Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Aftermath Review

TBB "Aftermath"

"The Clone War may have ended, but a Civil War is about to begin."

As The Clone Wars logo burns away into that of The Bad Batch (literalizing this show's status as a sequel/spinoff), we find ourselves once again in that rich time period during and around Revenge of the Sith, with Order 66 playing out across the galaxy. But Clone Squad 99 is immune to such slavish programming. The experimental special forces team of Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Echo were introduced in the final season of The Clone Wars and crucially for this show, they already have a successful group dynamic. The distinct personalities are fun to watch play off of each other, such as the running bit where Tech needles Wrecker about how he loves blowing stuff up just because he was programmed that way.

But it's not all banter and brotherhood, as there is conflict within the team. Crosshair is presented initially as the Raphael of the group, if you will, aggressively questioning Hunter's (read: Leonardo's) leadership. Eventually it's revealed that Crosshair's chip is slightly more receptive to Order 66, a vulnerability that the Empire and the Kaminoans exploit. I wish that the conflict was a genuine disagreement; this development quantifies Crosshair's dissension, making it literal and tech-based. But in any case, Crosshair is now an agent of the Empire, throwing a wrench in the team dynamic already.

The source of Hunter and Crosshair's argument is the former's inability to follow through on Order 66 and kill young Caleb Dume, padawan to Depa Billaba. In events that don't seem to comport with the incident as portrayed in the Kanan: The Last Padawan comic series, Hunter lets Caleb go on his fugitive way, to eventually take the new name Kanan Jarrus. (And Caleb is still voiced by Kanan actor Freddie Prinze Jr.!) 

The episode depicts the Bad Batch's rough transition from serving the Republic to questioning and abandoning the Empire. Their disillusionment is helped along by a token appearance from Saw Gerrera, voiced by original actor Andrew Kishino - this time with a bit of Forest Whitaker inflection in the performance. Of course, to be heroes in this show the Bad Batch must reject the Empire, and another motivating factor presents itself in the form of the girl Omega, who is another defective clone. By episode's end the Squad minus Crosshair spirits Omega away from Kamino (not before she shows a latent talent for sharpshooting herself), her first jump to lightspeed scored beautifully by Kevin Kiner.

Appearances from Admiral Tarkin, Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su, and someone who appears to be Taun We fill out further connections to the established canon. Not to mention an animated take on Palpatine's big Senate speech announcing the Empire (Ian McDiarmid is credited, and to my ears this doesn't sound like the exact audio from Revenge of the Sith). The most chilling moment of the episode comes when the "regular" clone troopers follow their previously dormant fascist programming and cheer Palpatine. The Bad Batch do well to reject all that. 7/10.

Stray observations:

- There's a new Disney+ Star Wars logo treatment, this time a helmet montage specific to the animated shows.

- More of Revenge of the Sith gets the official animated treatment, specifically General Grievous' escape from the Invisible Hand.

- Kiner busts out the Imperial March during Palpatine's big speech.

- Echo is described as "more machine than man", echoing (heh) Obi-Wan's description of Darth Vader as "more machine now than man" in Return of the Jedi.