Star Wars Censored This Sith Kiss Because It Was Too Disturbing For Kids

Just like "Adventure Time," "Steven Universe," and plenty of other popular Cartoon Network shows, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" occasionally covers subject matter better appreciated by adults than its intended audience of children. That said, the network ultimately decided to censor a brief moment in one particular "Clone Wars" episode after presumably determining that it exceeded the threshold of what was acceptable for kids.

In Season 3, Episode 2, Separatist forces invade the clone factory on the planet Kamino in an attempt to cut off the Republic's ability to birth new clone soldiers. One of the key Separatist fighters leading this initiative is Asajj Ventress (voiced by Nika Futterman). A clone trooper leader named Colt (Dee Bradley Baker, who voices every clone) is in charge of stopping her. Ventress makes quick work of Colt, however, and — in the episode's original cut — kisses him on the cheek while he's still impaled by her lightsaber.

The televised cut of this episode removes both Ventress' kiss and footage of her lightsaber piercing his torso. Instead, she slices his back, still killing him but in a manner comparatively less brutal. Fans now know that this scene was censored because the kiss is preserved in the versions of the episode available on disc and streaming. The censored version was solely broadcast by Cartoon Network.

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Season 3, Episode 2, first aired in September 2010. The removal of Asajj Ventress' original method of murder was the first instance of Cartoon Network censoring the series. For the most part, censorship remained infrequent throughout the rest of its 133-episode run, but it was nevertheless an occasional occurrence. 

In fact, censorship in future episodes largely concerned death by impaling, suggesting that such deaths might have become a point of contention between the show's producers and Cartoon Network. For example, the network removed impaling scenes from the broadcasts of Season 4, Episodes 10, 13, 19, and 20. These too are now preserved in the show's disc and streaming releases.

Ventress' first censored scene, meanwhile, remains a standout among some "Star Wars" fans. One user dedicated a Reddit thread to the scene and specifically its degree of brutality. In one popular comment, u/the-horace wrote, "I thought this was the most graphic thing I'd ever seen in a 'kids' show.'" On X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lix_wan_Kenobi reposted a clip of the uncensored scene and similarly argued that it was extreme enough to effectively disqualify "The Clone Wars" from being a show for children. Presumably, someone at Cartoon Network thought the same thing, hence its removal from the episode on TV.