Star Wars: The Bad Batch is still searching for its reason to exist

Date:
Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:49:55 +0000

Description:
The Clone Wars spin-off is enjoyable enough, but it wont catch fire until it works out what it wants to be.

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Spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch follow.

Making spin-off TV shows is an unpredictable business. Joey was a
high-profile vehicle for one of the leads from sitcom phenomenon Friends ,
yet lasted just two seasons. Seattle-based Cheers follow-up Frasier, on the other hand, turned a supporting barfly into a superstar as the show went on
to run for 11 years ( a comeback is also in the offing ), and hoover up every award going.

Thats the trouble with spin-offs youre never quite sure which way theyre going to go and ten episodes into Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the jurys still out

Compared to the unconventional soldiers of Clone Force 99, even a Cheers-era Frasier Crane was a household name. Before The Bad Batch launched in May, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair and Echo had appeared in just one four-episode arc in The Clone Wars final season. As special guest stars go they were memorable enough, but they were more supporting players than
leading men.

Where The Clone Wars thrived on the fact it was built around small, 3- or 4-episode story arcs, often giving obscure heroes, villains and worlds a moment in the spotlight, The Bad Batch proves that carrying an entire show brings very different challenges. While the latest TV series from that galaxy far, far away undeniably shares DNA with The Mandalorian guys in cool armor become unlikely guardians to a kid with a secret (in this case, young clone Omega) this ensemble is yet to catch the imagination in the way Din Djarin and Grogu did from day one.

Part of the reason may be that these characters have only ever existed in heavily stylized animation, and dont quite feel human despite the admirable efforts of voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, who instils each Clone with his own unique personality. More importantly, however, theyre such an effective, capable unit of soldiers that they seem almost invulnerable, with moments of genuine peril conspicuous by their absence. How to watch the Star Wars movies in order The Book of Boba Fett : release date, cast, trailer and more Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus : everything you need to know Original Star Wars
trilogy bad guy Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin is on the Bad Batchs case. (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney) On the run

Thats not entirely Clone Force 99s fault, because The Bad Batch is yet to establish a threat or villain worthy of their talents. Former Bad Batcher-turned-Empire stooge Crosshair is currently the shows principal antagonist, yet his presence so far has been minimal, his attempts to apprehend the rogue Clones too easily thwarted.

One of the key themes of the show is that Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Echo are on the run, but with Imperial Forces doing a mediocre job of tracking them,
so far its hardly been The Fugitive(s). In fact, theyve spent half the season hanging out in Cids Parlor, an establishment with all the hallmarks of a wretched hive of scum and villainy, so it feels implausible that none of the clientele have shopped them into the Empire.

The Empire itself is also an issue. With the Clone Wars only just over, these are early days for Palpatines totalitarian regime, with the reinvention of
the Old Republic only just beginning. The presence of (future Grand Moff) Tarkin teases whats to come particularly when he lays the foundations for Clones being replaced by conscripted Stormtroopers but were yet to
understand how this loss of freedom is perceived across the galaxy. Has liberty died with thunderous applause as Padm Amidala suggested in Revenge of the Sith? Or will we see a major fightback from star systems whove had their freedom forcibly removed?

Perhaps the era itself is the problem. While the early days of the Empire are an untouched period in the Star Wars canon, ripe with storytelling potential, The Bad Batch may have inadvertently tapped into the reason you dont see many World War 2 movies set in 1946.

As politically interesting as this post-Clone Wars time period could be, the immediate danger has evaporated. In other words, its currently lacking the kind of all-powerful force of evil that traditionally makes Star Wars tick Resistances and Rebellions dont get the chance to produce memorable heroes until theyve got something huge to resist or rebel against.

The Bad Batch is set nearly two decades before the destruction of the first Death Star in A New Hope, and we know from Star Wars Rebels that the Rebel Alliance doesnt coalesce into anything meaningful until a few years before that. Thats a long time to wait for the first sizeable victory against the Empire, so what is The Bad Batch going to do in the meantime?

Its hard to believe the show can fill multiple seasons with the gang doing
odd jobs for Cid, and forming an unlikely family My Four Dads? with Omega. Bounty hunters: does The Bad Batch need their scum? (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney) New Star Wars movies and TV shows The Book of Boba Fett is coming before The Mandalorian season 3 When is The Mandalorian set in the
Star Wars timeline? Story (arc) troopers

That means the show needs to find a bigger story arc, and there have been several hints at what that could be. The Martez sisters (carried over from
the final season of The Clone Wars), for example, have been in contact with a mysterious figure we believe to be Bail Organa, Princess Leias adoptive
father and a pivotal figure in the formation of the Alliance.

The return of Captain Rex another Clone who survived the Emperors Jedi-exterminating Order 66 with his personality intact also suggests the Batch will have a role to play in kickstarting the fight back against the Empire.

Omega, meanwhile, isnt just some ordinary kid. Shes valuable enough to
attract the interest of bounty hunters Cad Bane and Fennec Shand , and also has major connections with Boba Fett where hes the male Alpha clone of Jango Fett, shes the female Omega model. Given Shands subsequent association with Boba Fett in The Mandalorian, it seems safe to assume that both she and Fett have a further part to play in The Bad Batch.

Particularly as Dave Filoni, the former Clone Wars and Rebels overlord whos now Lucasfilms Executive Creative Director, is the creator of Lucasfilms latest animated offering. Its impossible to believe that Filoni, a guy completely steeped in Star Wars lore, would dive into a new show without knowing exactly where its going and how it will tie into the movies, as well as upcoming TV shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett.

Will The Bad Batch be a Joey or a Frasier? Its too early to know for sure,
and theres no question the show desperately needs to lock down what it wants to be. But with Filoni involved, the smart money would definitely be on the latter.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch debut on Disney Plus every Friday.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/star-wars-the-bad-batch-is-still-searching-for- its-reason-to-exist/


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