#i will say i am bias about episodes that touch on imperial stuff lol

[heirtotheempire]

The Bad Batch S2 has honestly left much to be desired. I do not understand the people who claim filler does not exist, to me it does. There are absolutely episodes where a character arc (positive or negative) does not progress, where addition to a plot is absent. This may make sense in shows where each episode is a contained story such as in classic Saturday Morning Cartoons, but in a show that claims to be serialized such as TBB, it ends up looking lazy.

Episode 4 for example, titled Faster, is what I would call a good character arc episode. It does not include any overarching plot about the Empire or the Batch as a whole, but shines light onto Tech's attitude and pushes his character to do something he most likely wouldn't do otherwise. And, it even brings up possible issues with Cid, such as her rocky past and potential to hurt the team. The events aren't mentioned again, but it actually explores a handful of characters in a believable and fun way. The mini-arc Tech goes through will (hopefully) be retained. It matches the tone of the series without being too angsty or too wholesome.

Episode 3, The Solitary Clone, is a good story based episode. It dives into how the Empire is treating clones, and its shaky morals. The events that occur do impact future episodes and are mentioned again, because the plot adds to the overarching story about a post-Clone War world with Imperial rule crawling in.

Both these episodes are very very different, but actually contribute to the show and it's characters. While Faster could be labelled a filler episode since it doesn't include the same story themes The Solitary Clone does, I would argue that because of its character exploration, it is not filler.

What IS filler in my eyes, are episodes like number 6, Tribe. The Gungi appearance acts as a cameo, but does not do much other then give The Clone Wars (2008) fans a chance to point at him and go "LOOK ITS HIM" and be happy. A lot of Star Wars has become this, but is a lot more noticable in the live action series (did R5 really have to be the droid Mando picked up...). Cameos are not inherently bad, this is a story that spans many years after all. It only makes sense for characters from other shows to make an appearance. But what matters is how the cameo functions.

Star Wars Rebels has fantastic inclusions of The Clone Wars (2008) and Original Trilogy characters. They have Ahsoka present for a good chunk of the series, but not simply as a draw to get people to watch the show. It expands on her character, she has a duel with Vader, she functions as a teacher to Ezra, and most importantly we see her fight for the Rebellion, something that makes her appearance in Rebels make SENSE and add to her story in a thoughtful way. Similarly, Rex joins the cast as a disillusioned old man who needs to be convinced to join the Rebellion. But even after he does, he acts as a source of conflict for Kanan, which helps both characters with their own long-lasting emotions about Order 66. In short: their long-term roles within Rebels help progress the story and the character arcs the show wishes to portray without feeling invasive or like a gimmick.

Pivoting back to The Bad Batch, Gungi's cameo does none of this. We learn he's in trouble for being a Wookie, the team saves him, and then they fight some Imperial shenanigans on Kashyyyk. Gungi could have been any Wookie, hell he didnt even need to be a Jedi for the story to work. None of the characters other than Omega really 'connect' to the culture on Kashyyyk, theres no thoughtful arcs or progression in the overarching plot, the episode simply exists. Omega and Gungi's friendship is surface level and does not challenge or change anything about Omega, its purely there for the cute factor. And again, it did not even have to be Gungi for this to occur.

Ahsoka being the one to duel Anakin, the one to commit to the rebellion, thats something specific that actually means something for Ahsoka to be doing it. Gungi's story in Tribe is so generic it can be applied to any of the other Padawan children he was with in The Clone Wars if the writers felt like showcasing them instead. It does not mean much for Gungi to be the specific Padawan returning to his home. Perhaps, if the writers actually went into the effects it had on Gungi to return to a place that is theoretically his home, but is not where he grew up nor a place he has memories of... Then maybe it would actually matter that it was his story. He would not be interchangable anymore.

I don't think that enjoying the episode is a bad thing persay, but it is important to understand why some of us may be more critical about this season, or just about any Star Wars media in general. If I wanted to watch a show with no conflict, and everyone was happy and safe, then I would turn on some Cartoon Network show or whatever. Star Wars can be silly and goofy, and it absolutely fails when it takes itself too seriously, but there is a difference between that and just poor writing.

I really do love this show, but more for the potential it has to be great. Episodes such as The Clone Conspiracy, Truth and Consequences, and my personal favorite so far, The Outpost, showcase how fantastic the premise is, how interesting the material present can be. It's kind of a bummer watching thay go down the drain.