TV Review: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Season 2, Episode 5
by Frank Martin
One of the great things about Star Wars is its sense of adventure. The galaxy is such a big place with so many planets and so many civilizations that there’s tons of room for ancient history. This week’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch took full advantage of that vast openness by creating a legend and having Clone Force 99 explore it. It was a great mystery and adventure. It may not have a lot of consequence to the show’s larger plot, but that’s just fine. Sometimes all fans need is a good episode with some suspense to enjoy their favorite characters.
The story kicks off when Wrecker (Dee Bradley Baker) and Omega (Michelle Ang) at a junkyard. She brings back a strange object, which Phee Genoa (Wanda Sykes) deduces is a compass. She believes it’s part of a treasure hunt and manages to convince the other clones (also voiced by Barer) to help her find it. The compass eventually leads them to an uninhabited planet. Genoa believes that the compass is part of a legend called Skara Nal. Looking to find priceless treasure inside, the group inadvertently activates a super weapon but has to turn it off before it destroys their ship and strands them on the planet.
It’s hinted at in the beginning that Genoa is an embellisher and she could be making the whole thing up. So it was very cool in the end to see Omega’s face light up at the thought of the legend actually being real. Also, seeing the gigantic super weapon in action is a bit of an “off thing” for Star Wars. It resembles something that might be seen in more anime inspired stories, but it fits well in the concept of the ancients. They existed long before the Republic, so seeing an adventure that takes advantage of this relatively unknown time made for a fun episode.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch streams Wednesdays on Disney+.