During Star Wars’ Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine led the Republic while Count Dooku led the Separatists. While both of them were in charge, neither was actually the face of the war. For the Republic, Anakin Skywalker was the poster boy, and conversely, General Grievous received almost all of the attention dedicated to the Separatists.
Grievous and Anakin were clearly the most important figures in the Clone Wars for their respective sides, but the two powerhouses never actually fought in The Clone Wars. That, however, was not a coincidence, and there are two very good reasons for their on-screen separation.
The first reason that Grievous and Anakin didn’t fight in The Clone Wars was because the two of them couldn’t have met due to a relatively unimportant line of dialogue in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The opening act of the film showed Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker boarding the Separatist flagship the Invisible Hand. Their mission: rescue Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the mechanical clutches of General Grievous. After a deadly duel with Count Dooku, they accomplish their goal, only to be caught once again in a ray shield.
When they are retaken as prisoners and brought to the bridge, the greetings between the generals are sarcastic and insulting. Grievous starts by saying, “Anakin Skywalker, I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little older.” Anakin retorts, “General Grievous, you’re shorter than I expected.” This was likely intended as no more than a throwaway line and a humorous greeting, but it clearly indicates that the two have never met before. So, it would have been a contradiction for Anakin and Grievous to have even seen each other in The Clone Wars. The fact that the writers were able to keep two of the main characters separated over seven full seasons is impressive, and it goes to show just how much effort the Star Wars story group put into even the smallest details.
There was one instance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars when Grievous and Anakin were only feet away from each other, but they couldn’t see one another. It took place in Season 4, Episode 4 “Shadow Warrior.” In the episode, General Grievous was captured on Naboo by a group of war faring Gungans led by General Tarpals. Darth Sidious was not pleased, so he instructed Count Dooku to capture Anakin and use the young Jedi in a prisoner exchange. As Sidious expected, Padmé reluctantly agreed to the swap. As the exchange was made, General Grievous was in a set of blinders that kept him looking straight ahead. Meanwhile, Anakin had to be drug out of the Separatist ship after being tortured by the MagnaGuards’ electrostaffs. Thus, the two passed by each other, but were not able to see each other.
There is also an in-universe reason that Grievous and Anakin never met each other. Anakin was instrumental in Darth Sidious’ plan to overthrow the Republic and the Jedi. He needed Anakin for his machinations, but he also needed General Grievous to keeping razing the galaxy. He couldn’t afford to lose either of them. So, he decided to keep both of his aces in the hole by keeping them separated for the duration of the conflict, which wasn’t very hard. As Palpatine, he sent Anakin to one place while making sure to send Grievous to another as Darth Sidious. It really is hard to lose a Dejarik game when you’re playing on both sides of the table.
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