It’s finally here, the two-part season finale of The Bad Batch. It’s been a bumpy road to get here, with some ups, some downs, and some episodes that put me to sleep. However, these last two episodes will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you wanting more. Episodes 15 and 16 keep the momentum from episodes 12, 13, and 14, getting me more into the story than ever before. These episodes serve as an exciting end to season 2 and are some of the best of the series.
The first episode of this two-part finale is titled “The Summit.” After the Batch learns about Crosshairs’ predicament, they all agree to try and save him. The only problem is they have no idea where he is. Echo comes up with a plan, tracking the head scientist back to his base. They travel to an Imperial summit to plant a tracker on his ship. After an infiltration that would make anyone scared of heights squirm, they get into the base and plant the tracker.
It’s not all easy. Some rather extreme rebels are there as well, and they plan to blow up the base. What’s the point of blowing up an Imperial summit (besides the obvious-kill the bad guys)? It’s because a bunch of imperial leadership is there, including Tarkin, Hemlock, and Krennic (I love all these random cameos in these shows). Anyway, the extremist rebels blow up the base, which leads to an impromptu escape by the Batch. Their escape route loses power, however, and the Batch is stuck on a train with no ground in sight.
You don’t have to wait long to see what happened because Episode 16, “Plan 99”, picks up immediately. After a botched escape attempt, The Batch tries to get their train moving again. Tech has the bright idea of climbing on top of the train to restart the power (this can only end well). After some expert tightrope walking, Tech gets the train moving again. Unfortunately, the explosions didn’t kill any of the Imperial officers, who then ordered ships to blow up the train. Long story short, Tech sacrifices himself for the rest of the squad (I don’t think he’s dead, we never saw the body).
The train is then on a collision course with the end of the line, and the train derails. The Batch barely makes it out alive, and they return to Ord Mantell for medical help. Once they arrive there, the Batch thinks they’re safe, but that slimeball Cid sold them out (I knew she was sketchy from the start). Hemlock shows up for Omega, holding Hunter and Wrecker hostage. Hemlock eventually captures Omega while the rest of the Batch escape. Omega is taken to the same mad scientist facility as Crosshair, and it looks like she’ll be stuck there for a hot minute.
Season 2 of The Bad Batch was a mixed bag. For every episode that got me excited, there were two that left me nodding off. I understand what they’re going for, the feel of the original Clone Wars series. The adventure of the week format worked well for an anthology series, but for a series telling a singular story, not so much. The episodes focusing on Crosshair, or advancing the overall plot, were excellent. To be fair, some of the one-off adventures were entertaining. But those random episodes could’ve been used to flush out the story instead of whacky hijinks.
On the production side of things, the animation, music, and voice acting were consistently superb. Dee Bradley Baker continues to nail it as the clones and the rest of the cast also do amazing jobs. Having the odd guest star, such as Aleks Le, helped me through some of the more random episodes. The animation is getting better and better with each new show. The characters look much more detailed, and the movements are less jarring. I guess that’s what happens when you have close to 15 years to perfect the style. The music also had that classic Star Wars feel throughout, which is expected but great, nonetheless.
The Bad Batch Season 2 was an enjoyable ride, all things considered. While I found myself bored with the adventure of the week format, when the story got rolling, it was exhilarating. The consistently amazing production quality also helped with this. The series was a joy to look at. I was hoping that we’d get some resolution for at least one of the story arcs in these final episodes. But with that cliffhanger ending and Star Wars Celebration right around the corner, I’d bet that a season 3 announcement is inevitable. Let’s just hope it’s more plot and character development and less adventure of the week.
Did you watch season 2 of The Bad Batch? What did you think about it? Are you excited for a potential season 3? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about how Tech is probably still alive.
