Review: Star Wars: The Bad Batch “The Outpost”

The inter-connectivity of season two has finally started to come together. The Bad Batch took a long time to get going, but once it did, I felt like the show just blew my mind.

The Bad Batch is strongest when it fills in holes that George Lucas had when putting out episodes I-VI. For me, the biggest win was “The Clone Conspiracy” and “Truth and Consequences.” The biggest question since the clones were introduced was “how in the fuck did we transition from Clonetroopers to Stormtroopers? Are they still clones? Are they normal people?”

“The Outpost” keeps this thread going, by shipping Crosshair out to some arctic outpost out somewhere far, far away. I honestly forgot Crosshair was even a thing in The Bad Batch, because he did nothing since “The Solitary Clone.” While it was great to see him back, I feel his redemption arc came too fast. It would have been more impactful if we got more screen time with Crosshair actually in it.

Over the course of two minutes, Crosshair goes from cold and callous soldier just back into the Empire’s machine back to a dissident who killed his commanding officer. This action should have held a lot more weight. However, it felt rushed. Crosshair’s arc to a return to rebel Bad Batch member held as much emotional weight as watching Jyn Erso and her crew of cardboard cutouts in Rogue One dying at the end of the movie. It was cool, but I could take it or leave it.

That said, the episode as a whole was an awesome episode. It added something small onto the answers from “The Clone Conspiracy” and “Truth and Consequences,” and that’s the fact that the Stormtroopers get brand new gear, and not the gear the clones had. And it was because of this gear that Lieutenant Nolan held so much contempt for Mayday and what was left of his team. Conveniently, Mayday’s team is killed off, and Nolan sends Mayday to his death tracking raiders back to their base to recover this stolen gear.

Seeing the aftermath of this vote to phase out the clones was really cool. The machinations of the Empire is probably the most interesting part of this era, and seeing how fast things swing is impressive. The Clones were a linchpin of the Palpatine’s plans to keep the oppression in line, but seeing them get forced out faster than the Colts leaving Baltimore in the middle of the night is an integral plot point to the history of the Empire. Dave Filoni is doing a phenomenal job filling in both cracks and giant holes alike to maintain as close to a complete world as he can. George Lucas can learn a thing or two.

Hopefully, Crosshair can benefit from the last few minutes of “The Outpost.” There was a lot of mysteries, including where Crosshair is. I can only presume he’s at the Empire’s secret cloning facility. And the mysterious doctor could make this really interesting. There’s a lot going on, and I’m expecting the plot to become a powder keg at the end of the month.