Review – ‘The Bad Batch’ S01 Ep.02 ‘Cut And Run’ Review
by Olly MacNamee
Well, no sign of Rex as some fans speculated, although the Bad Batch miss him by a Jaxxon’s whisker. Hunter and the gang head for the planet Saleucami where they drop in on an old ally, Cut (first seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode, ‘The Deserter’), his wife Suu and their kids. But on a recon trip in disguise they soon feel the claws of the newly formed Empire everywhere.
Stormtroopers registering space ships as well as people into a galactic database and suppressing freedom of movement. A database that would serve the Emperor well in suppressing any dissent. It certainly doesn’t sound like the peace proclaimed by Emperor Palpatine, does it?
Now, a lot of Star Wars action does involve a significant amount of sneaking around. And blasting themselves out of trouble by retreating to their trusty ship. And I’m glad to report this tradition – itself an influence George Lucas no doubt took from the ‘40s Flash Gordon serials – is alive and well in this latest episode. To help Cut and his family get off the planet safely the Bad Batch set up a cunning plan to acquire chain codes needed for travel off-planet. It’s where a lot of the sneaking about comes into it. And where a lot of the subsequent shoot outs occur.
As you would expect, Omega features largely in this show, and soon gets into the kind of trouble only a kid can get into. Just as in The Mandalorian – and another tradition of Star Wars – the theme of family dynamics and relationships seems central. Will Hunter and Omega play out a similar arc as that of the Mandalorian and Grogu? Both learning from each other while the gruff, battle hardened veteran finds his soul? It could very well be. But, she’s not as precocious as she could be, so she is growing on me.
Again I cannot fault the animation and the attention to details with plenty of Easter eggs scattered throughout the episode to help establish and sustain the authentic Star Wars vibe. Two episodes in and I’m thoroughly enjoying it already. And their adventures are only just beginning!
The Bad Batch S01 Ep.02 is streaming now on Disney +