The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2, now streaming on Disney+.
Season 2 of The Bad Batch has focused heavily on the clone troopers and the Empire's push to transition to Stormtroopers. Yet, outside of the more extensive "lore" stories, this season of the show has been focused on how living under the Empire affects kids.
Since the series' inception, Omega has been closely tied to the cloning story in Star Wars through the Emperor's return in The Rise of Skywalker. With the introduction of the Empire's Mount Tantiss lab, it's clear that this is where Season 2's climactic battle is headed. However, the intervening episodes have all been about how Omega, this important character to the Empire, is just a kid in need of a stable home. The so-called "filler" episodes of The Bad Batch aren't that at all. Instead, they are discrete parts of another larger story, less about the lore and more about the people who live there. Omega is the central figure in this story, the baseline to which audiences compare the other children in the season.
Andor and The Bad Batch Share Similar Themes, Just Focused on Different Age Groups
The incredible Andor series was Star Wars for adults, taking the political story at the heart of the saga and making it very grounded. Even with Zillo Beasts and droid Podracers, The Bad Batch tells a grounded story about the rise of authoritarianism aimed at children. Andor focuses on what must be done to inspire a violent revolution, but The Bad Batch shows that there was no shortage of atrocities from the Empire's onset. While Andor speaks to adult concerns, the adventures of Omega and Clone Force 99 address children's fears, primarily the loss of home and family.
Take the characters of Mokko, the crime lord, or even the Bad Batch's so-called ally Cid. They are adults meant to step in and take care of kids after the upheaval of the fall of the Republic and the end of the Clone War. Yet, as kids might fear, these adults are "bad" and are more concerned with themselves than the needs of the ones they are supposed to care for. Similarly, Gungi, the Wookiee padawan, lost his Jedi "family," only to return to Kashyyyk and find the Empire destroying his other home. That Omega and Gungi can fight back can be empowering for kids. They may not be able to pull off a heist or wield the Force, but instead, they can be brave in more realistic ways.
Whether it's terrifying headlines in the news or just the regular terror that comes along with growing up, kids need stories like this. The message that authoritarians are dangerous and evil is one that, if today's world is any indication, kids could stand to learn as young as possible. Star Wars isn't a resistance manual but a myth. Like all stories in that tradition, The Bad Batch takes real-world concerns and gives people a fictional hero to inspire them to rise to the challenge.
The Kids of the Star Wars Galaxy Deserve Peaceful Childhoods but Won't Get One
Along with Omega, Gungi is probably the character kids will most identify with. He is unquestionably terrified while being held prisoner or facing the Trandoshans in Kashyyyk. Despite this, he centers himself and is an excellent young Jedi, defending life rather than attacking in a rage. As George Lucas always wanted for his space opera, even when the stories deal with dark or scary issues, they ultimately give kids (and their parents) hope. Rebellions aren't the only thing built on that emotion.
Still, Gungi's life is not going to be an easy one. Conversely, in Pabu, the people are refugees displaced by the war. Even though they face a near-cataclysmic event, Pabu exists to show that it's possible to live the peaceful life that Galen Erso wanted for young Jyn in Rogue One. Of all Clone Force 99, it's essential to Hunter that Omega not grow up around conflict and battle. Yet, given her eagerness to join their squad or go treasure hunting with Phee, Omega doesn't want a peaceful life. Alas, the Empire's plans for her likely mean she'll never get one.
Star Wars is ostensibly a fable for children about fear, selflessness and that good people rarely let others down. The Bad Batch continues this tradition with exciting weekly adventures in a galaxy far, far away. But along with its stories about the rights of clone troopers, The Bad Batch offers a glimpse of what it's like for children in Emperor Palpatine's "safe and secure society."
The Bad Batch Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Disney+.