This is probably my least favorite episode of the season so far, but that’s in no way a bad thing. It’s mostly action and fighting, so there’s not a lot of meat to this story. I’m a character over plot person, so there’s not much for me to really get into here.
Especially since we’ve seen this story before in Star Wars over and over again. Being neutral and refusing to pick sides is Finn’s arc in The Last Jedi. We’ve seen this story in Clone Wars too, most notably back in season one with “Jedi Crash” and “Defenders of the Peace.” We saw the Jedi and clones teaching the lurmen that they couldn’t be neutral in the war, that they had to stand up and fight. That’s the same story here with the Poletecs. It’s nothing new.
But I also understand why they ran a similar story again. Now with Disney+, there’s probably new viewers coming into the series. Season seven has had so much hype that I could see people jumping right in there as a starting point without going through the previous seasons. Also, the story is just different enough. The lurmen story was about Ahsoka learning how to move past her worries for Anakin, who was injured at the time. It was a Jedi focused story. This is a clone focused story with Rex getting Echo back as well as the Bad Batch learning to trust the regular clones more. It doesn’t bother me that they’re reusing similar stories as they have enough differences to keep it fresh.
Though, I feel bad for the Poletecs. Unlike the Lurmen who were isolated from the rest of the war, the Poletecs are practically neighbors to the Techno Union. With Anakin and the clones gone, what’s going to stop the Separatist from seeking retribution on the native people?
Echo is compelling to see here after getting to know him over the show. In “Rookies” back in season one, he was the cautious member of the Domino Squad. Unlike Hevy and Fives, he was more interested in reading regulation manuals instead of goofing off. Later on in the series when him and Fives become arc troopers, he’s still the more serious of the two.
Flash forward to this episode. When they save him and his mind comes back, Echo is cracking jokes with Rex. He’s making little quips at the Bad Batch. He reminds me so much of Fives and Hevy in these moments, not the serious and bookish clone we saw many season ago. Echo lost himself for so long. Looking at the episode’s final moments, we see that he’s clearly unsure about returning to a normal life. It’s like he’s trying to become an avatar of his brothers so not to face himself and the trauma that he has survive. It’s going to be interesting to see where he ends up.
Here’s some final thoughts to round out the episode:
-I love the sequence of our heroes tip toeing out on the pipe and being surrounded by droids (see featured image). Poor Wrecker is hilarious with his fear of heights. I love seeing Hunter as a leader in that moment trying to comfort Wrecker, knowing his man is frightened. The wide shot of them surrounded is gorgeous. It’s all so well done.
-The D-Wing Battle Droids are so cool! They still have all the fun of normal battle droids, but they have a nice design. And they can fly! I love it!
-The scene where Anakin takes out the octuptarra tri-droid AKA the big ass freaking spider droid with three cannons for a face is a great call back to the Clone Wars movie. His opening scene of the series is destroying one of these things on his own in the flashiest way possible. Now in the closing season, it comes full circle as we get to see him do his thing once again, maybe for the last time as a hero.
I’m excited to see the end of the Bad Batch arc. I’m even more excited to get out of material I know and get to brand new Ahsoka content.
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