Hey! Hallie here!
I’ve been pairing up episodes of ‘The Bad Batch’ for reviews, both because each episode is short and because nothing much has been happening. Episode seven ended up involving a lot more plot progression than I expected. Which is probably a good thing now that we have less than ten episodes left for this season (series?). In any case, I’ll be focusing quite a bit more on episode seven than episode six because of this. So let’s quickly dive into episode six so we can get to the really important stuff we saw in episode seven. SPOILERS ahead!
Episode 6, “Decommissioned”:
The Good:
The Martez Sisters: I really enjoy both of these characters and it’s nice to see how much they’ve changed since they spent time with Ahsoka. Rafa is still as sassy and difficult as always, but she has a clear morality. So much so that she’s slow to trust any of the Batch because they aren’t fighting against the Empire. Rafa also challenges Hunter in both leadership skills and general fighting capabilities. It’s clear she knows what she’s doing and she shouldn’t be underestimated. Trace is as kind as ever despite being at odds with Clone Force 99. She’s the first to snatch the droid head all of them have been tasked with recovering, but she also stops to save Omega when Omega finds herself stuck in a sea of broken down battle droids. Trace then comes up with the idea to reactivate some of the battle droids to take out the droid police. She’s clearly more capable now than she ever was before. These two end up working incredibly well with The Bad Batch. Hunter and Rafa bounce off of each other well and serve as efficient protectors. Meanwhile Trace can match both Tech’s intelligence and Omega’s kindness. Trace also gets the line “Is there an echo in here?” which leads to a hilarious interaction with Echo. This joke might have been my favorite moment in the whole episode.
The Bad (Batch):
Cid’s Bar: I know every story needs a home-like location for the characters to reconvene, but I’m growing to deeply dislike Cid’s bar. Why? Because Cid, and the current plot that sees the Batch working for Cid, isn’t serving the story at all. Every episode where the Batch goes out to do a mission for Cid feels like a filler episode. None of the characters end up being explored except for maybe Omega. None of the main plot points are addressed at all. Nothing happens. Since episode four we’ve seen a major slow down in any character development for any of the characters, and now that the series is focusing on Cid’s bar, we’re getting an equally slow plot. I want to see more than just Omega gaining more abilities while the rest of the characters sit behind her and do the same things over and over.
Wrecker: Wrecker’s writing was kind of hilarious in this episode. He was complaining a lot about his headaches from the moment the episode started. When they started their search for the droid head, Hunter sent Wrecker off on his own and Wrecker ended up writhing on the floor in pain. And then Omega called him in because they were in need of help and he jumped up as if nothing happened. He didn’t even mention headaches for the rest of the episode. I know this was all just set up for episode seven, but what was that?
Episode 7, “Battle Scars”:
The Good:
Rex: Ok, put Rex in anything and I instantly love you. Rex is one of the ‘Star Wars’ characters that I am majorly obsessed with, so using him is almost cheating. But hey, I’m not complaining. Rex was introduced into this episode to help move the plot along. Rex drops in to Cid’s bar to check up on The Bad Batch, and through a mix of Tech and Hunter letting it slip that they haven’t removed their inhibitor chips, plus Wrecker getting a massive headache, Rex manages to put together that all of them are in a really dangerous state at the moment. And he’s angry about it. Who can blame him? He just buried a ship full of his brothers. Rex winds up taking the group to a decommissioned Republic ship so they can use the medical facility to remove their chips. Overall, Rex gets some really nice contemplative moments in this episode. I mean, he’s still grappling with the trauma of what occurred when he had his inhibitor chip removed. The scar on his head from where it was extracted is still pretty fresh. He has a lot of ominous lines that lead the viewer to believe that he’s still dwelling on everything that happened while he was under the chip’s control. He even mentions Fives and how he regrettably didn’t understand what Fives was trying to warn him about at the time of his death. I really enjoyed the references to Rex’s age throughout, too. He’s one of the original clones, and that gets him some wisdom that the Batch can look up to. Rex pulled the plot along after a few episodes of floundering, so I hope that he brought in enough momentum for the series to keep moving forward.
Wrecker: We finally, finally got to see his headaches addressed here and the wait paid off. Wrecker grapples with his headaches throughout the entire episode. There isn’t any splotchiness here. And it’s actually heartbreaking. Especially watching him interact with Omega. He goes from joking around with her and taking her to get some celebratory snacks early in the episode, to trying to kill her later on. Unlike Crosshair, watching Wrecker turn on his friends meant something. Wrecker is established as a kind character with a big heart, and though the show still hasn’t done much character development for the Batch, we still know him enough to be attached by now.
Omega: Omega, once again, somehow ended up with the most character development in this episode. Even though she doesn’t have an inhibitor chip and didn’t need it removed. When the Batch learn that the procedure isn’t exactly safe, Omega, understandably, freaks out. She confesses that she doesn’t want to be left alone. Even Hunter’s reassurances aren’t quite enough to console her. Her main convincing comes in the form of a rampant Wrecker. She manages to hide from him just long enough for Rex to figure out what’s going on and stun him, but it’s clear she’s shaken by the entire experience. She still refuses to leave his side once his chip is removed. Her relationship with Wrecker is adorable. It was also nice to see how vulnerable Omega can be when facing the idea of being abandoned by the people she cares about.
The Bad (Batch):
Hunter: After both this episode and episode six Hunter is confronted by someone who urges him to take action in the fight against the Empire (Rex, Rafa). And after every one of these conversations Hunter comes up with some excuse about needing to decide what’s best for his crew and refuses. It feels like Hunter is the reason why these last few episodes have felt like they weren’t going anywhere. Hunter always expresses confusion about what to do next, so the Batch end up staying in the same exact spot. It’s frustrating to see Hunter do this multiple times, as if he isn’t learning anything from the people he’s working with. Hopefully he changes his mind soon.
Character Development: I’ve complained about this a lot but it still hasn’t been fixed so we’re talking about it again. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo all have no depth. None. They do the same things each episode and they never learn anything new. This is the main reason I’ve felt so frustrated with this series lately. I really like it. But I know just as much about these characters now than I did in their introductory episodes in ‘Clone Wars’.
Those are my reviews for the last few episodes! I’m saying a lot of negative things for each episode, but I don’t dislike this series by any means! It certainly isn’t the first series I’ve liked to suffer from filler episodes. With this series I feel I’m partly expecting more from it because there isn’t another season confirmed and I’m partly expecting more because it’s a series on a streaming service. Series like these tend to have more concise storylines, but I’m not seeing that from ‘The Bad Batch’. I really do want to like this and I would love to fully get to know all of these characters. As of now I can only hope we see more quality in the future.
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 