The tone to this week’s Bad Batch episode, which is titled Faster, was much lighter than last week’s Imperial themed one, but it still offered up some worthwhile Star Wars style entertainment.
It bordered on filler, but we don’t use that term here for Star Wars content, so head on down below to check out our full review.
Script
This week’s episode of the Bad Batch is a 180 from last week’s dark and depressing Solitary Clone, and while it flirted with the filler classification, the racing action and insinuations about Cid’s untrustworthiness saved it from being just that.
No matter what episode aired this week it was going to be facing an uphill battle in toppling the excellence of The Solitary Clone. Faster definitely wasn’t as intriguing or Imperial atrocities informative as last week’s adventure, but it was still fun and exciting to watch thanks to the introduction of Riot Racing and Tech’s continued time in the spotlight.
This episode just offered up some entertaining Star Wars styled fun while not weighing your mind down with the greater galactic conflict that this series is set in. The riot racing in particular was a blast to behold and to hear. It was impossible not to be transported back to The Phantom Menace and its iconic pod race scene while watching TAY-0 and the other Mad Max Named racers battling on the track in the hopes of achieving glory.
Everything about the Riot Racing segments was very well done and the races were 100% the star moments in this episode, which is also the reason why this episode doesn’t stand out and will be forgettable. Bad Batch shines the most when it focuses on the Empire’s transgressions throughout the galaxy and how the team processes their role in the matter, so when you remove the Empire entirely, as well as half the batch, it’s going to be hard for an episode to hit with all categories of fans.
With that being said, the episode’s ending finally did offer some potential insights into a future plot line involving Cid and the Squad and how her shadiness may bite them in the collective asses by trusting her, but that was about it. That little nugget is what saved this episode from being filler, which is a term I refuse to use while criticizing Star Wars. Without it though, I may have had to figure out a way to justify Faster as not being all fluff and no narrative meat.
How about some top moments?
They were few and far between in this episode, but Tech’s Riot Race is definitely one and the best moment of the whole episode. Everything from the starting lineup being introduced to the music and racer sounds just felt Star Wars perfect, and liked mentioned earlier a great homage to Pod Racing and the Boonta Eve race in particular.
You also had to appreciate Tech getting more love this season and showing off a bit more personality in his quest for Riot Racing gold. Getting the tech chants at the end and seeing our beloved Nerd showered with and loving the praise of his fans was the cherry on top.
Finally, Millega’s warning to Omega and Wrecker is one that should not go unheeded. This scene and a few others between Millega and Cid hinted at the dark and suspect past we all know she probably has considering her chosen profession.
The key moving forward will be to see if Cid pays off on Millega’s warning, or if like she said in this episode, that she’s changed and won’t screw over 99. You would think that after all they’ve done for her outfit that Cid would remain loyal to the Clones if the Empire ever came knocking, but you just never know with Scoundrel types. I don’t think Millega’s warning was hollow though, so keep your eyes on Cid this season to see if she repays her crew with a visit from the Empire.
Nick and I will talk more about “Faster” 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.
