After three seasons, The Bad Batch has wrapped up its run. The show has always been a bit of an odd fit in the Star Wars animated canon, as it always felt like a weird off-shoot of The Clone Wars, without carving out its own identity the way the Rebels did. After a truly excellent back half of the second season, this third season has had starts and stops before coming to an ending that felt more like a season finale than a series, even though this season was always intended as the final season. Let’s get into it.
1. “Clone Force 99 died with Tech”
Tech’s death at the end of season 2 was a truly tragic moment that, somehow, didn’t really get mentioned all that much in the subsequent 14 episodes. We see his glasses a few times, and there was a reference to ‘any friend of brown eyes,’ but everyone’s been internalizing their grief over their brother’s death. Crosshair, of all people, is the one to acknowledge that everything changed when Tech died, and in a way he’s right, even if the rest of the episode is specifically designed to tell us that he’s wrong.
Clone Force 99 was, I suppose, essentially led by Hunter, but whatever their new arrangement is feels more like Omega is the one calling the shots, even if she’s just a kid. Her decision to be captured kicked off the final piece of this story, and her leadership continued to color the rest of the season.
2. They rhyme
I think I’ve used this heading at least once for every Star Wars show I’ve reviewed, and I’m not stopping now.
This episode features the most allusions to Star Wars films that we’ve seen thus far. The pounding rain on Tantiss can’t help but remind you of Obi-Wan and Jango Fett dueling on Kamino. Grand Moff Tarkin says the words “Project Stardust,” even if the voice acting would lead you to forget what character was saying it.
But this episode also doubles down on something that has been hinted at or alluded to across Star Wars, which is that the Empire was never really run efficiently, even though they certainly ruled with an iron fist. But when a Sith is at the head, and there is a state of constant betrayal in the ranks, things will never really run well. The fact that Project Necromancer and Project Stardust couldn’t co-exist within the Empire is very silly.
3. Oh. The Zillo. Again
As my friend and podcast partner Matt texted me after watching the finale, “Someone has to be getting kickbacks from the Zillo beast. How is one of the dumbest things in Star Wars so majorly important?”
I know there’s not a lot on this bone as a discussion point, but why did we need this scene? Instead, we could’ve spent more time with Nala Se, who goes out like a badass, or even more time with Rampart or Hemlock in an attempt to get to know those characters and their motivations in deeper ways than just as mustache twirling bad guys. Hell, I’d even take more Emerie and the kids. Even just an extra few minutes with those characters would’ve done way more than another Zillo riff.
4. Missed opportunities
The final episode gave one mention of Senator Chuchi, so I felt somewhat vindicated in banging that drum all season, but the clones rights piece of the show was so effective last year, and it was just dropped like a hot potato this year. Similarly dropped was any mention of Cody after maybe the best episode of the series, also in season 2. Also dropped? Cid! Also not given a satisfying conclusion? Phee Genoa!
I know that you’re not going to get to everything, but so much of this season was spent on one-off missions without real connection to the overarching plot, and all of these things could’ve easily been given small moments.
5. The flash forward
The series ends with a now adult Omega speaking with old man Hunter about joining the Rebellion. This is not unexpected, and had a sweetness to it that a lot of Star Wars stories about joining the good fight have. I’m glad that the scene was just Omega and Hunter, even though I think old man Crosshair is infinitely more unknown and interesting, but the scene was allowed to be touching and short instead of needing to check in on all the clones.
Overall, the last season felt both too long and too short, and the finale lacked the gravitas that the series, at times, deserved.
Will be see adult Omega in future Star Wars stories? I would think so. Will we see the other clones again? It seems likely, but I don’t know. I sort of like leaving them to be old, broken down clones in some semblance of happiness. But that doesn’t seem very Star Wars, does it?
