The Bad Batch returned this week with a much warmer episode, both in terms of its setting and tone, but also was a bit too tame coming after the rather emotionally heavy Crosshair episode from last week.
Head on down below to check out the full deep dive into “Pabu”, which features a Temple of Doom homage, an AOTC easter egg, and the review.
Script
After a heavy episode that saw Crosshair finally cross a bridge in terms of his unflinching loyalty to the empire, this week’s episode of the Bad Batch opted for a lighter affair while clearing the way for what should be a very emotionally intense finish to the season.
Spoilers for Pabu incoming in 3,2,1…
Before diving into the review let’s first discuss this episode’s clear nod to the opening scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The scenario was spot on, the camera cuts, and even the action oriented finish, so the BB team is clearly fans of the Doctor.
We also saw the return of a Kouhun death worm, which is the same thing Zam used in AOTC to try and kill Padme.
Alright, now for the thoughts.
Bad Batch seems to pride itself on not delivering heavy and emotionally charged episodes in back to back weeks, because while Pabu was a nice detour en route to the season’s final three episodes, it didn’t quite match the reveals and narrative punches of the previous two.
It also didn’t necessarily move any of the overarching plot points much further along than where they were last week. Sure, the Cid split is front and center, but that was telegraphed two weeks ago when they failed the zillo mission and bailed on returning to her.
One could argue that this episode showed that the Batch could settle down somewhere as a quasi-family, but we all know that won’t last more than a week because of Cid and the Empire’s goal of capturing Omega to force Nala Se into some cloning work at tantiss.
What this episode did do though is show that the Batch is yearning for, and benefits from relationships outside of their squad.
This was most evident in the budding relationship between Tech and Phee, as well as the bromance between Shep and Wrecker, and of course Omega having an actual friend her age in lyanna.
It was interesting to see these characters act in a way that isn’t natural for them, or in ways we just haven’t seen because they’re always in conflict.
Hunter too realized the good that having a home provides for the team, so Pabu did coax some growth for all of our characters.
It just wasn’t done in an overly exciting or noteworthy way.
How about some top moments
Up first I have to go with Tech, who got all sorts of personality in this episode starting with his quip about playing himself is the only real challenge, but the scene of note featuring him is when he pulls out his recorder device and proclaims that he is commemorating Wrecker’s feat of feeling full for the first time in his life.
It was just pure tech, super dry and a bit unnatural, but his attempt at humor still shined.
And the final top moments goes to the tsunami. For starters, it just looked great and once again showed how awesome the animation looks in this series.
I just dig tsunamis and how they pull the ocean back before unleashing watery hell on anything in its past. The whole sequence was well done and provided some needed tension for this rather tame episode of the Bad batch.
Nick and I will talk more about this Bad Batch 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.
