Wanda Sykes' The Bad Batch character Phee holding a coffee cup

Star Wars: The Bad Batch lets Wanda Sykes’ character Phee more than just a Season 2 celebrity cameo – she makes Omega and Clone Force 99 better.


It’s not strange for a Star Wars animated series to expand the stories told in the films and other TV shows. When The Bad Batch spends an entire episode with a new character like Wanda Sykes’ Phee Genoa, it’s not a detour from some more important story. Phee challenges Clone Force 99 in ways they need to be able to survive the New Galactic Order.


If any Bad Batch episodes can be called filler, it should be the ones that fill in the gaps between the other stories. That includes filling in what happened to all the clones between Order 66 and when the Ghost crew pulled Rex into the Rebellion. Of the titular group, only Crosshair remains in the thick of military service. The Disney+ series is building to something — and in the interim, everything that happens to the characters influences them and shapes who they’ll be in that final conflict. The new tricks Clone Force 99 picks up in “Entombed” might just save their lives. Laying that aside, the adventure Phee offers the team is fun — something in short supply.

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The Bad Batch’s Phee Genoa Challenges Each Member of Clone Force 99

To Omega, Phee is something between a childhood crush and a role model. Phee represents a freewheeling, adventuring life opposite to the Bad Batch’s regimented, military approach. Whether she gives Omega something to aspire to or Omega just wants to hang out with her, she challenges the young girl’s brothers in ways they don’t immediately appreciate. The most obvious is Hunter, the de facto leader, who insists on a plan — at least a loose one. He lives by a military mantra: Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. He doesn’t like to stumble into a life-or-death situation, but that’s what Phee does for a living.

Wrecker’s motivations are the simplest among the team. He has a childlike sense of wonder, but also really loves fighting. He thinks Phee’s mission is just a game, at least until a space beastie drools all over him. And throughout Season 2, Echo is generally concerned with the larger fight looming against the Empire. He experienced a significant amount of trauma during his captivity and, having started out as a regular clone, cares for the “regs” more deeply than his new brothers. Phee’s quest helps him take his mind off the big picture for a minute by giving him a fight they can actually win.

Of all the members of Clone Force 99, Phee seems to have a special affection for Tech. When they meet she calls him “brown eyes” flirtatiously, to which he responds that it’s the default clone eye color. His faith in gadgets and science is seemingly at odds with Phee’s faith in legends and myth. However, he learns Arthur C. Clarke’s most famous lesson: any incredibly advanced technology is going to be remembered as myth and magic. At the very least, Phee teaches The Bad Batch that there is more to the galaxy than they can find in military manuals. And she has a reminder for the audience, too.

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Wanda Sykes’ Phee Brings Fun Back to The Bad Batch and Star Wars

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Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor focused heavily on the Empire and its tightening grip around the galaxy. The intervening 19 years between both third movies in George Lucas’ trilogies is known as “the Dark Times” for a reason. Andor is Star Wars exclusively for adults while The Bad Batch, by virtue of being animated, reaches a younger audience. Lucas proved long ago that kids can handle heavy, emotional storytelling with a healthy dose of hope. Still, with the state of things on The Bad Batch since the fall of Kamino, there haven’t been a lot of laughs to go around. The inimitable voice of Wanda Sykes is a perfect choice for Phee, who livens things up considerably.

For viewers who demand more character-focused storytelling, “Entombed” is important to the mythology of The Bad Batch. Phee is an example of a character who trusts in the Force, even if that’s not what she calls it. To that end, Omega finding the compass and Phee to help stop the giant death robot hidden in the mountain is the will of the Force. It also serves as an example to everyone, especially Echo, that there are fights worth fighting. One just has to find them.

The other important lesson is about having fun. As the team walks away from the mission that almost destroyed them all, Phee remains unbothered. She’s still telling stories and loving life. Everyone survived their journey to claim the “Heart of the Mountain,” but Phee’s the only one really living.

The Bad Batch debuts new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

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