– Spoiler Review –
The Bad Batch reveals one of its mysterious faces, to timely effect, though the “Battle Scars” from this episode look to only be the beginning.
At the end of last week’s “Decommissioned,” Trace and Rafa Martez phoned into a mysterious hooded individual to tell them who they ran into, and theories ran rampant about their identity. Once Monday’s release of the episode guide came out, it was all but confirmed to be one person, and “Battle Scars” didn’t waste much time making it official: Commander Rex! Last seen chronologically with Ahsoka Tano faking their deaths after the Siege of Mandalore, it seems Rex didn’t waste much time getting back into the fight, even though we know at one point he’ll “retire” out to Seelos and sling for joopas with a few other remaining clones. For now though, he tracks down the Martez sisters’ rumors of rogue clones and finds himself with a giant bear hug from Wrecker. Their reunion is delightful to see, but the comfort of found brothers doesn’t last long once he learns the Batch hasn’t had their inhibitor chips removed, as Wrecker’s headaches only get worse. He finds a place they can get it removed and the Batch lands on Bracca, which should be familiar to video game fans and readers alike, to traverse the ship graveyard and board a Republic Cruiser so they can go through the same procedure he did to have it removed.
After last week’s close call with Wrecker and the inhibitor chip, I enjoyed the idea this would be a bit of a ticking time bomb, potentially going off at the worst moment for the Batch. And it’s certainly not a good moment on the dilapidated ship, as the close quarters give the already formidable Wrecker the advantage when the chip takes over. It’s a fittingly brutal fight, as he’s able to overwhelm the rest of the Batch, and Rex, quickly, and Omega puts herself in his sights to protect Hunter. The result scene is tense, even though I knew deep down they wouldn’t kill Omega like this (if at all) in the show, and nerve-wracking, as he stalks her through the ship, is usually friendly demeanor and goofy face replaced with a determined, fury-filled face and less lumbering movement. They frame the scene in such a menacing way too, highlight the size difference he has over everyone, especially Omega, that it came at great relief to me for Rex to finally put an end to his rampage. The bond between Omega and Wrecker has been building throughout the season, from him building her a room on the ship to their little high-fives in the background, and this week even established a cute little post-mission tradition of popcorn for them, which only added to Wrecker’s pursuit of Omega through the ship. Her pleading with him, sad about watching him turn and not wanting to hurt him, also effectively tugged at the heartstrings, with big thanks to Michelle Ang’s acting. And it only gets more touching, from her insistence she needs to stay by his side until he awakes to his gentle touch of her shoulder to begin his apology, which she accepts with the offering of more of their popcorn. It was a truly, sweet, well-written moment between these two, especially after the emotional rollercoaster Wreckers rampage put me through, so mad props to series’ executive producer and episode writer Jennifer Corbett for putting together another fine, emotionally packed episode.
My only problem with the episode was the convenience of it all, as just when Wrecker’s inhibitor chip problem became glaring, Rex happens to show up with the perfect remedy. Yes, we still got a scene of him falling prey to its control, but it happened with the fix well within reach. This is a problem of mine mainly due to any expectations I had, but regardless it did feel a little too easy.
Before Rex leaves into the night, he shares a short talk about what to do next, with both clones offering to help one another if they need it. Hunter and the Batch certainly will soon, on two different fronts. On one side is Cid, who didn’t take kindly to them failing the previous mission, reacting not with any violence, but a growing list of debts in an effort to compel them to keep working for her, lest they cross her and find out the consequences. She promises them one big mission to clear the board, but after some warning words from the Martez sisters, the Batch is clearly not happy with Cid’s flippant attitude about the who, what, or why behind these jobs, knowing there’s a better way to contribute to the galaxy. Rex is a great reminder of that higher purpose, what they used to know fighting for the Republic, and I imagine things with Cid will boil over before long, and hopefully they’ll pick the right path forward, even if it doesn’t mean tons of credits. On the other side is the Empire, because as Rex walks off into the mist, some scrappers from the Scrappers Guild notice Hunter and call in the Imperials. This means we’ll be seeing Crosshair again soon, and probably the special ops squad he’s been training, and this threat is far more deadly at the moment than anything Cid will ever likely throw at them. If the Empire catches up with them and we’re still on Bracca, maybe they’ll try to subdue him and remove the chip? Or subdue him anyways and try to bring him there if they aren’t on Bracca still by the time the Empire catches up? Either way, I’m sure it’s going to make for a memorable episode when Crosshair and the Batch see one another again.
Bracca looked very stunning in this show’s exceptional animation, heavy in ships and bereft in decay and rust, while the broken down corridors of the cruiser, littered with debris and dust, were eerie and convincingly riddled by time. It sort of reminded me of some locations in games like The Last of Us or Uncharted, run down and nature taking back over. Also of note was the gorgeous water effects, be it the puddle they encounter to start or later during Wrecker’s tussle with the creature in the water. Could it be baby sarlacc? Or a baby of the planet’s Ibdis Maw, as seen and featured in Jedi: Fallen Order* and Resistance Reborn. Those two stories spent some time on Bracca, as it’s where Cal Kestis hid until the Inquistorious got wind of him, while the Resistance braves a mission there to retrieve ships to rebuild its fleet after the events of The Last Jedi. As always, when talking about the beautiful animation, we would be remiss not to mention the campaign for unwhitewashing the Bad Batch, so visit the site for more details.
Here are a few other things:
- *Jedi: Fallen Order conveniently received its next-gen video game release to PS5 and Xbox Series X, which is a free upgrade for owners of the game.
- There’s an interview on the official site with Omega’s voice actress, Michelle Ang!
The Bad Batch’s “Battle Scars” is another solid episode, despite its convenience, paying off building threads of friendship between Wrecker and Omega for dramatic effect, making Rex’s appearance somehow the least exciting aspect of the episode (not in a bad way)!
+ Wrecker’s turn hits some emotional chords
+ The sweet moments between Wrecker and Omega
+ The return of Rex!
– Too convenient at times
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BAD BATCH REVIEWS
Season One: 1.1 Aftermath | 1.2 Cut and Run | 1.3 Replacements | 1.4 Cornered | 1.5 Rampage | 1.6 Decommissioned