Commentary — ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Is A Prequel With Real Stakes
by Frank Martin
Prequels are a strange way to tell a story. With a lot of action plots, the tension comes from survival. Audiences just don’t know if the main characters are going to make it out of their dangerous situations alive. Prequels circumvent this concept because fans know that the character exist in the future. Other installments show them alive and well, so the aspect of danger isn’t apparent. But prequels can take different forms. Star Wars has managed this successfully because some prequels exists within the entire Star Wars timeline rather than a particular character’s life. This is how Star Wars: The Bad Batch manages to create characters the audience cares about while also positioning them in a situation of real danger.
The program follows the story of a group of clone troopers (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) that have been modified to accomplish unique specialties. Because of their non-standard nature, Order 66 did not affect them. They were appalled when the clones turned on the Jedi, which in turn forced them to go on the run when the Empire rose. Omega (Michelle Ang), another modified clone, became essential to the Empire’s plans, and the Bad Batch made it a priority to rescue her. This put the entire group in immense danger as they had to eliminate the threats to Omega’s life.
There are many characters who show up in The Bad Batch that have future appearances in other Star Wars media, but they aren’t the focus of the show. The Bad Batch is, and they are pretty much completely original characters with no connection to any future story lines. Because of this, their fate is left open. One of them even perishes unexpectedly in a very tragic scene. This is a prequel with very real stakes for its characters. What’s even greater is that the characterization in the series is so strong that the audience feels for them and roots for them, but is unaware if and how they will succeed. It’s even scarier because they know that the Empire will still exist long after the show is over, so there will always be an element of failure to their story. It’s rare for a prequel to have this level of stakes.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is now streaming on Disney+.
