Human Lens #91: 'The Bad Batch' Season 2 Review
Star Wars animation has never been better as Clone Force 99 returns
The adventure of the week formula got a narrative upgrade in season two of the Disney+ series The Bad Batch — Star Wars’ continuation of The Clone Wars series into the reign of the Empire. While continuing to explore the team’s struggle with what their purpose is after the war, the strongest part of the season comes from the continued paternal growth for all of our characters as they spend more time with Omega. Season two starts months after the end of season one, showcasing a team in the opening scene that, despite some mistakes, is more of a well oiled machine than before, even including Omega in the missions after Hunter overly protected her last season.
This camaraderie stretches across the season — each member of the team getting their time in the spotlight as the shadow of multiple responsibilities looms large over them. The Bad Batch has the resources and the skills to really help those who are struggling in a galaxy being torn apart by its government. With that in mind though, they have to weigh the notion of whether or not taking Omega with them is safe, let alone good for her well being. But having her with them makes them better people, looking inward at their own issues when it comes to looking out for others, enjoying the little things, and heavy emotions like coping with loss. Whatever decision they make is going to have consequences, and you can feel this emotional challenge throughout the season.
The main underlying plot thread of the season is the methodical phasing out of the clone troopers by the Empire. Men who have only known fighting and war since the day they were born are being told they aren’t wanted anymore, without an explanation or a means of finding new work. Depressingly intriguing, the arc slowly dismantles the prequel era in a way that we haven’t seen done in Star Wars before. In the past, it’s been hard to connect the sequels and prequels just based off of visual style, but The Bad Batch is slowly becoming a necessary story arc for those interested in that transition.
While featured as the main character in just two episodes this season, and only appearing in 4 of 16, Crosshair was gifted the most intriguing and interesting plot line of our main cast in season two. After staying with the Empire at the end of the previous season instead of running away with his brothers, Crosshair finds himself at odds with the hierarchical choices within the regime, specifically those against his fellow clones. I broke down one of the episodes that gave him the spotlight a couple of weeks ago, The Outpost, where I discussed how beautifully written the story was and its importance to the transition from the Clone Wars to the age of rebellion.
As the respect of his superior officers begins to dwindle and the actions of his people become questionable, Crosshair second guesses everything. All he’s ever known is war and how to be a solider, but sometimes the hardest thing to do is to step out of the known and embrace the help of those who offer it. The relatability of Crosshair’s struggles with change is what makes his arc not only important in the scope of Star Wars, but important for the younger audience to see that not everyone makes the right choices at first, but that doesn’t mean they can never have the opportunity again.
The Star Wars universe has been giving credit and press time to Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni quite consistently and, while well deserved, has taken away from new voices being told how great their Star Wars projects are. Ignorance towards the creators seems even more prominent in Lucasfilm’s animation department, where Filoni, an executive producer on The Bad Batch, has been getting a lot of credit online for the series while show runner Jennifer Corbett gets second fiddle.
As of late, I’ve seen a prominent amount of people starting to recognize Corbett online. The writer, from an outside perspective, came out of nowhere for this universe. Her most notable credits before this job include writing and producing on NCIS for four years and writing three episode of Star Wars: Resistance. The way she took care of her business on Resistance got her the major promotion, with her roots on NCIS leaving a trail throughout The Bad Batch with military politics littering the backdrop of every single episode. Jennifer Corbett and the writers room have created a sequel series to The Clone Wars, a show strongly connected to the force and the Jedi, and made a shockingly gritty and adult animated series that, at times, complements and often subverts what someone might define as Star Wars television. This season specifically feels spiritually connected to Andor, another series that was a surprising masterpiece, each opting to show the gritty side of the universe instead of constant, galaxy ending, stakes.
Let’s not forget the incredible work that the animation team is putting together on this series. Each new planet is shaded and lit with expert precision, sometimes coming as a complete shock that it’s animated at all. Characters that continue the style of the Clone Wars fit right in with the universe, while new stormtrooper armor and ships seem to show up in every single episode. It feels like a show that everyone involved loves working on, cultivating an audience, including myself, that feeds off of that love week in and week out.
The Bad Batch season two is everything that the first season delivers on dialed to another level. The characters and their adventures offer an escape on a weekly basis, while sometimes injecting in geopolitical explorations to spice up a universe that undoubtedly has always mirrored our own. While originally skeptical when the series was announced, I’ve grown to love these characters across the now 24 released episodes and I hope that we get a continuation of the story. If you haven’t watched it yet, now is the perfect time to start from the beginning and give the show a binge. It’s an easy series to get through because of the half hour long episodes, and doubly easy when you start to fall in love with this special group of clones trying to find their place in the world, like all of us strive to do every day.
I’m crossing my fingers for a season three announcement at Star Wars Celebration next week.