“Common Ground” is a filler episode, plain and simple.
The Plot
Senator Singh on Raxus, home to the Separatist government, contracts Cid to organize a rescue attempt when the Empire arrests him for not condoning its occupation.
Echo is against the plan because the Separatists were the enemy back in the day, but the Batch takes the offer because a job’s a job.
Omega is left behind because of the two bounty hunters after her. Though disgruntled at being left in the care of Cid, Omega demonstrates she can do more than scrubbing down counters when she reveals her strategical genius at Dejarik. Cid offers her to play for money with a pretty good cut of the profits.
The Bad Batch end up rescuing the senator even when plans go awry, and Omega wins enough money at Dejarik she’s able to clear their debt to Cid.
The Good
I’m glad they separated Omega from the Bad Batch for a little while. It’s not particularly endearing to me when they treat her like a soldier because she’s not a soldier nor should she be one. I wish she had a friend her own age to mingle and bond with.
The Senator hurling his precious vase at a stormtrooper is also a great moment.
The Bad
If you go to Disney Plus, the summary for this episode says, “The Batch has their ideology challenged.” Except, that literally doesn’t happen. Cid sends them to rescue Senator Singh, and some of them, notably Echo, doesn’t want to because he’s a Separatist. It’s easy to imagine why Echo would have a bigger problem with that than say, Hunter, but because his trauma has not been explored in the text, and has sometimes been treated in an extremely ableist way, his protest lacks depth. Space for Echo to articulate what might be justice for him–perhaps it’s being left behind to look after Omega in turn, perhaps it’s not raising a single blaster on the senator’s behalf, perhaps it’s asking the senator point blank how he had allowed prisoners of war to be tortured — is never provided. And so Echo’s protests about Separatists and nothing comes of it at all.
Star Wars has consistently chosen never to show the values of the Separatists or the Republic in a meaningful or consistent way, and this episode is no exception. The Bad Batch is never allowed to voice their own feelings on the subject at all, and, most importantly, they are not really able to disagree with each other and have a passionate feeling about something.
Because the values of the Separatists, the Republic, and even the individuals comprising the Bad Batch are not allowed to be expressed, there is no moment where their ideologies are actually challenged. Despite the episode’s title, viewers are left wondering what common ground the Bad Batch share not only with each other, but also the senator they rescue.
It’s disappointing, and it hurts this episode badly.
When the Bad Batch returns, they see everything Omega has done, and Hunter challenges her to his own game. If she wins, no more being left behind. Hunter is definitely struggling between the line of commander and father figure, but because the characters don’t get to experience emotions, Hunter’s struggle, and therefore Omega’s, falls flat and disappointing.
In Conclusion
If you’re busy because of the three day weekend, it’s safe to skip this episode. It can’t hold a candle to “Bounty Lost,” and it might hold up better if there’s a second episode ready to play so viewers aren’t left sitting alone with their disappointment as the credits roll.