11/23/2023 0 Comments Bad batch s2We have seen the character who only thinks logically be confronted by an emotional conundrum and struggle with expressing what they feel over and over in science fiction for literal decades, and The Bad Batch doesn’t do much to change the formula here. That we finally see him break down and be emotional is a breakthrough (and a fantastic performance by Dee Bradley Baker as usual), but it also feels rather redundant. Out of everyone in the Batch, Tech was always the most reserved, the quietest one. He tells Omega that he processes moments and thoughts differently, but still feels as much as anyone else. Echo chose a different path, as did Crosshair, and even if he doesn’t like their decision, Tech has to respect it. He tells Omega that he does not look at things emotionally he knows things are changing, but he can’t do anything about them so he simply adapts and moves on - like a soldier does. “The Crossing” also offers a rare moment of honesty from Tech, in what is both the highlight of the episode and a rather frustrating one. Though the episode doesn’t spend nearly as much time exploring this as it should, relying heavily on implications and the audience connecting the dots for themselves, it is a good moment for Omega. She does not see this as a simple military squad with a rotating roster (and, to be honest, they haven’t really been a military squad since they began their life as simple mercenaries) but as a family, and now their home is broken. But now, she is experiencing everything for the first time - joy and wonder but also sorrow and loss. Sure, she is technically older, but has a lot less life experience, having grown up entirely alone on Kamino with only doctors and scientists as company. While season two of The Bad Batch has given Omega a bigger role within the titular Batch, showing her to be a capable soldier like her brothers, it is also constantly reminding us that she is still a child. Omega, of course, does not care about logic and runs off. They were merely co-workers, and co-workers leave, it is simply logical. The Batch existed long before Echo joined it can continue to exist after him. Ever the logical member of the Batch, Tech brushes it off. When Tech tells Omega there is no way to get the ship back since the thief shut down the tracker, Omega breaks down, saying they already lost a brother and can’t lose their home now, too. Even worse, Tech is doubting her skills here, despite proving herself all throughout this season. He’s also scolding Omega for simply invoking the name Echo and being sad about him leaving. He treats Wrecker like an imbecile, doubting his intelligence at every turn and blaming him for mistakes. Throughout all this, Tech is very aggressive toward his siblings. With the ship stolen and a raging storm approaching, the Batch finds refuge in another abandoned mine before an exploding vial of ipsium traps them inside. It is extremely clear now that they are barely surviving, not living. The problem is that this is the follow-up to Echo leaving the Batch after a season and a half, the follow-up to the Coruscant affair, and it’s happening in the aftermath of the effective end of the clones. It’s not that we should expect the Batch to go on grand adventures or galaxy-saving missions every week, or that they should be meeting up with important characters all the time. That’s the plot.Īnd therein lies most of the disappointment with this episode. The Batch needs to find a way out of the mine. Poachers simply sneak onboard and fly away without any resistance. Omega is stepping up admirably, but with one man down, there is no one to stay with the ship. But, unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of that either. It is a very low-key story, one that in theory would allows for the focus to be on the characters rather than the plot. And yet, in “The Crossing,” the Batch tries to mine ipsium from an abandoned mine Cid was convinced to buy. How do you follow the best episodes of the show - ones that didn’t only elevate The Bad Batch’s dynamic to new heights but also had massive implications for the lore of Star Wars as a whole? Well, you don’t do a mining side-quest, for starters. While this structure has led to some fun moments - like the riot-racing and treasure-hunting episodes, both of which are testaments to the power of episodic TV - this week’s self-contained installment feels like a step backward after last week’s fantastic, game-changing two-parter. The larger plot that carries over the season tends to get only a mention or two in a given episode. Other than the two-parters, the episodes are relatively stand-alone adventures. So far, The Bad Batch has followed an episodic but sequential format.
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