There we have it. Friday dropped the final episode for season 1 of Bad Batch. This series basically continued the story of the Clone Wars series fans loved. It helped us transition out of the end times of the Republic and into the new reality of Imperial control. This season did so many amazing things and told the Star Wars story in a unique way that much of Hollywood ignores, but did the Bad Batch finale pt2 do the show justice? Not only that but where will the show go in the announced second season?
Bad Batch episode 16 is the second part of the two-part finale from Disney+. The crew finds themselves toting an unconscious brother through the disintegrating hallways of Kamino as the Empire bombards it from above. Omega’s knowledge of the more secret places of Kamino helps the company find their ways to the hidden recesses of the Kaminoan labs where both Omega and the Bad Batch were created. With the help of Azi, the medical droid, the group escapes to the surface in abandoned life support tubes. The journey was fraught, but there was never any chance the main character would be killed here. Azi, maybe. I hated to think the little droid would not continue with the group, but yes, even he made it. To me, this last episode begs the question, was it worth it?
Too Much Fluff
My honest answer is no. This episode rang hollow and meaningless. It was by no means a bad episode, but I think they could have tightened up quite a bit. The journey to flee the facility neither shed light on anything new nor did it deepen or stress any of the relations between the crew. Even Crosshair stayed quiet and compliant until he could go his own way. When there were zero stakes on the line, this last episode didn’t really mean much. We knew everyone would make it out.
Instead of another 30-minute episode, creators could have done one of two things differently. If they lengthened part 1 by 5-10 minutes, they could have skipped over the drowning city and gone straight to the goodbyes. We would have had a much tighter, more satisfying episode. The other thing they could have done was to give us some clue as to where the future will take us. Either way, I really do not think this final episode was truly needed.
Bad Batch Finale pt2 – Endings and New Beginnings
Overall I really loved this show. It focused more on the clones learning to become a team and family thanks in large part to Omega. Omega gave this show a lot of its heart, especially where Hunter is concerned. The Omega/Hunter relationship is one of the few times Hollywood has focused on the father/daughter relationship. Echo and Tech were more or less cousins. Their bond with Omega came more from their previous experiences than actual bonds with her. Wrecker came across as the big brother that never really grew up. The emotion of the show always revolved around Hunter and Omega.
One thing this show should have done but didn’t was give us a direction. Not every show does this, and there is nothing wrong with that, but season 1 never really had a bad guy. Crosshair always sat out there as a wild card and potential problem, but he’s not enough to oppose CF99 on his own. His wanting to belong with them (if they join his side) counteracts ant real threat from him. The final scene with the Kaminoan scientist set up the cloning arc of Star Wars, but for now, I think we can safely assume that deals more with the Sidious/Snoke side of things than CF99. Season 1 revolved around the family dynamic and the clones finding their way around the new Imperial universe. That storyline will not hold up season 2. Who will the clones square off against next season? The show needs to develop some sort of true villain going forward. Plenty can be made or introduced, but for this show to be as good next season, it needs its major baddie introduced. What did you think of Bad Batch Finale pt2?
And so begins the drought. Star Wars fans have suffered much longer droughts, but Bad Batch represents the end of active Star Wars products until December when Book of Fett drops on Disney+.
