Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1 (2021) Review 

Yes I watched the finale of The Bad Batch on Friday but I have had a busy few days so haven't had a chance to review it but now is the time and here is my review for the first season of The Bad Batch. The premise of the show experiences the journey of Clone Force 99 as they try to find their place in the new Galactic Empire. 

Main Character

The Bad Batch has a large cast but clearly the main two characters are that of Hunter and Omega. Hunter is really established as the leader of the group and it is really interesting to see his progression from when we met him in The Clone Wars to this show. Omega is a character introduced and she is the new presence amongst the group and she is a really fun addition to the crew and there is so much intrigue towards her and why exactly she is involved with the team. 

Supporting Characters

Credit has to go to Dee Bradley Baker who has to voice all of The Bad Batch and other clones that appear and that must be a mammoth job for him. Onto Crosshair, he is easily the best part of the show and I loved how his character contrasted with the rest of the the team and how it really gave an insight into the mindset from The Republic into The Empire. Tech, Wrecker and Echo are all back from The Clone Wars and they are all fun, they aren't as complete characters as the others but they fit in well amongst the team and it is fun to watch them together. There are also some really fun cameos on the show which I won't spoil, with the timeline of the show it allows the chance to bridge the gap between the events of Clone Wars and Rebels. 

Story 

The story starts off really strong and does a good job in showing how the galaxy and the main characters have to deal with the transition from The Galactic Republic to The Galactic Empire. Like the characters of Hunter, Omega and Crosshair are given fantastic development throughout the show but others are bit neglected especially when there is so much time. That is the main issue, there are way too many filler episodes which do very little for the plot, this has always been an issue with the animated Star Wars shows but this is a big issue here, with a pretty lacklustre finale topping it all off. 

Script

The script is okay, it does well with some of the drama and the humour building a decent family bond between the members of the Bad Batch. But sometimes it does get stuck in between both of these ideas and doesn't quite hit the quality that something like the final season of The Clone Wars did. 

Style 

The show looks great, the animation is at its strongest here and the action flows incredibly well with some really great set pieces. Though there is one clear problem which is the pacing of the show, this could have been a fantastic 10 episode season but there is 16 episodes and that is a huge issue with way too many filler episodes that when you watch weekly becomes a real slog. 

Overall

Overall, The Bad Batch is a good first season of the show. The animation has never been better and there are interesting bits of lore added but there are just way too many episodes and hopefully they do a shortened second season. 

Rating - 7/10