The Bad Batch S2 premiere blasts into Disney+ with exciting new missions.
And the series offers more than an action-packed mission of the week format.
The Short Take:
This premiere reminded me what I love about The Bad Batch: action-packed missions and a strong found family dynamic, set against the early days of The Galactic Empire.
Image Credit: Star Wars News Net
[Since this is a premiere, I’ll keep it SPOILER-FREE until the last section, at which point I will make it clear that spoilers are coming.]
The Long Take:
Among many other things, The Bad Batch is an indulgence in pure, unadulterated action. We begin in medias res, with Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo running like frilled lizards because they’ve disturbed a hoard of giant crabs. Tech deftly maneuvers the ship. Omega’s hanging out of it. And that’s just the opening scene that ends a little under four minutes into the first episode.
As far as Star Wars premieres go, I felt as though this one was non-stop, thrilling action. And considering we got not one but two episodes, “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War,” that’s fairly impressive. As we’ve seen before, Clone Force 99 can resourcefully get themselves out of a jam as quickly as they can get into them. They’re daring. They’re scrappy. And those endearing qualities are on full display here.
Clone Force 99, for those unfamiliar with their origins, first officially appeared in the premiere of the final season of The Clone Wars that aired on Disney+ in 2020. They recovered a stolen military strategy algorithm and in the process discover their final member, Echo, being abused as its conduit. Unofficially, I first saw the Bad Batch at Star Wars Celebration in 2015. The Clone Wars had been canceled, and Dave Filoni showed “unfinished” or “lost” episodes as a consolation. They were very crude animatic sequences (sort of like slightly animated storyboards with voiceover) of a ragtag group of mutated clones that didn’t quite get along with everyone else. I remember being intrigued and sad that we’d never get to see this story play out in full.
Back then, Filoni pitched The Bad Batch as The Dirty Dozen (1967), but with clones. They’re the team you send in when the mission is too dangerous for anyone else. It’s important to note that the general premise of The Bad Batch is very similar to The Dirty Dozen, but, unlike their inspiration, our crew are not criminals; they may have unconventional methods and eventually become hired mercenaries, but their records are clean.
For me, these first two episodes of Season 2 hew to this core tenet — that they’re an elite squad who’s more willing and more able (and more eccentric) than everyone else. In “Spoils of War,” their boss, Cid, tells them that if they can plunder the late Count Dooku’s “war chest” right from under The Empire’s noses, they might finally be able to retire into obscurity. Of course, this new mission quickly goes south, and watching the team improvise in response does not disappoint.
Image Credit: Collider
I can, of course, see how The Bad Batch might not be for everyone. In Star Wars fan discourse, less generous fans often casually toss around the word “filler” very pejoratively when faced with a “mission of the week” episode. I certainly recall commenting on this back when I reviewed the end of The Bad Batch Season 1 (The Long Take’s very first Star Wars review!), and I remember some fans levying the same type of criticism during Season 2 of The Mandalorian whenever the story “diverted” into a single mission that does little to advance any overarching plot lines. So I’d say manage expectations if individual missions aren’t your thing; based on these first two episodes, that dimension of the show does not appear to be going away anytime soon.
I’d argue that while the main appeal of The Bad Batch may be the crew’s dangerous exploits, this series does have more to offer. The family drama informs and drives each mission, and through those missions the series has a lot to say about this period in Star Wars history. The Season 2 premiere extends both of these narrative threads.
[SPOILER WARNING. I’m about to discuss events of the first two episodes in greater detail. If you haven’t seen both premiere episodes yet, your new mission is to go watch them.]
Most notably, the family dynamic is so unique and so strong because we get a sincere and not as stereotypically gendered rendition of three men and a baby: four clones and a teenager. If I had to pinpoint the emotional through-line for this episode, it would be Omega’s guilt that she’s too much of a burden on her family. She overhears Echo tell Hunter that they’re in this tough situation because of Omega, and this idea that it’s her fault motivates her behavior the entire mission. When Echo finally confronts Omega about why she seems so desperate to still complete the mission, to go after Dooku’s treasure even when it is beyond unsafe, she confesses to overhearing his comment and says that she just wanted to help them achieve the better, less complicated life they might have had without her. This was sweet, sad, and a realistic portrayal of a child trying to take the weight of the world on her shoulders to be helpful.
I very much appreciate the growing complexity of Omega as a character, as she, on the one hand, is still very child-like and innocent, but, on the other hand, is growing up much faster because she’s a part of The Batch. I generally liked Romar, the old man they meet on Serrano, but I think the reminder he provides Omega when he gifts her the kaleidoscope-like toy is very valuable. We realize how much she hasn’t been allowed (by circumstance) to just be a kid. And she realizes that there’s more to life than the squad’s next score. Shout-out to actor Hector Elizondo for some superb voice work here. (He’s the kind of actor that pops up all over the place, but most know him from the 90s hospital drama, Chicago Hope or The Princess Diaries movies.) He made Romar sound like he’d been through a lot, with a mixture of weariness and wisdom.
Image Credit: Collider
Romar and the discussion of Dooku’s legacy makes these episodes very much plugged into the political milieu at this moment in the Star Wars timeline. The specter of Count Dooku as a major figure in The Clone Wars hangs over the entire episode, as the Batch rifle through all the wealth he accumulated when he was alive.
[Very mild spoilers for Tales of the Jedi. Skip ahead one paragraph if you wish to remain unspoiled.]
Between this and Tales of the Jedi, we’ve gotten a lot of Dooku backstory lately, and I think they are all pieces of a puzzle that create a chilling irony. Romar’s story reminds me so much of the two planets we see young Dooku investigating in Tales of the Jedi — especially the one in Episode 2, “Justice.” They all have been victims of corruption and exploitation of wealthy politicians. In Tales of the Jedi, Dooku wrathfully fights this corruption. Here, we see how at the height of his turn to the Dark Side, Dooku became the very corruption he fought so hard to dismantle as a young Jedi.
We also see here how the Empire is a snake eating its own tail because it’s clear that the Empire as a political system cares nothing for Dooku as an individual now that he is dead and no longer useful. The troopers very bureaucratically and callously catalogue and cart away Dooku’s estate, absorbing his wealth for their own gain.
The distinguishing feature of The Bad Batch as a series situated within the larger Star Wars timeline is that it’s so close to The Clone Wars era — hence the Dooku connection — and yet because of Order 66 and the rise of the Galactic Empire, so much has changed. The Republic’s clone troopers who once fought for the Jedi now fight against them. And as we see here, Dooku, who was once a feared Sith Lord, is now nothing but a series of cargo containers.
Similarly, the series itself has changed to a degree, and for the better. The animation seems more refined than last season. And I love that the Batch’s looks have been updated to show how they are evolving into even more unique individuals, the more distance they have from The Republic turned Empire. Their gear is less dark, less monotone, and softer. Wrecker’s helmet no longer has the red paint that looks like blood. And the streaks of teal on Hunter’s gear are really working for me.
Image Credit: Slash Film
Each member of the team shows signs of growth in how they act as well. Echo has more to do and more of a distinct point of view. One of my complaints about Season 1 was that Echo sort of faded into the background and didn’t have anything to distinguish him from the others. Here he clearly has his own agenda — to encourage Hunter to not hide but fight to help others. Tech proves he can take more of a leadership role in these episodes. Hunter seems more chill with Omega and the whole crew taking more risks, as he gives in and lets go more easily. Wrecker is…okay, Wrecker is still pretty much Wrecker. And that seems right, actually.
The prospect of going on so many adventures with these characters makes me downright giddy. As Wrecker would say, “let’s blow something up, YEAH!”