In the first episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch we’re introduced to Omega, a new character that, besides feeling tremendously important to the story the show set out to tell, manages to introduce a new dynamic within the Bad Batch. The team, being used to be their own sealed unit, take their time welcoming a foreign element into their group, for a good reason, and with interesting results. The voice of the Bad Batch, Dee Bradley Baker, had this to say:
They’re certainly not used to having anybody else along or working with anybody else. Although they did bring Echo along. But that happened after Echo kind of proved himself to them, and they came together on that. But, I mean, it’s interesting in terms of the story and the writing to have this kind of personal relationship with the younger character.
And to see how that changes, how they accommodate that and how that works. Because it’s more of an uncle/niece or a father/child dynamic, but not entirely. Because Omega has her own interesting potential of powers. So it’s interesting to see all of that unfold. I think it connects you to the story in a personal way. So it’s not just an action story. As Star Wars never is.
Continuing with a dynamic similar to what we’ve all seen working in The Mandalorian, between Din Djarin and Grogu, with the added elements that compose the Bad Batch, Star Wars manages to continue displaying that family and friendship is at its core. Even in the ultra-militarized world of The Bad Batch, doing the right thing by those close to you, by something going against protocol, remains as true as it has even been in the galaxy far-far away.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on May 4, 2021, as a way to celebrate Star Wars Day, with a special 70-minute episode. The following episodes, which will have a more usual runtime of around 30 minutes, will be released on Fridays, starting with episode 2 on the 7th.
