What a day for Star Wars content, but man is it rough for a fan who feels the need to get their opinions out, because covering two properties in one day is a slog.
I digress, it’s new Star Wars after all, so life ain’t bad, just busy. You will find ou Easter egg, References, and Cameos breakdown below, as well as our full review of The Bad Batch Season Two Episode Eleven, “Metamorphosis”.
If you’re a Mando fan, make sure to check out our breakdowns for S3E1 too!
Easter Eggs, References, and Cameos
Review and Top Moments
Script
After a rather mundane two-episode arc on a mining planet, The Bad Batch finds itself back on track with Metamorphosis, which not only featured some great callbacks to past and future Star Wars, but also set the season’s narratives on a path towards their endgame.
This is the type of episode fans have been clamoring for all season, because while it honored old and future Star Wars story lines, what it did best was finally push this season and its characters towards an endgame event that will surly leave fans wondering what may happen next to Clone Force 99 and their allies.
The introduction of Dr. Hemlock was brilliant, as he seems to be assuming the lead villain role after Rampart’s departure, but more importantly, he is putting a laser focus on the cloning plot line that was planted in Season 1, and for all intents and purposes will extend all the way through the original trilogy, the Mando-verse, and the sequels considering Hemlock specifically said Tantiss and Nala Se’s abilities are for the Emperor’s purposes.
That is a beefy Star Wars plot thread that technically was kicked off in the sequels, nurtured in the Mando-verse, and now, via Bad Batch, we are hopefully getting to see the genesis of all of Palpatine’s cloning shenanigans.
The episode also featured more than a few tense action beats and once again, it featured some of the best looking Star Wars animation to date.
But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, this episode stands out thanks to it forcing the Cid issue with the Bad Batch and ultimately, the reintroduction of this series’ season one plot line of the empire needing Omega for Nala se to work her magic.
This will surely offer some of this season’s most tense episodes to-date, and it will definitely bring Crosshair back into the picture as either her hunter, or savior. Next week, should be a banger if you dig that dude.
How about some top moments…
This list has to start with the Tantiss and Palpatine’s plans info dump that takes place between Hemlock and Nala Se. With this simple interrogation we learned of Palpatine’s plans to get into the cloning business, how important Nala truly is to these efforts, how evil Hemlock is, and that Tantiss itself is indeed in the cloning business and it’s so secret that only Republic Commandos can guard it. That’s the type of lore I dig.
Up next is the Zillo beast escape and attack sequence. This scene just stood out visually and really put off those Kaiju vibes. It was awesome to see the Empire send three cruisers, a fleet of LAATs, and commandoes into the fray to lock down the carnage and contain any leak that the empire had a zillo beast in the first place. Plus, you got some dogfight action with the marauder, so the whole Zillo attacks segment was spot on Star Wars.
Finally, Lama Su reintroducing the importance of Omega to Nala Se and therefore her use to the Empire, makes this list. It reinforced how seedy Lama Su is, but more importantly, this reveal will force the Bad Batch to take a deep look inward and poop or get off the pot when it comes to committing to freedom fighting over merc work. They will have no choice now that Omega is back in the Empire’s crosshairs, possibly literally, so this little exchange has done more for the overarching thread of this season than most that came before it.
Nick and I will talk more about this episode on next week’s episode of the SWTS, so don’t forget to tune into the Star Wars Time Show on a weekly basis via our podcast platforms or via YouTube if you prefer the livestream angle.
