Bad Batch Spoiler Recap: Rampage

First of all, Wrecker has a headache. I knew it couldn’t be a coincidence when he bumped his head in Episode 3, and now that the same spot on his head is bothering him? I’m very afraid. Now onto my other concern:

Where is Crosshair? 

No seriously, where is he? 

This is the second week in a row where The Bad Batch has focused entirely on the five clones on the run without once checking in with their brother in Kaminoan captivity. Those who know me know I’m pretty big on redemption arcs, and that almost no one is past the point of no return, but I do need something to work with other than the strength of my own conviction. And for those who maybe aren’t predisposed to forgive as quickly as I do? The series is doing Crosshair no favours by keeping away from him. As the audience bonds with his brothers, we should begin to maybe feel some empathy for him. 

But it’s telling when Tech gives Omega a comm of her very own, and tells her that it’s actually just Crosshair’s old one that he clearly has no need for...and no one reacts to this. No sniffle, no grumble, no one throws anything. I know we’re somewhat restricted to the time limit of the episode and I’m not suggesting everyone break down and cry every ten minutes, but at least let me feel that these boys miss their brother?

But I digress and I haven’t even gotten started. Let’s jump into the actual episode!

This week, the gang are headed to Ord Mantell. Their plan of laying low has been put on the back-burner while they try to figure out who the bounty hunter they encountered last week is, and also who hired her. Echo - who is rapidly becoming my favourite character on this show, which I’ll get into later - tells them of an informant living there, who used to work with the Jedi. Though he’s never met this informant, who goes by “Cid,” he’s confident they can point the Batch in the right direction.

This is officially the part where my theory brain went into overdrive. Who could this mysterious Cid be? I spent a good several minutes thinking it was Rex. Why, you ask? Because “Rex” is Latin for “king”. And “El Cid” is a Spanish historical and legendary figure who I believe was a king back in the 11th century. Therefore, I thought, this must be a very clever Easter Egg on the part of the writers where Rex = Cid.

But no. Cid is just the Trandoshan lady who runs the local gambling establishment (and she’s voiced by Rhea Pearlman!). She tells the Batch that while she doesn't know who this bounty hunter is, she’ll find out for them. In exchange, she has a job for them to do: she wants the bounty on someone named Muchi, who’s been taken by Zygerrian slavers. They bring back Muchi, she gives them information.

The boys head off to find Muchi, while ordering Omega to stay with the ship. For once, she actually listens, but the arrival of two Zyggerian scouts means she needs to get out of there, and fast. Just in time too, as the entire group has been caught by the slavers. 

What follows is a fairly standard Star Wars rescue scene. The Batch distract the slavers while Omega frees a caged adolescent rancor. But not just any rancor...Muchi herself! That’s right. Cid sent them out to fetch a prized rancor for none other than Jabba the Hutt himself, as seen by the fact that it’s Bib Fortuna himself who comes to pick her up. Whether the Zygerrians stole Muchi from Jabba, or Jabba just wanted a new pet is unclear, because I don’t speak Huttese and Disney+ didn’t give Bib any subtitles. 

The group free the rest of the Zygerrian captives, which I liked because freeing all the slaves is not always a guarantee in this universe, then get the rancor to Cid after Wrecker - very slowly - fights it into submission. As promised, Cid not only gives them 30% of the bounty, she also tells Hunter who Fennec Shand is. She says that she’s new on the scene and already developing a reputation. Lucasfilm, when are we getting a Fennec show? Or a novel, even? Call me, I have ideas.

The episode ends on the somewhat ominous note of Cid pointing out that if someone as good as Fennec is after the Batch, that must mean they’re more valuable than she realized. Though she promises she’s good with secrets, that this realization comes directly after Hunter partially refusing her job offer makes me nervous. 

The actual plot of the episode is fairly straightforward, so I want to take a minute to talk about Echo. 

Controversial opinion time, but of all the Batch members, I actually think Echo has the best parental relationship with Omega. It’s never a loud expression of feeling, but their interactions in the background speak volumes to me. He helped her fix her little trooper doll last week, which in this episode she painted to look more like a Bad Batcher. Echo is also the one to explain responsible comm usage to her, and he’s the one who stops her from touching something potentially fragile in Cid’s office. The internet has decided that the Bad Batch are all Omega’s dads but I’d say they feel more like big brothers to me - they mean well, but it doesn’t always occur to them to explain stuff to her. But Echo? Echo is a dad through and through. 

I expressed concern last week that Echo being sold to a merchant didn’t affect him as much as I expected for someone so recently released from captivity, who only just got their autonomy back. While he loses his autonomy yet again in this episode, it is a little different because he has the other members of the Batch with him. I did, however, expect a little more introspection when he was teaching Omega about the concept of slavery. After all, who would know more about losing their personhood than Echo? I would say that I’m expecting him in a future episode to process being once again bound and tortured, but at this point I’m not sure what to think. It’s unclear if the showrunners think he should be “over it” by now, or if they keep putting him in these positions for some kind of big buildup later. When they bump into Rex, maybe, and Echo feels more comfortable? After all, he did only just meet these guys, and still seems a little out of step with them.

Also, Echo is a leftie like me, and I therefore have no choice but to stan.

What did you think? Are we officially worried about Wrecker? Has your favourite Batch member changed? Are we mad at Luke Skywalker for killing Muchi probably? Join us for Bad Bitches on the Bad Batch, our biweekly livestream to dive in! And for more Star Wars discussion, don’t forget to subscribe to “Space Waffles”, our Star Wars focused podcast!

The Bad Batch is streaming now on Disney+ with new episodes every Friday.