Clones and Cliffhangers
Still in Michigan. Michigan pics will come. I even had to do a trip to Best Buy (honestly, I could probably have done this trip with one DSLR battery but we’re going to have a lot of people fighting over sockets).
The Ark 2.6 “A Pretty Big Deal”
Away teams? And arguments about whether the captain should lead them? I am really thinking somebody couldn’t get work on Strange New Worlds.
Every time Ark One tries to get to Trappist 6, something happens. This time, it’s a distress call from Ark Eight, which has crashed on a desolate and radioactive planet. Fortunately, it’s been crewed by a bunch of clones (they stole it).
Unfortunately, some of them are unstable gen 3 clones…clones from clones. For some reason this always causes psychosis. I don’t buy it.
Also, a couple of the people from Ark Fifteen are convinced Ark One’s bad luck is the result of Eastern Federation saboteurs and are trying to work out who they are.
Hello, Spencer Lane, you’re a clone. Oops. Stolen from the lab, it seems. (At first I thought he might have been used as a template, but no, he’s a clone. And not happy about it.
And somebody solves the Gen 3 problem by blowing them all up. Who? I hate to say it, but while that wasn’t a solution, I can see how it was somebody’s solution to the Insane Clone Problem.
And…cliffhanger. Of course. The one time they do a two parter, it’s shown right before I go on vacation, because of course it is.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.1 Aftermath
So, how do we start off? With a feature length pilot. (The rest of the episodes are all 30 minutes or so).
The Bad Batch are immune to inhibitor chip brainwashing…mostly. When Order 66 is executed, pun intended, they allow a Padawan named Caleb to escape, but return to Camino.
Is this a smart move? Not really. And not just because of the food fight!
Sent on a mission to test their loyalty by asking them to kill civilians and children, the clones obviously rebel…except Crosshair. Turns out hisinhibitor chip is partially functioning. And the clone experts are forced by Tarkin to turn it up.
Now the remaining clones are on the run, but with a little extra in the form of a teenaged girl named Omega who is also an enhanced clone. It’s not yet revealed whether she’s from a different batch or whether they switched out the Y chromosome a la X-23, but I kind of like her.
I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Caleb either.
Fighting their way off of Camino, their original plan was to lie low. But it’s Crosshair, who knows them, who’s hunting for them. If they can catch him and remove the chip, they can get him back…unfortunately, they don’t know that and think he’s just turned on them.
I think Omega knows, though. She’s fifth element scary…
(I have a feeling the Bad Batch are about to go merc…what choice do they have?)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.2 “Cut And Run”
The Bad Batch make their way to visit a certain deserter clone and his Twi’lek wife. Who want off the planet they’re on. The Empire is tightening its grip, and he might still be arrested and court martialled.
But now the Empire is papers pleasing everyone. Hunter tries to get the family to take Omega. They agree. She doesn’t.
Great shoot out scene. Tech needs to be less impressed by fascism. Omega needs to learn how to live outdoors. She doesn’t know what soil is! Poor girl…
Overall, the dynamic is shaping up, but they aren’t getting rid of Omega that easily. And Tech is right, she was made for a reason…
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.3 “Replacements”
Aww, Omega is the cutest liddle supersoldier ever. Absolutely adorable.
Crosshair is assigned to command a group of “conscripts” although it turns out they aren’t exactly that. The Empire is resorting to the oldest tactic to recruit “willing” troopers…go to the slums and offer the poor kids three squares. It works.
He has to execute one of them to get them to kill civilians…and no doubt eventually they realize brainwashing is needed. But for right now?
Meanwhile, Omega is part of the squad, but the best part of the episode? Wrecker builds Omega a little child-sized loft on the ship and for once we see him happy making something not blowing it up…
…maybe this crowd will eventually become something more than supersoldiers.
Maybe.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.4 “Cornered”
Almost out of fuel and completely out of food, the Batch have no choice but to land on the planet of Pantora, which appears to be a fairly typical somewhat urban planet. The port manager is a corrupt Suliban.
Unfortunately, they’re being tracked by a bounty hunter and her target? Omega. My assumption is the Caminans are trying to retrieve their investment.
The really fun part is Echo disguises himself as a droid and it works too well! He actually gets bought by a trader (with the plan of escaping later. It doesn’t quite go according to plan).
Being galactic fugitives sure makes a simple shopping trip tough.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.5 “Rampage”
It’s not their fault. It’s really not their fault. Sid didn’t even tell them.
She told them to rescue a “child” from some slavers. They decide they can do this in their sleep, grossly underestimating the slavers.
The child, Moochie, is a young rancor…the very same rancor Jabba is feeding people to in the original trilogy! It’s a fun little easter egg and I feel sorry for the rancor.
(They do rescue a handful of other slaves too).
But now Sid wants them to join her stable of mercenaries. Will they? Obviously merc work is what they’re cut out to, but also Sid’s right.
The kid is the brains of the outfit.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.6 “Decommissioned”
The Batch have agreed to let Sid be their handler and find them merc missions, of which the first is to get the head of a tactical droid from a droid decommissioning facility. (Poor Omega dang near ends up decommissioned!)
This would be easy for them…if somebody else wasn’t also after the last tactical droid with intact data.
And it’s…Rafa and Trace! Ahsoka is not with them, and it’s implied they’ve split up, until we find out Ahsoka’s droid, R7, is on their ship.
I do believe the Batch just found the beginnings of the Rebellion. And are about to be, one hopes, recruited. Let’s see…
Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1.7 “Battle Scars”
“Good soldiers follow orders.” They chose that line very well if they wanted to chill everyone who heard it. It’s a fascist line.
And last episode…Wrecker’s inhibitor chip is activating and he’s fighting it off, but he won’t be able to forever. Fortunately, Rex shows up with a plan to get everyone de-chipped.
(Note: Omega claims she doesn’t have one. They don’t look. This strikes me as unwise)
Rex attempts to recruit them to the Rebellion, but despite the fact that Sid practically has the boys in debt peonage, they say “not yet.”
I have a feeling yet will happen soon, though, because now they’re on a junkyard planet…and their presence has been reported to the authorities…