Review: Star Wars: The Bad Batch “Pabu”

I was not expecting anything that happened during “Pabu”. In all honesty, this episode was probably one of the more surprising, because it didn’t take the turns I expected. Finally, in the most unexpected way possible, “Pabu” turned out to be one of the most exceptional episodes of season 2.

“Pabu” started out with a goods deal where Phee gets a treasure. This just sets up two attempts of Phee’s life, and when Hunter stops the second one, a shootout that would make John Wick blush would kick off. Ultimately, Phee and the gang get out, and they make their way away from this Wish version Coruscant. I was not expecting Omega to be the bad-ass of the shootout. Dare I say, she’s getting some growth?

As they fly out, they get a message from Cid, saying they need to get back to work, and they’re costing her money. That said, Phee gives the episode their supposed “summer vacation” episode. The way the episode was written, you can almost tell that Filoni and company spent a lot of time watching filler summer vacation episodes in various anime, because the structure is there.

However, that feeling subsided rather quickly. As the episode progressed, I felt like something was going to happen. And it sure did. There was a giant tidal wave, and most of lower Pabu is wiped. All feelings of this being that “Summer Vacation” episode, though, went out when the group decided to stay on Pabu to help rebuild and situate themselves.

There wasn’t a moment where I felt like I felt like I was watching the status quo. I assumed that it was going to, but that’s why I was so surprised. I feel like I say this every week, but there’s some real room to make the plot explosive for the finale. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of substance. “Pabu” didn’t have a lot to stand on. I was hoping for some meat, but the lackadaisical writing made it hard to believe. The main points, the shootout, talk with Cid, and the ending with the mercenaries fit in real well.

All in all, “Pabu” was a decent at best episode that excelled very well in skirting the expectation. However, getting to each  major point was a drag. There are glimpses of excellence in “Pabu,” but the writing in between these plot points. On top of that, there wasn’t a whole lot of to latch onto if you wanted a plot to hols on to.