A rebellion rises on a redundant Star Wars: The Bad Batch
“Devil’s Deal” is a throwback to the haywire politics of The Clone Wars, and the scale that comes with it
TV Reviews Star Wars: The Bad Batch
And now for something completely different.
Just last week we Bad Batch faithful were wondering when this hardscrabble Star Wars prequel series would finally get around to addressing how the Empire solidified its stranglehold over the entire galaxy following Emperor Palpatine’s destructive Order 66. What would an episode like that look like? Would it take place from the perspective of Crosshair, seething into his toothpick from behind his commanding officer, Admiral Rampart? Would Crosshair be ordered to participate in an especially heinous war crime during this episode, pitting what remains of his own free will against his Imperial-installed inhibitor chip, possibly sending him careening on a shaky path towards his redemption? Or would this episode more closely resemble Star Wars: The Clone Wars (During Peacetime), an arm’s-length episode populated by a bigger cast, where “peacetime” means “Peacetime—As The Empire Sees It”?
This week’s episode provides an answer, and it turns out to be the latter. Only Star Wars: The Bad Batch has something else in store for its audience who have patiently waited to see how Crosshair has prospered (or not) under his new Imperial bosses or has fared with his new kill squad command. (How does Crosshair get on with his malevolent underlings?) Instead of diving into those character-driven particulars, this Empire-saturated eleventh episode of The Bad Batch, titled “Devil’s Deal”, offers up something I don’t think anybody was expecting to see, at least on this series: a Hera Syndulla origin story?
Yes, “Devil’s Deal,” directed by Steward Lee and written by Tamara Becher-Wilkinson, takes place almost entirely on the Twi’lek homeworld of Ryloth, where the Empire has set itself up quite nicely plundering the planet’s precious doonium mines. (Doonium, we’re told by Rampart, will help rebuild parts of the galaxy that have been hit especially hard during the wars, but I’m willing to bet it’s going to be used for more destructive purposes.) They’re going to strip the world bare of its resources and enforce Imperial rule with the full support of its resident Palpatine-booster, Senator Orn Free Taa. At least, that’s the plan; with names like Cham and Hera flying around, as Star Wars: Rebels fans can tell you, rebellion is but one provocation away.
Crosshair does appear in this episode, smoldering underneath his intimidating gun-metal gray helmet, eyeballing the citizens of Ryloth and just itching to aim his trusty sniper rifle at the first sign of resistance. Later, he takes a couple well-aimed shots only to then be swallowed whole by the episode. But it does appear he’s fully recovered from that explosive reunion with his former Bad Batch brothers, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo, his head completely shaved and a new scar or two to show for it. No worse for wear. Makes you wonder if we’ll ever get to see how that compromised brain of his ticks, or if he feels anything other than sheer comic hatred for all things happy and good.
Instead The Bad Batch zeroes in on the young Hera, seen here actively seeking adventure and excitement as a scout of sorts for the Twi’lek soldier, Gobi Glie, alongside her plucky astromech droid, Chopper. But to be able to fly off Ryloth, to live on a starship among the stars, that’s her dream, and it’s here where The Bad Batch indulges Hera’s big “twin suns” moment: laying on the ground outside of a clone trooper-laden refinery, Hera’s hand traces the birds that soar across the clear blue Rylothian skies, yearning for a chance to explore that great beyond. And then, quite unsubtly, the Empire casts its intimidating shadow over Hera’s future.
It makes for a lovely and thoughtfully-considered sequence (it’s also the second first-person shot for The Bad Batch), which is great for Hera fans and mystifying for everyone else. For the Rebels devoted who have a faint idea of how Hera became a rebel hero and how her family became embroiled in the rebellion, “Devil’s Deal” offers details instead of surprises, which is, again, great for those intrepid folks who like to compile trivia for Wookiepedia but it might leave casual Bad Batch audiences cold. So what’s the purpose of this episode, if our beloved Batch isn’t a crucial part of the proceedings? If the actions of “Devil’s Deal” end up initiating a second part next week, which is likely, The Bad Batch might have answers as to what specifically happened to Hera’s dearly departed mother, Eleni. (Yay?) It could also set the stage for the final stretch of The Bad Batch, where Hunter & Co. finally answer their calling as rebels against the Empire and finally, finally, reach some catharsis concerning their fallen brother, Crosshair. (It could just as easily do none of those things; you just never can tell with The Bad Batch.)
It’s a typical practice of the Dave Filoni era of Star Wars, especially for these animated prequel series: yank the rug out from under viewers during an especially dramatic moment for the show, set up a new uncharted storyline, pay it off by making it relevant to the wider arc of the capital-S Saga and vital to the motivations of the series’ lead characters. This practice can be effective, but it can also be frustrating.
One of the finest aspects of The Clone Wars was its complex and nuanced approach to war: who wages it, who resists it, why people do the things they do to endure dark times. The reasons are multitudinous and answers are rarely cut-and-dry. The moral lines of “Devil’s Deal”, however, are as clear as Ryloth sunshine. Senator Taa supports the Empire and bristles at his people’s love for Cham Syndulla, who freed their planet from the Separatists during the wars. Cham, while he does have his reservations about the Empire, will support it for the good of the planet so long as nobody messes with his family. With his fellow soldier Gobi angling for a fight against these occupationists and his young daughter Hera yearning to fly a ship of her own, it doesn’t take long for these characters to team up and cause all sorts of trouble for the Empire. Naturally, Cham’s allegiances turn on a dime and Taa gets his comeuppance before the credits roll.
As for the Batch, this week they play second fiddle on their own show. The Bad Batch has an opportunity to explore this war-ravaged galaxy from a more unique and intimate perspective than The Clone Wars and, for the most part, it has attempted to do precisely that. “Devil’s Deal” is a throwback to the haywire politics of The Clone Wars, with the scale that comes with it. It may be an opportunity for Dee Bradley Baker to give his vocal chords a bit of a break (no doubt he’s earned it), but shuffling the starring characters of this show to the periphery for a midseason excursion into unabashed fan service is vexing, especially with how this series has been reluctant about fleshing out its own characters. This week Hera met Omega. Hera enjoyed a tour of the Havoc Marauder. “Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-wan Kenobi.” What did we learn about any of these characters in this episode that we don’t know already?
Other questions: if the show is about Clone Force 99 and how they survive a post-wars reality with Kamino’s final clone in their care, a brilliant and tantalizing premise if there ever was, then why is its focus so scattershot? Why aren’t we learning more about this Bad Batch? We know about Echo’s Techno Union rebirth, courtesy of another show. But how is he doing right now? And what about Tech, or Wrecker? We are too deep into this series to be shifting focus away from Hunter and his found family now. “Devil’s Deal” might aim to fortify the lore, but it’s showing the cracks in the foundation of The Bad Batch.
At the midpoint of the episode we’re treated to a gorgeous moon-based view of Ryloth. Hera’s been on this moon before (I assume), so this tremendous perspective of her homeworld doesn’t catch her eye—the Marauder does. When Omega shows Hera its cockpit, Hera is inundated with the specifications of the ship. “Tech won’t let me train [to fly] until I can recite all the ship’s specifications from memory,” Omega says. Hera takes this moment to drop some youthful philosophy on the clone: specs are only half of the experience of flying. “It’s about a feeling,” Hera tells us. “The instruments help guide you but you plot your course. You’re free.”
That sums up Star Wars as an ever-widening, never-ending saga. It’s not burdened with technical details or even by characters wrestling with their own personal consequences. Star Wars is a feeling. And that’s fine, when there’s a Williams score to fill in the emotional gaps or a comic book tie-in to color the saga’s myriad personal histories. But we’ll never be able feel for the characters of The Bad Batch, not really, if we’re never allowed to get close.
Stray Observations
- The Rex-ian clone captain, Howzer, first appeared as an action figure in the Star Wars Vintage Collection. This week, Howzer made his first onscreen appearance and finally got his name.
- This is the first (and hopefully last) episode where the Bad Batch don’t take their helmets off. Feh!
- Howzer is a nice nod to the warmth and humanity of Captain Rex. Even as he’s compromised by his inhibitor chip, Howzer still has a close relationship with Cham. “Ryloth is safe, Cham. This is what you fought for,” the clone says reassuringly. Cham, ruefully: “Yes, it is.”
- Eleni takes Hera inside after she’s snatched up by the Empire and brought back home, and reveals that she already knew Hera was scouting the refinery. “I have my ways, too.” More Eleni/Hera moments, please, if the inevitable should play out in the rest of this season.
- Another good exchange with Eleni, this time with her husband, Cham: “Don’t lose sight of what we’re trying to achieve.” Eleni: “I am questioning the cost to achieve it.” Good stuff.
- Hera shows up to a hangar to meet Gobi for a supply run, but Hera doesn’t want to disobey her father again. Gobi uses her personal interests to get her on board: “I was going to let you fly this time.” Is he gonna get an earful from Cham next week? You would think, right?
- I’ve never watched Star Wars: Rebels, but I’ve heard conflicting things about Chopper. Is Chopper bad, actually?
- Omega: “Are you a pilot?” Hera: “No. *all but turning to face the camera* BUT ONE DAY.”
- So how did “Devil’s Deal” pan out for you, group? Are we on track for a Ryloth insurgency plotline? Is Crosshair working his new bald look? Is Chopper no good or just misunderstood? Fire away in the comments below
87 Comments
I’ve tuned in to this show weekly to see if it gets any better, but it just keeps getting worse. I thought it was gonna be a cool show about ex clones fighting the new empire, not a bunch of ex clones babysitting. Omega has the most annoying fucking voice. I hope kids like this show, because I do not.
I have not watched the episode yet (I will tonight when my sons get home-we watch all of the animated Star Wars content together!). But I have seen every episode of Rebels, and Chopper is great. One of the best droids in the SW universe.
I hope you like it, so far I have thought it has been worse than the Clone Wars movie as far as the CGI animated content goes. Omega is the most annoying little shit.
Next week Chopper is going to murder a ton of clone troopers and expedite the Empire’s transition from clone troopers to enlisted troopers.
I’ve never watched Star Wars: Rebels, but I’ve heard conflicting things about Chopper. Is Chopper bad, actually?No, Chopper is more of an asshole if anything, but you gotta love him. Shoutout to Irving Berlin!
You HAVE to watch Rebels; for me, it is the best animated SW show because it satiated my personal curiosity on how the Rebel Alliance really came together, but it is also tonally the closest to the Original Trilogy, and how a found family can match the bonds of a real family. The Clone Wars was always fun and stunningly gorgeous, but Rebels is more concise, intimate (while still being ‘Star Wars Grand’/operatic), and delves far more into the workings of the Force than possibly anything before it. Also, if you’re a fan of Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art from the OT (like me), you will LOVE Rebels, because they deliberately incorporated a lot of that art into the show in many ways.
Remember when the Clone Wars animation was referred to as marionette animation? It was pretty choppy at the beginning.
Wasn’t it Lucasfilm calling it that? The style is deliberately based on wooden puppets.
Just watch it for Admiral Thrawn alone. Season 4 is also incredible.
Actually, Rebels is not so good:
And that video is wrong.
I eagerly await your video rebuttal with detailed analysis and examples for comparison.
So, Rebels made old clones look like Santa in a wifebeater? I wish I could un-see that.
So Rebels made old clones look like Santa in a muscle tankie? Ick, I wish I could un-see that.
LOL, that video is widely derided by the rest of the SW fandom and only the worst of TCW fanboys still try to pretend it has any value except for mockery.
I never got why people would post a flipping yourutbe video as some form of “proof” for an argument. an angry nerd ranting at a camera doesn’t prove anything
I watched two whole seasons of Rebels. The animation sucked, the stories were rubbish, and the characters were dull. It was a bad show.
ohh a youtube video posted by some random guy on the internet! quick while I abandon any opinions I had to parrot what he says!
Go away though
Did Hera have an accent in Rebels? WHat is that accent? A mix of Frnech and maybe something meddle eastern?People have commented on how good the animation and visuals look. Has anybody notices that the soundtrack seems to have gotten much better than any of the animated shows. Hera seemed to have a theme somewhat remeniscent of Han Solo and The Princess or the quieter parts of the Force Theme.
She slips back into sometimes, particularly in the episode with her father.
I remember that slip I think
You are correct, she does code-switch in the Rebels episode with her father, back to her native Ryloth accent..and I think a brilliant nuance created for the character, glad to see they maintained that in this episode.
No, Hera didn’t have an accent in Rebels, but her dad did in The Clone Wars. I assume the theory is that she grows out of it.
Lucas said offhandedly once that Twi’leks all have French accents so now that’s what we’re doing.
I understand why he gets so much shit but I love how Lucas would decide the most random things and the story group had to go along with it. It’s just the funniest thing in the world to me. Like the Hutt who he thought looked like Truman Capote so he was like, “Make it a flamboyant Southern dandy.”
Tres sexy
She slips into it when talking to her father but generally has eliminated it in her day to day speach
After falling out with her father and leaving Ryloth, she loses her native accent, but it slips when she’s fighting with him.She also intentionally reverts when pretending to be just a clueless Twi’lek peasant.I could’ve swore there was a scene where she explains that she actively/consciously suppresses her accent for some reason, but I can’t find it.
Per George Lucas himself, Twi’leks have French accents.(Which is why it bugged me that the Twi’leks in “The Mandalorian” didn’t.)
No, there will be no ongoing Ryloth story. This was a one-shot, and purely for Rebels fans. Since you haven’t watched it, it’s not a surprise that you didn’t care for the episode. Den of Geek gave it 5/5, but that reviewer is a big fan of Hera. And Chopper is awesome.
I don’t want these one shots. I want the arcs like they did in The Clone Wars. I know, I know, me,me,me, waaaaa. That’s what kept the show interesting and having this show focused on The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is really going to limit the storytelling possibilities. This bridge between the prequels and OT is so full of possibilities and the exploration of fascism and dictatorship being overlooked sucks. I was thinking though that maybe if each Batch memebr eventually has to go on their own adventures they might be able to recreate the interweaving arcs of the Clone Wars, but I don’t know if the show has boxed itself in.It could have been called, Rise of the Empire. I know that’s not terribly creative but it’s what comes to mind as I’m multitasking at the moment. Death of a Republic? There is a lot of Nazi metaphors to be made here which might also be applicable to the state of things in The USA at the moment. I know Disney wouoldn’t get political and I think that was the underlying metaphor of Attack of the Clones, but hey, lost opportunity.
The entire series is an arc.
“I know, me,me,me, waaaaa.”I mean…
Since the next episode is titled “Rescue on Ryloth”, this episode was definitely not a one shot.
Well, I obviously stand corrected. It felt very stand-alone to me. Hopefully it goes somewhere good, then.
really? the only way it could come off as more obviously intended to have a follow up was if they ran a giant “to be continued” at episodes end
Chopper is best bot. That is all.Also , did Hera ever have that Vichy Franc..I mean Ryloth,accent before in flashbacks ?Aha , as someone points out below, when she’s arguing with her dad in Rebels it slips back in , which is pretty cool.
Chopper is a murderous psychopath.
I’m not joking.
But a lovable murderous psychopath.
He’s Darth Jar Jar’s apprentice.
But he’s a rebel, so it makes it ok…..?
Chopper is hands-down one of my favourite characters in SW. His first instincts are always sort of homicidal, and even when he saves the day it involves the maximum amount of destruction.
!!! I’m looking forward to discovering more, then.
Hera shows up to a hangar to meet Gobi for a supply run, but Hera doesn’t want to disobey her father again. Gobi uses her personal interests to get her on board: “I was going to let you fly this time.” Is he gonna get an earful from Cham next week? You would think, right?He better! Gobi was just… ugh, the worst. Why, why would put your underage niece in danger like that twice? The first time was bad enough, you should’ve sent a goddamn adult who knew how to do reconnaissance to spy on people you thought might be enemies.But the second time? When your niece says she probably shouldn’t go, and you manipulate her on board? Its not like you needed a pilot, you had one already. And it wasn’t a supply run, it was smuggling weapons, something that you know is illegal and even a benevolent Empire would seriously frown upon.Only thing I can figure is that Gobi was trying to get Cham personally involved in this, and figured that the best way to do that was to put his 10 year old niece in mortal jeopardy to do it.Just… wow.
This was what partially made this episode feel like a failure for me. I get wanting to do some exploration of morals in a situation where someone feels an occupatio is just starting and they need to fight it. That’s actually an awesome story, it’s just that this episode just shrugged that part off to showcase how a veteran soldier keeps endaring his 10 year old niece and just kind of keeps up with it. Hell, for reasons they show the mother being okay with it after the first incident because she apparently is okay with her pre-teen daughter being in danger.
That added with the fact that at no point I have any idea why I should care about any of these characters just… This was a bad one.
This is a recurring blind-spot for the show. See also: Hunter being framed as unreasonable whenever he wants to keep Omega off the battlefield.
I’m a big Rebels and Hera fan, but I definitely agree that I would rather get episodes exploring the character of the Bad Batch.
Yes, especially on a show called The Bad Batch.
A TBB episode sans TBB? I don’t get it. This one was definitely a solid C+. Guess you’d have to have seen Rebels to dig the fan-service. Howser seems to have a bit of agency for an O66 Clone. I wonder why the Empire let him keep his aqua paint?
This was the best episode of the season so far and next week’s looks to be even better. We spent time on the setup of the Batch’s next mission rather than dropped them in, and at the same time we’re getting to see a part of another burgeoning Rebel cell.Also, Chopper is Best Murder Droid and you do yourself a disservice by not immediately marathoning all of Rebels to discover this truth.
gotta say, I’m intrigued by the prospects of Rebels’ murderous trash can.
People had all kindas of complaints about the first 2/3 of Rebels S1. Then the show got its shit together and delivered a pretty dark end to the season. Complaints about Chopper and Ezra originate there. Chopper grew on you just because he’s a grumpy asshole. Ezra and Sabine filled out. Somewhere in S2 or S3 you find out Chopper was originally Hera’s Droid – felt a bit like the show writers figured it out right then too.Rebels, like Clone Wars in miniature, starts out a bit on the “meh” side and grows more and more awesome as it goes. Because CW was a slow burn with a bigger cast, Rebels’ ramp from “meh” to “yes!” is more noticeable as it unfolded. And more surprising considering this was on Disney XD instead of Cartoon Network.I count myself as a Hera fan. I think if they made Rogue One now, they would have certainly put a live-action Hera on Yavin. (Though I’m glad her cache was lower back then, because they might have put her and The Ghost on the Rogue One mission and killed her!)So, yeah. Being used to it now – the way other characters cameo in each others’ shows, and just making peace with that fact … I don’t mind the shifted focus. At no point did I feel this was a C episode. I might cop to a B- … but as a Part One to a probable two-parter, I’ll withhold judgment until the whole thing plays out.
Hera was on Yavin. While you don’t see her, you do see both Chopper and the Ghost. You also hear them paging General Syndulla.
You are correct.
Season 1 , every week rebels outwit the nice but dim Impirial puppet governor, highjinks ensue.Sepson 2 Ep1 : Governor realusing the evils of the Empire tries to defect to Rebel side ,she al.ost immediately gets killed in a car bomb ..( well technically a shuttle bomb), so it did get a lot darker the longer it ran .
She’s also on Endor in one of the women of Star Wars shorts.
If you decide to watch Rebels, I advise finding a guide or something that directs you to the good episodes. I couldn’t take it at the beginning.
Honestly, I think you can straight up skip the entire first season of Rebels
I’d say watch the last 3 of season 1 – catch the wrap up of the “first” inquisitor storyline.
Interesting to read the perspective of this episode from someone that hasn’t seen Rebels and I can appreciate it. Because for those that have seen Rebels (like myself), I thought this episode was pretty good (I’d say B). But I think the criticisms the author laid out are valid and I’m not sure I would have picked up on them as much had I not read that perspective from a non-Rebels viewer. It is weird they put off the Batch so much to side this episode and they do need to focus more on their dynamic, their past, feelings,etc. But maybe this isn’t just a pure Hera fan service episode and this is just setting up larger events the Batch will be apart of. While it skipped over the main cast this week, I still enjoyed the dynamic of watching worlds come to the decision to accept the Empire or not.
I’m positive this episode will pay off in future episodes. but removing the focus from characters that The Bad Batch have so far actively ignored (like Tech, like Echo) to build up characters who have already had their day in the limelight (like Hera, like Cham) is a problem. no matter how well that episode is made.
Crosshair’s another one being horribly short-changed in the character development department. He’s just a boilerplate 2-dimensional baddie. Remember the horrible burns he sustained in Reunion? We all wondered how it would change him, change his story arc. Turns out it’s NBD! Quick healer that Crosshair. Jeez, what a lost opportunity.
Bad Batch is my first Star Wars cartoon, and if we don’t spend more time with these characters, I will consider this episode to have been largely a wasted opportunity.
Half the guest cast got more characterisation in one episode than any of the Batch did in the entire show so far.
yep! yes.
Yeah, I’m sorry. You’re wrong.I’m on record (here even!) as hating Rebels season 1 and well… it got better.Maybe this just resonates more if you have actually seen all of Rebels. It’s quite Tragic, as is most of Star Wars. The story of young Hera making friends with Omega was charming, and I loved that the Bad Batch was just a cameo. There have been many other examples of this on TV.If you didn’t get it, that’s fine. I still think it stands alone as a good episode. It’s just even better if you *did* see Rebels.Please don’t grade and judge episodes by *what you expect and want*. That’s never a good angle.
Yeah he definitely reviewed the episode he wanted to see instead of the one he actually watched. AV Club has another reviewer who does that, and they have one of those over on io9 too. It’s really annoying.
I was going to say, having an episode where your main cast are relegated to background characters is a staple of sci-fi shows. It’s also a good way to get us invested in the Syndullas (even if you aren’t a Rebels fan) so that we really care when Cid sends the Batch to Ryloth for a prison break next week.
it isn’t, I don’t think, a matter of what I *expect* from this show. I’m grading what it is, what it aims to be, and whether or not it achieves those things—in my opinion, of course! for me, it comes down to this: building outward narratives with characters outside a given series roster is intuitive for universe-building, and counterintuitive for show building.
Chopper is an amoral psychopath.Seriously, he has no problems killing other people and droids if they cross him or get in his way. (And ‘Rebels’ usually treated it as a joke)
I lol’d at the sudden jump from 77 Imperial officers to 2913.
This episode really encapsulated my huge issue with this show. Now this is the first Star Wars show I’m watching, although I have a general idea what happens in the other ones. And before someone does the mandatory spiel how I need to watch those shows, I’m probably not going to and, to be truthful, not that genuinely interested.Now the thing is that while I get that there would easter eggs and references in Bad Batch to the other shows, it is at the moment starting to feel like that the show just assumes everyone watching knows everything that happened before. Which in turn is such a bizarre approach to the audience as it basically makes this a very insular show that I would find impossible to really recommend to others at the moment.Which brings us to this episode, which instead of reconsidering their approach, apparantly decided to double down and tell anyone who isn’t familiar with all these characters to fuck off. Which is a choice.
So your huge issue with the show is that you, and the people making the show, are both very clear on the fact that the show is not for someone like you.And that’s…their fault somehow?
If somebody can understand (or “get”) the merits of the show they’re watching only if they’ve watched every moment of another show, then that show’s got problems. that’s how I feel about it.
I’ve never watched Star Wars: Rebels, but I’ve heard conflicting things about Chopper. Is Chopper bad, actually? Rebels tried to have its cake and eat it, too. Tonally, it was all over the place. By both its design and characters, Rebels was intended to be geared toward children, I mean younger children, with bright, clashing colors, way to many comic relief characters lead by what many, rightly, compared to as Space Aladdin. Yet, it also tries to explore some dark territory to further the lore and stormtroopers are canon fodder to a ridiculous degree. Granted they’re faceless goofs in the movies but the frequency and sheer numbers of stormtroopers dispatched with such wanton impunity, not to mention sometimes rather sadistic ways. You may have a scene where Ezra and Kanan are fighting their way inside a imperial facility to achieve a goal, leaving stormtrooper bodies everywhere. Dark stuff. Then the next scene, Chopper is bonking them on the head for a comedic break.
Hera and Kanan in the Rebels era are strong, surrogate parental figure characters to Ezra Bridger that sadly don’t get explored as much as we would’ve liked in favor of the rest of the cast’s goofy antics.Meanwhile, Zed and Chopper are both comic relief fill-ins that are more annoying than charming, which leaves us with Sabine Wren, a young Mandalorian girl who’s the surface-level stereotype of the spunky teenage rebel, complete with a spitfire attitude and bright purple and green highlights in her hair, who tags imperial property with graffiti art as part of her rebellious character.The villains of the show, between the Sith Inquisitors and Thrawn, range from goofy gimmicks like helicopter lightsabers to appearing cold and calculating strategists, both laughably ineffectual, causing one to pause and wonder how the Empire managed to take control of the galaxy in the first place, especially during a time when it’s supposed to be at its most threatening.
The show does its best to try and dive into each of the main cast’s character but it also feels the need to keep reminding us that Ezra is the star of the show and often needlessly inserts him into plots that don’t need him.Rebels, at its core, is a show about a young band of misfits who help sew the seeds of a much wider rebellion that would sprout into the conflict of the original movie trilogy. They operate on a level that is both isolated from the wider lore and mythology of the original trilogy, not unlike Rogue One, where everything that happens helps to expand the wider story without interfering with anything that came before, while also trying to create some of its own.Ultimately, Rebels, like Rogue One just fails to leave any kind of impression, just a blip in the Star Wars time line and also like Rogue One, the series’ strongest moments often rely on guests and cameos from iconic characters like Captain Rex, Maul, Vader, Tarkin and Ahsoka.To answer your question, though. Yes, Chopper is a dick.
You know how you can tell someone only watched five episodes of a show, and all of them featured characters from a different show? This is how you can tell.
I watched the entire series and it never gets any better. The only character arc Ezra has is turning from an annoying little kid to an asshole of a young adult.Ask anyone who loves Rebels what some of their favorite episodes are and most will undoubtedly recall “When Ahsoka fights Vader and learns the truth about Anakin..that was sooo cool.” or “When Maul comes back and manipulates Ezra….or remember when Lando and young Leia show up….so sweet!”I don’t think anyone was recalling the ‘exciting’ deus ex-machina moment with space whales because the writers didn’t know how to wrap up the series that didn’t potentially conflict with OT canon.That whole force time tunnel thing was just a dumb plot device to feature even more call-backs to previous movies and shows.
I’m usually the first one to say Rebels was flawed and overrated, but the space whales were fucking rad, and with Ezra’s affinity for animals felt pretty earned.
Honestly, this review only makes sense if The Bad Batch made a habit of cutting away from the main characters to a bit of fanservice or lore. But it doesn’t. I much prefer this kind of thing to having the Batch go and find a Rancor or whatever.
“redundant”
Other than setting up next week’s episode, I’d hardly call this redundant. Giving us an episode from a different perspective, and having the Bad Batch cameo in their own show is a bold choice to make. The fact that we get to spend an episode with young Hera, showing part of her history that we don’t know, part of Ryloth’s history that we hadn’t seen, and showing what an “immediately after the Clone Wars Republic” planet looks like was great.
Nothing redundant about it.“I’ve never watched Star Wars: Rebels, but I’ve heard conflicting things about Chopper. Is Chopper bad, actually?”
Chopper is a psychotic droid with a callous disregard for life. But he loves Hera, so he’ll complain, but do what she tells him to.
Hera turns into an awesome pilot and rebellion general. Chopper is a grump that doesn’t give Ezra any slack. Rebels was awesome.
This series is part of a larger story. It’s literally in the name: Star Wars: the Bad Batch. You’re going to have a hard time understanding what’s going on if you haven’t followed the others, it’s not like clone armies and Kaminoans and laser-sword-wielding space wizard monks and inhibitor chips are common tv tropes. So taking issue with this episode simply because you haven’t watched Rebels seems a bit like a cop out. I didn’t care much for this episode. But I didn’t like it because I never really thought Hera was a compelling character… and the twi’leks always just kinda grossed me out. The pacing was odd and the plot points were too on the nose. But had it been a good origin story, I don’t think that the fact that it fits into another series is really a valid criticism.
My biggest beef with the show is my beef with seemingly all the Star Wars shows. Instead of expanding the universe they keep shrinking it. Nearly every episode of Bad Batch features a cameo or side character or origin story from another show. It’s maddening. Just make new characters! We love Rex and Hera and Cad Bane and there’s nothing stopping you from making new characters like them for us to love. I’m just not a fan of the constant fanservice, easter eggs, fan fiction, and whatnot that’s bogging down all franchises currently. If you’re going to make a new show, make a new show.
Chopper isn’t bad. He’s just a gleefully raging dick.