This series is incredibly formulaic. Not exactly original but that doesn't mean it's bad. A good formula executed well can still equal a great show, which is what this is. It really speaks to how effective certain tropes are when even after seeing slight variations of the same things time and time again, still elicits feelings of satisfaction in the hearts of the audience.
For instance, the villain is someone that we've seen countless times before, but it's pulled off so well in such perfect form that it just works because he's who we want him to be. Our heroes also conform to such typical stereotypes but again, done so well that we don't mind and even welcome it. It can be argued that the uninspired roles they fill with personalities to match are reasoned away in the larger context of what it means to be a clone, but that's just another convenient variation of a theme that we're comfortable with. The entire show is filled with things like this, such as Omega being somehow special and needs to be guarded, but her guardians also recognize her as a full member of the team so that's different enough to accept as something fresh. Or how we see old characters make an appearance for arguably little more than nostalgia, yet as transparent as this is it's briefly explained away via story and we just accept it because we want to. This continues all the way through until the finish. The way things end up is exactly as expected. Outside of one event that the writers shockingly committed to, nothing else was surprising in the slightest and there's nothing wrong with that.
Now combine all of the above with superb animation, excellent lighting and atmosphere, A+ voice work, great scene composition, good pacing / transition and you end up with something fantastic.
I only have one complaint, and that's the inclusion of fillers. There may have been fillers in the original clone wars series, but that had far more episodes than this one and could allow for it. The ones present here would have benefited from being a little more focused and less freeform.
I really enjoyed The Bad Batch. If you were a fan of the series that came before it this is a must watch. Or if you simply like good storytelling, for which this is an excellent example of.
For instance, the villain is someone that we've seen countless times before, but it's pulled off so well in such perfect form that it just works because he's who we want him to be. Our heroes also conform to such typical stereotypes but again, done so well that we don't mind and even welcome it. It can be argued that the uninspired roles they fill with personalities to match are reasoned away in the larger context of what it means to be a clone, but that's just another convenient variation of a theme that we're comfortable with. The entire show is filled with things like this, such as Omega being somehow special and needs to be guarded, but her guardians also recognize her as a full member of the team so that's different enough to accept as something fresh. Or how we see old characters make an appearance for arguably little more than nostalgia, yet as transparent as this is it's briefly explained away via story and we just accept it because we want to. This continues all the way through until the finish. The way things end up is exactly as expected. Outside of one event that the writers shockingly committed to, nothing else was surprising in the slightest and there's nothing wrong with that.
Now combine all of the above with superb animation, excellent lighting and atmosphere, A+ voice work, great scene composition, good pacing / transition and you end up with something fantastic.
I only have one complaint, and that's the inclusion of fillers. There may have been fillers in the original clone wars series, but that had far more episodes than this one and could allow for it. The ones present here would have benefited from being a little more focused and less freeform.
I really enjoyed The Bad Batch. If you were a fan of the series that came before it this is a must watch. Or if you simply like good storytelling, for which this is an excellent example of.