Hello Star Wars friends! I hope you’ve been looking forward to another Star Wars universe post from yours truly, lol š š because this one is going to be semi-lengthy.
So instead of reviewing each episode, I felt it was easier to review the entire season once it was completed. Some folks like to review by the episode, which is totally cool, and I sometimes do that too, but it all depends on what I’m reviewing. Since I talk about the movie and TV-related things on my other blog, I figured The Bad Batch wouldn’t need an episode by episode breakdown here.
So The Bad Batch has ended, and I have to say that I was really quite underwhelmed by it in its entirety. Perhaps this is because I’ve come to love so much of the animated content from the Star Wars universe that I am always raising the bar higher for the next thing. I just don’t think those dizzying heights where The Clone Wars and Rebels exist were reached in The Bad Batch’s first season.
FOR ANYONE THAT HASN’T SEEN THE FINAL EPISODE OR THE FIRST SEASON YET, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!
The Introduction of Omega
Honestly, I didn’t really think all that much of Omega as a character. I liked her in small doses (which kind of became more difficult as the season continued), and I liked the fact that she was a clone as well, but that’s about it. I sometimes felt that she meddled with the Bad Batch and their missions, and sometimes she didn’t really help. My question when it comes to any character, whether it’s Star Wars or any other fandom, is always “Does this character bring any value to the show or film? Do they make it better?” I felt that the Bad Batch clones were fine without Omega. And there really isn’t much else to say.
Returning characters – Fennec Shand
Fennec Shand showing up, on the other hand, was way cool, and she certainly made the episode a lot more interesting and engaging for me. Linking back to characters that I liked from the live-action universe was a definite highlight. In fact, any connection to any other characters from the live-action stories/films/shows are always so well written and timed and placed just right to push things along at a good enough pace to keep things fresh and exciting.
That thing with CT-9904 aka “Crosshair”
Not gonna beat around the bush, Crosshair is still one of my favourite characters, and he brings so much to the show with his obstinate and rigid personality. Crosshair abandoning the Bad Batch and going his own way was one of the show’s highlights for me. He caused a special type of rivalry and tension that almost always makes for exciting storylines.
DID YOU SAY CAD BANE?
One of the best parts of the entire show was seeing Cad Bane. I was so surprised and taken aback by his presence in that episode. It was one of my favourite episodes because of that, and if that wasn’t cool enough, we also got a show-down between him and Fennec Shand! Amazing stuff.
Yup that really was Hera Syndulla!
It was AMAZING seeing Hera pre-rebels! We finally get to look at her character, who she is and where she came from and most importantly, how she became a pilot (well, sort of). I liked that we also get to see who her parents were and where she lived as well. I am always happy to see background details on any character in the Star Wars universe, especially in live-action shows and films. But I’ll settle for animated too!
FINAL SUMMARY
I’ve purposefully avoided reading many opinions on The Bad Batch because I wanted to spend time with it myself and see how the season evolved. I was happy with most of the missions that The Bad Batch went on, but some of them were so boring! I guess some fans refer to the less interesting episodes as “fillers”, which is a way that fans can say “not a very good episode so skip it” sort of thing. There were definitely a couple of episodes that I could have slept through and not missed a thing. But some episodes really made up for those “fillers”, too, so it seems to balance out for me.
My final comment is that I thought the season was way too long. If they had left it at 10 episodes, I think it would have been a much better season. But I guess we’ll see once it returns for Season Two (pretty sure it has already been confirmed for a second season). So if you’re a Bad Batch superfan, you’ll be pleased with that news!
Let me know what you think of my review and what you thought of the season!
Stay safe, keep creating, and I’ll catch you all in the comments or in my next post!
darksiderconfessions.blog 
I agree, I think it was too long. Guess I’m getting used to the 6 or 8 episode season, whether Star Wars or MCU. The episodes tend to be tighter and more intense, because there’s no room for extraneous stuff, and I think the BB could have benefited from that. Speaking of extraneous, I kind of wish there had been more stuff with Echo. He was just kind of there, and too similar to Tech as far as abilities, I think, to make him stand out. But it’s his background as a “Reg” that I find interesting. Hopefully there will be more of him in Season Two.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Hi Julie, I just watched the finale last night and have recovered from the “Poseiden Adventure” vibes it had š I too found the series as a Star Wars event about even but I always find that first seasons of any show need that little bit of breathing room to allow newcomers to become familiar with the cast/characters and story – then the writers can put their foot on the accelerator in future seasons.
As characters, you already know I like them (and I also think Echo and Tech are similar but Echo is a Reg as Tina mentions which made it interesting to see how a “Reg” actually compares to a clone) and having watched the show and created the lightsabers based on them I realise how hard it must have been for writers to come up with characters like the BB. Making them similar but with unique personalities is a fine balancing act (though because the BB are “defects” they have more leeway than say writing about a non defective squad’s members).
Some of the episodes were filler I suppose but I enjoyed them as SW content but thinking back there were some things in all the shows that may not have been spoken or obvious, but did hint at what may lay ahead in season two.
And my friends on the Ultrasabers owner’s forum (a great bunch of cusom lightsaber owners) even suggested that the BB might have lightsabers in season two….and that Disney/Lucasfilm should hire me! Anyway before this gets too long….I guess this show was a solid 8+ but ready to build up better in season 2 and beyond.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi FT! Thanks for the detailed reply! I agree with you regarding the “breathing room” for new characters. I never really thought of that but you’re right – I guess the writers need the space to create a character and give them personality traits and make them seem “real” if you know what I mean? I know how important the clones are in the grand scheme of things but a lot of people resent them because they’re clones (I mean in the show lol). And to some extent, I think that rubs off a little in reality like they’re almost beneath the poverty line or something. It’s the same with droids too. In many IPs particularly sci-fi media, clones and droids are all frowned upon for various reasons. I don’t see it that way but it does pose an interesting question about the clones and their place in the Star Wars universe that I never really thought of. I haven’t thought of the season ahead yet. I will think about that and post about it at a later date, perhaps closer to the release of the second season š
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Julie, a good example of the “distrust” you were trying to explain is the android Bishop in the Ridley Scott Alien franchise. The crew and Ripley aren’t 100% sure of him because he’s different, yet so human-like. Unfortunately human nature fears things that are different than expected.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was actually quite surprised to see a show made for these guys alone. I remember them in The Clone Wars and thought they were pretty cool. I enjoyed watching Bad Batch and found it had the same vibe as Rebels where they’re a ragtag group living in a ship avoiding many enemies and getting into trouble. The characters that were brought back for the show were pretty awesome too. Lots of nostalgia.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi ya! Yeah, me too. I remember watching the Disney presentation from Kathleen Kennedy and everyone was so excited and then she said the Bad Batch and I was like… huh? I mean any star wars to me is good star wars š But yeah, I didn’t expect that announcement. That’s interesting that you got the same vibe as Rebels from the show but I totally get it. I really didn’t at all – I think I was looking for that in the show and that’s probably why I felt like it wasn’t really my thing. But yes, I loved how they brought back other characters and tied it into each episode, that was definitely amazing to see š
LikeLiked by 1 person