Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Animation – Streaming – TV Series 2021, Disney+

It was only last year that I actually watched the infamous Clone Wars and Rebels animated episodes, as I’m not necessarily a fan of this animation style – or the prequels. My first impression of it was “mindless massacres” using various cannon fodder, battle androids as well as clones. Which I found nauseating on several levels…
Well, then I realized that there are really good stories and “adult” themes in the later Clone War seasons – e.g. with the “Bad Batch” clones. And Rebels is indeed an entertaining series. So of course I had to check out The Bad Batch right away, especially since there are some people behind it who were involved in the making of The Mandalorian. 

About the content: The ‘Bad Batch’ of elite and experimental clones make their way through an ever-changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars. The creators here: Jennifer Corbett, Dave Filoni. The voice actors for the main characters are: Dee Bradley Baker as several Clone Troopers, Michelle Ang as Omega, Ness Bautista as the main droid ES-03, and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Caleb Dume. And I do love all those cameos from several Star Wars veterans like Saw Gerrera (played by Andrew Kishino) and Admiral Tarkin (Stephan Stanton). More are in store, including Fennec Shand (from The Mandalorian), again played by Ming Na Wen.

After three episodes I can confirm that this series is indeed as high-quality as the abovementioned seasons. The whole thing has less science fiction and more war movie feeling, see for example “Platoon”. Which also means that this animated series has a rather “adult” storyline, but politely fades out scenes of carnage so as not to shock the kids too much. Numerous twists and cameos keep you hooked, therefore I’m already looking forward to the next episode.

And although this series also has a Space Western feel – keeping up with Mandalorian, nope, there’s no Baby Yoda 🙂