'Star Wars: Clone Wars' Season 7, Episode 1 Review: 'The Bad Batch' brings fascinating new clones to the canon
Spoiler alert for 'The Bad Batch' - Episode 1 of Season 7 of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' is back, and it's hit the ground running with its proper release of 'The Bad Batch' - the unfinished Season 7 premiere that was meant to air years ago before the show was canceled. Now finished, aired, and kicking off the new season with a bang, the off-brand mutated team of Clone Force 99 is introduced in an episode that is the beginning of the end in more ways than one.
The battle on Anaxes continues in full swing, and it's not going well for the Republic. The separatist droid army has been analyzing the strategies of the Clone Army and adjusting accordingly. Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) has a plan — to assemble a team that can go behind enemy lines and takes out the droid's intelligence at their source. There's only one team that's best suited for the job — the highly specialized, specifically mutated clones of Clone Force 99: The Bad Batch.
While the series has had many clone characters establishing their own identities, the 'Bad Batch' takes it up a notch. Each of its members is visually and tonally distinct. This is especially impressive given that they're all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who must have been feeling pretty lonely in the recording booth for this episode.
The season opens strong, with reminders of everything that made the show so good, to begin with. Well thought out, long-game plotlines, strong humanizing moments from unexpected avenues, clever, cool, and badass action to an orchestral score worthy of a big-budget movie.
With the muddled responses to the most recent 'Star Wars' movies, this show makes the franchise feel important again. Its visuals are stunning, especially during the action scenes - 'The Clone Wars' is a hypnotic viewing experience. The specific war aesthetic of the 'Star Wars' prequels is unique, and the show exemplifies that setting. It's got its light moments of humour, still working as an animated series despite its very mature themes and intricate storylines.
'The Bad Batch' is a wonderful return to a series that's been too long off the air, and it's a welcome return. Between this series, and 'The Mandalorian,' it's comforting to know that the 'Star Wars' franchise is still capable of excellent and varied storytelling.
The next episode of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' airs February 28, on Disney+.