The Bad Batch Season 2 Review: The Bad Batch is officially back for its second season, reconnecting viewers with Clone Force 99 as they struggle to survive in the wake of Order 66, more than a year after the mind-blowing season finale that saw Tipoca City fall.
Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, Tech (Dee Bradley Baker), and Omega (Michelle Ang) can now embark on their weekly mission for Cid (Rhea Perlman) without immediately fearing for their lives because the Empire believes that the Bad Batch is dead. Not that the first 14 episodes of Season 2 don’t have their fair share of life-threatening situations.
When it comes to Star Wars television, The Bad Batch faces stiff competition because its season premiere falls between Andor’s season finale and The Mandalorian’s comeback. The Bad Batch has at least one of those problems fixed after a rocky Season 1 that saw viewers criticize its whitewashed animation designs and the often unsatisfying plot.
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Season 2 truly focuses on the Bad Batch and their interpersonal interactions as well as their personal character development, in contrast to the 16-episode freshman season, which benefited from its emotional link to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Six main characters to balance is no small task, especially for an animated series with a length of around 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, this meant that in haste to wrap up challenging adventures and tasks, the first season sometimes neglected crucial character beats and skipped over crucial exchanges. Its second season has much better storytelling and allows its characters to make errors and learn from them rather than simply glossing over conflict and divergent viewpoints.
However, The Bad Batch chooses to do this by eliminating one of those key figures in order to give other characters a chance to shine. While the titular Bad Batch of genetically enhanced clones, along with their Empire-supporting sibling Crosshair, are a constant feature of the season, Omega, their youngest member, is the protagonist of the show.
Although she still sees the world through rose-colored glasses, she has developed and aged between Seasons 1 and 2. Over the course of the first fourteen episodes, she discovers that decisions have an effect on the world. Both the Bad Batch’s fate and her future were altered by taking her in, and both decisions did not come without consequences.
When Omega is discovering more about herself, the Batch, and the galaxy’s tyranny and treatment of Clones, which develops into a significant story point in the second part of the season, The Bad Batch is at its best. Her innocent innocence being gradually chipped away clearly highlights the dangers of this time period for everyone, whether they are rebels or a group of clones.
The storyline device of the planet/mission/monster of the week still dominates the new season, much like it did in Season 1, but there is a central narrative that runs through each episode that helps to tie everything together.
The Bad Batch engages in their fair share of escapades that resemble Indiana Jones-style romps because Cid’s new colleague Phee Genoa (Wanda Sykes) constantly looks for new ways to make money and treasure. These stories contribute to our understanding of Star Wars legend, but they haven’t yet demonstrated how they serve The Bad Batch’s main plot.
However, some episodes are only there to advance the story, relishing in the turmoil under Imperial rule and showing how even seemingly unlikely characters are capable of seeing the inherent evil of the Empire with just a little prodding. The plot of The Bad Batch and its predecessor The Clone Wars is geared toward Star Wars’ younger audience, proving that Bob Chapek incorrectly believed that animation was only for children.
Even when it tackles significant moral quandaries, the harsh realities of oppression, and high ideas about agency, it has done it in a style that is appealing to a TV-PG audience, so it would be unrealistic to expect a series like this to follow in the footsteps of live-action.
The gorgeous animation in The Bad Batch, combined with Kevin Kiner’s masterful orchestrations, frequently strengthens weak parts by adding the atmosphere and tonal elements necessary to support intense, emotionally charged scenes that lack the dialogue they may need.
The Batch is back. Watch the new trailer for Season 2 of @StarWars: #TheBadBatch streaming only on @DisneyPlus January 4, 2023. pic.twitter.com/v6sH4DTtdN
— Star Wars: The Bad Batch (@TheBadBatch) December 7, 2022
Colorism still presents a problem for The Bad Batch because it hasn’t been entirely addressed in season two. All the clones, even the Bad Batch, are genetically identical to Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), therefore they should all look like the Mori actor who played the part in the first place. This is the crux of the problem.
There is certainly space for improvement, even though there does seem to have been some color correction since Season 1 and a clear effort to move away from the caricatures that were passed off as character attributes in The Clone Wars. The Bad Batch is a wonderful addition to the Star Wars animated universe, and it does appear to be gradually integrating with some of the plots that are developing in other contexts (namely, The Mandalorian).
There are highs and lows, as with practically every series, but Omega manages to keep things together because of her desire to treat everyone with respect, regardless of whether they are friends, enemies, or someone in the middle. The second half of the season features a significant amount of redemption, change, and metamorphosis, which in its own unique way redeems the entire season and the series.
Does The Star Wars Bad Batch Season 2 Have A Trailer?
While the trailer that was released following the Star Wars Celebration in 2022 didn’t reveal much about the story, it did provide us with several crucial talking points. Clone Force 99, for instance, has a slight time leap and a new paint job in orange and grey. Additionally, it included Cid the Trandoshan returning with her well-known parlor.
Interesting sideshows included the unexpected appearance of Gungi, a Jedi trainee from The Clone Wars, and Emperor Palpatine’s threatening cameo, which he used to inform the Galactic Senate that a “new age” had started. We are hoping that this is merely a preview of what Star Wars The Bad Batch Season 2 will bring us.
Closing
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