The Bad Batch Season 2 Episodes 1 & 2 Review

Credit to: Disney and Lucasfilm

The Batch Are Back, and so are We.

Welcome back, y’all! Man, it’s been a really, really, long time. I can’t express just how much I appreciate the patience, the support, everything. This project has a lot of meaning to me, so to put it behind me for so long, it truly did leave an emptiness in me. But you know what? We’re here. Back to it. I know it’ll be a slow climb all over again, but who cares? What matters is that I’m still dedicated to being thorough, forward, and honest with the reviews I put out. I intend to continue The Wolf Den, and I intend to make sure it remains unbiased, no matter what. You want honest, here it is. Now I know you didn’t click on this post to read about the future of the blog, you came to read about The Bad Batch season 2, so let’s not waste any more time. Without any further ado, let’s just jump right into it.

Episode 1: Spoils of War

I can’t get over how great it feels to express myself to you all again, this is really great. Anyway, let me stop rambling, let’s get down to it. Let me start off by saying that yes, I’m so happy we get more of the Batch, however, it all feels a little too… familiar. A bit too similar to the standard formula of how the episodes tend to be in this series, if you know what I mean. I’ll explain further after I break down the episode. So we start off the episode on a beach, or a planet that has nothing but beaches, as per Star Wars’s usual. Everything is calm and quiet, until we see Echo, Hunter, and Wrecker rush out from the tropical trees, running from giant alien crabs, as Wrecker carries a heavy crate of goods. Echo reminds Wrecker how they went over the plan five times, but that clearly didn’t amount to much. Back on the crew’s ship, the Marauder, we see an older Omega, or Ohmeega, as the fans have dubbed her, on the ship’s landing ramp, studying Imperial ship models as she waits for something to bite at the ship’s cable and hook, plunged below into the big beautiful sea. Omega takes a moment to check the hook as she hears some light splashing, but is reminded of the importance of her studies by Tech, who is suddenly called by Hunter, asking him to come with the ship and pick them and the cargo up. Skipping ahead a bit, as not much happens beyond Omega showing her new proficiency as a bowman- er, bow… woman? Bowgirl? Anyway, skipping ahead, Tech comes with the ship and lowers its cable to rescue his brothers and their cargo, and they all safely make it off the planet. Jumping ahead, we get back to Cid’s bar, where we see the droid AZI as a server, the comedic relief duo, Bolo and Ketch from the last season, and a new character in Cid’s office, Phee Genoa, a sassy pirate woman voiced by Wanda Sykes. Based on her funny interaction with Tech, it seems like she has some interest in him, or did, as he got a bit too technical over his “brown eyes” and their averageness amongst all clones. She leaves, and mentions some intel she gave Cid, which sparks a conversation about the next job for the team: Castle Serenno, the former home of Count Dooku. Dooku was a rich and powerful Sith lord during the Clone Wars, and his home is full of many treasures, which is the exact target: his war chest. Hunter of course finds it to be too dangerous after being told the Empire has already started pillaging, but with the rest of his team being on board and Cid’s slick talking, promising how the pay could set them free, he hesitantly agrees. Oh and uh, after all of this, Echo and Hunter have a conversation about how the reason they live the way they do is because of Ohmeega. Ouch. A bit much.

Jumping ahead, we see the crew arrive on the planet Serenno, making their toward the target castle. They sneak their way through the thick forest, stopping only to scout the area. Imperial cargo ships are already hauling off multiple containers from Dooku’s home, meaning their window of opportunity is closing, as noted by Tech. Hunter has the group sneak their way down to the nearest container while he stays behind in case he needs to draw away any Imperial contacts. As the rest of the crew heads to a container, Hunter makes his way to a few Imperial escort ships, planting remote explosives on them, as part of his plan of distraction. The others make their way into a container, but Wrecker being Wrecker, notices a patrolling trooper near the entrance and stuns him immediately, much to Echo’s dismay. Omega finds a chest full of shiny valuables and stuffs her pack with the goods, and as all of this goes on, a trooper near Hunter reports in to his his officer, letting them know that another trooper isn’t responding. The officer tries to call in the trooper, but there’s nothing. He sends his trooper to go find the missing clone, and Echo calls Hunter in to start his distraction. Hunter, being clear of the ships, sets off the explosives, sending a few troopers flying. With the base on full alert, the crew is picking up the pace. Wrecker grabs a huge crate of goods, and meets back up with Hunter. The clone officer calls in and commands the final transport to take off, the one holding the container the rest of the crew are in. The doors close behind them, and they’re stuck inside the ship. A group of clones make their way to the container, guarding the last transport, but are engaged by Hunter and Wrecker. The duo manage to grab hold of the ship as it takes off, but it’s no good. They’re forced to jump off as they take enemy fire, leaving the rest of the crew on the ship. Hunter and Wrecker escape the clone officer and his forces by making their way through Dooku’s castle, while Tech, Omega, and Echo figure out how to escape. With the escape pods suddenly ejected as per the clone officer’s orders, the crew are forced to release all containers, including the one they’re in, from the vessel. The container plummets back down to the planet along with many others, and the last shot we see is the container making its way to a thick forest. End of episode.

Here’s my thoughts. Am I happy? Absolutely, I’ve been waiting a long time for the Batch to return. Watching this episode alone reminded me of why I enjoyed the first season of the series so much. It was fun, pretty funny, and the characters are their same old selves, even with newly painted armor, and Omega having a brand new outfit to accommodate her new stature. So I was having a pretty great time like I usually do. However, I have to say, this premiere wasn’t really… much. This followed the same old pattern that the first season did, which goes like this: the crew needs work, the crew gets work, Hunter isn’t sure about it but says yes anyway, the crew goes on a dangerous mission, and it’s either the crew succeeds, or the crew finds trouble the way they did here. Again, was it fun? Sure, but the point is that this first episode didn’t do a whole lot to bring something new. It was good, but not great.

3.5 out of 5.

Episode 2: Ruins of War

For the second episode of this two part premiere, we continue where we left of in the last episode. We continue the journey with Hunter and Wrecker, who are still in Castle Serenno. They make their way to the old hangar, where they realize the only way is down, much to Wrecker’s dismay, as he’s very afraid of heights. Hunter calls in Tech, who gives him quite the worrisome update about him and the others crashing inside the container. They crash into the forest unscathed, as the container deployed thrusters to slow down the crash, however, they landed on the edge of the forest, hanging over a very steep drop. The container eventually tips over, and they’re back to falling. Once they crash yet again, a heavy crate falls on top of Tech’s left thigh, fracturing it, as explained by Mr. Nerdypants himself (I love him, don’t worry about the name-calling). Jumping ahead a bit, we change to the Imperial perspective, where we see the clone officer from last episode, Captain Wilco, asking for the latest from his troopers. He spreads out his forces to find and secure every single container from the crash and calls in a shuttle for air support. This part actually really impressed me, because it’s not often that we see an enemy being so thorough, other than Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels, and even the creators had to make him make questionable decisions just so the heroes could win the day. Anyway, excuse the rambling. Jumping ahead, we see the trio escape the container using a grappling hook they deployed, but they’re slowed down by Omega who’s worried about the bag of valuables she left behind in the crate. Echo reminds her of the Imperial search parties that must be alerted, and they eventually continue on their journey. Back over to Hunter and Wrecker, they sneak their way through the abandoned ruins that must’ve once been a beautiful city, evading the Imperials there. The duo notices two gunships dropping in a hefty handful of troopers, creating a perimeter around the ruins. Back over to the trio, we see them slowly make their way through the forest, but stop when Omega notices an older man watching them from the trees. The older man tries to hide and walk away, but is immediately held at gunpoint- err, bow…point… by Ohmeega and is eventually drawn upon by Echo, who suspects he could work for the Empire. The man reveals his name to be Romar. They ask Romar where there’s shelter, to which he says there’s none, but after Tech sees on his handy dandy space iPad that there’s obviously a heat source nearby, Romar has no choice but to take the trio to his home.

Back over to Captain Wilco, he divides his forces to make sure that all of the containers are located and searched, and he begins a sweep over the city to find the rogues. Hunter and Wrecker remain low, watching enemy movements. Baaack over to Romar and the crew, we see Tech taking a moment to rest his leg while Romar explains his story. He’s a survivor of the Empire. He used to live in the city, but after the Empire came, Romar was forced to move into the forests. Echo has Omega keep an eye on Romar, but she eventually realizes that Romar really isn’t any trouble. He gives her a little toy with reflective glass inside, showing a beautiful optical illusion. Echo goes to check for Imperial patrols, while Tech helps Romar open up a “data core”, which holds a fragment of Romar’s people’s history. With Tech distracted, Omega looks over and notices a grappling line, giving her an idea. Back over to Hunter and Wrecker, the two are taking enemy fire from a small group of clones as they take cover behind old Separatist tanks. Noticing a cannon and battery pack still intact on the tank, Wrecker has Hunter pass him the pack and return fire while he makes a makeshift, handheld cannon. Imperial air support finally arrives, and begins to take aim at the pinned down heroes, but before it can lock on, Wrecker blasts its wing off completely, sending it spiraling down into the ground, with a loud and bright explosion confirming the kill. The tide is turned against the Imperial forces as Wrecker pushes with his new toy, Hunter providing backup fire. Back over at Romar’s place, Echo returns and notices a missing Omega, while Romar notices his missing rappelling cable. Tech suspects that Omega went back for the war chest. Echo runs out after her, while Tech assures him he’ll catch up. Over to Omega, we see her setting up the cable around a tree, and she begins to make her way back over the cliff, into the container. A bit after some action on Hunter and Wrecker’s side, we see three patrol bikers scanning the area near Omega, eventually picking up the container’s signal. Echo finally catches up, but so does the Empire. Echo hurriedly begins to make his way down into the container, avoiding the incoming laser blasts. To make a long, drawn out skirmish short, Tech finally catches up, providing support and taking out the Imps. Omega reveals why she’s so hellbent on getting the pack back, because she heard Echo’s conversation with Hunter and essentially feels useless. Echo talks her into letting it go, Romar comes through and helps Tech rescue Echo and Ohmeega, and that’s how that goes. Hunter and Wrecker finally make their way to the Marauder, come to the rescue of the rest of the Batch, and Romar makes sure to give Omega her new toy, and gives a goodbye to Tech personally. On the ship, Omega apologizes for failing to retrieve the war chest, and says how she knows they sacrificed things just for her, but Echo assures her it’s all okay, and he’d do everything all over again with her. Before the episode ends, we see Admiral Rampart from last season, pointing out an inaccuracy in Captain Wilco’s report, saying the Batch is dead for sure. He asks Wilco to falsify his report, as Rampart has already assured Governor Tarkin the Batch was indeed dead. Wilco being too loyal declines, and Admiral Rampart assassinates him, telling him before he pulls the trigger, that' he’ll do it himself. Cold. End of episode.

This one was pretty cool, but again, it does follow the same issue as the first episode. These episodes don’t really add more substance to the series beyond the fact that Omega is more combat proficient. It’s all the same in a good way of course, but also all the same in a bit of an underwhelming way. We got some really good action here, some really, really good tactics from Wilco, some lighthearted moments, and we saw Rampart wrap up this two parter in a coldblooded way. This was my favorite of the two episodes, for sure.

4 out of 5.

Final Thoughts

Before I say anything more about the series, let me just thank you, any and all of you for coming back to read, or for clicking on this for the very first time. If you’re new to the Den, then welcome, and I hope this review really grabbed your attention and made you want to stay tuned for more. If you’re a seasoned member of The Wolf Den, then thank you so much for coming back for more, you have no idea how good it feels to know that you still want to be entertained by this blog and remain a part of this community. I will continue this. I’ve been going through a lot of things, but you know, I’m ready for this again. I’m ready for more of The Wolf Den. As far as this premiere goes, I’m pretty happy with it, but it is a little bit underwhelming. I won’t say I’m disappointed because I’m so happy to see these characters again, but I’m hoping that they pick up the pace and put in some real oomph for the upcoming episodes. If you remember my react for the last three episodes of the first season, you’ll know how I felt about them, and you can understand my worry. If not, let me summarize. It didn’t end too great, and I worried for this second season. But, you should know that I’m extremely unbiased, so I’ll say this: I’m content. I’m ready for more. Watching the two episodes back to back makes the experience pretty memorable, so I’m pretty happy with this. This was a pretty good time, and I’ll be here to talk all about it with you wonderful people. But what did you think about this premiere? What did you think about this review? Let us know on Instagram and Twitter, make sure to follow so you stay up to date with our future entertainment news and reviews. That’s all from me, thank you so much for reading! This has been The Wolf Den!

1 & 2: 4 out of 5.