Star Wars: The Bad Batch‘s third and final season opened with an engaging pair of episodes, throwing viewers back into the Star Wars universe. Set after the critically acclaimed Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show, a childhood favorite of mine, the show follows the titular squad, the Bad Batch, a group of unique, “defective” clones who served as a special squadron during the Clone Wars. The setting of the show is certainly one of its strong points. Being defective clones, the batch feels out of place amidst the standardized, outwardly identical clone army. But as the republic is transformed into a totalitarian empire, the batch finds themselves fugitives after refusing to follow the brutal orders they are given, and they are forced to flee into the larger galaxy.
Amongst such an expansive and diverse galaxy, the members of the bad batch, who had once stood out so much due to their uniqueness, now are only singled out by their uniformity. In their minds and their appearances they are still soldiers trying to find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy when they know nothing but war. While at first glance the main protagonists have somewhat blunt characterizations, each member specialized in both ability and personality, the show has done a good job adding depth to the characters and their dynamics over time, allowing the characters to grow far beyond their initial appearance.
Across the first two seasons of the Bad Batch the crew made many friends and enemies, but the threat of the emergent empire looms ever present as it expands across the galaxy. While season 2’s finale seemed to be setting up a climactic battle between the bad batch and the empire, it quickly pulled the rug out from under viewers, with our hero’s plans being stopped before they could even begin, and the bad batch losing one of its key members. Going into season 3 it was clear that the empire was not a force that could be defeated, and the odds of the batch even surviving seemed slim. Early episodes in this final season reinforced this tone well, showing the commanding presence and reach of the empire, and the schemes and secret agenda of Hemlock, the main antagonist of the series. However, the last few episodes, while entertaining in their own right, have lacked the urgency and excitement that the season promised.
With episodes releasing every Wednesday up until the finale on May 1st, it falls upon this latch batch of episodes to tie the series together. Will the show end in a bang, building towards a climactic and emotional ending it’s been hinting at, or will it simply fizzle out, struggling to maintain direction as it reaches its end. Only time will tell, but as it stands, the show is very solid, with great voice acting, animation, music, and an engaging story that I hope can end in a satisfying way. I would definitely recommend the series if you are a fan of Star Wars or animated TV in general.