Ranking the Order 66 Scenes in Star Wars

I was thinking the other day how, naturally, the Star Wars stories we get overlap quite a bit, and we see certain events from different perspectives. One big one is Order 66, and we have to relive the pain of the end of the Jedi Order over and over again, lol. What hurts the most is how the younglings and Padawans suffered, and in the instances below I’ve focused on how Order 66 affected them.

Again, I haven’t included any instances in books or comics, just live-action and animation. I’ve ranked them according to how sad it made me feel, or how much the youngling or Padawan suffered (and they all do). It was hard, but this is what I came up with, with the saddest at the top.

The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars ended on Order 66, viewed through the eyes of Ahsoka and Rex. They’re on their way back from Mandalore with Maul in tow when the Order is given. Rex manages to resist it just long enough to give Ahsoka a chance, but then succumbs to the programming. Ahsoka manages to get her hands on Rex and remove the chip, and they both fight their way off the ship as it crash lands. This last haunting scene of Ahsoka shows her grief and her love and respect for the clones who served at her side for so long. It shows how the clones were victims of Palpatine as well; and Ahsoka’s refusal to kill them, Rex’s tears, and the clone graves makes it one of the hardest, saddest scenes in all of Star Wars. The entire episode is amazing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi. This series kicks off with Order 66, showing a group of younglings running for their lives in the Temple. It’s revisited later in the show, as we find out that one of the younglings was Reva. This one was so hard because it actually shows Anakin killing a child, thrusting his lightsaber into her middle, something Revenge of the Sith didn’t do years earlier. It’s shocking and horrible. And then later, to see that youngling floating in the tank in the Fortress Inquisitorious–wow.

Revenge of the Sith. This movie is, of course, our first experience with Order 66, and seeing the clones turn on the adult Jedi is awful, but when we see Anakin turning on his lightsaber with these poor babies, it’s sickening. We don’t even see them die; we don’t have to. Just knowing Anakin kills children is sobering and shocking. Despite this particular scene becoming a meme for (uncomfortable) laughs over the years doesn’t take away from its horror. I still get a little tear in my eye when that sweet boy asks Anakin what they should do, and he answers with death.

The Mandalorian. We get part of Grogu’s memory of Order 66 in The Book of Boba Fett, as well, and we’re left wondering who saved him. We get that answer in The Mandalorian with Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. I don’t think this story is over yet, and it may get even sadder as we find out Kelleran’s ultimate fate; but seeing our sweet baby (even babier here) so scared and helpless rips my heart out.

Jedi: Fallen Order. I’m not a gamer, as I’ve stated many times before, but I’m familiar with Cal Kestis and his story. I got to know him even better in the novel Battle Scars, so his experience of Order 66 is still moving for me. Watching your master be attacked and killed by the clones you served with, and were probably friends with, is terrible for anyone, never mind a kid. He survives and goes on to fight the Empire, but Order 66 will always haunt him.

The Bad Batch. In the Season 1 opener of The Bad Batch, we start right off with Order 66. Jedi Master Depa Billaba is fighting Separatist battle droids when her young Padawan Caleb Dume brings in the Batch for reinforcements. Order 66 occurs during the battle, and Caleb witnesses his Master killed by the clones. The Batch, mostly immune to Order 66, don’t know what’s going on and try to help Caleb, but he only sees clones and runs. Crosshair doesn’t help the situation, as he is the only one of the Batch that reacts to the Order and tries to kill Caleb. Hunter allows him to run away and lies to Crosshair and the other clones about it. We know Caleb eventually grows up to be Kanan Jarrus and fights the Empire with his Ghost crew.

I think that’s it with live-action and animation, but please let me know if I’m missing an obvious one. Between this post and my last one about sacrifice, I seem to be on a theme of “How Star Wars makes me sad,” lol. And it does, but there are uplifting and funny moments, too, of course. Maybe I’ll try to cover that next time!

Which Order 66 scene affected you the most? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!