The Latest Episode of ‘The Bad Batch’ Answers an Important Question: How do You Tame an Infamous ‘Star Wars’ Monster?

This post contains spoilers for today’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Save a “kid” – that sounds easy right? In the latest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, titled “Rampage,” the team (Dee Bradley Baker) has to find more information about the bounty hunter on the trail of Omega (Michelle Ang). On Echo’s intel, they travel to the desert planet of Ord Mantell to seek an informant, Cid (Rhea Perlman with biting swagger), once trusted by the Jedi for intel. And wouldn’t you know it? They have to do a job for her in return: retrieve a “kid” by the name of Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders (introduced in season 4 of Clone Wars).

It’s an opportunity for Omega to learn about the unpleasant corners of the galaxy. “What’s a slave trader?” Omega inquires. So thus she finds out that slavery, where people are sold as property, is something that exists in the galaxy. Even Echo looks guilty that they’re mainly motivated by creds and liberating a soul is secondary. Tech’s detached line, “We’ve never been tasked with rescuing a child from slave traders before so there is no data I can compare it to” is more for the audience than for the Batch to think over themselves. But despite those spots of introspection in Tamara Becher-Wilkinson’s script, “Rampage” (directed by Steward Lee) is more focused on grabbing the bounty and less on the state of the galaxy and the Bad Batch have no moral delay in freeing other potential slaves not in their job rescue queue.

Thankfully, the episode demonstrates lessons were learned in “Cornered” after their run-in with a certain fan favorite assassin. Smarter preparations are made. They equip Omega with Crosshair’s old wrist comm link (which she loves playing with) and coach her to follow safety standards: “Don’t wander off… trust no one but my squad.” She also obeys, reluctantly, when Hunter orders her to go back to the ship and she only emerges to save the day when said safe area is compromised.

The kid is revealed to be, well, a formidable rancor, though small by rancor standards. But it’s still that nasty beast first introduced back in Return of the Jedi. The Bad Batch placate her and return her to Cid’s client, Bib Fortuna (Matthew Wood), none other than the right-hand man of Jabba the Hutt. Cid gives Hunter the identity of the bounty hunter they’re looking for, Fennec Shand, although they don’t know who hired her. However, the sources here came from the bounty hunter Guild — the Guild that employed Din Djarin in The Mandalorian. Although we’re led to believe it’s likely the Kaminoans who hired Fennec (why aren’t they brought up as an obvious candidate?), it’s possible the show is toying with expectations about the identity of the person after Omega.

Though it bears introspective potential, especially through Echo’s reaction to their mission motive, “Rampage” does not match “Cut and Run” and “Replacements”, both of which seized the opportunity to effectively parallel the rearranging galaxy with the personal transition for the Bad Batch. The episode at least develops the Batch’s growing trust in Omega while focusing on the path of their new normal: that they have to become mercenaries to survive in the galaxy. In Hunter’s words, they’re not swimming in creds or friends. Cid promises Hunter more creds as long as they complete jobs, and not to mention her willingness to sell out the Bad Batch as valuable bounty. Hunter knows he has gotten into something dubious. But what choice do they have?

“Rampage” contains one character moment that stands out: Omega sooting a white-armored clone soldier doll in the Batch’s standard black and announcing, “Now she’s a Bad Batcher.” It’s a familiar moment for Star Wars fans—or someone in any fandom — adopting a character template (a usual male-presenting template in this case) and altering them into your own image. Girl, I feel that.

Other Thoughts

• Yeah, I don’t like how they’re playing up Wrecker’s headache.
• At first glance, I hoped that Muchi is not that poor rancor who meets its end in Return of the Jedi. But according to the internet, Pateesa is that unlucky rancor.

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