The Bad Batch: Into the Breach Thoughts
A race to the finish line ensues when two plans with two plans: one leading the Bad Batch to Tantiss and the other certifying Omega as a leader.
Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker reunite with Echo, who brings them a stolen transport shuttle. The mission is deceptively simple: use the transport ship to access Imperial Station 003, the intermediary station where ships get the coordinates for Tantiss.
On Tantiss, Omega starts asking questions and gathers information about the vault. Everything is leading to a battle that Hemlock and his team may (or may not) be ready for.
Looking Back While Moving Forward
Omega is back on Tantiss but is more confident, immediately scanning the layout and getting a sense of the routine via Eva. It is a progressive state in a regressive situation. But Omega is already looking ahead to escaping and slowly wins the others over (more on that later).
To infiltrate the space station, the Bad Batch has to fit in as best they can, which means stripping their armor of color and character. The evolution of their armor has been a subtle but poignant part of the series, so seeing it back to a dull grey is quite effectively depressing.
There is a meaningful scene where Hunter (face not shown) looks at his stripped helmet for four long seconds. It is almost like Hunter is looking at his past and everything he and his brothers have been through to get to this moment. And it feels like a loss for the gain of something greater. If they survive Tantiss, perhaps they will leave the armor behind for good.
Conversely, Rampart falls right back into his Imperial braggadocio, arrogant as he scoffs at the Captain officer uniform Echo gives him (a demotion from a Vice Admiral). However, the attitude works in the group’s favor because Rampart pulls rank on a Lieutenant and two troopers.
Is Rampart even angry at the Empire for discarding him? Or does he secretly blame the Clones? The Bad Batch is responsible for his detainment, stealing the footage of Kamino and bringing it to Senator Chuchi, but it is unclear if Rampart even knows that.
Whether Rampart wants to leave the Empire behind will play a part in the last few episodes.
Trust and the Two-Way Street
This episode emphasizes the importance of trust several times. Let’s start with the most direct. Rampart, Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker are tied together, and the Batch has no choice but to trust that the former Imperial Admiral will not betray them.
This distrust is not unwarranted among the Batch because Cid betrayed them last season, leading to Omega’s capture. Cid also revealed Phee’s involvement with the Batch to CX-2.
Hunter reminds Rampart before they descend to the station that they are the reason he is out of prison and that he should not forget this. Rampart keeps his word for this mission, but uncharted territory awaits them on Tantiss. Rampart might see an opportunity to return to his old life by selling out the Batch.
Meanwhile, on Tantiss, Emerie is not a fool.
Perhaps she cannot do something directly to help those kids, but she can indirectly with Omega in custody. Emerie knows that Omega will not give up on escaping as she has spent enough time with her younger/older Clone. Emerie also experienced a kid taking advantage of letting her guard down when Jax grabbed her datapad from her hand.
It is also not a coincidence that Emerie specifically mentions to Dr. Scalder that she provided games to keep their minds sharp. Omega later uses one of the toys to replicate a layout of the holding center. Did Emerie leave those tools unattended on purpose? The interaction is also the first time we have seen the dumbwaiter system for transporting blood samples, and Emerie could have intentionally shown Omega.
Of course, this is still a theory, but the pieces are there, and Emerie trusts Omega to solve the puzzle.
To that end, Omega immediately uses those tools to figure a way out and asserts her leadership skills and training, convincing the kids to have faith through her assuredness and action.
When Omega meets the kids, they have given up on escaping. Sami the Pantoran tells Omega she’ll get used to this captivity, but she has other plans. Omega tells them that she has escaped this facility before and will do it again with all of them, then backs up her confidence with action. Omega gives them hope that they will make it home.
Will all of these trust circles work out? It’s not likely, but they set up what is sure to be a thrilling finale.
Hunter and Echo’s Moment To Shine
As subtle as it was, this was a great Hunter and Echo episode. The past two episodes have highlighted Hunter’s leadership abilities and improved relationship with Crosshair, who has constantly challenged him even before siding with the Empire. He goes toe-to-toe with Rampart, putting the ex-Imperial in his place several times, the most prominent being at the end when the clock is ticking to attach their ship to the hull of the science vessel as it is about to jump to hyperspace.
The perimeter shields are still up, but the team believes that Echo will deliver. Rampart, less convinced, tries to order Hunter to abort the mission, and Hunter replies, “Negative.”
Since last season, Hunter has hesitated to put his team in danger. In “Into the Breach,” he takes ownership of each step, and even though attaching to another vessel was not planned, they achieve their objective.
Echo also gets a great moment when he has to sneak onto the science vessel and show why he is a member of the elite 501st Clone Troopers. Echo has been one of the most prominent Clones followed through The Clone Wars series, first appearing in “Rookies,” where his namesake ties to his tendency to repeat orders to his teammates. As the last survivor of the Domino Squad, many fans are emotionally attached to Echo, who has largely been absent most of the season. Not knowing how his story ends makes things even more tense, and these moments for him to shine are all the more precious.
Top-Notch Cinematography for Fascinating Metaphors
The Bad Batch has some of Star Wars’s best cinematography and establishing shots. The quality is so consistent that it takes a truly exceptional sequence of shots to stand out from the other exceptional shots.
More than halfway through the episode, an overview of Tantiss is shown immediately, followed by an overview shot of the vault. The beauty of Mount Tantiss on the beautiful jungle planet Weyland contrasts the stark coldness of the vault.
The Empire has always represented the Industrialization and destruction of nature. And we have seen this throughout The Bad Batch season. In episode two, Hunter and Wrecker discovered that Hemlock’s experiments led to the creation of slither vines (and a Sarlaac/plant hybrid). Hemlock and his team soon abandoned the base as they lost control of the creature, thus making the planet nearly inhabitable.
The slither vines could also represent nature fighting back and might foreshadow future things (Tantiss does hold other experiments, including a Zillo Beast).
There was a lot of circular imagery in the Empire during this time, which, interestingly, evolved into hexagonal imagery (perfectly encapsulated by the Empire logo and structures like Narkina 5 from Andor). Circular imagery could also be a metaphor for a prison or trap where someone goes in circles (nowhere).
Unless something goes wrong, everyone will be on Tantiss in the next episode, “Flash Strike,” which is also the shortest episode this season. Likely, the episode will be mostly action and could potentially end with the destruction of Tantiss, leaving the finale to wrap things up; although the title of the finale, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” suggests that more people might need rescuing by the end of the penultimate.
The runtime for “The Cavalry Has Arrived” has not been released. Hopefully, it will be an hour, mirroring the series premiere and giving these wonderful characters the time they deserve to say goodbye.
Originally published at http://creditsandcanon.com on April 20, 2024.
