Directors: Kyle Dunlevy
Writers: Matt Michnovetz, Brent Friedman
Cast: Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter, Terrence ‘T.C’ Carson, Tom Kane, Matthew Wood

‘The Bad Batch’ Air Date: 21/02/2020
The Clone Wars: The Final Season is currently airing on Disney+

The Clone Wars is back! It feels really good to be able to write that and I’m very happy to report that not only is the premiere episode, The Bad Batch, everything I’ve missed about the show, but it also has improved drastically in the nearly ten-year period it has been off-air.

Now streaming on Disney+ for its final season, The Clone Wars is back after a sudden cancellation when Disney bought LucasFilm. However, The Bad Batch is a story that many fans will probably already know. When The Clone Wars was originally cancelled there were many episodes already in production and although some stories were eventually turned into books like Star Wars: Dark Disciple and comic books, there were some stories that were already well into production and could be watched in there unfinished glory, and this was one of those stories. The full story-arc was screened at Star Wars Celebration in 2016 and then the episodes were uploaded online sometime after. I watched them all years ago, and although I remember the general story-beats, there are some notable differences here — besides the finished quality to the episode.

We know that this final season is ultimately going to lead to Ahsoka and Maul coming together for their big battle, but the season is starting with the heart of The Clone Wars – the clones. And it’s a powerhouse performance from Dee Bradley Baker here who is nearly doing a one-man show.

Captain Rex and Commander Cody have a theory that the droids are somehow getting information about their attack formations since the droid army is countering their attacks so well. So, they team up with a brand new squad of clones to head behind enemy lines to infiltrate a base and find out the truth.

This new squad called ‘Clone Force 99’ refers to themselves as ‘The Bad Batch’ and they’re not your usual clones. They’re a mutated, unorthodox group and look like the cast of Predator with names to suit: Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Crosshair. They fit into perfect stereotypes of this type of 80’s one-man army group with one being the leader, another the tech, another the muscle and the last the silent assassin. And yes, I’ll have a Black Series figure of all of them.

Although the new squad is fantastic, and a real stretch for Dee Bradley Baker as their personalities are nothing like the clones he’s used to voicing, it’s Rex that’s the most exciting to see again. Here he’s feeling remorseful for all his lost friends and it hits hard considering we’re heading towards the end of the war in this final season and ultimately know how terribly it’s going to end.

The Clone Wars was always a beautifully animated show but production has improved a lot since the last time we’ve seen the show. The attention to detail is better than ever and the sligh scuffs and marks on every Clone Troopers armour is marvellous.

The direction is better than ever before as well with several highly visceral action scenes. One, in particular, makes the smart choice to not use any music and follow our troopers in one long take as they storm an enemy base in an intense shoot-out to make John Wick proud. The camera moves realistically through the environment and I was on the edge of my seat with excitement the entire scene. And when that music does show up in one of the final fights of the episode, it’s a massive reminder of just how underrated Kevin Kiner is when it comes to Star Wars music.

As a massive Ahsoka fan, I’m really excited to see her return, but I was in no way disappointed with The Bad Batch as the season premiere. The clones have always been just as integral characters in this show as any of the Jedi, and Rex and Cody are fan favourites in their own regards. Even knowing the general story beats for this episode from years ago I was just enamoured by being in my favourite era of Star Wars again and I can’t wait to keep watching The Clone Wars each week.

Watch The Clone Wars on Disney+