Review | Star Wars The Bad Batch (Episode 2: Cut And Run)

The second episode of The Bad Batch delivers world-building on a grand scale and throws in some callbacks to other entries in the saga!

It’s Friday and now it’s The Bad Batch day! This week we are getting a second episode and it’s entitled ‘Cut and Run.’

The Empire

I love the continuity in Star Wars material at establishing the early days of the Empire and showing us that right away, it is a dictatorship. Little by little, we are seeing the early Imperial aesthetic being installed throughout the galaxy. So it’s important to re-use designs from different stories. We see some parking for ships that the Empire confiscates in this episode. And the design of the security post is a re-use from Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The Bad Batch Aftermath

Right from the start, the animated series has done an incredible job at worldbuilding and expanding on what the movies had barely touched upon. This one is no exception. The Bad Batch does a great job at setting up the early days of the Empire.

Storytelling

This show is very different from The Clone Wars in terms of scale. The Clone Wars focused on the stories happening during the war so it had to be on a bigger scale. Here, we get the story of a group of clones who are trying to find their way in the galaxy ruled by the Empire. So the smaller-scale works for this. It allows focusing on these characters while also giving us a sense of what’s happening across the galaxy.

The Bad Batch Aftermath

The second episode continues the story that started in the first episode. In that way, it feels closer to how Star Wars: Rebels worked in the second half of its final season. With each episode, you get a self-contained adventure but the main story builds off from the previous episode. At least, having watched the first two episodes back to back, it feels like they are using a serial type of storytelling.

The Bad Batch Aftermath

I think the serial works perfectly for this type of show. Indeed, it’s a story in which the characters have to adapt to a new world order. It feels natural to follow them that way as we see Omega trying to find her place in the team and Hunter having to make decisions to protect them from the Empire.

Cast & Crew

I want to mention Dee Bradley Baker. He does an impressive job as the leading voice actor of this series. He did great at voicing the clones in The Clone Wars. But voicing 5 of the main characters of a series, it’s on another level. He’s constantly talking to himself and he does it beautifully!

The Bad Batch Aftermath

Matt Michnovetz is the story editor of the series. He wrote with Brent Friedman the first arc for these characters in The Clone Wars. Matt also wrote a second arc for The Bad Batch, one that was left unfinished in terms of animation. I’m still hopeful we’ll see it in some form one day. Anyway, it’s good to see Matt still has input on these characters. He’s a great screenwriter!

Kevin Kiner is also back, continuing the tradition of Star Wars animation! His score is good as usual!