“The Bad Batch” Two-Episode Special Review
“The Bad Batch” kicked off a two-episode special with a Clone Wars-esque type of vibe and characters.
Episode 7 - “The Clone Conspiracy”
The episode opens on Coruscant, the first time that it’s been shown this far in the series. Fans of the series will be familiar with lots of easter eggs in this episode, including 79’s, the Clone bar from the series.
Riyo Chuchi from the series makes her appearance, and she is still concerned about the clones’ rights in the Senate. While everyone on Coruscant believes that Kamino was destroyed from a storm, one of the clones tells Chuchi that Rampart ordered the firing on the city.
Chuchi argues for the clones’ rights in the Senate against Rampart’s bill that would phase the clone army out of the Empire, but when she goes to confront the clone after the meeting, chaos happens, the clone is assassinated, but a hooded figure comes out and saves Chuchi.
Welcome back, Captain Rex.
This is finally an action-packed episode of this show that actually has something to do with the central plot of the series.
The Kamino plot from the season one finale is finally revisited, and viewers get to see Admiral Rampart in action.
Viewers were also happy to see the return of Captain Rex, one of the most highly anticipated cameos in the series. His return leaves viewers wondering if he knows what happened to Cody and vice versa.
Alongside Rex, Bail Organa also made his series debut in the Senate. It was a nice bridge to see him defect a little bit in the Senate, which connects to his total disillusionment of the Senate seen in Rebels.
Rating: 4.5/5
Episode 8 - “Truth & Consequences”
The Kamino plot comes to an end in this episode.
Rex calls the Bad Batch in to help Chuchi get the log from Rampart’s ship to the Senate in order to bring him to court for his crimes.
While the Batch works to steal the log, Chuchi brings Omega to the Senate and teaches her how it operates under the Empire.
Chuchi and Omega meet with Halle Burtoni, a disgraced senator from Kamino who wants nothing to do with bringing Rampart down. However, Burtoni has no idea that Omega is technically a clone and how personal Kamino’s destruction was for her. Eventually, Burtoni comes around and agrees to help them.
Chuchi brings the charges against Rampart in the Senate the next morning with Omega watching. Once she exposes Rampart, he orders to kick her out of the Senate and charge her with treason, but he is silenced by the floor opening and a hooded figure rising out into the middle of the floor: the Emperor.
Palpatine confirms the charges against Rampart, turns against him, and uses the opportunity to prove that the clones will blindly follow orders and will be phased out of the Imperial army by the stormtrooper.
At the episode’s conclusion, the Batch bids farewell to Echo, who stays back with Rex to help him on his mission.
This was the best episode of the season and possibly the show as a whole.
It did a great job connecting the show to the other series and the movies while still remaining true to the plot of the series.
If viewers thought the cameos couldn’t get any better, the Emperor shows up in his classic, chilling voice. Finally, the mystery of the clone to stormtrooper pipeline is solved.
This episode also spotlighted Omega’s connection to Kamino. The show so often overlooks the fact that she is literally one of the bases for the clones and has lived most of her life on the planet. It was refreshing to hear her speak up for herself.
Rating: 5/5
Adrianna Gallucci is a first-year student majoring in journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.
