Commentary: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Suggests It Is Okay To Give Up The Fight
by Frank Martin
It would probably surprise no one to learn that Star Wars is all about war. It’s not just a word in a title. There’s always some sort of larger conflict looming either in the background or the foreground driving the story forward. Because of this, the characters within the universe feel a constant need to battle. There’s a struggle between good and evil that seems to never end. But besides being a plot-heavy series, Star Wars also has some very heavy characterization. These characters have different relationships with war and their place in it. And in the series finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the story taught us that it’s okay to give up the fight.
More so than any other story in Star Wars, The Bad Batch was all about the clone army. They were created for one specific purpose: to fight the Separatists. Once that war was over, the clones didn’t really have a place in a galaxy that wasn’t at war in the standard sense. The Empire’s growing authoritarian rule tried to utilize the clones, but they kept running into problems as the clones were soldiers and not stormtroopers. As the series ended, Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker) and Omega (Michelle Ang) freed a lot of the imprisoned clones who wouldn’t go along with the Empire’s orders. From there, the clones had to decide for themselves how to live a life now that they were free.
Even though the finale was the end of The Bad Batch, it was by no means the end of the story. Any Star Wars fan knows that the struggle against the Empire gradually built over time. Many clones continued to fight against the Empire and would eventually join the Rebel Alliance. But that’s not what Hunter chose to do. Omega was essential for the Emperor’s plans, and he wouldn’t give up searching for her so easily. So the two of them remained in hiding, opting not to fight against the Empire like some of their brothers. Of course, Omega would eventually go out on her own without Hunter to join the Rebellion, but only years later after she grew up. This just goes to show that just because a war is going on doesn’t mean an individual’s fight has to continue.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is now streaming on Disney+.
