Director: Nathaniel Villanueva
Starring: Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Matthew Wood, Rhea Pearlman, Brigitte Kali, Elizabeth Rodriguez
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 6 has just landed on Disney Plus and without any further ado, here is our review of the latest instalment of this new animated Star Wars series.
After we briefly see Omega (Michelle Ang) being given lessons to use her sci-fi bow at the beginning of this week’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the group (all Dee Bradley Baker) are sent to Corellia to steal the head of a Tactical Droid. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned when the team bump into Rafa and Trace Martez who are also after the head.
Here again we see the wider Star Wars universe being padded out with more information thanks to The Bad Batch. It makes sense that the droids would all be destroyed – they were the mechanical face of the enemy behind Palpatine’s mastermind plan. Now we get to see what happens after.
The Return of the Droids In Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 6
Read more: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 1 Spoiler Review
The title of the episode is ‘Decommissioned’ (written by Amanda Rose Muñoz) and this week actually saw the brief return of droids and all their The Clone Wars nostalgia. Their minor role could have been expanded but their undeniably quirky humour was still present – one asked ‘Did we win?’ as they were booted up – and Matthew Wood’s iconic voice still sounds perfect. We’ve seen droids from the Clone Wars also in Rebels, so they may well appear again here.
I love the idea of the factory being now taken over by the droids – I don’t think this happened (the future of the droids is completely ignored), but it’s a fun idea nonetheless.
I have to praise the art style of this episode. The dingy factory is an amazing battleground with dark corners, packed conveyor belts and bridges at the higher levels, and it’s all been brought to life by the art team with a level of detail and atmosphere that’s very impressive. We’ve seen cities, deserts and now factories – wherever we go next it’ll be beautifully animated I know.
Wrecker is a good soldier who doesn’t follow orders?
Credit: Disney Plus
Read more: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 2 Spoiler Review
Wrecker’s headache also reached a further level of pain today after another bump. As he slowly said the phrase ‘Good soldiers follow orders’, that ominous signal that the inhibitor chip is working, I wasn’t quite sure what was to happen. It appears that his moral fortitude actually won and he’s back to normal, although I hope there’s more with this sub-plot still to come because Wrecker needs a larger role other than comic relief.
I’d also forgotten how unlikeable Rafa Martinez (Elizabeth Rodriguez) is. We first met Rafa and her young sister Trace (Brigitte Kali) in the final season of The Clone Wars where her selfish and arrogant nature didn’t really enamour her to the audience. That said, this show could be an opportunity to flesh out the character.
The Bad Batch is building towards something bigger
Credit: Disney Plus
Read more: Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 3 Spoiler Review
Nonetheless, we got another piece of the show’s grand mystery puzzle at the end of the episode where Rafa told an unknown male character where the Bad Batch are. It’s implied the two sisters are working for what would be fledgling form of the Rebel Alliance, so this figure could be Bail Organa.
That said, Rafa’s unsavoury character means she could also be selling the clones out to someone else. This could be anyone, but maybe it’s Saw Gerrera seeking revenge for what Crosshair did on Onderon a few episodes back, which would add another interesting layer to the show. Between this and Fennec Shand being hired out to capture Omega, something is definitely happening in this wider world.
Whilst I’ve thought the past few episodes a little filler, they are starting to build a wider narrative in which the place of the Bad Batch will soon be discovered. Dave Filoni’s ability to helm this large universe is already well known and I’m excited to see what comes next. Roger, roger.
What did you make of Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 6?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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