Crosshair has fully signed up to join the Empire and has been personally selected by Commander Cody to serve as part of his regimen in episode three of season two “Star Wars: The Bad Batch.” After helping the rest of the Bad Batch escape, Crosshair turned himself over to the Empire. He has had his inhibitor chip removed and can fully make decisions about right and wrong. Meanwhile, Commander Cody makes his return and we find out what happens as he tries to find a peaceful resolution and starts questioning his superiors.

This is easily my favorite episode of this series to date. A lot of season one felt like a plug and play with Dave Filoni’s favorite characters. While it made for fun cameos, it took away from the show a bit. In contrast, this one completely follows the outcast of the Bad Batch as he continues along his solo path. Crosshair seems to be all in on the Empire. He witnesses Cody’s entire negotiation with a system’s Governor in the hopes of a peaceful resolution. He follows Cody until the original Imperial officer sent to the system demands they kill the Governor. It’s here where Cody continues to argue for peace while Crosshair fires his weapon. As Crosshair has more free will than most clones, it’s clear that he believes in the Empire’s mission. That should make his next meeting with the Bad Batch more interesting.

The major problem with “The Bad Batch” is a similar problem to “The Book of Boba Fett.” The best episode of “The Bad Batch,” at least for me, doesn’t really feature the Bad Batch, much like how the best episodes of “The Book of Boba Fett” were the ones that focused on the Mandalorian and mostly, if not completely, ignored Boba Fett. When your show is improved by the absence of your main character or characters, that’s not good storytelling and plot development. As it’s early in the season, there’s still plenty of room for improvement, but the storytelling needs to improve, especially since we’re in a second season.

Rating: 4 stars

What did you think of this latest episode 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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