IR TV Review: STAR WARS - THE BAD BATCH - EPISODES 6 & 7 (“The Clone Conspiracy” & “Truth & Consequences”) [Lucasfilm/Disney+-S2]
The greater mythology of the Star Wars universe always tends to come in at the most interesting times. The finale of Season 1 of "The Bad Batch" undeniably showed that but the deeper seeded context of the Clone issue is brought to bear in Episodes 6 & 7 of Season 2 entitled "The Clone Conspiracy" and "Truth & Consequences". After some character episodes, the center of the series shifts back to Coruscant where the context of creating the new military in the form of conscripted Stormtroopers forces a reckoning of what to do with the Clones. The undercurrent of Order 66, which seems to still be a well guarded secret, allows the Emperor to bend the Senate to his will, even as a hungry young senator starts to uncover what is going on.
What is interesting is of course is the moral context and conflict that many of the clones have after the fact despite being under orders. The Bad Batch was able to avoid that in many ways, and yet they are the pariahs, always out of reach. There are forces working to help, including a well-placed ally but the powers that be can only do so much. Even Rex is trying his best to put things right but of course as we see in "Rebels" later, it is hard to battle such a large scale behemouth like The Empire without adequate planning and political preparation (which of course, "Andor" speaks to as well).
The Bad Batch is of course drawn back into the inner sanctum of the conflict against their better judgement but that is likely unavoidable. Of course it is interesting to see Omega take a bit of ownership in what happens, embracing her own cloneness. What is also intriguing is that the senator sounds an awfully lot like her. The coincidence is a bit close so there might be meaning. One of the best aspects of both these episodes (specifically later in Episode 7) is when the troopers use strategy to take a would-be stronghold and then improvise their way out. The best use of that was an episode featuring Crosshair earlier this season. As the threaded two parter comes to a close, a new path in one way is forged though the overall goal is still not changed: run silent but still deadly. B+
By Tim Wassberg
