In an interesting change of pace, The Bad Batch steers away from the adventures of Clone Force 99, instead having them cameo in their own show as unexpected guest stars take center stage. We’re on Ryloth, the homeworld of Star Wars: Rebels character Hera Syndulla, and we’re watching as her parents Cham and Eleni make diffcult decisions to stand behind this new Empire and give peace a chance, asking their battling allies to lower their arms and embrace the post Order 66 era. With prequel trilogy character Orn Free Taa obsequiously pandering to the Empire, it doesn’t take long before youthful Twi’lek curiosity in the form of a young Hera realises that the Empire’s intentions for Ryloth are far from peaceful.
We’re at the beginning of the Free Ryloth Movement, a movement that will roll on for decades through the events of Star Wars: Rebels, and into this situation come the batch. Landing on one of Ryloth’s moons and handing weapons to Cham’s lieutenant Gobi Glie that Cid has sold, we get to see the youth of the future meet for the first time as Hera and Omega share their experiences. However, the Empire are wise to Glie and his plans, tracking the ship and using that knowledge to set up Cham in a chilling scene as Crosshair shoots Orn Free Taa, implicating and arresting Cham and Eleni as Hera escapes with Chopper. There’s a distinct similarity to last week’s episode Common Ground, as the looming threat of the mobster-like Empire was rejected by a Separatist leadership. Last week saw Senator Avi Singh make good his escape. This week, the leaders of Ryloth aren’t so lucky.
There’s a lot to appreciate in this episode, from the use of Blurggs as mounts to the appearance of familiar Clone Wars era characters like Cham Syndulla, Orn Free Taa and Gobi Glie. It brings the eras together, as we look behind just a few months to the fall of the Republic and the Jedi and forward almost two decades to the battle of Scarif and Yavin. With Hera introduced (voiced as always by Vanessa Marshall) we can potentially anticipate similar appearances from younger characters like Cassian Andor, himself about to become the focus of the galaxy in his own series on Disney+ next year, and perhaps even a young Han and Qi’ra on Corellia, tying into the current War of the Bounty Hunters comic series.
As Luke toiled in his meagre childhood on Tatooine and Leia was raised and trained in luxury and opulence on Alderaan, the rest of the galaxy was gearing up for the next war, stitching together pockets of rebellion into cells, which years later will coalesce into a unified Rebellion. Who could have anticipated that a show like The Bad Batch – on the face if it a simple, smashmouth A-Team action show – would bring such depth and detail to the era? Once again, as it has every episode of the series so far, it’s bringing character detail along with worldbuilding that is enormously satisfying to those who care to look for it, and attractive and charming enough to engage casual fans; some of the vistas and visuals on view in this episode were mouth-watering, and if Gobi Glie’s ship isn’t released as a model or collectible at some point then someone is failing at their job. Great fun.
Read our previous reviews of The Bad Batch here:
