The Star Wars ranking team is tackling two episodes of The Bad Batch in this week’s discussion! We’re ranking Episode 2: Cut and Run & Episode 3: Replacements. One was significantly better than the other, but not because of Cut’s mutton chops. Should clones have the ability to reproduce? Should there be more violence in order to truly witness a bad batch? Tune in to this week’s bundled episode.
“I didn’t think that I would find this episode more boring than the first one, but I did.” - Amanda
Starting off the discussion with Episode 2: Cut and Run showed us that The Bad Batch is getting off to a dismal start. Sure, it’s only the second episode, but laying the foundation for this crew should’ve taken place during the longer intro instead of seeping into this one. Especially since this crew was primarily introduced via The Clone Wars. Of course the elite squad has no place for a child, so they have to attempt to get rid of Omega. We find out near the end that this attempt was necessary but ultimately a failure; Omega is now officially part of the crew. Even though this is kind of predictable, we still learn some interesting information. Cut’s priorities have changed. He sees himself more as a parent instead of a soldier, and encourages Hunter to do the same as Omega’s guardian. This episode also sheds more light on the growing tyranny of the Empire; requiring chain codes as a new form of oppression. It was interesting how easily they got to the planet, but the whole episode was about how difficult it was to get off.
“There was nothing milquetoast about Cut’s haircut.” - Christian
I was glad to see the theme of parenting throughout this episode. It’s certainly an element of Star Wars, which is chiefly a family-centered story. I was also happy to hear Omega’s theme played a different way. It’s more classical, symphonic, and epic. However, Tim hated the sound of the music when the kids were playing with the ball. He thinks it was just filler, mentioning it sounded too happy and not like Star Wars. Speaking of the ball scene, it was cool that the Nexu made an appearance, but there wasn’t much else for the lore. We hear that Rex passed by there not too long ago, and we’re told the Kaminoans don’t create without a purpose. Aside from that information and the new chain codes, there wasn’t much we pulled from this episode to rave about. It just seemed like the minimal content (even Wrecker’s cool poncho look) did not need it’s own episode.
“I love when Star Wars is ponchos!” - Amanda
Moving on to Episode 3: Replacements, we had some more positive things to say. It furthers the story and the debate of clones vs. recruits. The admirals decide to meld them together and have Crosshair lead a team of recruits, which turns out to be the actual bad batch. Under Crosshair’s leadership, they’re free to unleash violence even if unnecessary and unwarranted (almost executing civilians). While the audience starts hating Crosshair, Omega reminds us and the Batch that he’s still a part of their crew. He shot Wrecker, remember? Omega and Crosshair make the show worth it for Brody as they are more complex characters. The Kaminoans’ situation also gets more complicated since they may run out of business if the recruits prove useful. This also sheds some light on the morally gray situation of Lama Su and his business venture. Initially, the clones were easily seen as a good thing, supporting the Republic. Now, with the birth of an Empire, he may not want to ask himself serious questions and focus on the business. He’s doing what he thinks is best for his planet to prosper; to make a superior product that will sell.
“Great violence in this episode.” - Christian
Amanda mentioned Omega being the only female clone, which begs the question: can she give birth to further the line of Jango Fett? This opens up another can of worms: should clones in general be able to reproduce? It doesn’t seem like a smart move on the Kaminoans part to leave that ability to the clones unless it was within their controlled environment. Sterilization seems best, strictly from a liability point of view.
Hot Takes
Tech is the clone version of C-3PO.
Echo and Tech should be the same character.
Wrecker should be eliminated from the show.
There’s no way those kids are biologically Cut’s, because the Kaminoans would not have let clones reproduce.
We don’t need a Bad Batch show, we need a show about the birth of the Clone Army.
The Bad Batch needs to go darker, that family should’ve died under Crosshair’s command.
Sifo Dyas, the Kaminoans, facility production limitations and everything surrounding the birth of the Clone army is something Amanda thinks a lot more of us would be interested in watching. Especially if the Bad Batch isn’t all that bad. They seem like “the good batch” to quote our own Brody. He’d like for them to stop pulling their punches and get to a gritty group of guys that feel the weight of their sin departing the Empire. Does that mean more violence? Perhaps, but not just for the sake of violence. We want it to mean something as well. Just like Crosshair’s brutality. That worked, and we’d like to see more of it.
“A pool of blood does not teach a lesson.” - Tim
Altogether, we feel lukewarm at best about this show thus far. Focusing on the positives, we like that there’s an economical decision to be made by the Empire: clones or recruits. They’re also trying to overhaul economies by infusing themselves into everyone’s pocket, restricting people on what they can do with their money. Tarkin and Rampart talk about the planet Governors used by the Empire to maintain control over that planet, which is a theme throughout the Expanded Universe. It’s cool to see this show highlight the beginnings of the Empire. These are bigger issues worth diving into.
