The Bad Batch The Bad Batch 2.11 - Metamorphosis - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Funnily enough even though it's been a decade between drinks for the Zillo to return for us, within the in-universe timeframe it's only been around 2-5 years.

 

That actually brings to mind another question I was pondering. Hunter seemed to be familiar with the Zillo Beast, by name, in this episode when it was revealed what it was. Where was he when the original creature attacked Corusant?

 

Now that was an episode Brad Rau!! Please, for the love of Star Wars, make more episodes like these. That was brilliant!

Great suspense and great choice of sounds (or music) and setting to aid in that suspense. The action sequences were fantastic and not drawn out and over done. Just the right sort of timeframe to be exciting and entertaining, but not tedious.

And linkages galore; yet natural, sequential, believable and not forced. The obvious surface level one straight up is the Zillo Beast and The Clone Wars. But then there is the Palpatine reference in seeing the potential of weaponizing it's DNA, so this ties naturally back into Kamino cloning and tech and the cloning that Palpatine is doing himself. Further ties are then with Omega.

Also, there is the continuation of the story and the characters from last week where TBB are not happy about Cid's lack of help. They have all wisened-up to Cid in the last few episodes, but also acknowledge the complications in splitting from her. Because in addition to her knowing alot about them, they have also had this safe-haven they could hide out in without the Empire knowing.

I really loved this week's offering in its complex layers of characterisation and narrative. Top stuff Rau.

 

I rated this episode a "9" and the Mandalorian episode an "8," so yeah I felt kinda weird thinking the animated episode was better? There was some legit, palpable tension with Tech aboard the ship, some definite callbacks to "Alien!"
I'm glad we've got a few more weeks of double features, but I don't think I'll be able to watch BOTH on my schedule after midnight Pacific.

 

These guys have already made up their minds to part ways with Cid even. But Tech urges them to be diplomatic and go into this. Cid even told them not to come back if they failed. She seems as fed up with them. I don't think they are going back now without something pulling them. Tech seems really invested in the mysteries behind the zillobeast. One thing that is interesting is the two Zillobeast episodes in TCW really try to get the viewer to sympathize with both Mace and later the Doctor and Yoda on the treatment of the enormous creature. There is none of that here. It's just a monster so far. Even Omega didn't bring up its treatment.

Probably because she knows the Kaminoans are cold but doesn't see them as cruel. Nala is after all probably a mother figure to her. She just seems to be really nervous at the end of the episode. While Tech didn't seem keen to let his research go. Hunter looks like he might punch the camera. I wonder if his somewhat ambiguous tracking abilities allowed him to sense what happened to the town. I think it's more likely Hunter realizes the trouble they are about to be in with the Empire coming for them and more importantly Omega who he's put every bit of effort he can into protecting. He has gone full-blood knight in the past to protect her.

Also, wonder if it was Burtoni who passed on info about meeting Omega to Lama Su somehow. It'll be interesting to see if the narrative really does shift to Echo and Rex. I'm pretty sure we'll get a Crosshair episode sooner though. I can see him getting confronted when the new big bad has that attack shuttle identified.

 

Wow! What a great episode!
Wow! What a dark episode. Pretty much a forgone conclusion of what they are going to do with the villagers who witnessed the Zillo beast.
I'm so glad the producers/writers decided to pick up the story of the Zillo beast once more given the speculation we were left with back in TCW.
10/10

 

The villagers coming off the shuttle escorted by the Commandos did remind me of the ambiguous yet foregone scene of Cinta walking out after probably killing the hostages. Image if Crosshair was sent here to be on the firing squad at this place. Like when The Bad Batch does roll up on this place Crosshair tells them he's killed like 2,000 (innocent) people because that's what a soldier does. He's a true believer and he follows orders. I can't imagine how Hunter would react to that. I'm getting Deja Vu with the Ryloth episodes.

 

Pretty good episode. I gave it an 8/10. However, this is another case of a failed mission and NO payment. How the h3ll do they buy fuel for their ship? I haven't seen much income so far this season, and that's beginning to stretch the credibility.

I almost expected that "danger" droid to say "danger will robinson!"

 

I give this an 8,5 very good episode. Better then Mandalorian premiere.

 

At last solid episode.. for a second I thought that maybe it was a Drengir on that ship during the first attack.. Interesting to see how this storyline would develop...

 

The return of the Zillo Beast, an unresolved narrative thread from TCW.

Very good episode. The horror setting is very fitting with an unseen monster tracking and killing (i.e. eating) the crew of the ship in space, the doctor with morally dubious ethics replacing Rampart, clone experiment who ends up escaping and causing havoc, the Empire arresting the inhabitants for witnessing too much etc.

Nala Se not cooperating with the Empire is an interesting choice especially since Lama Su who, surprise, survived and is willingly cooperating with the Empire in exchange of his freedom. My guess is that, as implied in the last scene, the Empire will capture Omega toward the end of the season to force Nala Se's cooperation.

 

I tend to agree with you, I'm hoping that the liberated planet from last week's episode gave them some of that combustible mineral, that they wanted. So maybe that gave them some money

 

This is the episode I’ve been waiting for! I’m excited to learn more about the imperial cloning project. I’m predicting this will tie in to the project to clone Palpatine. We didn’t get much new information but I’m glad they’re starting to come back to it. The Alien homages were fun, too.

 

Who wants to bet that with Doctor Hemlock and Nala Sa, Snoke and Palpatine clones be mutch sooner and Bad Batch must ruin Mount Tantiss .

 

It feels like the Palpatine cloning narrative is a 1000 piece puzzle in which we've been getting one puzzle piece at a time across several different mediums over the last 3 years and we're only up to like, 20 pieces.

 

Surely that honor belongs to Hera's mother from Season 1.

 

The same question can be asked about Ahsoka. Why wasn't she in that story arc?
Bad Batchy most likely spent the entire war on missions away from the capital.

 

To be precise 2010 and 2023 / 21 and 19 BBY.

It's like Ahsoka and Anakin breaking up and meeting in S5 and S7 in TCW. They have not seen each other for only a few months, but in the real world, 7 years have passed (2013 and 2020). And it seems that this is a meeting after a long period of time, although this is not so in the context of the plot.

 

Hunter does not have to have been there. I imagine the Zillobeast story is a favorite one for Clones who were involved in that incident and survived it to tell their comrades about in the messhall or over drinks. I will be interested to hear Rex's thoughts since he was there and saw the Zillobeast targeting Palpatine.

Anakin probably loved telling that one too. If Fives getting inspiration from his story of blowing up a Seperatist Control ship as a kid is anything to go by he definitely liked telling stories about his exploits to the boys. He could have told the Bad Batch about the Zillobeast during downtime between the happenings of their arc in TCW.

 

That’s a great point! Zillobeast would still be fresh in peoples minds even with the end is the Clone Wars and formation of the Empire. ‘And then during this galactic war a gigantic monster hit loose on Coruscant and tore up the place. No it wasn’t part of the war. Just a monster causing havoc.’

Also this means the cloning of the Zilobeast must have been started immediately and rather quickly successful. There is a lot going on there.

 

I think it should have been obvious that the beast thrives on pure energy, and energy weapons would only make it stronger.

 

I could've sworn Ahsoka was in the second episode of that Zillo Beast arc on Corusant; but I'd have to rewatch it again.

 

There's also the open question of when exactly the BB were first active.
Since the original episode implies that they were named after Clone Trooper 99, logically they wouldn't have been in the field until at least a few months into the war, after the Battle of Kamino.

 

I spread out viewing the new episodes, so I ended up finding out about the Zillo Beast prematurely. But I didn't have any attachment to, or anticipation for, the creature anyway, and I still like the progression in how it's presented here. The atmosphere is also effective, right from the opening shot. It's an appropriate turning point to have the Batch take a job from Cid (noting their grievances with her) that turns out to involve the Empire's cloning operation. And though I'm fine with the Batch shifting their focus, I actually hope we see Cid again within the remaining episodes.

I didn't think Lama Su would still be around. His play here feels like a good extension of the scheming between he and Nala Se in season 1, coupled with being a captive of the Empire. One nitpick: It's a little hard for me to see Dr. Hemlock entirely as a character, probably because I associate Jimmi Simpson with more expressive ones.

8/10

 

Plus, I'm sure the data Tech downloaded is worth a fortune. I doubt they sell to Cid (or anyone), though.