Warning: Spoilers for Episode 8 of “The Bad Batch.”
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” has put us on a path to the finale with its latest episode, connecting us back to “The Clone Wars” while doing so.
The eighth episode of “Bad Batch” — titled “Reunion” — shows the Bad Batch soldiers still in hiding from the Empire. That is until the Empire shows up to confront them. As they look to escape, they receive a little help from someone who appeared in the “Clone Wars.”
Overall, the episode had a heavier feel to it that made it clear “Bad Batch” is closing in on the season finale. There are only two more episodes left in the season, so clearly this is setting us up for our final episodes.
The return of Cad Bane
OK. We have to start with the return of Cad Bane. Anyone who watched “The Clone Wars” during the second season will easily recognize the blue-faced character. He’s a bounty hunter with a quick shot, who had previously made lives difficult for our heroes like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
His return signals that we’ll see more bounty hunters making their way into the show. We saw Fennec Shand a few weeks back, and now we’re seeing Cad Bane. You have to consider that Boba Fett is out there somewhere, growing from a young boy into an adult. It wouldn’t be surprising if he shows up at some point, too.
Cad Bane’s return to “Star Wars” also signals how much this show is a sequel series to “Clone Wars.” Bane was a really deep-cut character that only “Clone Wars” fans would know. To bring him back suggests this “Star Wars” show is really paying homage to fans who have been with the “Clone Wars” animated series since the beginning.
So hat tip to “Star Wars” for bringing Cad Bane back. It’ll be interesting to see how his return shapes out moving forward.
The finale setup — seems familiar?
The setup for the season finale sounds pretty familiar if you’ve been keeping up with your “Star Wars” content.
“Bad Batch” began with the idea that Omega was a defective clone who had escaped Kamino with the Bad Batch. But the Empire — and apparently the planet of Kamino, now — wants Omega back in their hands. At the end of this episode, Cad Bane steals her away from the Bad Batch, who then suggests they have to go rescue her.
This sounds a little familiar — almost exactly like the plot of the second season of “The Mandalorian.” It’s basically the same storyline. A young, powerful person unites with our heroes, then gets captured. Our heroes have to then take on the Empire to rescue the young person. This is exactly when Grogu/The Child/Baby Yoda got captured by the Empire and The Mandalorian gathered a group to save the youngster.
That’s the one downside of the “Bad Batch” story that we’re going to run into. Some of the storylines we’ve seen before will be told again. We will see familiar stories. And while new “Star Wars” stories are fun, there’s a new “we’ve been here before” vibe coming over me with this show. We’ve seen soldiers battle, we’ve seen this Omega-getting-captured-story before and we know, most likely, how it all ends.
Let’s hope “Bad Batch” has something up its sleeve and can really show us not all “Star Wars” shows are built the same way.