Ready for the Bad Batch

(Guest Post by Ben)

I’ve watched every season of The Clone Wars, every season of Rebels, and…well, I’m struggling to get through the first season of Resistance. But I love The Clone Wars and Rebels. The storylines grew into something much deeper than I thought would happen, especially for cartoons. My wife isn’t at all interested in Season 8 of The Clone Wars the inaugural airing of Star Wars: The Bad Batch—but that’s because she hasn’t yet binged the Clone Wars series and doesn’t understand the weight they lend to the entire Star Wars saga.

Speaking of The Bad Batch, I’m just as excited for its launch as I was for The Mandalorian, WandaVision, and other Disney+ shows that have been coming out. As with all of these shows—especially the Star Wars shows—I have some things I’d love to see.

1. Cameos

I love fan service…when it’s done right. Well, even when it’s not, I still appreciate it. So the first thing I want in The Bad Batch is cameos. I don’t know much about the timeline of this show, but I believe it takes place right after Order 66. As such, there are some characters that could play an important role in the series.

• Hera Syndulla
• Sabine Wren
• Captain Rex (one of my personal favorites)
• Fenn Rau
• Hando Ohnaka
• Darth Maul

Obviously, there could be a host of other cameos or name drops, but these are some favorites from the Clone Wars and Rebels series I’ve love to see play a part in The Bad Batch.

2. More Order 66 (May Contain Spoilers)

While I don’t think it’s advisable to explain absolutely everything in-universe, I find Order 66 to be incredibly interesting, especially from the arc that took place in The Clone Wars when the chip was discovered in the clones’ brains. In particular, the final season of The Clone Wars was a wild romp and, quite honestly, some of the best Star Wars I’ve experienced.

I want to see the moral struggles that come with Order 66. I want to see the catastrophic events Order 66 causes. And, as much as it pains me, I want to see more clone betrayal. I love the clones—each individual one (because they are individuals)—and it really does hurt the heart to see them turn on what the people they fought alongside for so long. As a related tangent, I think the scene in Revenge of the Sith is much more emotional after watch the Clone Wars series than it is as a standalone scene in the prequel trilogy. The clones were loyal, strong, and true (and some, like Rex, even wore the white and blue). So to see them turn was—and always is—painful.

Tangent aside, I think there is a lot to explore in the aftermath of Order 66, and with Dave Filoni at the helm, I think we could get into some deep issues.

3. The 501st

Since forever, I’ve known the 501st Legion to be one of the hardest, most fearsome force in any Star War. Lore has it that Vader’s Fist—otherwise known as the 501st—was made up of the best clones following Order 66. 

I. Need. This.

Now, obviously they were phased out before Star Wars: The Motion Picture (otherwise Vader’s capture of the Tantive IV would have been flawless and there would have been no story), but in their prime? That’s gotta be some crazy stuff. And I want to see it. I want to see how far they fell, but I also want to see their struggle. I want them to be perceived as human, and not just robotic soldiers, which is what the Republic basically used them as. I want depth of character from the clones that turned. I want them to ask questions, and I want the director to really dig deep into the human psyche that would be involved in such an event.

In the end, there is a ton I would love to see in The Bad Batch. But, in the end, there is only so much time for so much content. While there is a vast list of potentials, I think I’ll be pretty happy with whatever they throw at me. That’s not to say that I’m a brainless animal graciously accepting scraps thrown to it, but I do love Star Wars, I love exploring the universe, and I love many of the characters related to the clones.

In all, I think The Bad Batch has great potential. If you’ve watched through Season 7 of The Clone Wars, you’ll know what I mean. There’s a lot to talk about in this era, and a lot to digest. Dave Filoni has proved himself as a creator I can trust in this universe, and I’m excited to see what he has in store as he produces Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

You can follow Ben on social media (Twitter and Instagram).