The Bad Batch Season 2 Episodes 7 & 8 Review
Credit to: Disney and LucasfilmDouble The Trouble!
Welcome back, y’all! This time around, we’re taking a look at not just one episode, but two episodes, specifically episodes 7 and 8 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2! Now, if you were around for back when The Wolf Den started, you’ll remember that we had giant, GIANT articles for this series, since we would group up like 3 or 4 episodes all together. This time around, we’re gonna change it up. I know in a recent article I said I would continue to breakdown the episodes until The Mandalorian came out, where I’d do a Pros and Cons section, but since we’re doing 2 episodes in this one article, I think it’s best to apply that same thing here, to save you all some time and just enjoy a quick read instead of those mega articles I wrote up. Especially since these 2 episodes have some pretty important things happening in them, so important that you all should really just check out the series itself if you haven’t already, so I’m making sure that I keep spoilers to an absolute minimum. But let me stop right there and get this thing going. Without any further ado, let’s jump right into it.
Episode 7: The Clone Conspiracy
Pros
The first thing would have to be the return of important familiar faces. This episode is involved heavily in the Imperial Senate on Coruscant, so you can take your guesses on who you think I’m talking about here. You can already guess I wasn’t talking about Padme. Anyway! We see the Imperial Senate discussing the matter of Admiral Rampart’s military reform, which is essentially to completely phase out the clones and replace them with enlisted soldiers, as we saw in the first season. The returning characters are the ones who are actually thinking about what happens to the clones after they’re replaced, as people seem to forget that they too have rights, whether they’re clones or not. It does get heavily political (in a good way), but honestly that’s something that we needed to see. It takes you back to The Clone Wars and the prequel trilogy, as politics were heavily influential for the era. The original trilogy is also pretty involved in politics, but it was mostly military talk about Palpatine or establishing dominance across the galaxy. As the senate was abolished by the Emperor, we didn’t see that action during the Imperial reign, but we finally got that in this episode which is massive. But going back to those familiar faces, we can see how they clearly haven’t changed one bit. They still fight for what they believe is right, even if it’s dangerous. Another recent Star Wars series, Andor, also did a great job on bringing us back to the senate, focusing on Mon Mothma’s struggles, and while the way these two series can be pretty different (Andor feeling much more serious, dark and even a little hopeless, Bad Batch taking a friendlier approach similar to The Clone Wars), they both accomplish the same thing, which is showcasing just how differently the galaxy functions at the time. This episode makes me hope to see these characters in live action, if we haven’t already, hint hint.
The next pro is definitely the mystery. Going back to Admiral Rampart’s military reform bill, we know that Rampart wasn’t a fan of the clones, along with Governor Tarkin, who supported Rampart’s idea of enlisting troopers. The entire downfall of Kamino is truly because of these two, especially Rampart, who was there on Kamino, ordering his ships to bombard the Kaminoan city of Tipoca. Something like that is something Rampart intended to keep behind closed doors from the senate, and is something he wanted to remain that way at any costs, or he’d have to answer to a certain, powerful someone. Seeing one of the returning characters slowly unravel the truth, and almost getting themselves hurt until yet another returning character saves them was just a real treat. It ends on a note that leaves us wanting more, which is fine because the next episode picks right back up where this one leaves us, so I gotta say, I don’t have an issue with this entry. One final thing that I enjoyed was getting a break from the Batch, as they’re not involved until the next episode, and that really helped to flesh out the current story. Would’ve been nice to see the badass that is Gungi, but that’s okay, that’s just me loving my Wookiee friends. Really good episode.
Cons
As I said before, I really don’t have an issue with this episode. I really enjoyed the politics, I really enjoyed the similarity to The Clone Wars, I really enjoyed seeing certain characters return, and I really enjoy the fact that we’re revisiting what happened to Kamino. Whole lot of mystery, whole lot of action, whole lot of fun. Not bad whatsoever, this was a great episode.
5 out of 5.
Episode 8: Truth and Consequences
Pros
Here’s where we see the Batch. My biggest pro for this episode is actually seeing Omega be introduced to politics. It doesn’t make her want to be a senator or anything like that, but it does enlighten her. A specific character explains how the senate really works, and the fact that clones aren’t represented in it. Omega being a clone herself finds this to be troubling, and of course just wants to do her part to make sure Rampart answers for his crimes against Kamino, the home of not just the Kaminoans, but the clones like herself. The premise of this episode is to find criminalizing evidence against Admiral Rampart, which is something that a certain senator has been trying to do since the previous episode. A clone from the last episode was targeted for his knowledge on the matter, as he was on one of the Venators (capital ship) when Rampart gave the order to fire on the city. It’s up to the senator to not only use the clone’s information, but to find direct evidence of Rampart’s crimes, with the help of a certain returning soldier. This is where the Bad Batch comes in. The only criminalizing evidence would be on board Rampart’s ship, which of course would be guarded, and that’s basically the driving force of the episode. Find evidence, bring it to the senate floor, and take down Rampart. This episode was very high intensity. I love the fact that the Batch are back to going up against the Empire, but this time it’s heavily influential. They’re rebellious, but this act is something that makes you wonder how they’d do joining up with an actual rebellion, maybe one that one day involves some very familiar faces from the original trilogy, but that’s just me and my thoughts. Still, it’s good to see the Batch doing some really good work here, especially Omega, who was actually very important when it came to handling the evidence.
There’s one pro that I had to give its own section. I won’t say who the character is, I’ll leave you all to think about it, but what I will say is this: when I saw this character pop up, I lost my mind. I knew they’d come, but I had no clue it would be for this episode. The way they used the Bad Batch’s efforts to protect the Empire while having Rampart “answer for his crimes” was absolutely genius. This character has always been a few steps ahead of the heroes, but this was a real power play. As usual, after hearing this character’s speech, they were all so moved and gave their full support to what this person proposed. I can’t say any more without really giving away what happens, but man oh MAN, this episode had a great way of bringing them back.
There’s one more tiny thing I wanted to talk about, which is the sudden sad moment we see at the end. It isn’t a death, don’t worry, but it’s really sad to see. I wonder what this means for the Batch and Omega, who’s clearly very upset about the way they’ll be moving forward. It was definitely a surprise, and it makes sense because it’s been something that this character has been wanting to do, as showcased by their protests in the past, but it’s just sad. Still, it was a great way to close out this episode. Not a cliffhanger, but a tough pill to swallow for the fans. Wonderful episode.
Cons
They’re really killing it now, y’all. It took a little while for the season to get on its feet, but we’re definitely there now. We’re getting some really good story telling, we’re getting some really good action, lots of twists and turns, and we’re seeing familiar faces that are returning in ways that actually makes sense, not just because. I have no issues with this episode, this is yet another banger. I’m so happy with the path we’re moving forward on.
5 out of 5.
Final Thoughts
I’m having a really fun time with this season. We got to see some more beautiful Wookiee culture and Kashyyyk wildlife in episode 6, we got a really great setup and some fantastic mystery in this 7th episode, and we got some really great action and a fantastic way to wrap up the situation in the senate in this 8th episode. 5 out of 5 ratings, back to back. I’m so happy that I’m able to do that, because I was worried for a bit, but we are definitely right back on track. Was I a little harsh on it before? Yes, and it was absolutely deserving of that, but I can confidently say they’re doing much better with the current story. I’m loving this. But what do you all think? Let us know on our Instagram, and make sure you follow us there to stay up to date with the latest entertainment news and reviews. But that’s all from me, this has been The Wolf Den!
