The Bad Batch head to Kashyyk…

Episode 6 is part filler and part world building but what it’s also doing is establishing the moral tone of these clones. They have come a long way from their Republic days. They may always have been individuals, but when we first met them they were a collection of misfits and errors with useful skills and, as such, hadn’t been turned back into clone goo.

The above sentence should make you squirm because that’s the sorry, awful state, most clones exist under and it’s an underexamined portion of Star Wars that both clones and droids represent slave classes whose status is accepted by all concerned no matter what their other moral questions.

The Bad Batch has done some exploration of this question and in episodes like this one we see how they can express themselves as full people in their own right if given the chance. We also see what that looks like in practice for a small unit to become a family, to listen to itself and do the exploration of its identity in real time.

The idea of the individuation of a collection of identical beings is really interesting and is explored through The Bad Batch very successfully.

The story here is about an accidental discovery and the moral choice of whether to interfere when a stranger is in jeopardy.

The Batch choose to help the stranger in need despite placing them in danger on more than one front and their choice, to choose someone else’s need over their own safety – not in the spur of the moment but after thought about what is right feels solid without being preachy.

Verdict: So, yes. Filler. But much more than that too.

Rating? 8 Wookies out of 10

Stewart Hotston