Ben 10 Alien Force is a show I think about a lot. It was something that really impacted me when I was a child and I watched it. It evolved the Ben 10 formula perfectly. Ben was no longer a bratty child, he begun to understand the importance of his omnitrix and those around him. Gwen became a force to be reckoned with, she is the most powerful member of the team. Kevin began as a villain and while he is still kind of shady, he is the guy who explains a lot of the alien lore to us. This show starts out beautifully, Ben is learning how to become a leader and protect the earth from the Highbreed. They are seen as a legitimate threat, Ben and company do not always win against them. Ben cannot go hero and immediately beat them, like he did before. They are powerful, at times it seems like they may even be successful. This causes Ben to really mature, he has to learn how to effectively lead a team into battle early on. The world building is fantastic too, we learn a lot about concepts that were briefly introduced in the original series such as the null void and Asmuth. This first part of Alien Force felt like a perfect evolution, I got invested in the characters, in the world and then things changed. At the beginning of season 3 (now season 2), Ben regressed. This wasn't just a minor thing, he became a completely different character. Even the way the voice actor portrayed him was different, instead of a deeper voice, he is a lot more peppy and happy go lucky. This isn't the same Ben. For example, in the new season Ben tries to unlock the full power of the Omnitrix using some of Kevin's alien tech. This causes Asmuth to tell Ben that he has become immature, he is not ready for the full power of it. Even with that warning, he brushed it off and said "this is just another test he WANTS me to keep going". Compare this to the previous season, where he told his parents after being grounded how important it was to him to go and save Kevin. He was not running out and disobeying to cause havoc, he understood the importance of his powers as well as the threat his friend was in. This is Ben proving himself as a leader, proving himself as a hero. Just for everything that happened then to be thrown away due to executive meddling. This show is absolutely worth a watch, the Highbreed arc is conclusive enough that you will feel satisfied with the ending of it. After that, the quality falls off and I cannot in good faith recommend watching it.
Review of Ben 10: Alien Force
