The Dad Batch

Just two days later and there's already another episode of The Bad Batch, this one directed by Clone Wars veteran Steward Lee and written by newcomer Gursimran Sandru. A decent episode though perhaps not the sort of thing one might expect from a show about a team of misfit clone troopers--but definitely the sort of thing I almost invariably expect from Disney.

Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker) along with the rest of the Bad Batch wind up on Saleucami. There they meet up with one of the few friendly faces they can count on--Cut Lawquane, the clone deserter turned farmer, introduced all the way back in 2010 in Clone Wars season 2.

That was long before The Bad Batch were part of the show and it's never mentioned how Cut knows any of them, especially since Rex promised to keep Cut's existence a secret. But it's plausible, I don't think I need an explanation right way. What certainly needs an explanation is how Cut wasn't affected by Order 66--something no-one even thinks to ask. Maybe he just never heard someone say the triggering phrase, "Execute Order 66"?

But this episode is really about a little girl, Omega (Michelle Ang), finding herself far from home for the first time and emotionally adjusting to it. The animation and the performance by Michelle Ang make it work though her bonding with Hunter, and her decision not to stay with Cut's family, feels a little premature. She only just met the Bad Batch, this episode might have made more sense later in the series. I think the idea here was to show a softer side of Hunter, though. He was obviously modelled on Rambo and I found myself thinking of Sylvester Stallone holding his girlfriend in a glittering pool thanks to Jack Cardiff's cinematography in Rambo II.

The episode is less impressive when it comes to tactical logistics. Tech and Echo execute a plan involving getting their ship impounded without even informing Hunter or checking to see if anyone else--like Omega--is aboard.

It compared especially badly to the season two Clone Wars episode, which I rewatched after the Bad Batch episode. More than anything else, the show had a better sense of pacing and more dynamic blocking when George Lucas was the producer. Shots just flow into each other more organically and dialogue comes at a more natural pace. Whatever you may think of George Lucas as a director, he apparently had a knack for guiding other directors, as both Lucas and Dave Filoni have talked about extensively in interviews. Also, Cut's wife, Suu (voiced by Better Call Saul's Cara Pifko), had a much sexier outfit in 2010.

Sure, it's not the most realistic thing for a woman on a farm taking care of two kids. But it was nice to see and outfits like this are almost completely absent from Star Wars under Disney. I'm reminded of how Carrie Fisher had to demand "space bling" from Rian Johnson after she'd been dressed like a gas station attendant in Force Awakens.

The Bad Batch episode was written by Gursimran Sandhu, a relatively new writer whose most prominent credit is that she was assistant to Benioff and Weiss on Game of Thrones--and was a staff writer in the final season. She promotes her connexion to Game of Thrones prominently on her web site. I think a lot of people would consider having anything to do with writing the final season of Game of Thrones more of a liability than an accomplishment. But it's nice to see The Bad Batch is looking for writers outside of the Rebels/Resistance pool.

The Bad Batch is available on Disney+.

Twitter Sonnet #1450: Pizza Edition

The first they shared a pizza cheese was met.
The second pizza danced her eyes across.
The third occasion pizza fixed a set.
And fourth the lovers swam in pizza sauce.
No sandwich swapped for pizza ever served.
The pizza love replenished hope and bread.
For pizza crusts are soft and warmly curved.
So pizza dough can fill a lonely head.
Researchers wait in snow for pizza men.
Suspicious dogs deny the pizza facts.
To burn a pizza's sure accounted sin.
For breaking pizza fast, a mouth retracts.
Returning carbs with love, the pizza formed.
So triumph came and pizza hearts were warmed.