Review: Star Wars: The Bad Batch “Battle Scars”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Bad Batch and their former captain attempt to search for a decommissioned medical facility and get their inhibitor chips removed. There, they encounter an unexpected threat in the form of their member.

Our Take:

This week’s episode of The Bad Batch shows some internal scars from the Clone Wars and the Batch’s paychecks. After failing to retrieve the tactical droid’s data from the previous episode, the Batch will have to find a much bigger job if they’re going to pay off their debt to Cid. Unfortunately, rescuing the lizard creature isn’t it. They are then interrupted by the arrival of a familiar face.

“Battle Scars” maintains the guest-of-the-week formula, which features side characters from the other Star Wars projects. Episode four had Fennec Shand from The Mandalorian and last week’s episode had Trace and Rafa Martez from the final season of The Clone Wars. This episode did us a great favor in bringing Captain Rex back into the spotlight after surviving the last days of the Clone Wars. Sure, the formula is getting pretty stale at this point, but the episode did a fine job at making him integral to the Batch’s situation.

It also managed to make the stakes a bit higher than last week’s episode due to the inhibitor chips implanted into the Batch’s heads. The previous episode showcased Wrecker accidentally hitting his head during their tactical droid mission, which caused his chip to activate. Wrecker’s predicament forced Rex and the Batch to travel to Bracca, a starship graveyard planet, to find a Jedi cruiser with a medical bay and remove their chips.  

This is another episode that represents how threatening the inhibitor chips can be to these characters, which create tension and urgency to their relationships, most notably Wrecker and Omega. The moments between Wrecker and Omega were sweet enough to make me care for them, especially the part where they share snacks together. These moments helped the battle between the Batch and the brainwashed Wrecker feel much more intense to viewers who are attached to this relationship. Thankfully, Wrecker didn’t wind up in the same path as Crosshairs at the end as his chip was successfully removed.

Overall, the “Battle Scars” episode of The Bad Batch improved upon the previous episode by adding a sense of urgency to the characters and a welcoming return of their former captain. The guest-of-the-week formula may prove itself to be tedious. Still, everything else, including its riveting plot and animation, makes this another enjoyable chapter in the Batch’s galactic journey. The chips may have been removed from their skulls, but their problems with the Empire remain an issue as the Scrapper Guild plan to notify them of their whereabouts.