Review: The Bad Batch: Episode 16, “Kamino Lost” 

The season finale of The Unhealthy Batch has arrived and regardless of last week’s nerve-wracking cliffhanger, “Kamino Misplaced” managed to wrap issues up neatly, with out leaving us on the sting of our seats, ready for season two. Which is each a superb and a nasty factor.

The Unhealthy Batch: Episode 16, “Kamino Misplaced”

As Tipoca Metropolis sinks into the ocean, Rampart watches on with glee, unaware that — towards the chances — the Unhealthy Batch have managed to outlive the assault. They’re briefly separated, because the water begins to rise, however Omega and AZI are capable of free Crosshair from the particles trapping him below the water, simply as Wrecker breaks by the door. However they aren’t out of bother but.

The Unhealthy Batch try to discover a means out of Tipoca Metropolis, however catastrophe strikes once more as the town is totally submerged beneath the ocean. Their former house pitches onto its aspect, inflicting particles to plunge in the direction of them as they cling, hopelessly, to uncovered pipes and tools. Ultimately, the town settles onto the ocean flooring and they’re able to discover a largely safe location that occurs to be their former barracks. It’s a pleasant little homage to a location we solely noticed briefly, early within the season, but it surely underlines that, for higher or worse, Tipoca Metropolis was as a lot their house as The Marauder is.

Conveniently, their former barracks have settled atop the key tunnel system that they used to get into Tipoca Metropolis, giving them a possibility to flee. However even that route shouldn’t be with out potential dangers. A creature, residing within the oceans of Kamino, assaults the tunnel system, however AZI’s fast pondering saves the day they usually make their means into Nala Se’s personal lab.

With the remainder of the tunnel system destroyed, the Unhealthy Batch devise a brand new plan to get again to the Marauder by using the medical capsules. AZI is tasked with guiding them by the debris-filled water, however the droid’s energy is slowly working out. Wrecker, Echo, Tech, Hunter, and Crosshair make it to the floor of their capsules, however Omega’s capsule is ensnared below particles.

In a second that felt just like the Titanic, AZI makes use of the final of their energy reserve to attempt to free Omega, in hopes that she’s going to make it to the floor. The sunshine in AZI’s eyes dies and the droid drifts downwards into the darkness of the ocean. Omega, who has extra coronary heart than sense typically, opens her capsule and dives downwards to rescue her droid. Above the water, Crosshair grabs his rifle and seems to show it on Hunter, however he fires previous his brother, into the ocean and sends a line all the way down to rescue Omega.

Regardless of figuring out that the Empire left him for useless, Crosshair chooses to show his again on his brothers, vowing his dedication to the Empire and the place he looks like he could have throughout the new galactic energy construction.

The ultimate second takes audiences again to the Empire, the place Nala Se is being escorted off a cruiser and greeted by a cloning fanatic. I don’t know if the reminder of Palpatine’s future cloning tasks was the strongest cliffhanger for The Unhealthy Batch, but it surely definitely was a alternative.

Total, the primary season of The Unhealthy Batch was effective. Spin-off collection are notoriously fraught with rising pains, because the showrunners attempt to discover the right stability for the characters. The 2-part season finale had a few of the strongest character growth and character moments typically, which is a disgrace because it took fifteen episodes to get there. The event that was utilized within the finale, underscores simply what number of missed alternatives there have been all through the primary season.

The lack of Tipoca Metropolis was a gut-punch for anybody overly hooked up to the Prequel Period and The Clones, but it surely was underutilized all through The Unhealthy Batch. With the finale centered round its loss — even the titles, “Return to Kamino” and “Kamino Misplaced” — you’ll count on to have seen extra of it all through the season. Each Crosshair and Kamino have been placed on the backburner this season, with the vast majority of the episodes targeted on adventure-of-the-week missions for Cid. Whereas enjoyable, they did little or no with creating the characters and permitting them to develop past their caricature-like personalities.

The tense and compelled truce between Crosshair and The Unhealthy Batch in “Kamino Misplaced” was, admittedly, compelling. However the place was this storytelling all season? The characters have been really speaking with one another. There was interpersonal battle. They have been all struggling to grapple with working collectively and whereas clearly being indignant with Crosshair for being aligned with the Empire.

The one character that really felt well-rounded by the shut of the season was Omega. From her introduction in “Aftermath” and her form phrases to Crosshair once they have been being held by the Empire, to her last scene with Crosshair as he made his option to return to the Empire, we’ve seen her worldview evolve. From hopeful optimism to the conclusion that some individuals can’t change. Omega has come into her personal as a “unhealthy batcha” and I’m excited to see the place her story goes.

The primary season of The Unhealthy Batch was a valiant try to construct off of the passion for The Clone Wars. The breathtaking animation, attractive orchestrations, and gifted vocal solid held the present collectively the place the storytelling faltered. Hopefully, with season two, The Unhealthy Batch finds its individuality and takes benefit of its missed alternatives. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, and Tech have the potential to be very attention-grabbing characters if solely they got the chance to develop past their archetypes.

The place is the second season of The Unhealthy Batch headed? The season finale didn’t give many clues, however hopefully, the creators have listened to followers and they’re going to deal with the whitewashing controversy within the new season.