
Hot on the heels of the superb Star Wars series, Andor, the animated Bad Batch season 2 lands on Disney plus, bringing with it plenty of action, political intrigue, and more than a little heart.
The show follows the exploits of Clone Force 99 otherwise known as The Bad Batch, the titular squad of specially trained clone troopers as they navigate life on the run in a galaxy under imperial rule. Having gone rogue they are essentially deserters, and in this season we see more of the toll having to look over your shoulder all the time takes on them.
Like Andor, and many other Star Wars projects lately, Bad Batch benefits from striking off on its own narrative tangent. Yes, it takes place in the Star Wars universe with the Force, hyperdrives, droids, and Jedi, but it also has nothing to do with the Skywalker saga at all. The galaxy far far away is, after all, a very big galaxy, and there’s plenty of room for other stories to breathe and take shape.
The writing, overall, is tight and engaging. While mostly episodic, with stories that begin and are wrapped up in the same episode, there are still some plotlines and themes that carry throughout the season. This adds some weight and seriousness, keeping Bad Batch from devolving into a simplistic monster-of-the-week show.

There are many facets to the show that lend it its charm and help it stand apart from its contemporary animations, Clone Wars and Rebels. It has more than enough military maneuvers, jargon and firefights for the action junkie. But there is however also a strong sense of family, as the members of the Bad Batch have with them a young clone girl named Omega.
Omega serves as the heart of the group, softening the hard edges of the battle hardened ex- soldiers. In fact her coming of age is a large part of the emotional hook of the show. While eager and cheerful, the realities of the oppression and tyranny inflicted by the Empire do have an effect on her, and molds her as she slowly grows into adulthood, and more and more into a full member of the Bad Batch.
The show also provides missing pieces to the overall picture, pieces fans have been asking about. What happened after the Order 66 was given? What became of the clones after the war? Why didn’t the senate push back against Emperor Palpatine?
Visually, you can tell they pulled out all the stops. Oftentimes in shows you can point to an episode that is sort of a rest episode, one that is less complicated than the rest and serves as sort of a break for the production team or a way to save money by simplifying the plot or settings or what have you.