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Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Bad Batch Season two episodes 1-5. Read with caution!

After waiting almost a year and a half the Bad Batch has finally returned to Disney+. The first episodes of season two started streaming January 4th, 2023. Fans were exhilarated to have a chance to see the Clone Force 99 again. Many fans are excited to see if this new season will somehow manage to be better than the first season, although the bar is set pretty high. 

Spoils of War

The first episode definitely started out strong and jumped straight into things. We start out, and see that the Bad Batch has updated their team color, and in some cases, the design of their armor. It seems that they are separating themselves from the people they used to be even more. It’s a huge step forward for them as we see how much space they’re trying to put between themselves and clones that now serve the Empire. Clone Force 99 aren’t the only ones who have changed. Omega is visibly older in this season as well. Although we don’t know how much time has passed between now and season one, it’s evident it didn’t pick up right where we left off. 

We aren’t just thrown into a completely new situation however. They made sure to keep some familiar things. One of them was the mention, and later visit, of the planet Serenno. This is the planet that Count Dooku lived on and it was the heart of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (aka the Separatist Alliance). It’s not just Serenno from the clone wars, however, we also get a chance to see the familiar clone troopers. Obviously they now are with the Empire, but they’re still clones and not what will become the Stormtroopers.

I don’t want to reveal too much about everything, but I thought this was a great start to the season. I thought that it kept the viewers on the edge of their seats the entire time. Not to mention there was a good balance of comedy and seriousness. Each of the characters also all got a fair amount of screentime. And the animation was beautiful and the backgrounds almost seemed lifelike. Because of all of that, I would definitely give this episode a 10/10. 

Ruins of War

The second episode picks up right where the previous one left off. The group is still on Serreno and still struggling to escape the Empire. Despite the fact that the Empire has been around for a bit, we still see ships that were used in the clone wars. It was nice to have things that are still familiar and connected to the prequel era. It also puts into perspective just how slow the transition between the Republic and Empire is. 

As the episode progresses, the batch meets an old citizen of Serreno. From there, they come to the realization that the people they considered the enemy were still real people with real lives. It’s always interesting to see how characters grow by understanding that everyone they encounter is a person and not just a friend or foe. 

This episode was just as suspenseful as the previous. Through it all there were so many good moments that helped paint the characters to be more like real people. I especially enjoyed the meaningful conversations that were held and the family dynamic. My rating would have to be 9/10. The rating would have been 10/10, but the very ending of the episode threw something intense at us that made me dock a point. I don’t want to say too much, so let’s just say that my heart cannot handle a character death so early on. 

The Solitary Clone

Episode three differs slightly from the first two episodes. Instead of following the Bad Batch, we get an episode to see what Crosshair has been up to. Last we saw him he was stranded on Kamino, but at the beginning of the episode we see that he is on Coruscant. It’s revealed that he was on Kamino for about 32 rotations which translates roughly to 32 days. Everything starts with Crosshair being called by Admiral Rampart to go on a mission to save an officer that had been taken hostage. Crosshair is accompanying perhaps the most well known clone trooper, Commander Cody. 

Before the Bad Batch the last thing we saw Cody do (canonically) was execute Order 66. When we see him in the show he doesn’t seem much different except he changed the gold on his armor to gray and he seems a lot sadder. 

On the mission Cody and Crosshair encounter Battle Droids which confuse them since all battle droids were shut down at the end of the clone wars, or so they thought. The team quickly works past all the droids and saves the officer. However, when he is commanded to kill the kidnapper he hesitates, attempting to reason that it’s not right to kill the person. Crosshair ends up going through with the order and before we know it the two are back on Coruscant. Cody then asks Crosshair if he thinks the Empire is really doing good. Crosshair tells him it doesn’t matter and that they’re soldiers who are just meant to follow orders. Cody responds with “…you know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions. Our own choices. And we have to live with them too.” And then he walks away. It is then revealed in the next scene that Cody ended up going AWOL and nobody knows where he is. 

Honestly this is probably my favorite episode so far. Seeing Commander Cody again was absolutely amazing because he has always been one of my favorites. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear that Commander Cody is not only aware of what happened with Obi-Wan, but blames himself for it as well. A lot of emotions were definitely stirred up in all the scenes where that was apparent. Overall, I just loved this episode and would definitely give it a 10/10 if not higher. 

Faster

Episode four was definitely a nice change of pace compared to the previous three episodes. This was a more lighthearted episode and was a wonderful breath of fresh air. This episode only had Tech, Wrecker, Omega, and Cid, but it worked very well with the plot of the episode. The episode itself was nothing super intense, it was basically Mario Kart meets Bad Batch which I very much enjoyed watching. It was really nice to see an episode that we really focused on Tech which was great because in season one we didn’t really get to see a lot of him. 

Apart from Tech being really cool when it comes to racing, it was nice to get some more background for Cid. All we knew of Cid was she was a good source for the Jedi getting underground intelligence. Now we’re learning that she possibly had more of a sketchy past than the Bad Batch was aware of. Although no specifics were given, an old friend of Cid warns the Tech, Wrecker, and Omega to watch their back because Cid isn’t as loyal as they think. It’s definitely something that might be very promising in the future. 

Although this episode was a more lighthearted one, it was really very enjoyable. My favorite part about it was that a droid named Tey-0 was voiced by Ben Schwartz aka the same guy who voiced Sonic the Hedgehog in the Sonic Movie. I thought that was very humorous. The rating I would give this episode is 8.5/10. This was definitely a great episode and one that I will be watching again, if anything but for how light hearted it was. 

Entombed

Episode five was another lighthearted episode. The episode was basically Indiana Jones meets the Bad Batch, so the plot of it was nothing super heavy like the first three episodes. When Omega discovers a compass, the Bad Batch and a pirate, that we met in the first episode of the season, named Phee decide to see if they can find the treasurer the compass leads to. They travel to a planet that seems to have long been abandoned and they make their way to a cave that very much reminded me of something you would see in something like Indiana Jones. 

Much like the previous episode there really isn’t a lot to be said, however the episode revealed more of the Bad Batch’s bond which is always enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed watching Echo and Hunter act like the exhausted parents of the group who just want a nap. It was also fun to see Omega have such a fun time treasure hunting. The concept of the episode was also one of my favorites. I am such a sucker for story lines with treasure hunting. Do I wish the episode had Cody or Rex or have something to move the plot along? Absolutely, but I’m also trying to enjoy the lighthearted episodes while I can because I know the heartbreaking ones are just on the horizon. Overall I would give this episode a 9/10 rating. I can imagine a lot of people not enjoying this episode as much, but like I said I’m a sucker for the treasure hunting story lines. 

Overall, there are going to be 16 episodes in this season, and if the first five episodes say anything this season is going to be phenomenal. Although I’m sure we’re all anxiously waiting to see characters like Rex again, these more mellow episodes were really nice. They’re the calm before the emotional storm. Anyway, there are episodes every Wednesday and while we wait may the force be with you!