Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Summit

Summary

The Bad Batch attempt to rescue Crosshair and the other imprisoned clones.

In many senses this episode was anti-climactic.

My main issue with this episode is how it can’t stand on its own and exists almost only to prop up the final episode. Adding to that is the fact that a lot of the things that happen in this episode feel forced, it feels like plot contrivance after plot contrivance all to get the Batch to a specific point despite the fact that they aren’t behaving like they normally would do at any point along the way.

I quite like Saw Guerra as a character and think there is a lot to explore there with his ideology, as such I was happy to see him show up in this episode. However, his whole attitude towards the Batch and how he just happened to be there at the exact same time felt incredibly poorly set up and again to repeat the word of the day contrived.

Overall, a weaker episode made to set up what comes next without having enough to stand on its own.

3/5

Pros.

Returning faces

Hemlock and Tarkin

The things to come

Cons.

It feels contrived

The characters aren’t behaving like themselves

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Servant: Series Overview

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Turners, played by Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell, have their lives turned upside down when a nanny, played by Nell Tiger Free, turns up on their doorstep and performs the impossible.

This will be a review of the entire 4 season run of the show as it is intended as a series overview.

There was a time when I couldn’t stop watching this show and watched the first few seasons back to back over a number of days, the supernatural mystery and not being able to guess what would happen next kept me on my toes and kept this show as being a must watch. The chemistry between the cast was really quite hard to look away from and I don’t think there was a single bad performance in the show’s whole run, additionally it may be this series that saved the career of Rupert Grint, Ron from Harry Potter.

However, then came the final series and the cracks began to show in a massive way. An argument could be made that if the show had stopped after season 3 it would have been much better, as the final series didn’t seem to know how it wanted to end things and this then resulted in a deeply disappointing finale that felt frankly like a cop out, with character behaving in ways that made no sense to how they had been previously.

The central question of the show was, who is Leanne, played by Free, what is she and ultimately will she win. Over the course of the show these questions had been given slight answers but never anything concreate and the final series tried to address them more but ended up ruining the character. It made no sense for Leanne who was embracing her cult leader status just a few episodes earlier to set herself ablaze in the final episode, it reeked of convenient writing to me.

Overall, the high score I have given this show reflect how good it was in the earlier seasons, if the last season hadn’t ruined the character of Leanne and missteped so badly on the ending then it may even have gotten higher.

3.5/5

Pros.

The chemistry

The mystery

The supernatural tease

The world

Cons.

The answers we got made no sense

The series ruined itself by the end

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Tipping Point

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Crosshair sends a warning to his old friends.

I thought this episode was one of the best so far, and it was so, so nice to have this after last week’s incredibly slow episode. I think this was a powerful episode on a number of levels, as it showed both the evils of the Empire but also how far the character development of Crosshair has come as not only does he defy the Empire but also tries to warn his old teammates.

Moreover, I am also very excited to see the return of Echo and see further insights into the clone rebellion and how they are fighting back against the Empire. I would like to see a spin off focusing on Echo or Rex and the clone fightback, or failing that I would like to see the Batch at the end of the season join the fight back against the Empire.

The one thing I would say about this episode in a negative sense is that it is very heavy and depressing. Which for me worked as I prefer the episodes of this show where they try and take a darker tone and deal with deeper issues, but could also be quite off putting to some, The torture scenes involving Crosshair were quite surprising in how far they went with it.

Overall, another great episode and it is nice to see a return to stakes after last week’s diversion.

4.5/5

Pros.

The darker tone for me

The emotions

Crosshair’s character journey

Seeing the clone rebellion

It is nice to have the Batch back together again

Cons.

It was quite dark and some people might find that off putting

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The Mandalorian: The Convert

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A long pointless aside from the story you are actually interested in.

So when I first turned on the episode and noticed the hefty runtime I was rubbing my hands with glee thinking I was going to get more time this week with Din, Played by Pedro Pascal, Grogu and Bo-Katan, played by Katee Sackoff, but no it was mostly all dedicated to a forgettable secondary villain character from the earlier seasons that you likely won’t even remember.

What makes this so bad in my opinion is that the opening that sees Din and Bo running away from Remnant Imperial troops is then thrown off course for this glorified side story. This then trades in all the tension and energy the story had from this opening and for what? The story itself about how the New Republic treats those Imperials who are still around is not one I had ever really wondered about or wanted to know.

The episode tries hard to get you to care about these mostly new characters but I just didn’t. It felt weird and forced in, if they don’t have the material to cover the full number of episodes promised then they should have promised less. If this had been in Andor then it would have felt more in place, though not be the right time period, but for the Mandalorian it doesn’t fit at all.

Overall, easily the worst episode of the new season so far.

2/5

Pros.

The opening

An Imperial warlord

Cons.

A needless aside

I don’t care about the new characters

It is dull and drags on

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Pabu

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Clone Force 99 finally get some peace.

This was not a good week for Star Wars between the long needless aside on the Mandalorian and then this episode of The Bad Batch, I haven’t been so bored watching Star Wars in a long time. I think what makes this episode so much the worse is the fact that last week’s episode ended on a cliff hanger for Crosshair, which not only wasn’t addressed here but we got an incredibly filler episode about the Batch finding a home and letting Omega be a kid for a while.

I think it is pretty clear that this peace will be short lived, but I have to say there was very little actual peril in the episode at all, yes you had the threat from the sea but that was incredibly low bar. I just think that with the excellent run of episodes up until this one that teased some pretty major things to come this massive step back was not only a misstep but also a move that entirely ruined the momentum the series had been accruing.

The best thing this episode did was have Sid finally go fully villainess, it was a long time coming and I am glad that with her betrayal of the Batch likely quickly incoming that it means she won’t be in the show for much longer as she has long, long outstayed her welcome on the show.

Overall, an incredibly slow episode that ruined a lot of the momentum the show had going for it.

2/5

Pros.

Sid’s turn to villainy

It was watchable

Cons.

It is far too slow

It feels like filler

There is no sense of threat

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The Mandalorian: The Mines Of Mandalore

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Mandalorian, played by Pedro Pascal, returns to Mandalore.

I would say that this is a slight step back from the first episode, there were two things that I particularly didn’t like about this episode, but don’t get me wrong this was a good episode. The first was how easily Din was K.O in the mines by the monster and how he didn’t even try and get out of the cage, and the second was the incredibly long and drawn out opening scene with Din trying to find a new droid, this should have been cut down.

With the bad stuff out of the way let’s get into what really worked in this episode. The best part of this episode I would say was seeing more of Bo-Katan, played by Katee Sackoff, not only did she have a fantastic action scene, but this episode dived further into her backstory and expanded on her a bit more as a character. I think her and Din have an interesting dynamic and represent two very different ideas of what it means to be a Mandalorian so it would be nice to see that further flushed out in later episodes. For what it is worth I hope the show keeps them together for a while.

A close second to that is the arc that Grogu gets in this episode, not only being as cute as ever, but also demonstrating his further developed force powers and resourcefulness when he is on his own. I also liked his and Bo-Katan’s interactions I thought she gave some great responses to his gibberish.

Finally, I think it can’t be overstated how cool it is to see Din and co back on Mandalore. Exploring the planet in its wrecked state is interesting, and I hope there is more to it then just him needing to have a wash to regain his standing in the community.

Overall, a good episode made all the stronger by Sackoff.

4/5

Pros.

The Mandalorian on Mandalore

Grogu

Bo-Katan and her character growth

Seeing and exploring Mandalore

Cons.

The needlessly drawn out opening

The plot contrivances with Din being captured

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The Last Of Us: When We Are In Need

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, is kidnapped by a group of cannibals, and a recovering Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, must fight to try and save her.

I think this may have been the best episode of the season yet. The emotion in the final ten minutes of the episode is so powerful that you can’t help but be effected. Whether it is the scene of Ellie hacking apart the leader of the cannibals and the look into her soul we get during that scene, or the moment where she meets up with Joel again and he finally accepts her as his daughter. Truly it is incredibly powerful.

I thought the character work within this episode was great, both of the characters go to some really dark places but it is interesting to see them hit that edge and to consider their reactions to the darkness within the show. It is through this that the morality and the complexities of the world are better realised and played with. Once again the performances from both Ramsey and Pascal are fantastic.

Overall, perhaps the best episode yet.

4.5/5

Pros.

Pascal

Ramsey

The emotional journey of the episode

The dark places the characters go to

The ending

Cons.

There are some light pacing issues especially around the first act of the episode that really do slow it down

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Outpost

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Crosshair finally turns on the Empire.

Just when I think the Bad Batch can’t get any better, we get an episode like this. This may be one of the best episodes of the season so far, it is dark, deep and complex just as the show should be. It breaks away from the family friendly trappings of a lot of Disney + Star Wars and asks some real questions about war and morality.

In many senses this is an incredibly depressing half hour of television, but it needs to be. I think in terms of Crosshair’s journey and how the show is trying to show the horrors of the Empire and its mistreatment of Clones this episode needed to go to the places it did. I think the emotional journey this episode goes on is intense and the ending is far from happy, but not only did I not mind that in fact I quite liked it.

I think the worst thing the show could do right now would be have next week’s episode go back to Hunter and Omega and just forget about Crosshair for a few more weeks. We need the resolution to his story and to see what happens when a clone stands up to the Empire.

Overall, though it is depressing at times this episode of The Bad Batch was everything I have been wanting out of the show for a while now.

4.5/5

Pros.

The darkness

The character growth

The moral questions it asks

The emotions

The ending and the tease of what is to come

Cons.

It is incredibly depressing so get something happy ready to watch after this

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The Mandalorian: The Apostate

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Mandalorian, played by Pedro Pascal, begins a quest to seek out the waters from the mines of Mandalore in order to be reintegrated into his sect of Mandalorians.

I have missed this show, it is nice to have it back. Right from the opening minutes of the episode and the intense action fight scene with the giant crocodile like thing you know that you are in for a good time. During this scene the scope and the scale of the action is really impressive.

Moreover, I like where the season is heading, the mystery has enough legs to hold the season and to propel it into something new. I like that Mando was seeking to rebuild IG- 11, voiced by Taika Waititi, I hope that he succeeds as it would be nice to see the character back on the show, my heart melted a little bit as he referred to him as his friend, as did it when Grogu tried to take on of the alien species as his pet.

I was also glad to see Bo-Katan, played by Katee Sackhoff, return. I would like to see more of her journey and I hope she does end up teaming up with Din this season, there is certainly a lot of interesting ways they could take the two of them.

I think the one thing I didn’t like about this episode was the pirates. This is mainly because this felt like it came out of nowhere just so that they could have a space battle, it all felt very filler and as though they realised that they had a few minutes spare of the runtime they needed to eat up.

Overall, it is very nice to have the Mandalorian back.

4/5

Pros.

IG- 11

The return of Bo-Katan

Grogu and his pet

The action

Cons.

The needless filler pirates side quest

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Metamorphosis

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Clone Force 99 investigate the rumour of a downed ship and are met with a mystery involving the Kaminoans and the return of the Zillo Beast

I really liked that this episode had such a horror feel to it, there were moments within the episode when I actually felt a little creeped out. It is nice to see Star Wars embracing other tones and styles, not everything has to be cookie cutter family friendly.

Moreover, I like that this episode really sets the board for things to come, teasing out a return by Echo and Rex and the Empire coming after Omega. I think this season will end with the Bad Batch accepting that they can no longer run from the Empire and that they will have to stand and fight and go back to being the soldiers they used to be. I am interested to see what the show will have the Empire do with the Zillo beast and more broadly how the Empire will use cloning going forward.

The only reason I scored this episode a little lower than some of the other ones recently is because I felt the return of the Zillo Beast was underwhelming. If they were going to reference and bring back something from Clone Wars there is a million other things they could have picked, at least in my mind, that would have had more effect on me. I know a lot of people online are excited about the return of the Zillo Beast but it just didn’t do it for me.

Overall a good set up episode but the return of the Zillo Beast bored me a bit.

3.5/5

Pros.

The horror feel

The things it sets up

The clones turning on Sid

The Empire finding out about Omega

Cons.

I didn’t care about the Zillo Beast

It could have done with being longer

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