It’s Friday, which means a new Star Wars: Bad Batch. “Rampage” aired in the wee hours of Friday morning.
The Plot
The Bad Batch determine to find out who is after Omega. They go to Ord Mantell, seeking a Jedi informant named Cid. In exchange for the information, Cid sends them on a mission to rescue someone named Muchi from Zygerrian slavers. When the Bad Batch successfully rescues Muchi, Cid shares some information on Fennec (though nothing about who contracted her). Cid suggests that the Bad Batch keep working with them, with a subtle hint that if the clones choose not to, Cid can cash in on their value as wanted criminals.
The Good
Zygerrian butt got kicked to a truly satisfying degree.
When the Zygerrians guest starred in a several episode arc on The Clone Wars, the narrative left me very disappointed. Like sure–the Zygerians didn’t win, the worst of the bad guys ended up dead, but the story positioned the queen as a slave too, and that did not sit well with me.
But there’s nothing like that here. The Zygerrian are scum, through and through, and they get chomped by Muchi who, as it turns out, is a rancor owned by Jabba the Hutt.
Is it the rancor in Return of the Jedi? I watched the rancor scenes to see if I could catch anything that sounded like Muchi but didn’t, not even with subtitles on. I think the overall Star Wars story is better if the rancor we see in Return of the Jedi is Muchi, all grown up, if only for the tragedy of it.
Star Wars would not be as hopeful without its counterbalance of tragedy. There are the big tragedies, like the story of Anakin Skywalker who finds his balance of hope when Darth Vader chooses his son, chooses good. But there are smaller tragedies too, such as when Jyn saves a child from blaster fire on Jedha only for Jedha to be destroyed by the Death Star a few hours later.
Did Jyn’s action matter? Star Wars resolutely says yes, saving that child mattered even though the child died the same day.
In my heart, the rancor the Bad Batch encounter on Ord Mantell is the same rancor in Return of the Jedi because, even though she is rescued from Zygerrian slavers, she is returned to Hutt slavers. Because as she rampages against Zygerrian slaver scum, she will also kill the enslaved. Because she is Jabba’s pet, she will die at the hands of Luke Skywalker, and even though we cheer for her now, her death is as close to justice for Oola and all the others before her are going to get. Because when Leia chokes that slug to death, that is a sense of justice too.
It’s heartbreaking, and it’s also not.
Rescuing Muchi is more difficult than the Bad Batch anticipate. During the course of the episode, the Zygerrians capture the Bad Batch. Omega manages to avoid the scouts but when she realizes that the Bad Batch needs help, she attempts her own rescue.
She fails. She’s caught by the Zygerrians too.
Essentially, it’s Omega’s curiosity that provides the key to their escape. Her curiosity brings her to Muchi, and even though Omega can’t see clearly inside, she unlocks the cage, knowing that whatever is in there might be able to help them.
It’s a great moment for Omega, and echoes back to the themes of failure in earlier episodes. Even when failing, there is sometimes a win. A person, no matter how old they are, doesn’t need to be the best or the strongest or the smartest. Sometimes reaching out and helping someone else is the solution.
“Rampage” also depicts Wrecker clutching his head again. My theory that Wrecker’s chip is going to wreak some havoc soon isn’t entirely dead!
The Bad
I wish that when the Bad Batch was explaining slavery to Omega someone had mentioned it sounded an awful lot like what happened to the clones, since they were sold by the Kaminoans and bought by the Republic. Perhaps its just a conclusion the writers want the viewers to draw on their own, but I really just want a character to say it and have feelings about it.
Some day.
Though a lot of this episode had content that appealed to my interests, the flaws I’ve already discussed at length still exist here. Action pervaded much of this episode, and there was not a lot of character development even though Echo did have more lines than usual. I’m hoping they’ll return to an A and B plot structure soon because I do want to know what’s up with Crosshair and his new squadron.
In Conclusion
There was enough in “Rampage” to keep me engaged and interested, not just in the Bad Batch’s world, but in the larger Star Wars universe. Hunter says that friends are in short supply, and Cid transforms into something so much more menacing than a foe because they dangle a sword over the Bad Batch’s head: the potential of betrayal. At least with Crosshair and the Empire, they know where they stand. They know what will happen to them. I don’t blame Hunter’s perturbed frown in the closing scenes.
The Bad Batch need to find themselves an ally and fast. Not to be cheesy even though it is a canonical fact, love does save the day and they’re going to need some of that magic to survive the tragedy slowing brewing around them.