The Mandalorian is expected to return for its third season in 2023. The Disney+ series has been a huge success of Star Wars, effectively jump-starting the franchise's foray into streaming, with The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi being successes in their own right as well. More than anything, The Mandalorian centered a Mandalorian bounty hunter, the first in the Star Wars franchise, and brought a newfound popularity to this complex culture of people.
Of course, there have been many Mandalorians in Star Wars movies and TV series before The Mandalorian. One such series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, gave us a preliminary glimpse into Mandalore, its politics, culture, and history. Indeed, here are the best Clone Wars episodes that depict Mandalorian culture.
6 "The Mandalore Plot" — Season 2, Episode 12
The first Clone Wars episode on our list takes place in the second season. It's here that we get our first introduction to the Mandalorians. They were introduced as a traditional and non-violent society led by Duchess Satine Kryze, who is Bo-Katan’s sister and Obi-Wan's former love interest. We discover that not all of Mandalore are on board with this way of living, as we are introduced to a group known as Death Watch, who wish to reintroduce the war-like culture that existed in the Mandalorian history. We learn in this episode that the Darksaber was built by a Mandalorian Jedi named Tarre Vizsla, which was later stolen.
5 "Voyage of Temptation" — Season 2, Episode 13
This Clone Wars episode is important for discovering the political context that surrounds Mandalore. We discover that Death Watch is in collaboration with a corrupt Republic Senator and the Separatists. The episode emphasizes the difference in Satine’s rule compared to other points in their history. We see characters fight over what being a Mandalorian is all about and are introduced to conflicts between opposing cultural ideals.
4 "Duchess of Mandalore" — Season 2, Episode 14
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This Clone Wars episode focuses strongly on Death Watch, which provides us further context for the culture of the Mandalore. Their political situation becomes more complicated as we see the political leaders worry about the influence of Death Watch as they could be perceived as the opposing force against oppressors.
3 "The Academy" — Season 3, Episode 6
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This Clone Wars episode shows us what life is like for children who are growing up in this era of Mandalore, setting the stage for conflict later to come. During this era, the Jedi are not enemies of Satine’s Mandalorians. The events that accompany the fall of the Republic reinforces the idea of the Jedi and Mandalorian as enemies, and this episode is very important for further expanding on the political shake-ups that destabilized the landscape.
2 "The Shadow Conspiracy Arc" — Season 5, Episodes 14 – 16
This important arc takes place in the fifth season of The Clone Wars, through episodes 14-16. Here, we see Maul and his brother Savage Opress taking control of Death Watch, and in doing so, they gain a powerful army with which to execute their plan against the Jedi. Maul takes the Darksaber from Pre Vizsla by force, so the transfer of power is sudden and definite. This represents a huge change in the life of Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians, representing major cultural shifts.
1 "The Siege of Mandalore Arc" — Season 7, Episodes 9 – 12
The end of the season represented a dramatic shift in the direction of The Clone Wars, and we see a Republic force being led by Ahsoka to free Mandalore. Heretofore, Ahsoka has left the Jedi Order, and in the background, the events of Revenge of the Sith are taking place. The episodes that are important here are “Old Friends Not Forgotten”, “The Phantom Apprentice”, “Shattered,” and “Victory and Death”. During these episodes, we see Maul declare war on the planet, while Bo-Katan switches sides and seeks help from the Jedi. We also see the Republic take over Mandalore to stop the conflict at the same time it becomes the Empire.