Director: Steward Lee
Starring: Dee Bradley Baker, Archie Panjabi, Michelle Ang, Freddie Prinze Jr., Ian McDiarmid, Andrew Kishino, Stephen Stanton
After the spectacular season premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, David Filoni’s new labour of love from the Star Wars world, on May 4th, the second episode has been released on Disney Plus.
Whilst this episode doesn’t have quite the opening’s narrative urgency, it does continue to display the high-quality animation and inter-connected universe we’ve come to expect from Filoni and his team.
The episode focuses on the clones (all Dee Bradley Baker) meeting up with Cut Lawquane, a deserter clone (Bradley Baker, of course) who was first seen in Season 2 of The Clone Wars, and his family on their homestead in Saleucami.
The family are trying to leave the planet as the new empire bring in rules that sees each citizen having to register for a chain code (which we’re familiar with from The Mandalorian); The Bad Batch step in to help them escape the clutches of the rapidly expanding empire.
Cut doubles in the episode as not only as the plot’s focus but also as a source of paternal knowledge for Hunter especially who struggles with his responsibility for Omega.
It’s encouraging (and exciting) to think about where else the creators might mine from previous shows to bring in other characters. So far we’ve seen characters from both the past, as seen here, and future, as seen last episode with Caleb Dume, being included in The Bad Batch’s present – who else we might see is your guess.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 2 is its own thing
Credit: Disney Plus
Read more: New Star Wars Animated Show The Bad Batch Trailer Released
The episode marks a difference to the previous one by not opening with Tom Kane’s traditional voiceover that opened both episode one and every episode of The Clone Wars.
If anything, this just goes towards suggesting that this series is not effectively Season 8 of The Clone Wars and that it is its own separate entity.
A rather charming moment opens the episode with Omega (Michelle Ang) stepping off the Bad Batch’s ship onto ground for the first time.
With a deep intake of breath as the sun beats down on her, her joy has never felt more understandable as we too slowly step back out into the world.
Ironic parallels aside, the animation as Omega kicks a small cloud of dirt into the air really highlights the skill of the team working on this show: as with The Clone Wars and Rebels before it, The Bad Batch is making a strong claim for these Star Wars animations to be considered a vital part of the universe that all fans should watch for both the ways it is expanding the universe and the quality of its design and execution.
Uncle Wrecker is so adorable in The Bad Batch Episode 2!
Credit: Disney Plus
Read more: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 1 Spoiler Review
Also, “Uncle Wrecker” is not the content I knew I needed, but it’s certainly adorable.
Some moments are however strained to create tension: just as the plan is coming together, one regular clone trooper looks intently at Cut and says “You look like-” before being interrupted.
Forgive me, but a hat and a cloak do not make a full disguise when you’re looking at your mirror image, surely?
Also, that Echo wasn’t able to undo the clamp on the ship even though he’s previously been seen to shut down entire droid armies was also a little uninspired.
Finally, I think we all knew that Omega wasn’t going to be bowing out of the show already.
That said I’m glad we’re not being subjected to an arc of the Bad Batch trying to recover her as might have happened had she gone with Cut.
Nonetheless, the nature of her “defection” is interesting and will no doubt prompt many theories over the coming episodes.
Early on in the episode clone commander Rex is named dropped and it’s a matter of time until we see him again.
Quite where this show will go I’m not yet sure, but I’m certainly excited for what is to come.
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