As a resident of Western New York, the weather can get a little dicy this time of year. It's dark, cold and we typically cannot go anywhere when we get hit with at least a foot a snow a week. So, I choose to embark on watching Star Wars: The Bad Batch with my 8-year-old daughter.
Following up on her introduction with the series' trailers, we started in the beginning with the opening episode, "Aftermath." From the beginning, Brooklyn, my daughter was hooked. She particular fell in love and related instantly to the character of Omega. My wife and I also both loved the addition of Omega to the clone group's dynamic.
As the Bad Batch worked for the Empire at the start of the series, Brooklyn started asking, "They aren't bad guys, right?" She was very worried if the Batch themselves would work for the Empire or choose to the right side. Thankfully, they very quickly took a stand against the bad guys.
She particularly adored in the opening two episodes how Omega helped out her team in different ways. Brooklyn especially loved the wonderful kids' show moment when Omega threw food at clones who were being mean to Hunter and the rest of the team. My daughter really was enthralled by whether or not the Batch would take Omega and become good guys again.
As the introductory episodes continued, Brooklyn was relieved to see that they chose to do the right thing and not follow the orders of the Empire. She also loved Omega's crossbow and how she saved the clones from the Empire as they attempted to escape from Kamino.
It was interesting in the second episode, "Cut and Run," when the Batch meet with some old faces from The Clone Wars, Cut Lawquane and his family. Cut was a clone who had deserted the Republic and befriended Captain Rex, who became a contact with the clone. Brooklyn had watched that episode with me a while back and instantly recognized him and his family.
Because of that, she wanted to see if they and the clones could escape off the planet they were on and be able to be safe with the children. The first few episodes establish a tone of excitement and also a family setting as the Batch begin to care for Omega.
The Bad Batch is a great show to watch as a family and gives a strong story for parents but also exciting enough for children to keep them engaged. Brooklyn did have one question as we began to watch the first few episodes, and it's one we will address soon enough in the future:
"Where is Captain Rex?"