Clones are being phased out and it’s leading to some becoming believers of the Empire’s cause or end up going missing in episode seven of season two of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” The narrative shifts away from the Bad Batch and Crosshair and instead focuses on the politics that will lead to the creation of stormtroopers. We watch as a senator, amazingly not Baal Organa or Mon Mothma, tries to help clones who are becoming victims of the fallout of Order 66 in the ever growing Empire.

“The Clone Conspiracy” as its called puts Senator Chuchi, a throwback to the “The Clone Wars” series, in direct opposition to Admiral Rampart. Rampart is in favor of the new bill before the Senate which will lead to the recruitment of citizens to defend the Empire instead of clones. It sets up an interesting paradigm it appears like Sen. Chuchi is going toe-to-toe with the Emperor’s chosen representative for this bill. But the entire episode feels like it’s a setup that we will see a payoff for in a later episode given we know that citizens will eventually become storm troopers.

The animation style as the series shifts away from the planets the Bad Batch has been frequenting and to Coruscant is visceral. The once pristine, pretty planet is getting gritty. And the Senate is far from being a simple yes vote for anything the Emperor wants. For those of us who watched “Andor,” Mon Mothma was an outlier and a troublemaker. Here, Chuchi is seen as a principled representative who has people in her corner. The Empire has power at its disposal, but it’s not seemingly overpowerful yet.

While focusing too much on politics in “Star Wars” can lead to viewer backlash, see “The Phantom Menace,” when done correctly, it can be riveting television. That brings up a different issue for this show in particular. This is the second episode without the Bad Batch in it, and both of those episodes are two of the top three episodes of the season. Your show shouldn’t get better as a whole without its main characters involved.

Unlike the first season that felt like a “special guest of the week” style season, this season seems like it’s legitimately building toward a better goal. I like the potential, but there has to be better effort in the episodes where the Bad Batch appears.

Rating: 4 stars

What did you think of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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