Regular readers of STARBURST may have noticed that almost every episode of The Bad Batch reviewed so far has been given a 3-star rating. That’s no typo, and it indicates the strong, solid start this series has made and that continues with the tenth episode of the debut season Common Ground. Just as last weeks Bounty Lost reunited Clone Force 99 with their captured ‘sister’ Omega, so Common Ground reunites us with a distinctly Clone Wars-like scenario as the Batch are sent to Raxus Secundus to liberate the Separatist leader of the planet Senator Avi Singh, voiced by DS9’s Alexander Siddig. Along with his enterprising droid GS-8 voiced by Fleabag star Sian Clifford, Singh and his conscience defies the new order as the Imperials clamp down on Raxus, and his capture leads to a call from GS-8 to none other than Trandoshan information broker Cid, far to the west on Ord Mantell who orders a returning batch to head straight out to the Tion Hegemony and Raxus Secundus to free Singh.
Enter the poliltics, as the thought of freeing a Separatist is anathema to the batch, especially Echo who suffered terribly at their hands. However, keen to see Omega shielded from harm, Hunter agrees to leave her with Cid and as the batch wing their way east to Raxus Secundus we watch Omega and Cid strike up a well-earned respect and friendship as the young clone shows off her tactical skills on the dejarik table just as the batch – clearly missing her presence – successfully complete the extraction and pull Avi Singh out. Common Ground turns out to be a very apt title, as Cid and Omega find theirs in the safer environs of Cid’s Parlour while the batch, most prominently Echo learn that a Separatist in the Clone Wars era and a Separatist in the Imperial era are two very different things.
Another winner from The Bad Batch, one that is a feast for the eyes with some incredibly detailed and attractive visuals and designs on display and character animation that really must be looking at some awards nods next year. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, this could so easily have been viewed as a filler show, a sequel to a much-loved show The Clone Wars that held little substance. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, with character development and galactic world-building at the front of the producers’ and writers’ minds. Right now, this is top-tier Star Wars and even the most casual fan would be well served to seek it out.
Read our previous reviews of The Bad Batch here:
