"Practice Makes Perfect" marks the fifth installment of the animated anthology series known as Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Saul Ruiz took the director's chair for this episode, with Dave Filoni penning the script. It was originally broadcast on October 26, 2022.
Anakin Skywalker arrives late to the Jedi Temple located on Coruscant. He rushes through the corridors to reach a dojo, where his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, is honing her skills against training remotes under the watchful eye of Jedi Master Tera Sinube. Other Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, are present as well, and Obi-Wan makes a sarcastic remark to Anakin about his impeccable timing, implying he's late. Once Anakin is present, Sinube activates a ray shield that encloses the room's center, containing Ahsoka as a group of new remotes designed to mimic battle droids encircle her. Ahsoka faces the remotes in a test, swiftly and effortlessly destroying them.
Later, in the hallway, Ahsoka expresses her displeasure that Anakin doesn't seem impressed by her performance, in addition to his tardiness. Anakin concedes that she's correct, he isn't impressed, because he believes the test is too simple. He informs Ahsoka that he doubts she'll reach her full potential if she only faces inferior remotes, and he promises to arrange a more challenging test for her.
Subsequently, Ahsoka is transported to the military operations center aboard a gunship, only to be greeted by Anakin, who again tells her she's late. He leads her into a spacious room where Clone Captain Rex awaits with several clone troopers from the 501st Legion. Anakin clarifies to Ahsoka that he wants her to be capable of withstanding Rex and his troops, because if she can, she can handle anything the droids throw at her. He adds that training against living opponents will be more demanding because they are less predictable than droids, making the ability to anticipate who will fire first a crucial aspect of the training. The clones form a circle around Ahsoka, and she activates her lightsaber. Ahsoka deflects the initial stun blasts, but is eventually defeated.
She regains consciousness on the floor as Anakin assures Rex that Ahsoka will recover. Anakin informs her that she was unconscious for an hour, and that Jesse wanted to apologize for the intensity of his stun blast, which he does from across the room. However, the respite is short-lived, as Anakin initiates another round. The training session continues for an extended period, with Ahsoka being repeatedly stunned and Anakin insisting on her perseverance. At one point, Rex expresses concern about Ahsoka's endurance and questions whether they should halt the training. By this time, Ahsoka is recovering more quickly, and the session continues for some time.
The training sessions persist on subsequent days and in various locations. Some time later, having constructed a shoto lightsaber, Ahsoka engages the 501st, now clad in Phase II armor, in the hangar bay of a Jedi cruiser, once again under Anakin's observation. Ahsoka managed to endure for more than five minutes during the previous encounter, and she utilizes acrobatic maneuvers as she deflects more stun shots. The round concludes with Rex stunning her.
Aboard the Tribunal, Ahsoka and Rex proceed down a corridor filled with smoke and sparks, indicative of significant damage. They halt outside a door. Rex dons his helmet and expresses his hope that Ahsoka's extensive training will prove beneficial. He raises one of his blaster pistols to her back, simulating her captivity as a prisoner, and she raises her hands to her head, concurring with him. The door opens, and they both enter the hangar beyond, where Jesse and troops of the 332nd Division wait.
Several conflicting timeline indicators appear in the episode's initial section. Tano's test is supervised by Tera Sinube, whom she initially encountered in "Lightsaber Lost," which is set in 21 BBY. However, Jesse is depicted wearing unpainted Phase I clone trooper armor, despite sporting painted armor in his initial appearance, "The Deserter," which is placed before "Lightsaber Lost" in the official chronological episode order, as well as the comic "501 Plus One," which is set in 22 BBY. Caleb Dume is shown with a Padawan braid while following Depa Billaba around, even though he didn't become her Padawan until approximately 19 BBY.
Tano also sports a brand-new outfit during the episode's first segment, distinct from her first or second Padawan outfits, the latter of which is displayed in the second part of the episode during the training session in a Star Destroyer hangar. The size of Tano's montrals and lekku in the episode's first part more closely resemble the character design introduced in "Heroes on Both Sides," which featured her second outfit. Obi-Wan Kenobi is portrayed with long hair identical to his Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones hairstyle, despite having short hair throughout Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The novel Brotherhood depicts Kenobi having cut his hair after receiving the Jedi Commander armor he wears in the episode. Anakin Skywalker's hair is also shorter than it was ever depicted on The Clone Wars. Therefore, Kenobi and Skywalker must have altered their hair styles multiple times during the war.
When questioned about these discrepancies, Lucasfilm Story Group member Matt Martin suggested that Billaba and Dume were not yet master and apprentice, and were simply spending time together, also highlighting that Kanan 7 established that Dume knew Billaba before becoming her Padawan. Pablo Hidalgo also noted that possessing a Padawan braid did not necessarily signify an apprenticeship, and that Kanan 7 also showcased Dume with a braid before becoming Billaba's Padawan. Nevertheless, "Jedi Master's Quiz," a section in Star Wars Insider 220, stated that Dume was a padawan during "Practice Makes Perfect."
Ahsoka's training comes to fruition when she dodged and reflected Stun blasts to real blasts until Rex lefts standing foreshadowed in the Shattered episode of the The Clone Wars.
The scene where Rex and Tano confront the 332nd Division is continued in the Victory and Death episode of the The Clone Wars.