Last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch concluded with the team rescuing/kidnapping former Imperial Vice-Admiral Rampart in an effort to find the Tantiss Mad Science Facility and rescue Omega. This week, we’ll see the team ramp up their efforts on this endeavor while Omega takes some proactive steps of her own.
As always, the recap portion of this review will contain plenty of spoilers along with some brief explorations of Star Wars lore. The order of events has also been streamlined a bit for the sake of clarity.
New Friends/Allies
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
The episode opens on Tantiss, where Omega and the other kidnapped kids are about to start another day as prisoners/test subjects of the Empire. Omega begins to make friends with the children, but is cut short when Jax notes that the Imperial scientists don’t like when they speak with each other.
Later, while Omega is getting a blood sample taken by Dr. Karr (and masterfully laying a guilt trip on her), she manages to steal some type of tool. After Omega goes back to the common room and starts interacting with the other kids, Dr. Scalder complains to Karr about the influence a previous escapee may have. Karr initially tries to justify it as being good for the children’s development, but ultimately pulls rank as the Chief Scientist and makes Scalder shut up.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
Meanwhile, Omega assures the kids that they’ll she help them escape — a promise that carries a bit more weight since she busted out of the Mount Tantiss facility before. She then explains that they’ll need to provide a distraction while she gets behind the walls (via the tool she stole) to see where the base’s internal tube system leads.
Their plan is nearly thwarted by an observant Scalder and a slight mishap, but Omega manages to take a peek behind the wall and put everything back without getting caught. After Scalder leaves, she tells the children that her plan is working.
Troublesome Asset
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
On the planet Bora Vio (where one of those weird Kaminoan outposts used to be), Rampart predictably complains and butts heads with Hunter. Echo arrives in a stolen Imperial shuttle, which they plan to take to a docking station (Imperial Station 003) that all Tantiss-bound ships have to go through to receive the coordinates. The Bad Batch aren’t sure if he’s telling the truth about what happens at Station 003, but Rampart insists he’s telling the truth.
After studying a holo map of the station, Hunter suggests that their best might be to steal another ship that’s already bound for Tantiss. To do this, the Bad Batch will have to repaint their armor while Rampart disguises himself as an Imperial officer.
*Side Note: Rampart complaining about the uniform they stole being too low of a rank for him is both totally on brand and hilarious.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
After arriving at Station 003, Rampart & Co. are allowed to disembark while Wrecker is told to stay behind and monitor comms. Upon entering the station, another officer notices that the clones’ armor is significantly different than the others (duh) and starts getting uppity. To Rampart’s credit, he effortlessly falls back into the role of a high-ranking official and gets him to back off.
Rampart also manages to get them past some TK stormtroopers into the control room. Unfortunately, they’re finally required to stun a technician when he asks for Rampart’s access card. Around the same time, Wrecker is forced to take out another trooper, putting a harder clock on their operation.
Echo begins accessing the station’s database, which shows him that a vessel is about to depart for Tantiss. Echo also learns that the coordinates to Tantiss won’t be uploaded to the ship until after it launches. This ends up requiring them to go back to their ship, which they attach to the hull of the departing vessel via some badass stealth work and Echo staying behind to disable the proximity sensors. The Imperial vessel goes into hyperspace for Tantiss with the Bad Batch and a very grumpy Rampart along for the ride.
The Verdict
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)\
One of the most frustrating things about Star Wars: The Bad Batch is how it vacillates between being extremely good or very bad. The last three episodes, on the other hand, have been bizarrely solid. Nothing great or particularly memorable happens, but consistently entertaining/engaging.
I’m obviously biased due to being a musician, but the Kiners’ musical score deserves a lot of credit for this — especially the foreboding atmosphere it helps set for every Tantiss sequence.
I also love the character work we’re seeing with Rampart and Omega. Rampart is just as arrogant as ever, but right on the edge of being too much. He also exhibits a consistent desperation and resentment regarding his downfall that makes it more believable that he’d continue helping the Bad Batch. Meanwhile, seeing Omega with younger children once again reminds you how much she’s grown and matured over the course of the series.
All that being said, I do wish we were moving along toward more revelations with greater consequences. At this point, the narrative urgency doesn’t feel at all like there are two episodes of the series. Let’s hope next week’s installment ramps things up significantly heading into the series finale.
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