The Batch’s second season has come to an end and it was an emotional one. I don’t think I’ve felt this way about a cartoon since the final season of Rebels. Anyone that says “cartoons are for kids” needs to spend some quality time with any of the Star Wars animated series, especially The Bad Batch and Rebels. I want to talk about it so here are some Batch Batch Season 2 final thoughts.
Spoilers Ahead!!!
Before discussing how the season ends, let’s go back to January when Season 2 began. There wasn’t an accurate indication as to how much time has passed since the end of Season 1. Omega appears older and her skills have improved. It wasn’t until the third episode with Crosshair that we get the impression it’s been about a year.
Lots of Filler
This season had a lot of frivolous filler episodes. Supposedly all of the extra characters and side stories will play a role sometime in the future. I expected it to be at the end of this season but that wasn’t the case. Speaking of the end of the season, while Disney or Lucasfilm have yet to announce a third season, there certainly is enough unresolved story to imply there will be another season. My guess is they will announce it at the Celebration this weekend and it will be the final season.
It is also really interesting to see how closely The Bad Batch Season 2 and The Mandalorian Season 3 parallel each other. Both series focus on the obsession Palpatine has with cloning. We can see this obsession starts all the way back to Order 66. Perhaps Palpatine did foresee his demise coming at the end of Return of the Jedi.
However, not all of the episodes were fluff. I love that they brought back Senator Riyo Chuchi and she now represents the clones in the Senate. It’s a great use of that character.
Developing The Batch’s Characters
Season 2 really focuses on Tech and Crosshair’s character development. We see a mutual understanding and bond forming between Tech and Omega. We also catch a glimpse of a budding romance between Phee and Tech. This makes Plan 99 that much more gut-wrenching.
Crosshair was so remorseless last season and his personality is much the same during the first half of this season. I was really surprised to see Crosshair’s character start showing compassion. The catalyst seemed to be when Cody went AWOL (which I really liked). Crosshair’s turn gives the Batch new hope, especially after the execution of Plan 99.
I don’t think Tech is gone. He is very resourceful, all of them are. He still has the grappling rifle that he could use to possibly reach one of the pylons holding up the railcar track. I suspect he survives the fall but is injured (thus the crushed goggles). Either he is recovering in a cave or he’s been captured by Dr. Hemlock.
There will be an episode in Season 3 that will show us how he survives. The writers spent too much time setting up this character to have him tragically die at the end.
What did you think of Season 2?
