– Spoiler Review –
The Bad Batch show itself tries to be as unconventional as its team, mixing things up and resulting in my favorite episode of the season so far, as the show discusses trust, Omega’s place in the group in light of the bounty hunters after her, and opens up a potential new story thread once the clones find “Common Ground” with an unexpected faction.
The opening of “Common Ground” is just the beginning of what amounts to an overall pleasant surprise of an episode. For the first time all season, the episode begins without the Bad Batch at all, instead on the clones’ one time enemy, the Separatists. On Raxus Secundus, the homeworld of the movement, the citizens there find themselves welcoming the Empire’s rule, though it’s obvious they aren’t happy. As Captain Bragg informs them of all the security the Empire can afford them, there’s unrest in the crowd, but the moment their Senator, Avi Singh, steps up, they quiet and listen, making it clear how beloved and trusted he is by his people. He doesn’t like this new rule either, because why would any Separatist, as they fought for their freedom from the previous government and this one is even more oppressive and far-reaching. So when he takes the stand, he makes up his mind and fights back against the Empire’s rule, leading to his arrest and the citizens finding out just how benevolent their new rulers are, as AT-TE’s stomp on the grounds to break up their protest. Senator Singh’s droid scurries off, fulfilling orders for a contingency plan in case he was arrested for his views, and puts in a call for help. It’s a great scene at filling us in quickly on the situation, who Bragg and Singh are and what they stand for/are willing to do, and gives us another glimpse at the larger galaxy’s slow fall under the Empire’s rule. It’s also an important moment for representation and diversity, though by now we shouldn’t have to celebrate these moments but we haven’t quite gotten there yet with the franchise, as we have one of the very few female Imperial officers ever on screen in Captain Bragg (played by Shelby Young, who voiced Princess Leia in Forces of Destiny), a rare female droid in GS-8 (played by Sian Clifford, from Fleabag), and a Middle-Eastern coded character in Singh, played by Sudanese actor Alexander Siddig (Game of Thrones, Hannibal). You can count the amount of female officers on one hand that have ever been on screen and female-coded droids are very rare, while ensuring the brown skin coloring of Singh isn’t whitewashed like the Bad Batch keeps the representation intact, and all this simple to add diversity is very welcomed in already memorable scene.
Once I saw the title “Common Ground,” I was curious who or what the Bad Batch would find common ground with and a Separatist was a great choice for us viewers and a somewhat tough one for our clones. Hunter doesn’t even initially take the job from Cid, as that’s who GS-8 contacted I guess, because it’s about helping a Separatist Senator, but she assists him in seeing reason with the remembrance of their debt to her. It doesn’t mean any of them like it, with Echo the most vocal of the group considering he was in the war and focused against the Separatists longer, while the Bad Batch were involved in all sorts of strange missions already so working with/for a Separatist might not be the most outlandish thing they’ve done (knowing more about their war-time exploits would’ve helped here a bit). And then when they find out their contact is a droid, working for a clanker is just another questionable part of this job, forcing them to protect former enemies and work alongside droids, though I guess they are only comfortable with that when it’s ones they control (like they did in “Decommissioned”). By the end of the episode, after breaking out Singh and escaping the city in a mesmerizing action sequence, the Bad Batch, find out the enemies of their enemy are their friends, with even Echo helping the Senator realize the best choice is to escape now and come back with a plan later, as much as he doesn’t want to abandon his people. I appreciated how much the episode wanted to discuss trust, from Hunter leaving Omega with Cid or Tech with Singh’s directions to get them out of the Empire’s grasp, but I felt like it never truly dove as deep as it could, as the choice to survive helped progress along the clone’s feelings about the Separatists rather quickly. Maybe that’s the point, and hard to avoid in these early stages of the Empire’s rule, as it’s very clear who the real enemy is in these situations, but having more dissent or debates with the Senator could’ve clarified the clones’ issues with the Separatists (besides just being soldiers in the war) and would’ve offered up more time with Singh. I’m hoping the series isn’t done with his character or the situation on Raxus, as it would be a shame to let this situation be left behind so quickly, as a return to this storyline could add these deeper moments and it feels like a good way to pull some parts together, as the Bad Batch could come to Rex and his rebels for help in taking back Raxus.
I’d been wondering when the Dad Batch would finally consider leaving Omega behind when they went on a mission and having it happen after she’s taken by Cad Bane and rescued more on her own accord than theirs made a ton of sense. Knowing bounty hunters are after her and they might not be totally prepared for them, taking her to a planet running with Imperials suddenly doesn’t sound like such a great idea anymore, so Hunter reluctantly asks Cid to look after the young girl after she promises to simply because doing so would ensure more money in her pockets. There’s more to Cid but she just has a tough time showing it, as she tries to talk to the pouty Omega though she’s a little rough, drawing even the scorn of the two frequent ruffians to her bar, Bolo and Ketch. She tells Omega she shouldn’t pout about being left behind and instead find a way to make herself useful, and while Omega makes her regret the harsher way she phrases this advice, the two find themselves on better terms shortly. As Cid plays Bolo and Ketch in dejarik, Omega cautions against her next move, and when it turns out she’s right, Cid listens to the next piece of advice and suddenly she’s a victor…and Cid smells an opportunity. But Omega, despite her moping, has been listening and thinking, and when Cid asks her to play dejarik with her, the kid makes a deal of her own, fighting for a larger share. By the time the Batch is back, Omega is a dejarik star…and has settled their debts to Cid! Before Hunter learns this, he scolds Omega for not keeping a low profile, with Wrecker shoulder checking him for his bluntness and nudging him to speak with her, where it’s revealed she cleared their debt and she explains herself. Hunter takes some pride in her resourcefulness and finds a better way to work things through with her than talking, making a bet of his own: if she can beat him at dejarik, she won’t have to sit out anymore missions. The episode ends before we see who wins, but this isn’t as ambiguous as the spinning top of Inception, as her skills are likely enough to win and, from how he orders Omega to do something during their mission on Raxus despite her not being there, it’s clear Hunter wants her to be along as well. Once again, Omega proves her skills, abilities, and resourcefulness, and I loved how the show continues to let her flourish instead of holding her back so the Batch can teach her stuff/have her as just another kid.
I’ll be curious if my theory regarding Raxus and continuing Singh’s story will turn out true considering they are finally free of their debt to Cid. The Bad Batch doesn’t have to take anymore missions for her if they don’t want to, beyond to get money for food, so they can make their own way now, and helping him seems like the next best step. Hopefully the show will spend an episode on the team figuring out their next move now, giving us a little more time with the team and their dynamic outside of action scenes. If they choose to move on from Cid, I’m sure it won’t be the last we’ll see of her, and I certainly don’t want it to be, from Rhea Pearlman’s delivery and those fun nicknames for the group, she’d be missed.
Action scenes in this show, thanks to the animation’s level of quality, have always been exciting, well-paced, and full of many different unique, moving parts that keep things visually interesting and thrilling. “Common Ground” however is the first I’ve actually be worried for the Batch and truly felt the intensity of these scenes. Maybe I’ve grown fond of the characters or I was worried over Singh’s fate, but from the way the Empire kept coming, it felt like we were heading to some type of cliffhanger ending, with the Batch surrounded and it being up to Omega to come and break them out. While they manage to make it out of their latest predicament, it’s with the help of Singh and trusting him and his knowledge of his city, as he points them to a dead-end but really the wall hides a passage-way they can use to escape. Watching the Batch jump between the AT-TE’s with practiced precision, non-lethally taking down their former comrades, was a spectacular sequence, with them climbing all over the vehicles, while the growing forces against them, with the vibrant explosions as more AT-TE’s start pursuit, helped add to the sense of dread and urgency. Beyond that the animation had some stunning vistas to show off, from the profile of the planets, the long-shot of the capital building and its courtyard, or even the lush forest the Batch hide in when landing on Raxus. And before all the action starts, the way the team moves stealthily around reminded me of playing games like Splinter Cell. My only gripe was the silliness of seeing cameras on Raxus that look like ours.
Here are a few other things:
- In regards to GS-8, I knew her voiced sounded somewhat familiar, so when the credits revealed it was Sian Clifford, it all clicked, as she played Claire in Fleabag, a show I absolutely adore beyond belief…now the sisters of Fleabag have been in Star Wars! And with Alexander Siddig, since he was in Game of Thrones as Doran Martell, the House of Martell is taking over Star Wars, from Pedro Pascal of course as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Indira Varma in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show!
- Don’t forget, the soundtrack for The Bad Batch’s first half of season 1 is out on Spotify and it has 37 (!) tracks!
The Bad Batch’s “Common Ground” finds sure footing in a well-paced episode focused on the theme of trust with a unique start and some intense action moments.
+ Singh and the Batch finding “Common Ground”
+ Omega’s dejarik run
+ Intense, claustrophobic action
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 | 1.7 Battle Scars | 1.8 Reunion | 1.9 Bounty Lost