moons
  • 22 119 Storm over Ryloth
  • 23 120 Innocents of Ryloth
  • 24 121 Liberty on Ryloth
  • 25 201 Holocron Heist
  • 26 202 Cargo of Doom
  • 27 203 Children of the Force
  • 28 217 Bounty Hunters
  • 29 218 The Zillo Beast
  • 30 219 The Zillo Beast Strikes Back
  • 31 204 Senate Spy
  • 32 205 Landing at Point Rain
  • 33 206 Weapons Factory
  • 34 207 Legacy of Terror
  • 35 208 Brain Invaders
  • 36 209 Grievous Intrigue
  • 37 210 The Deserter
  • 38 211 Lightsaber Lost
  • 39 212 The Mandalore Plot
  • 40 213 Voyage of Temptation
  • 41 214 Duchess of Mandalore
  • 42 220 Death Trap
  • 43 221 R2 Come Home
  • 44 222 Lethal Trackdown
  • 45 305 Corruption
  • 46 306 The Academy
  • 47 307 Assassin
  • 48 302 ARC Troopers
  • 49 304 Sphere of Influence
  • 50 308 Evil Plans
  • 51 122 Hostage Crisis
  • 52 309 Hunt for Ziro
  • 53 310 Heroes on Both Side
  • 54 311 Pursuit of Peace
  • 55 215 Senate Murders
  • 56 312 Nightsisters
  • 57 313 Monster
  • 58 314 Witches of the Mist
  • 59 315 Overlords
  • 60 316 Altar of Mortis
  • 61 317 Ghosts of Mortis
  • 62 318 The Citadel
  • 63 319 Counter Attack
  • 64 320 Citadel Rescue
  • 65 321 Padawan Lost
  • 66 322 Wookiee Hunt
  • 67 401 Water War
  • 68 402 Gungan Attack
  • 69 403 Prisoners
  • 70 404 Shadow Warrior
  • 71 405 Mercy Mission
  • 72 406 Nomad Droids
  • 73 407 Darkness on Umbara
  • 74 408 The General
  • 75 409 Plan of Dissent
  • 76 410 Carnage of Krell
  • 77 411 Kidnapped
  • 78 412 Slaves of the Republic
  • 79 413 Escape from Kadavo
  • 80 414 A Friend In Need
  • 81 415 Deception
  • 82 416 Friends and Enemies
  • 83 417 The Box
  • 84 418 Crisis on Naboo
  • 85 419 Massacre
  • 86 420 Bounty
  • 87 421 Brothers
  • 88 422 Revenge
  • 89 502 A War on Two Fronts
  • 90 503 Front Runners
  • 91 504 The Soft War
  • 92 505 Tipping Points
  • 93 506 The Gathering
  • 94 507 A Test of Strength
  • 95 508 Bound for Rescue
  • 96 509 A Necessary Bond
  • 97 510 Secret Weapons
  • 98 511 A Sunny Day in the Void
  • 99 512 Missing in Action
  • 100 513 Point of No Return
  • 101 501 Revival
  • 102 514 Eminence
  • 103 515 Shades of Reason
  • 104 516 The Lawless
  • 105 517 Sabotage
  • 106 518 The Jedi Who Knew Too Much
  • 107 519 To Catch a Jedi
  • 108 520 The Wrong Jedi
  • 109 601 The Unknown
  • 110 602 Conspiracy
  • 111 603 Fugitive
  • 112 604 Orders
  • 113 605 An Old Friend
  • 114 606 The Rise of Clovis
  • 115 607 Crisis at the Heart
  • 116 608 The Disappeared
  • 117 609 The Disappeared: Pt. II
  • 118 610 The Lost One
  • 119 611 Voices
  • 120 612 Destiny
  • 121 613 Sacrifice

From IGN (archived version here).

StarWars.Com gives the same order, plus adds the story reel episodes in this order:

  • 122 A Death on Utapau
  • 123 In Search of the Crystal
  • 124 Crystal Crisis
  • 125 The Big Bang
  • 126 The Bad Batch
  • 127 A Distant Echo
  • 128 On the Wings of Keeradaks
  • 129 Unfinished Business

Are there any benefits to watching it in airdate order versus chronological order?

Much like with the actual films, this is a matter of opinion. The series can be enjoyed in both orders, and it comes down to personal preference as to which is better.

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  • I don't know why Lightsaber Lost is placed before Hostage Crisis. I haven't watched all the intervening episodes, but the announcements at the beginning of Lightsaber Lost seem to place is after the Hostage Crisis, and there does not appear to be anything within that episode that would tie it to any other episode.
    – user58523
    Jan 3, 2016 at 7:02
  • @raj I didn't make this, it's the official list. I can't speak for any apparent errors.
    – Rogue Jedi
    Jan 3, 2016 at 12:17
  • @RogueJedi no; the (now) comment was an answer at the time I commented
    – Often Right
    Jan 3, 2016 at 23:10
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"Is there a consensus or authority on the recommended viewing order?"

Yes, it's the one you linked to. Since that was published on StarWars.com, it's the authoritative answer.

"Are there any benefits to watching it in airdate order versus chronological order?"

No, I don't think there are any benefits to watching in airdate order. Unless you want the exact experience of people who watched it when it was first aired.

As for watching in chronological order, I think there are some benefits. When I watched it (in airdate order), I got quite confused when getting to episodes like "Hidden Enemy" and "Cat and Mouse", as I'd forgotten about the things they were a prequel to. If I had watched them closer to their linked episodes, everything would have made a lot more sense.

Going even further, I think there is a case to be made for watching related episodes together, in "story arcs", rather than the exact chronological order. For example, you could watch episodes 301, 105 and 302 consecutively, rather than spread apart. A list of arcs for at least seasons 1-3 is given here: http://dauntlessmedia.net/starwars/clone-wars/episode-timeline.html I don't know if anyone has made a list of arcs for the whole of seasons 1-6.

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Publication order is usually best.

After the first season or so, they stopped doing things out of chronological order anyway.

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    You should add reasons why
    – The Fallen
    May 13, 2014 at 1:40

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