Scavenging and Running

Within the first few minutes of last night's new Bad Batch, I was happy to observe it must have been written by one of the better writers. And indeed, it was written by Christian Taylor, who also wrote the other best episode of the series so far, "Cornered". Last night's new episode, "Reunion", again showed his ability to credibly give an impression of character thought processes relative to their environments and relationships.

Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker) and Tech (Dee Bradley Baker) come up with the bright idea to loot the Jedi cruiser while they're there. This motivation for the characters shows Taylor's ability to think for them. The action that followed was a satisfying cat-and-mouse conflict between Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker) and his former comrades. I was even amused by Wrecker (Dee Bradley Baker) physically tossing a proton torpedo at some troopers.

Wrecker continues to have my least favourite Dee Bradley Baker performance but I like how Christian Taylor writes him as crazy instead of stupid. I love the fact that Crosshair ended up with what looks like some extensive scars. There's some very Star Wars-ish poetry about it. Maybe he'll end up with cybernetic parts?

The Guest Star of the Week didn't show up until the very end but it was worth the wait--the long anticipated return of Cad Bane (Corey Burton) was effected with a distinctly Spaghetti Western flourish, reminding us that was the mode Lucas himself intended for the bounty hunters long before Jon Favraeu went that route with The Mandalorian. The showdown between Bane and Hunter seemed straight out of a Sergio Leone film, though of course it was much faster, which diminished its impact a little.

Bane's familiar broad brimmed hat is noticeably smaller which I'd say is a sure sign he's going to be making his live action debut in one of the new upcoming series, probably The Book of Boba Fett.

Incidentally, Temuera Morrison recently confirmed in an interview that Robert Rodriguez is directing several episodes of the Boba Fett series. I suspected this would be the case but I'm overjoyed to have it confirmed. This makes The Book of Boba Fett the Star Wars project I've been most excited for since Disney bought the IP. Jon Favreau is a good director but Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi which is a better film than anything J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, Taika Waititi, or Jon Favreau have ever made. And Rodriguez is a bona fide action director. In a world less bogged down by corporate overhead, a director like Rodriguez would have been an obvious choice for a Star Wars project from the beginning.

I feel so happy for Boba Fett right now. Congratulations, man.

The Bad Batch is available on Disney+.