Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Created by Dave Filoni
Season 2 Episodes 1-14 (of 16) provided for review
Starring Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Rhea Pearlman, Wanda Sykes
New episodes streaming weekly on Disney+ starting January 4

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

Clone Force 99, known as “The Bad Batch” and comprised of Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, Tech, and Crosshair (all voiced by Dee Bradly Baker) were introduced in the first arc of The Clone Wars’ final season, before getting their own spinoff show last year. These enhanced clones were originally conceived by George Lucas, but were not brought to the screen until the final season of the show debuted on Disney+. The first season opened with Order 66 and covered the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars as the Bad Batch parted ways with their fifth brother, Crosshair, and took charge of a young girl named Omega (Michelle Ang)—the final clone of Jango Fett. The show began to trace the transition of the Republic into an Empire, and started the process of phasing out the clones in favor of recruits. While I enjoyed the first season a lot, this new season of episodes has cemented The Bad Batch as a worthy successor to The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Like Rebels and The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch is centered on a found family, in this case the four rogue members of Clone Force 99 and Omega. This season picks up a few months after the end of the first, and the fivesome are something like a well-oiled machine. Omega still has a lot to learn, and the clones are doing their best to be surrogate fathers, but their rapport is deep and well-established. This carries on as this found family continues to grow and change over the course of the season, and as Omega matures and starts to grow up. While the first season saw her more as a ‘kid sidekick,’ she is truly now a member of the squad. Michelle Ang is given a lot more range for her performance as well, and it’s great to see her continue to develop Omega further.

The season has a good mix of what X-Files fans used to call “monster of the week” and “mythology” episodes, which is perfect for this show. One of these episodes is a clever sequel to a fan favorite Clone Wars arc, and points towards what the Empire was up to at the end of the first season. Phee Genoa (Wanda Sykes) is a great addition to the show. As an archeologist/”liberator of rare antiquities,” she is similar to Doctor Aphra from the comics, but Wanda Sykes definitely puts her own spin on the character. It’s also just great to have more women on the show, since all but one of the leads are men. Like any young person, Omega benefits from both masculine and feminine energy in her life, and I am glad the creators have been actively working that into the show in subtle ways.

But the biggest thing I want to praise season two for is definitely in the “mythology” camp—the continuation of the Empire’s transition from Clones to Stormtroopers. Admiral Rampart (Noshir Dalal) returns and is continuing to push forward the transition. Opposing his plans is Senator Riyo Chuchi (Jennifer Hale), who becomes an advocate for the clones who are being transitioned out of service. This picks up on the Clone Wars episodes where clone culture is explored, but also speaks to important real-world issues, and a glimpse at the unhoused clone in the second episode of the Obi-Wan show. There are many real-world veterans in the Star Wars fandom, and many of them have connected with the Clone Wars in its depiction of soldiers. To have this animated series take up veterans’ affairs issues in a meaningful, yet family-friendly way is both ambitious and exciting. Chuchi wants to ensure that the clones who fought for the Republic are taken care of, especially since their accelerated aging may make the majority age out of military service. Her requests fall on deaf ears, at least at first, and a larger political conspiracy is uncovered in a two-part episode reminiscent of Three Days of the Condor. These episodes are genuinely moving and thrilling, and it is great to see Star Wars show empathy for characters who may not even legally be people with rights in-universe.

A lot of Bad Batch rests on Dee Bradly Baker, and his credit “as The Bad Batch” at the end of each episode is t-shirt worthy. If I didn’t know all the clone characters were voiced by the same actor, I never would have guessed. Each clone we meet (or see again in this show) has a distinct personality and feel to them, which is just incredible. On top of that, Lucasfilm’s animation continues to get better and better, making the environments feel more lifelike and believable, while also not being limited by the set design aspects of live action. The final shoutout I want to give is to composer Kevin Kiner. One of the unsung heroes of the Star Wars universe, he has been the composer for Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi. Kiner’s work oscillates between using and remixing some of John Williams’ recognizable motifs, while also creating truly unique Star Wars music for characters and locations within the shows. His work is not only fantastic, but is as much of a reason that these shows feel like Star Wars as much as any of the characters, ships, or other sounds.

With its continued efforts to flesh out this transitory period in the Star Wars timeline and nods to real world issues, The Bad Batch is as vital to the tapestry of the Galaxy Far Far Away as any other movies or shows from the past decade.