Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch follows Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch — a group of elite clone troopers with genetic mutations that take on daring mercenary missions in the aftermath of the Clone Wars and Order 66.
This group of characters was first introduced in season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and they showed themselves to be a rather unique group of clones with distinct looks, abilities, and personalities that differ from most of the other clones we have known.
So with this freshly introduced group of characters, combined with the premise being set in the direct aftermath of one of the biggest events of all of Star Wars, I was very interested to see what Dave Filoni had in store for us. And honestly, he delivered a very solid first season of what is essentially a spiritual continuation of the Clone Wars show. It is fun, adventurous, and action-packed but also dark, emotional, and thematic in many ways. From the very beginning of this series it really set the stage of what the stakes would be for our leading characters, no matter what they do or where they go.
The Jedi are gone, the Clones (except for our team) have succumbed to Order 66, and the Empire is now gaining its grasp over many worlds in the galaxy both new and familiar. There’s a constant tension present in every episode no matter the plot because the Bad Batch are wanted fugitives with few allies or resources to fall back on as they try to make their way through the rapidly changing galaxy, and they resort to taking on dangerous tasks in order to survive.
Let’s start with the main characters of the series, the Bad Batch themselves. We have Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair, all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. But unlike previous clone characters Baker has voiced, he really made sure to give each of these clones their own unique tone and personality, which is reflected in their voice.
He’s done it before throughout the Clone Wars series but here is where I feel he really got to expand upon it in bigger ways since the series is primarily focused on this team of clones and never switches back to any Jedi or other notable characters like the Clone Wars series.
Hunter is a very Rambo-esque leader who is just trying to keep his team alive by any means necessary, even if it means making decisions that go against his morals and instincts as a former clone trooper of the Republic. Hunter is such an interesting leader character, not always a perfect one but he does learn from his mistakes and tries to change for the better, not for himself but for his team.
Tech is a very typical “smart guy” of the group but one that ends up having a fun little twist that makes the character entertaining. He’s kind of overly smart, to the point that he can overcomplicate the easiest solutions rather than take direct approaches like the other team members do. He does help out the team in dire situations but it’s legitimately funny to see him struggle with the simplest of tasks or conversations.
And then we have Wrecker, who is honestly my favorite character in the entire series so far. He is very much the Brawn of the team and he isn’t really bright, yet he is also the heart of the team. He’s the most lovable, vibrant and hilarious of the group that always has everyone’s back and just loves to have fun whenever possible even during the heat of battle. And he kicks serious ass in this series and I feel most people will get attached to him the most out of everyone.
Echo returns, having now become a full-time member of the Bad Batch, using his “acquired” technical skills to benefit the team. He definitely felt like the most haunted and slightly distraught member of the team who doesn’t always feel welcomed due to what happened to him, yet he is always willing to give his all to protect his teammates and innocent lives.
But probably the most complex and shocking character of the Bad Batch is Crosshair. Crosshair ends up being the only one on the team to supposedly succumb to the inhibitor chip and Order 66, but out of all of the clone characters to have existed, he is probably the most sadistic and evil among them. He ends up being one of the main antagonists of the series, serving the Empire as a part of a specialized unit of soldiers that make the clone army seem inferior in comparison when it comes to producing results and committing terrible atrocities. There is some really interesting stuff that Filoni does with Crosshair in this series that honestly makes him one of the best villains in Star Wars who isn’t a force user. I can’t go into any more about him without giving spoilers but let’s just say that Crosshair does a lot of terrible things that will shock people.
With Crosshair now on the side of the Empire, we have a new character replacing him on the team named Omega (Michelle Ang), the first and only young female clone in existence who has a unique importance to the Kaminoans. Now, when it comes to Star Wars and introducing younger characters, especially kids, their history has always been up and down. In this case, though I really do like Omega and she feels very much like a real kid.
She has a lot of curiosity, naïveté and she tends to get herself in trouble at the worst moments but she does have a great heart and she does learn from her mistakes. At the same time though she’s not completely useless either as she does end up helping the team in various ways and does really connect with each individual, especially Hunter and Wrecker. I know some people consider her character annoying but remember that people considered Ahsoka and Ezra annoying and look how they developed. So I’m honestly expecting great things to come from Omega.
There are a lot of other characters that appear in this series, both new faces and major ones from Star Wars history. I can’t tell too much about new characters without delving into spoilers but I can mention one of them who is a series regular.
We have Cid (Rhea Perlman), a Trandoshan information broker who also serves as the team’s only form of “employment” in order to get by in the galaxy. Cid has a no-nonsense attitude and hilarious sarcasm that instantly made her a favorite of mine.
Now some major cameos appear in this series, some of which have a big impact on the Bad Batch’s adventures. We have the Mandalorian’s Fennec Shand, reprised by Ming-Na Wen, giving us a brief glimpse of her early days as a skilled bounty hunter. She was a neat addition to the series and it makes me definitely want to see more of her story, especially with how much she was improved upon in Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
But she’s not the only bounty hunter we get to see in this series. We get the return of Clone Wars favorite Cad Bane (Corey Burton) who only has a short appearance in the series but god damn was he brilliant in his return. This first season does seem to hint that we may see more of him in the future and I honestly can’t wait.
And since the series takes place at the very end of the Clone Wars we do get a thematic transition of Clone Wars to Rebels as we get to see major characters from both series show up and get expanded upon, which I thought was really cool. It fills in some gaps between both shows and I like how Filoni is using the Bad Batch to do this while also giving us fun adventures in the process with some underlying plots.
This first season is very filler-heavy, similar to some seasons of the Clone Wars and a bit of Rebels, which I honestly didn’t mind at all. The filler I feel helps expand Star Wars, similar to what the Clone Wars did, and makes the universe feel large and endless rather than small. It also allows us to get an in-depth look into the state of the galaxy as the Empire converts worlds and people under its control in a variety of ways that are actually kind of relevant to our own world’s governments and politics. Most of Star Wars has always had elements that are extremely relevant to today and this series is definitely no exception, and I honestly love that stuff.
As I mentioned before there are some underlying plot lines we do get to revisit throughout the series and it definitely feels like it could be expanded upon in the next season, similar to the Clone Wars and Rebels. And while most of the episodes are fun and thrilling adventures there is still a lot of tension in each episode based on the state of the galaxy, and there are a number of dark moments that occur.
The two-part finale of the season hits the hardest, not only with having a truly unexpected twist but it also features a truly shocking event in Star Wars history that is guaranteed to hit fans (mostly Clone Wars fans) on a lot of levels. It’s emotionally aggressive and full of intense tension that keeps you on complete edge. This is probably a close second to the truly heartbreaking finale of Clone Wars season 7 for me in terms of quality and impact. There is a basic setup for season 2 made at the very end of the finale but it’s one that feels very interesting and makes me eager to see what comes next.
As for the animation, this is the best that Filoni’s animation has ever been. What was already perfect in Clone Wars Season 7 has now been upgraded again to be more perfect. There is so much incredible detail and gorgeous visuals that I never would have expected for what was considered a spin-off series. But they put their full effort into all of the animation as they did for everything else. There are so many incredible colors and textures that just pop out at you that you feel so absorbed into the galaxy and feel like it’s a film on the big screen. Even when returning to familiar planets from previous Star Wars media they look absolutely amazing.
The action is perfectly animated and always extremely full of great tension. Clone Wars fans are definitely going to love all the fun action this series delivers and I think even non-Clone Wars fans will enjoy it as well. There are lots of great shootouts, chase sequences, and hand-to-hand combat that never gets stale and has such amazing intensity and style.
Kevin Kiner once again returns to do the music and once again delivers an epic score fitting for the series. He knows just what to do when a scene needs to be loud and exhilarating or when a scene needs to be soft and emotional, allowing the characters to carry the scenes.
The Bad Batch is a fun series with strong elements that people really shouldn’t ignore. I know everyone feels more interested in the live-action shows after how amazing The Mandalorian has shown itself to be, but we can’t forget that the animated shows are just as good, and were the very reason we have some of the live-action shows in the first place. Is The Bad Batch the best of all the animated Star Wars we have had so far? I personally don’t think so, but it’s definitely among the best-animated shows in general and has the potential to be even better with its next season. Don’t skip out on this series cause you will honestly have a great time. I’m going to give Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1 an A.
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