The Bad Batch

I've been a pretty big fan of Clone Wars for a long time, and I've been DYING for Clone Wars to come back for SO LONG. I was a little afraid that this first episode of the least essential of the three story arcs we'll get this season would be a bit underwhelming, but boy was I wrong. This was the best starter to a season this show has ever had, and if the season starts out this strong, I have so much hope for whats to come. We get to see more of Rex, one of the best Star Wars characters ever, as well as a bunch of new clones that I already like a lot, with a super fun story. The realism of the war continues to work, the action scenes are super entertaining, and a revelation that made my jaw drop and will wake me up super early next Friday to see how this story is going to continue. Its amazing how much story they can put into 22 minutes and still not make it feel rushed. Highly recommended to any fan of The Clone Wars, and I highly recommend the show to anyone who hasn't yet seen it.

The season begins with The Bad Batch, which has Rex and Cody enlisting the assistance of Clone Force 99 to recover the Republic's strategy algorithm from Admiral Trench. Clone Force 99 is an unorthodox but elite squad of defective clones who are also known as the Bad Batch - hence the episodes title. The squads name is also a touching tribute to 99 who was introduced and subsequently died defending Kamino in the first two episodes of season 3. The Bad Batch is a very solid return for The Clone Wars. The episode gives us plenty of action and avoids being derivative of previous episodes, which Disney has struggled with in its big budget films so far. The big reveal at the end of the episode, which is considered a possibility throughout but finally confirmed, is definitely intriguing. I can't wait until next weeks episode, which will further explore this idea. I'm also keen to see more of Clone Force 99 who are just as intriguing on their own - could there be a spinoff movie about their adventures?

After watching all 6 previous seasons and thinking they were excellent, way better than the movies, I was really looking forward to season 7, and it did not disappoint. For me Rex will always be one of the main and best characters in all of the star wars franchise and it was great to see season 7 kick off with a story all about Rex. Can't wait for the next episode.

Finally! This is the Disney+ content that I've been waiting for. A lot was riding on the back of this return, but I have to say that I thoroughly believe that the nailed it with this first episode. The animation has reached such a delicate level, and it seems way more fluent this time around. The cinematography has been improved a whole lot and through that, they were able to craft some truly magnificent action sequences in this episode. I think it was a smart move to start out with a clone-centric episode as that has always been the heart of the show and we have it to thank for giving the clone troopers more personality. Clone Force 99 was a nice addition, but I did feel like they were a bit superhuman at times, which their "mutations" almost seemingly turning them into beings with superpowers. Other than that, this return was everything that I could have hoped for, and it sets up an interesting arc for the first few episodes of the season, and I'm truly excited to see what Dave Filoni and the amazing creators behind this has in store for us, because I believe it is going to be a great addition to the legacy of this great show.

I've been so hyped for this and it did not disappoint. 10/10 easy