Summary
Star Wars: The Bad Batchseason 1 fixed a 14-year-old character that was first raised inStar Wars: The Clone Wars.Star Wars:The Bad Batchinitially began in 2021 as a spin-off ofThe Clone Wars’timeline. Taking place directly afterThe Clone Warsseason 7,The Bad Batchdetailed the journey of the titular group making their way through a changing galaxy. Given its close thematic nature toThe Clone Wars, several members of that show’svoice cast returned forThe Bad Batch.
By the time ofThe Bad Batchseason 3’s ending, this storyline came to a close. Interestingly, most connections toStar Wars: The Clone Warscame early in the show’s run. In the second episode of the entire show,The Bad Batchsaw the return of two characters fromThe Clone Wars.Not only did these characters serve as a neat connection toThe Clone Wars,butThe Bad Batchaltered their story by fixing a glaring mistake from the formerStar WarsTV show.
“The Deserter” Failed In Its Treatment Of Suu Lawquane
The Clone Wars Episode Did Not Treat Suu With Much Respect
InThe Clone Warsseason 2, episode 10, Captain Rex is injured during a hunt for General Grievous on the planet of Saleucemi. Eventually, Rex is taken in by a deserter from the Grand Army of the Republic, another clone named Cut Lawquane. Cut has a family with his wife, Suu Lawquane. Overall, the story of “The Deserter” is a solid one, and offers a neat insight into the mindset of some clones who were forced into a war. However,the episode’s treatment of Suu Lawquane is admittedly problematic.
These problems are present in both design and narrative. Concerning the former, Suu Lawquane is shown wearing an incredibly sexualized outfit that was somehow even worse in concept art. Suu’s outfit is very revealing and has little to no bearing on the plot aside from Saleucami being a warm planet. Narratively, Suu is depicted as being relatively incapable. In the episode, droids attack the Lawquane farm, and Suu is hidden away with the children despite being shown holding a rifle earlier in the episode.
Suu’s Characterization In Her Star Wars Return Was Much Improved
InStar Wars: The Bad Batchseason 1, Suu and Cut return. The duo takes in the Bad Batch after they are outlawed from the Empire, with all characters forming a plan to escape Saleucemi so that Cut and his family can live free from the Imperials. Through Suu’s return,The Bad Batchfixes several of the issues surrounding her character that were present inThe Clone Wars.For one, her design is much less sexualized. InThe Bad Batch,she sports normal clothing that is inherently less revealing, yet still suitable for the warm environment of the planet.
From a story perspective, Suu is made to be much more capable inThe Bad Batchthan she was inThe Clone Wars. One scene sees Omega and Suu’s children attacked by wild animals, with Suu using her rifle to scare away the animals after Hunter and the other clones failed to. Later, Suu is calm and level-headed as she and her family escape from Saleucemi. All of this greatly improves her character fromThe Clone Wars, withStar Wars: The Bad Batchfixing several representational issues that unfortunately were a product of the former’s time.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Cast
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.
