The Bad Batch The Bad Batch 1.14 - War-Mantle - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Which was almost certainly done on purpose

 

I really dug this episode! The secret Imperial mountain base was giving me strong Mount Tantiss vibes. And with the new troopers and all the recent speculation about there being a loose adaptation of the Thrawn trilogy, I wondered if this was going to be something related to Thrawn or a Palpatine contingency plan. What we got wasn't as mind blowing, but it was still really cool. I'm loving the proto-stormtrooper designs!

Gregor was a pleasant surprise. I was running through possible clones who the fugitive could be and he wasn't even on my radar. My old problem of this show being the most interesting when the title characters aren't on screen didn't apply here because they are now getting involved in the more interesting stuff that they were previously separate from. It was also cool to finally see the V-Wings in action. The laser canon sound effect really drives home the idea that they are proto-TIE fighters.

And of course, ending the episode with the inevitable face-to-face confrontation between Crosshair and his old squad mates (or, in this case squad mate since it's only Hunter for now) is an intriguing hook for the next episode.

 

It finally happened. 16 years of waiting elapsed, but my dreams are finally fulfilled...

V-Wings took part in an action scene...


THEY GOT TO FIRE THEIR GUNS!

Oh yes, the rest of the episode, good stuff. Tying things back into the Clone and Kamino arc plot made the infiltration feel a lot more weighty than some past episodes, appreciated. Also really liked the forest mountain crater base. Felt like something that took a huge advantage of the medium of animation to create an evocative scope

Wonder if the Bounty Hunters like Bane or Fennec will get reinvolved now we're into the season's endgame?

 

I think they’ll come back next season

 

So something that is not entirely clear to me is what Rampart and Crosshair mobilized every available trooper for. I doubt they knew in advance that the BB would attempt to bust out Gregor, and if they did, I'm pretty sure Gregor would have noticed if there was a sudden increase in the staffing of the base. This means that Rampart needed those soldiers somewhere else... but the question is, where?

 

I am pretty sure they are just mobilizing them off the planet

 

I said this in another thread It may be that Gregor was a trap not to catch The Bad Batch by themselves but a whole group of Rebel Terrorists. With the way, Rampart says he wishes CF99 were on the Empire's side. He and Crosshair may be aware that Rex's group exists. Maybe Rex was spotted on Bracca. They might have thought that was who sent The Bad Batch to break out Cham Syndulla. Which could conveniently leave Ord Mantell a safe place for them. I fully suspect the team minus Hunter will regroup at that same old bar.

It's worth noting that The Bad Batch is supposed to be more capable than an army so it may make sense to send way more troops than needed. Also, possible the Empire is mobilizing are to whatever Rex is in the middle of and there will be a C-plot to further divide the team. I recall Rebels where not once but twice the Empire pulled out of Lothal and showed up very quickly to try and curb stomp the heroes and their Rebel allies where they were hiding. Like, Echo could have to choose between Rex and Hunter. It's going to be interesting to see what shape the rest of the squad is going to be in the next episode.

 

So far it doesn't. And I keep hoping it stays that wayAnd we don't know how many trained recruits the Empire has so far. Or for how long they've been training them. Or even how much time has passed since ROTS...

Fanatics? Bit derogative aren't ya...

They're being mobilized to be moved off Kamino, not to go after BB. We're talking about millions of soldiers and child clones here, with thousands of ships. At this point, the clone army still is the Imperial Army without which the Empire would not be able to keep control of the galaxy.

They will either spread them across the galaxy to work as instructors and commanders, given their experience (the smart thing to do) or they'll mass decommission them (the stupid thing to do).

 

Well, the word "fan" is short for "fanatic", so all of us are fanatics by definition.

 

It's interesting how in the last episode Tech was arguably the MVP with that flashbomb and here in this episode, he completely ****ed up when he tried to "redirect" the troops. I wonder if they'll do anything with that. Could also get some drama from Echo pushing them to do the extraction.

 

It’s worth pointing out that the clones aren’t completely loyal to the Empire, since at least some of the clones, according to Gregor, are deliberately training the Imperial stormtrooper Corp to suck.

 

I gave it an 8/10. I liked it better than the previous episode. My review was posted previously.

 

I gave this one a 10/10

 

A lot better episode this week than last week, once again I love the world building and the lore. I do wish they would give the bad batch characters more to do, although at least Echo got a little time to shine this week. eight out of ten for me

 

So far only very few clones deserted as far as we know. In an army of millions, that's always to be expected. And the ones that deserted that we know of were always either special forces or high ranking officers that had plenty of contact with the Jedi. The Jedi influence is showing there...

And I don't remember the clones being very effective or precise in the previous episodes when they were going against the BB. Or when they went after Ahsoka and Rex at the end of TCW...

Its just the magic of plot armor. In the OT-era, stormtroopers were the most elite fighting force in the galaxy. As long as they didn't go against the main characters of the story...

 

I got major Galactic Battlegrounds flashbacks watching a gonk droid provide emergency power to restore the shields when you’re under attack. The end result was pretty similar to what happens when you try that too lol.

 

I do hope gonky is okay

 

This was a really good episode. Loved that entire escape sequence as they were fighting their way out. The designs of the stormtroopers were neat as well. Kept reminding me of First Order troopers.

Even after discovering the Stormtoopers weren't clones, they still only used stun on them. A lot of honor in the bad batch.

Really eerie ending. Been enjoying this series much more than I expected.

 

I noticed Crosshair went to see the captive without his rifle (know he has a pistol) but then there is no way he'd win one on one with anything against Hunter. Maybe he is just coming to talk or Crosshair is the type of guy who would fly all the way across the galaxy just to be a jerkass and troll someone.

 

I still have a really bad feeling that Crosshair is doing this all of his own free will

 

I wonder where Hunter will be taken. Would say back to Kamino which would complicate the promise he made to Omega but that planet may be abandoned in short order.

Oh and Hunter did knee a Commando in the groin and toss him in front of friendly fire to be shot and fall. Reasonably brutal.

 

-Lama Su got a nice, possible final, scene. I just wish Taun We was given a similar treatment instead of getting replaced by Nala Se to watch over Omega. That should have been Taun We's role. Instead she was killed off off-screen, which was doing the character a great disservice, IMO. A real shame and just puzzling.

-I was surprised how Omega is now capable of piloting the shuttle. Probably an off-screen training, that might have been better shown in the series.

-I like the throwback sound effects like Anakin's Podracer engine starting up being used for the Batch's Shuttle or that the V-Wings have that sonic-engine sound that the ROTS Jedi Starfighters have.

-It's interesting that the BB is still making sure to stun their opponents. I wonder if that will change now that they know they're not their brothers.

 

I’m guessing Crosshair will want to use him to set a trap to catch the others

 

You do know what 'fan' is a shortened version of?

There are fanatics here funnily enough, in this Star Wars fan forum....

 

Trace said otherwise in season 7 of TCW. Basic flying and even hovering just don't seem difficult with one of these ships. Showing us isn't the TCW way anyways and with the complaints of "filler", I'm not sure we needed to use time in an episode or a full episode on Omega learning to fly. Sure evading fighters like later seems like something that would take considerable skill and practice.

BTW, the take-off sequence standing back and looking out the windshield is just like being strapped in on Star Tours.

If they are going to attempt to brainwash Hunter, might have to take him elsewhere and let his location leak. He is most likely going to be bait unless Crosshair helps him right away which would be the least exciting thing to do.