First Thoughts On 'The Bad Batch': "Reunion"
After a relatively slow burn over the first half of the season, with episodes focusing on character development, side quests, and mercenary work, The Bad Batch kicked it up a notch with the most recent episode. What started for the Bad Batch as an easy job with a big payoff quickly degrades into a struggle for survival against an old foe and a nail-biting conclusion that undoubtedly brought many The Clone Wars fans to their feet. This spoiler filled article includes my first impressions, thoughts, and review of episode 8 of The Bad Batch: Reunion.
As the episode opens with Wrecker teaching Omega, the development of Wrecker as a character was refreshing. While he still falls firmly in the "big, dumb, brute" archetype, his knowledge of explosives and reference to training was a welcome reminder that he is a military professional, and an elite one at that. His relationship with Omega has been one of the best parts of the show and his role as the "fun uncle" brings welcome wholesomeness and comic relief to an otherwise often heavy show.
The minor conflict between Echo and Hunter is an excellent moment, revealing a lot about their character. Echo has filled the role of the grumpy survivor of dozens of battles in the squad. He's a career soldier, like Rex, and has no need or desire to look outside the military for purpose. Hunter meanwhile has found a new purpose and something that he would rather do instead of continuing to fight. Raising and protecting Omega is his main objective now. As he told Rex in the previous episode, "priorities have shifted."
After being noticeably absent from recent episodes, Crosshair returns in rare form, gunning for his former brothers. His familiarity with Clone Force 99 tactics is painfully obvious as he manages to stay one step ahead of our heroes throughout most of the episode. Tech's tactics in particular seem painfully inefficient against Crosshair and his squad. From the moment he sets foot on planet, Crosshair knows that Tech was disguising his jamming signal as atmospheric interference. He is then able to corner them in the artillery deck after feeding them false intel. This is a reason I would have liked Wrecker's chip to remain an issue longer than one episode. Clone Force 99 have such unorthodox tactics and are so familiar with each other's skill set that one turning on the rest makes for an extremely threatening antagonist.
Speaking of unorthodox tactics, the remote firing of the cannon to drop the deck on Crosshair and his squad is the most recent example of brilliant Tech/Echo team-ups. With an ensemble cast similar to Rebels, the unique interactions between crew members is one of the best things about The Bad Batch. I was looking forward to Omega and the squad processing her first kill after arrowing a clone, but a certain Duros in a snappy hat had other plans.
The escape through the engine is a daring and bold maneuver, reminiscent of one of The Force Awakens strengths, impressively conveying the sheer size of these cruisers. Crosshair's use of the environment is a fascinating way to transfer Clone Force 99's unique battle strategy to the darker goals of the Empire. An unexpected and efficient strategy on the battlefield can shift the outcome of a conflict in minutes. Adding this variable to the Empire's limitless resources and intelligence makes Crosshair an even more intimidating villain, before he even picks up a rifle. If it weren't for Hunter and Tech's quick thinking, the squad would have been cooked to a crisp.
However, the creativity and ingenuity of the squad once again comes through and our heroes are able to escape their former comrade. As the 99s escape, Crosshair is severely burned by the ion thrusters of the capital ship. His immediate reaction of writhing on the ground and curling up in cover is enough to remind the audience of the power Crosshair was toying with. His maiming will undoubtedly drive him to pursue his old squad with even more intensity and wrath.
We finally come to the best part of the episode, the revelation of the galaxy's deadliest bounty hunter, Cad Bane. The establishing shot of his scene, the twisting, pull away shot from the dead clone's helmet is a highly effective way to throw the audience off balance and prepare us for a climactic scene unequaled in Star Wars animation. Kevin Kiner has absolutely hit a homerun with the score in this moment; taking a page out of Ludwig Goransson's book and crafting music that is simultaneously a western gunfighter's theme and perfectly at home in a galaxy far, far away.
The closing scenes of this episode are some of the most tense and stake-raising moments of the show. The duel between Bane and Hunter is tense and kept me guessing what would happen up until they drew on each other. For an antagonist to arrive in the show and immediately smoke one of the most dangerous members of Clone Force 99 is a statement to say the least. The Clone Wars fans knew that Hunter was out-gunned and out-classed as soon as we saw those rocket boots.
As the Bad Batch escape Bracca, Omega's fate remains in doubt, and the back half of the show has many different twists and turns to take. Virtually, all of the shots from trailers have been shown and with Omega in hostile hands, the stakes of the show have been raised significantly. With Bane's quickdraw duel with Hunter so reminiscent of unfinished The Clone Wars episodes featuring Boba Fett, here's to hoping that the young clone gets his chance to claim the title of "deadliest bounty hunter in the galaxy." Until then, we are left with this masterfully crafted episode earning a rating of 9.1/10 from this reviewer.