Star Wars The Bad Batch: Retrieval

Summary

Clone Force 99 go in search of their ship.

I thought that after a good run of episodes this was a step back, and whilst there is clearly still a lot going on below the surface within the group themselves I would say this episode stopped a lot of the good progress of the past few weeks in terms of character journeys.

The relatively standalone villain of the week nature of the episode in my mind held it back. The villain was relatively disconnected from the wider story going on and just felt inconsequential. Honestly it felt like more filler.

Moreover, another thing that bothered me was that this episode entirely brushed over Sid’s betrayal at the end of the last episode, whereby she basically left them for dead, this feels like a major plot point to not carry on. Also if she is sending a ship for them as the ending of the last episode suggested then it would have made sense for the Bad Batch to have contacted her and told her not to bother, but evidently the writers didn’t think of that.

Overall, it was inevitable after the last few pretty good episodes that a meh one was coming and sadly this was that. It was too disconnected from the wider goings on to feel important or in any way engaging.

2.5/5

Pros.

The Batch themselves say a number of interesting things here

It is watchable

Hopefully next week’s episode can be better

Cons.

It feels like filler

The emotional journey the Batch is on is randomly halted

It doesn’t address things with Sid

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Infinity Pool: How Deep Does This Go?

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of wealthy tourists discover the pleasure of committing crimes and then having a double of them produced and executed.

So I have to say after his last outing I had high expectations for what Brandon Cronenberg was going to do next and was very much looking forward to this film, but after watching it I have to say it feels quite hollow.

Whilst again the visuals are there it lacks any kind of substance or deeper meaning, this film feels like it is trying to parrot the virtues that were taught to us by The Island but that was a long time ago and as far as dark science fiction goes probably the better film. I suppose time has moved on from that film and this one explores the idea of clones in a more up to date way, but still it lacks anything real to say.

I would say that in terms of scares or thrills this film does have a number of good moments and goes in directions I wasn’t expecting it to, however, sometimes this results in scenes that push the line of taste and veer slightly over into Ti West territory.

Mia Goth does her best to save this film and gives probably her most manic and intense performance yet, but even she can only do so much.

Overall, a surface level horror film that is crying out for something to fill the void.

2/5

Pros.

The visuals

Goth

Cons.

It feels a little too edgy at times

It is shallow and has nothing new to say

The pace is off

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Crossing

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Clone Force 99 become stranded on a baron world after someone steals their ship forcing them to confront some difficult emotions.

Though this was a lot slower than the last few episodes I thought there was still a lot of good stuff here. It was nice to see the Bad Batch deal with the departure of Echo and their emotions surrounding that, yes this was done through the medium of Omega, who is annoying as usual, but even still it makes for quite an interesting introspection on change.

My issue with this episode comes from its ending and conclusions. In the end the Batch manage to contact Sid for help who promptly refuses them until she is guilted into reconsidering, my issue with this is how can the Batch have not seen thus far that Sid wasn’t there friend. They are supposedly expert special forces soldiers but they couldn’t see she has been using them this whole time? Hopefully after this weeks episode we can finally be done with Sid forever, she was never an interesting or likeable character and hopefully her villainous turn this week will lead to her being written off.

Overall, an interesting episode on an emotional front, but the conclusions reached feel like they have been obvious for a long, long time.

3/5

Pros.

Tech’s emotional journey

This feels like a very character driven episode

It is nice to have a platelet cleanser after the more action focused episodes from the week before

Cons.

Omega is just the worst

Sid’s betrayal

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Truth And Consequence

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch are called in to help Rex steal the data drive from Admiral Rampart’s Venator which proves he was responsible for the attack on Kamino.

I know I have talked a lot of trash about Omega in my reviews of the Bad Batch and for the most part I stand by every word I have said, she ruins a lot of the episodes she is in because her inclusion forces the tone to be goofy and family friendly, however, that is not the case here. This episode is moody and dark despite Omega and for that I am proud to call this an exception to the rule. Moreover, the scene in which Omega is saying goodbye to Echo at the end of the episode hits on all the right notes and really helps these two connected episodes to feel like they matter.

I also enjoyed seeing more of Palpatine, particularly more of his long game playing and how he actually rules the Empire in the day to day, some of the other Star Wars media, that is still considered cannon, has eluded to this but not shown it in much detail. Seeing him as a true villain and master manipulator really reinforced the stakes of not just this episode but the show as a whole he really is the evil of the Empire.

On the action front this one is a little lighter than The Clone Conspiracy and feels too concerned with being family friendly during its shootouts, I have never liked the fact that the Bad Batch and now Rex are only using stun rounds and have long thought it made no sense. You could make the argument that they don’t want to hurt their brothers but surely by this point in the timeline not all troopers would still be clones and there would be some conscripts in there as well and it makes no sense that they hold back from shooting to kill them as they would not do the same for the Batch. Once again it is an example of Disney struggling to know what to do with characters that they can’t stick on a lunchbox, characters that aren’t the clean cut good guys, in many senses this is exactly what went wrong with the Book Of Boba Fett.

Overall, another good episode but the action is a little lacking

4/5

Pros.

Palpatine

The emotional goodbye to Echo

The stakes

The surprisingly dark tone for an episode which features Omega so heavily

Cons.

The action is lacking and the use of stun settings is starting to become ridiculous

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Clone Conspiracy

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Admiral Rampart cleans house and has one of the clones who served under him during the destruction of Kamino killed, prompting a Senate investigation and the return of Rex.

I am truly starting to believe that the episodes of The Bad Batch that don’t feature Omega in any major way are examples of the show operating at its best. When the show embraces the darker side of things and moves past the family friendly wrapping that Omega as a character forces on the show then it is truly up there with the hights of The Clone Wars.

I enjoyed seeing the events shown in the end of season one of The Bad Batch come back around to be so important and relevant in season two, it felt rewarding to me as a long time viewer of the show. Moreover, I liked seeing Rex come back and would like to see more of his solo adventures in between this show and Rebels, maybe even a spin-off show?

This episode also benefits from a nice amount of action and is definitely one of the most action packed episode of the whole season, if not the whole show. Honestly the difference between an episode like this and one like Entombed is so night and day that it makes you question whether you are even watching the same show.

Overall, a fantastic episode of The Bad Batch that will be remembered fondly for a long time.

4.5/5

Pros.

Bringing back Rex

Tying in events from both The Clone Wars and earlier seasons of The Bad Batch

It is action packed

The more serious and dark tone

The best episode in a long time

Cons.

The emotional work with the characters could have been better

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Tribe

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch help the Wookie Jedi Gungi escape capture and return him to his home world.

I enjoyed this episode, and thought that it made a nice change to the filler of the past two weeks as it actually had the Bad Batch play a role in the wider fight back against the Empire and for once they turned off the stun setting on their blasters. Now, whilst I don’t think this episode was as good as the Commander Cody/Crosshair one I certainly think that there was a lot of promise here.

I was also interested to note how the Bad Batch are around Jedi’s after everything that has happened, and for the most part it was a similar fatherly relationship to how they treat Omega. However, this got me thinking about other possible Jedi’s that could appear on the show and also thinking again about how the show needs to get the Bad Batch way more involved with the early war against the Empire rather than just have them do mission of the week episodes with Omega. This episode had a weighty tone which worked for it a lot more than last week’s National Treasure spin off.

Overall, this is the sort of episode that this show should be putting out every week.

4/5

The darker tone

Seeing the Jedi interacting with the Bad Batch

The Bad Batch finally getting more involved in the war

Well-paced, with no lulls

Cons.

I could have done with being longer

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Entombed

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch crossover into the new National Treasure series and become treasure hunters.

My, my we are in a bad pattern of episodes with these last two, both of which have been the very definition of filler, and whilst last weeks’ at least gave Tech some nice hero moments this one is even worse and marches into tedious territory quickly.

I think my main issue with this episode is that it didn’t feel like Star Wars to me, treasure hunting is at the core of many great franchises but in my mind never Star Wars, I suppose that is why the sequel trilogy that was very MacGuffin searching heavy was so bad.

Also this was a very Omega heavy episode, and many of you who have read my other reviews know my thoughts on her, whenever she is the primary focus of an episode you know you are in for a bad time and or filler. Honestly, when you compare this episode to the Crosshair/Commander Cody one from a few weeks ago it is night and day.

I am also fairly bored already of the new pirate character, they will never replace Hondo and I question why they are even bothering to try.

Overall, an even worse episode than last week’s filler-fest.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is watchable

Hunter’s reactions were quite funny

Cons.

The new pirate character is deeply bland

Omega is as annoying as ever

It doesn’t feel like Star Wars

It is boring

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Faster

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Bad Batch get involved in riot racing.

This was a filler episode, no ifs ands or buts about it. Nothing even remotely interesting happened here, and even the tease of finding out more about Sid’s backstory fails to move me as she is already a pretty dull character and I would rather know more about Cody or Rex when it came to supporting characters.

The racing plot line was as dull as they come, but it was nice to see Ben Schwartz voice the cocky racing droid that then almost immediately gets smashed. Schwartz brought some fun to what was otherwise an incredibly dry episode.

The only thing I liked about this episode was that again it gave Tech a moment to shine, I am glad of this as other than once earlier in the second season he really hasn’t had many heroic moments and has been somewhat of a forgotten member of the gang, so it is nice to see him having these moments.

Overall, a dull episode that is probably best skipped.

2.5/5

Pros.

Schwartz

Tech having more moments to shine

It is very watchable

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: The Solitary Clone

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Crosshair continues on his journey as the Empire’s killing machine and Commander Cody makes a return.

I thought this was the best episode of The Bad Batch yet, there was something so mature and dark about this episode that I really enjoyed, it played with the idea of disillusionment and clinging on to belief simply for the sake of believing. I thought Commander Cody and Crosshair really played off each other well both on and off the battlefield, and I think bringing back Cody was a stroke of genius. I think it is highly likely the show will bring him back in the future and that is a good thing, I think this second season is building towards Crosshair defecting from the Empire and re-joining his old team.

On top of all this the action in this episode is fantastic, far, far better than what the show has been putting out in the past and it also really highlights Crosshairs specific set of skills, the trick shot he does to take out the commander droid is a sight to behold and really gives him a moment to shine.

Overall, one of the best episodes of the show yet, only let down by its short length.

Pros.

The focus on Crosshair

Showing off Crosshair’s skills

Commander Cody

The thing this episode sets up for later in the season

The return of more Clone Wars characters

Cons.

It was too short

4.5/5

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Star Wars The Bad Batch: Ruins Of War

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Clone Force 99 battle to get off world.

I thought that this second part of the season opener really delivered on what the first set up, we got far more action which was nice to see and also a greater sense of goings on in the Galaxy at that time and off Imperial intrigue.

I liked that this episode gave Tech a heroic arc, as often he is the forgotten about or overlooked member of the group usually only appearing to offer a Deus Ex Machina escape when things seem dire. I thought seeing him try to fight off the clones whilst being wounded was a nice little bit of character progression for him.

The one thing I didn’t like about this episode which will be very familiar to those of you who read my first season reviews for this show is how Omega and Echo interact. The whole thing of Omega trying to prove her worth and then making things worse and needing to be rescued isn’t endearing it is irritating. In many senses the show would be a lot better off without Omega, but Star Wars just has to have that adult child bonding these days so she sticks around.

Overall, a good episode that really delivered on the action front.

4/5

Pros.

The action

The ending

The wider world tease and Imperial intrigue

Giving Tech his moment in the sun

Cons.

The forced in Echo/Omega plot line and the cheap forced emotion of it

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