This episode was a major improvement over the last episode. Scenes with the main cast is still slow, however the scenes on Kamino and Onderon move the secondary plot forward in a great way, furthering the intrigue into the era (Warning: spoilers ahead).
The Bad Batch’s ship is damaged, and they crash land on a moon. The explanation for this is their ship was damaged in the last episode, though this wasn’t shown when they left Salucami and was merely stated. A better way would have been to open with a brief space battle where the ship is damaged, though unfortunately this way was not chosen.
Remembering that Omega is still a child, and that she has never experienced a crash, so for her, it must have been terrifying. A beast attacks the part that they need, and Hunter and Omega get some time together where Crosshair is discussed. Hunter gets to show off his tracking abilities, which is good because they are not easily expressed like the other members.
Omega is given a chance to shine in this episode when she saves Hunter and retrieves the part, and it helps to show one of the themes of Star Wars which is taking the non-violent way out where possible. Omega could have shot the creature; however, she gives away her torch to get the part.
The opposite of this theme is demonstrated with Crosshair’s side of the story. The Empire continues its pivot away from clones to recruiting soldiers. The Kaminoans are further disillusioned, which is displayed excellently through the use of cuts of them reacting to news of the new Elite Squad being made of recruits.
The Empire believes that recruits are better than clones, and they increasingly want to remove the Kaminoans out of their costs. This is shown not only through the cuts, but also the positioning of the Kaminoans, as they are always in the back behind Tarkin and his imperial colleague. The political maneuvering is dynamic in this episode, as the Kaminoans move to their contingency plan to survive. The way the Kaminoans talk about the clones is interesting, to say the least, as they still believe they are property to be owned.
The use of the squad is excellent too. The reason why conscripts join the Empire is briefly explored, with one of them explaining that the Republic never cared for him, further showing why the Empire was so readily accepted. The dynamic between Crosshair and one of the recruits is greatly shown as well. The recruits are uncomfortable with a clone as their leader, which makes total sense.
The same character who explained his disillusionment with the Republic is the loudest critic of Crosshair, and that dislike is there because the clones were the symbol of the Republic. The same Republic that could not provide him with basic living requirements because it was too busy fighting a war. This criticism culminates with Crosshair executing the character for disobeying orders. This scene and the massacre of the camp on the planet Onderon perfectly show the darkness of the era. It is exciting to see where they will take Crosshair.
One criticism of this episode however is the lighting throughout. Nearly all of the scenes take place within a dark setting, making it difficult to witness all of the spiraling events taking place. The animation still remains great, but as a viewer, it did lead to some uncomfortable moments when trying to focus on all the action.
Overall this week was a stronger episode than the previous one, it handles the transition phase in such a compelling way. Hopefully, the Bad Batch will have some strong plot direction to go into like the Empire’s side, as currently, it does not live up to the same standards. I however remain hopeful.
By Kieran Burt
Feature image: Disney