Annlyel James 
Annlyel examines the best episodes from The Bad Batch to reveal the rundown of her favorites. But which episode is THE BEST?
To think that The Bad Batch premiered on May the 4th is almost baffling. I’ve watched this show for so many weeks and whoa, it had been a rollercoaster ride. There were twists and turns, exhilarating ascents, and discomforting dips. But now we’ve finally reached the end and I am a bit relieved.
ENTHUSIASM
I am one of those Star Wars fans who continued to watch the series every week but I lost quite a bit of my enthusiasm about six weeks ago. The series was indeed entertaining at times. But more often than not the show felt like it was all over the place and that it didn’t have a steady notion of what it was as a story.
So, I’m going to break down the series into four groups of four episodes, ranking them from my least favorite to my favorite, and from my scores tallied by those groups, I will reach a conclusive evaluation of The Bad Batch‘s first season. Here we go.
My Four Least Favorite Episodes
Episode 13: Infested (C-)
Infested was a major deviation from the storyline, resulting in an episode so boring I still haven’t quite seen it all the way through.
Episode 10: Common Ground (C+)
Common Ground felt like a typical boring episode of The Clone Wars.
Episode 5: Rampage (B-)
The best thing about this episode was seeing Wrecker wrestling a baby Rancor.
Episode 7: Battle Scars (B)
I was so excited for the episode to arrive where Wrecker’s chip would malfunction. Unfortunately, what felt like the juiciest storyline during the first half of the season was resolved instantly and that was very disappointing.
The Next Batch of Least Favorite Episodes
Episode 2: Cut and Run (B+)
The second episode of The Bad Batch wasn’t great but I remember getting so invested in the story toward the end of the episode.
Episode 14: War Mantle (B+)
So we got to see Gregor. Okay. And Hunter almost died but he didn’t. Okay. I mean, the episode wasn’t terrible but it was far from the best either.
Episode 12: Rescue on Ryloth (B+)
While it wasn’t as good as some of the other episodes, Rescue on Ryloth is a good episode.
Episode 6: Decommissioned (A-)
First off, I loved seeing the Martez Sisters again in this episode. And Wrecker’s inhibitor chip problem gave me so much anxiety! This was an episode that left me pleased.
My First Batch of Favorite Episodes
Episode 4: Cornered (A-)
Anytime you have Fennec Shand in the situation the show gets better.
Episode 15: Return to Kamino (A-)
The best thing about this episode is the very end which made my eyes widen quite a bit. The imagery of the Kamino facility being bombarded by Imperial Star Destroyers is haunting.
Episode 16: Kamino Lost (A-)
A bit slow, the season finale managed to finally reconnect with the characters on a personal level while providing plenty of finale-level anxiety along the way. The final moments of the episode promise a better second season.
Episode 8: Reunion (A)
This episode had a lot of twists and turns. Were there a lot of convenient moments for The Bad Batch to find a way out of the sticky situation they were in? Yes, but it had plenty of enjoyable moments. And the Cad Bane reveal at the end was AMAZING!
My Four Favorite
Episode 11: Devil’s Deal (A)
Anxiety! That’s what this episode should’ve been called because that’s what it was. I loved seeing Hera and particularly Hera’s mother but the entire time I found myself wondering if this would be the episode detailing to us how she died. I was sweating I was so nervous.
Episode 3: Replacements (A)
This episode was just so interesting to me. Crosshair’s side of the story felt like such a great story and to see his ruthlessness in such a shocking way was awesome. I wish we could’ve gotten more time with Crosshair and his Death Squad before the latter half of the series.
Episode 9: Bounty Lost (A+)
I don’t think it’s a surprise that my second favorite episode would feature Cad Bane and Fennec Shand in one of the greatest hand-to-hand combat fights ever to be in Star Wars. I watched this episode twice, it was that enjoyable, and the hints at Snoke clones being created in that creepy lab was also something to remember.
Episode 1: Aftermath (A+)
The Bad Batch had its moments but the series never rekindled the epicness that is displayed so powerfully in the season’s first 75-minute premiere. This episode was the gift that just kept giving and I loved every second of it.
So, from that evaluation, it seems that my overall consensus of the series is…
DRUM ROLL!
A-
What are your favorite moments from the debut season? Are you excited for Season 2? Leave a comment in the section below. We’d love to hear from you.
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
