REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Season 2 Shows Heart in Premiere

The Batch Batch Season 2 is finally here and is the first Star Wars project to air in 2023. Following a successful first season, Clone Force 99 returns with a two-episode premiere on Disney+. Also returning are several showrunners from season one. Episode one, “Spoils of War” was written by Jennifer Corbett and directed by Steward Lee. Episode two, “Ruins of War”, was written by Gina Lucita Monreal who makes her Star Wars debut alongside director Nathaniel Villanueva. If The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere is any indication of what fans will see over the 16-episode season, then buckle up for a wild ride.

The last time we saw our loveable batch of misfit clones, they fought for their lives on Kamino against the Empire and their fellow clone Crosshair. As Kamino fell, the heart-wrenching interaction between Crosshair, Hunter, and Omega is likely still in the back of many fans’ minds. Little is known about what happened following that fateful day, but “Spoils of War” jumps seemingly months ahead as the episode picks up at the tail end of another heist. While there is no real context as to what Clone Force 99 is stealing or why they are being chased by the local fauna, the reintroduction of who the Bad Batch are is the most important piece. In the opening sequence, the team has new models as seen in the teaser shown at Star War Celebration 2022 and the trailer in the lead-up to The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere. The standout is without a doubt Omega who is older and more mature in her demeanor. While she still has some book learning to do, there is no question that she is firmly a member of the team as she proves herself a capable marksman against giant alien crabs.

Following the reintroduction, The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere jumps into the main plotline for the two episodes. Cid sends the Bad Batch to steal items from a war chest that the Empire is currently taking from the ruins of Count Dooku’s castle on Serenno. At first, it may seem like this war chest is a reasonable amount of valuables, weapons, and money which should be an easy task for the crew. That is not the case. Dooku’s war chest consists of dozens and dozens of giant containers that make Dooku’s plundered wealth almost unfathomable. Cid assures the clones that they only need the smallest fraction of the war chest to finally escape from under the thumb of the Empire and disappear. Easier said than done with an entire battalion of clones and nearly a hundred crates to search through.

While the war chest mission essentially turns into an Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade-style caper, it is the character moments and the philosophical themes that make The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere shine. On one hand, Hunter is against the mission from the start, worried about Omega’s safety getting that close to the Empire after the events of Kimino. On the other, Echo knows that burying your head in the sand is not the way to avoid the Empire and the items from Dooku’s war chest can be used to help people in need. The discussion is reminiscent of the themes shown in Andor. The implications of the power that the Empire holds are on full display with the sheer amount of wealth and weaponry they are taking from just one world. The Bad Batch is capable of joining the fight in a bigger fashion, more than just doing jobs for Cid. However, Hunter’s hesitance with Omega involved mirrors Cassian Andor’s desire to do “one more job” to secure his family’s safety, as fickle as it may be, rather than taking on the Empire head-on. The themes are not as heavy as in Andor but it is great to see the elements in a bite-size version in a show aimed at a younger audience.

One of the biggest criticisms of The Bad Batch season one was the over-emphasis on the Hunter-Omega relationship despite the crew hosting a variety of personalities. The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere gives all of the members of the crew the to shine. In fact, Hunter and Omega rarely share any time together. Echo’s battles with doing more in the fight against the Empire while protecting Omega who is adamant about proving herself as a member of the crew. Tech has his mini-arc where he realizes that the people of Serenno and the Separatists are not synonymous. Even Wrecker gets a chance to be more than a loveable destruction-crazed buffoon as his quick thinking saves members of the team in a dire situation. It is too early to tell if this shift away from the father-child dynamic is going to be permanent but at least for now, it is great to see the team being a team and more than just their character archetypes.

Overall, The Batch Batch Season 2 premiere was a success as the heart that Clone Force 99 embodies is on full display. The two episodes may not be the best of the series but they reestablish why the first season was so successful. Showrunners are making a concerted effort to tackle the heavier themes shown in the other live-action Star Wars shows that have taken place since The Bad Batch last aired. Their adventures may not be as grand as what we see in Andor or Mandalorian but the themes are present, making the Bad Batch’s story one worth telling. Even the connections between the Count Dooku fans see in Tales of the Jedi and the Count Dooku capable of amassing an enormous war chest warrants its own discussion. It is this level of accessibility and connection to the larger canon that makes The Batch Batch Season 2 one to be excited for.

The Batch Batch Season 2 premiered with episodes one and two that are currently streaming exclusively on Disney+.