Star Wars The Bad Batch Season 2 Premiere Recap and Review

Star Wars : The Bad Batch? season 2 premiered with two episodes on January 4! And we’ve got the detailed breakdown you’re looking for. Below, join us for a recap and review of?The Bad Batch’s? newest episodes: “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War.”

EPISODE 1: “SPOILS OF WAR” - Life’s a Beach

Season 2, episode 1 begins with?Clone Force 99? ?on a mission. But they’ve botched it a bit, and now they’re on the run from a colorful pod of killer oversized crabs. We know they’ll survive, but it’s still fun to watch them stumble. And it’s even more fun to watch Omega? swoop in to save the day. Taking an “unscheduled study break,” the kid hangs off the ship and shoots at her brothers’ pursuers with her efficient, handcrafted laser bow.

Using some luck and skill, our favorite defective?clone troopers? ?make it back to the Marauder??in one piece with their signature comedic beats and antics. It’s a fun opening that sets the tone for the overall series: a lot of action, but even more humor and heart.

Come Here Often?

Next, we return to familiar territory — with a few unfamiliar friends. AZI?, the little droid who helped Clone Force 99 escape Kamino?, is working at Cid’s? bar. Cid herself is hanging with a pirate named Phee?, who has brought valuable intel to the table. It’s certainly a nice setup, with the exact right amount of new and old for a season opener.

Count the Credits

If they accept it, the Bad Batch’s next mission is in the Outer Rim? at Castle Serenno?, the former home of Count Dooku?.?The Empire ?is currently in the process of pillaging the palace but Cid wants some of the treasure: an impressive war chest collected before and during the Clone Wars?.

Immediately,?Hunter? ?says no. He think it’s too risky. However, everybody else is ready to go after it so they can buy their freedom. After all, this isn’t just a typical mission — it’s one with a payout so good it could give Clone Force 99 the liberty to go anywhere in the galaxy without working another day. A lot more than a successful job is at stake here, then.

Why We Fight

Eventually, the team sways Hunter. His motivation for agreeing is a little selfish, though. He wants to take the cash and hide himself, his team, and their newfound “daughter” where the Empire can never find them.?Echo? ?believes they should be doing more for those who are suffering throughout the galaxy. He confronts Hunter about it, displaying that typical “Reg” altruism and strong moral backbone.

Unfortunately, Echo also mentions how Omega is the reason all of Clone Force 99 are in this position. While he doesn’t mean that she’s a burden or the cause of all their problems, Omega overhears and assumes the worst. She’s young, after all, and eavesdropping at that. But that conversation carries over into her overzealous resolve to retrieve the war chest.

Treasure Hunt

So Hunter, Omega,?Tech? , Echo, and?Wrecker? ?fly to Serenno. Here we run through some of the overarching themes of?Star Wars? as a whole. The clones criticize Dooku’s corruption and how he’s exploited the worlds he was meant to protect. That becomes abundantly clear as the viewers are treated to an incomprehensibly large treasure hoard.

Most everything has been packed up by the Empire, but the Bad Batch manages to sneak into a shipping container. Inside they discover gold and a bunch of crystals — not kyber?, but precious nonetheless. Of course, this is where the mission starts to go sideways. Echo, Tech, and Omega get trapped in the shipping container when it launches while Hunter and Wrecker are forced to retreat into the palace.

A Daring Escape

Left with no other option, Omega and Tech release all the cargo containers. They brace themselves inside as they hurtle toward the ground alongside 49 other metal boxes. How are they going to land? And where will they end up? We fade to black with these questions at the forefront of our minds.

EPISODE 2: “RUINS OF WAR”

Rough Landing

Luckily, we don’t have to wait long for the answers. Episode 2 gives us an immediate sigh of relief. The re-entry thrusters finally engage … but our heroic occupants can’t steer or control where they land. Additionally, a crate falls on Tech, breaking his left femur.

Meanwhile, Wrecker and Hunter work their way through the Serenno city ruins and natural landscape. In hot pursuit is Captain Wilco? — a “regular” clone trooper who is now contracted with the Empire. He’s good at his job, too. This spells trouble for all of our heroes.

Adapt to Survive

Omega’s group flees the container. Omega wants to go back for the spoils but it’s more of an escape and survive mission now. Such a development is upsetting for everybody involved, since the clones risked so much to get so little. At this point, the viewers and Omega alike are itching to get that treasure back, whatever the cost.

Before any second attempts, however, we gain a new ally. A Serenno native named Romar? takes them to his house. He explains he’s one of the survivors from the Imperial aerial bombardment who now lives on what’s left. Romar doesn’t gain their trust too easily, but he does gift Omega a kaleidoscope. In the most quotable part of the episode, Romar tells her, “It’s a toy that makes you happy, which is worth more than any jewel.”

Fixin’ for a Fight

Tech helps Romar recover an old art archive while Wrecker and Hunter make do with broken Separatist tanks. They aren’t functional, but their parts can be scavenged for some sweet weapons. The parallel is easy but enjoyable, as all parties recover and reinvent historical objects to serve them in the present.

The one person who can’t move on is Omega. She goes out on her own to find the war chest, and Tech and Echo follow. When all three are put in grave danger at the crash site, she must choose between the war chest or her life. Echo says, “You have to let it go.”?And Omega listens.

Sayonara Serenno

Romar sends Omega home with the kaleidoscope. He won’t leave his home planet, though. “I’m a survivor, remember?” he tells Tech. It’s a poignant and important moment. And we could be reading too much into it, but…

Is this perhaps a hint that the Bad Batch will construct a place for themselves back on Kamino? Not much is left of the factory they called home, but it would be an interesting development. Plus, this could be a good way to explain their absence in other?Star Wars?media without killing them all off at the end of?The Bad Batch.

What’s Next?

Returning from season 1 is our long-term antagonist Vice Admiral Rampart?. He kills Captain Wilco to keep Clone Force 99 out of the report. After all, it would be his career and life on the line if Grand Moff Tarkin? discovers his grave mistake. Thus Rampart is the only Imperial who knows the Bad Batch is still alive — besides?Crosshair? .

How will this play out? Is this more or less dangerous for our crew? All the moving pieces are sliding into place. The ending truly solidifies “Spoils of War” and “Ruins of War” as an awesome and narratively strong season premiere. We certainly can’t wait to see what happens next.

What did you think of?The Bad Batch’s?two-episode season 2 premiere? Share your thoughts with other fans in our?Let Your Spoiler Sideshow – Star Wars Facebook Group , and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!