The first part of a two-part finale of the Bad Batch and it delivered. Both emotionally and providing satisfying action, this episode delivered.
Firstly, again, the music must be commented on. When Crosshair and Hunter arrive on Kamino, the music cue from Attack of the Clones can be heard when Obi Wan first discovers the planet can be heard over the top. Also, the music over the top of the Venators destroying Tipoca City fit perfectly.
Looking over the events of the episode, they were both significant for the series and the Star Wars Canon as a whole. Crosshair takes Hunter to be used as bait, but also has some meaningful dialogue with him. Crosshair is right that Hunter and the rest of the squad left them to his fate, and that he wasn’t loyal to group.
All the conversations with Hunter were emotional and gave Crosshair some sympathy. However, his motives weren’t purely clean because he requests that the Batch join the Empire. When Hunter declines and repeats this isn’t Crosshair its his chip, Crosshair answers with the revelation that he had his chip removed.
This is perfect, because in a previous review I explained that it would have been better if Crosshair had his own free will to join the Empire, and now he does. Crosshair being evil because he wants to be is far more compelling than a chip forcing him too, though I will not deny the inhibitor chip is one of the best things introduced into Star Wars.
The scenes up to the fight in the training room were beautifully tense and helped to set the mood. The fight in the training room was brilliant, all of the Bad Batch finally working together since episode one.
The death of the elite squad (apart from one member) was disappointing, because it has felt like we never got to know them since episode three. Their death felt like a waste of great antagonists for the next season. A note on that, Lucasfilm shouldn’t have introduced the second season before this episode, it removed some of the tension that the cliff hanger had.
The ending of this episode was amazing. The destruction of Kamino was the end of an era. It was the perfect second ending to the clone wars. Kamino represented the Republic and provided the backbone of their military. Now, all memory of the clones are being removed, even throughout the Imperial military.
The type of cruiser that was used to destroy the facilities, Venators, was a sad sight to see. Before this, they had been tasked with protecting Kamino, this was even shown in the Clone Wars. What made this worse was they were still being operated by clones, who were then ordered to destroy their home. Kamino meant so much to previous characters that we have seen in the Clone Wars, so it is honestly sad to see it go. This also adds to the villainy of the Empire.
This sequence also paid of Rampart’s character as well, as he never liked the clones. It makes sense that he would want to destroy every last trace of them. The close ups to him, were great, this destruction means nothing to him. Seeing the empty cloning facilities was sad. They looked and felt empty, in a way they weren’t meant to be. The sound design, lighting and shots of the whole sequence were perfect, a great way to close the episode.
Omega’s reaction to this was perfect. Standing in horror that the Empire destroyed her home.
Overall this episode was a great way to set up the next part of the final, but it also served as a great standalone episode. It provided emotional and plot events that were handled very well and complimented that with excellent music animation and lighting.