“The Bad Batch: Episodes 1-3 Reviews
Episode 1: Spoils of War (3.5/5)
The episode starts off with an obvious time-jump from the last episode of season 1: Omega appears older and the Batch has new armor.
The Batch completes a heist and returns to Cid’s place on Ord Mantell for a new job: raiding Count Dooku’s war chest on Serenno and beating the Imperials to it. Hunter is wary of the mission, knowing that it could put the team at risk, but ends up accepting the mission on behalf of the rest of the squad.
The Batch arrives on Serenno, and Omega notices its war-torn city, which has also been bombarded by the Imperials (similar to the season 1 finale on Kamino).
While Hunter and Wrecker stay behind to keep watch, Echo, Tech and Omega raid the war chest but are quickly spotted by the Imperials. The episode ends with the Imperials locking them in the chest while the trunk is released and plummets to a mountain.
This episode was a good intro to the new season. It was nice to see the fan-favorite squad again and how their dynamic has changed since leaving Crosshair on Kamino. Echo saying to Hunter that they were on the run because of Omega and her reaction to overhearing it set up good tension for the next episode.
This episode had to re-introduce the characters and set up a story, which was a little boring but left off on a great cliffhanger.
Episode 2: Ruins of War (4/5)
In the two-part premiere, this episode picks up right where the first one left off. Tech is injured in the escape from the war chest, and all hope seems lost until Tech, Echo and Omega meet Romar, a Serenno native and survivor of the bombardment. He offers the three shelter until the morning, but Omega sneaks out to attempt to retrieve the precious chest.
Omega runs into Imperial trouble while attempting to complete her mission and confronts Echo about his conversation with Hunter, showing the audience that she’s significantly matured from the last season.
Ruins of War developed the story and culminated in a cold-blooded killing to end the episode. The audience learns a secret about Crosshair and how he’s still connected to the Bad Batch, even though he’s an Imperial defector. Viewers also start to understand the growing strength of the Empire and how easily it can silence those on the inside
It was interesting to hear from someone who’s living on an Imperial-infested planet, and Romar’s story was a great additional narrative so that the entire episode did not focus on the Batch.
Episode 3: The Solitary Clone (3.5/5)
This is the first episode where Crosshair appears so far this season, and it’s clear that the title is about him since the rest of the Batch was nowhere to be seen.
Fan-favorite Commander Cody makes his appearance in this story, the first time he’s been shown since attempting to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith. He, unlike his counterpart Captain Rex, is working for the Empire.
Cody and Crosshair lead a mission to rescue an Imperial governor who’s being held hostage on the planet Desix.
After a civilian assassination, Cody questions the morality of the Empire and wonders what makes him different from droids.
This episode was a great nod to The Clone Wars with mentions of Mina Bonteri, the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine and battle droids.
The ending of this episode was perfect, with Crosshair thinking he found another ally yet still being alone. It sets up an intriguing storyline where fans will probably see the Batch, Rex and Cody forming some sort of alliance while Crosshair navigates the shadow of the Empire by himself.
Adrianna Gallucci is a first-year student majoring in journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.
