Hello and welcome to another installment of Laughing Place’s weekly recap of the Lucasfilm Animation series Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney+.
This week’s episode, entitled “Battle Scars,” begins with a space battle between Clone Force 99’s Havoc Marauder and a group of Rhokai thieves. Evidently the Rhokai had stolen a lizard (that Omega has nicknamed Ruby) and the Bad Batch were tasked with intercepting it. On the ship, Ruby escapes from her cage and attaches to Wrecker’s (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, as are all the members of Clone Force 99) face. Wrecker hits his head once again in the ensuing chaos, but Omega (Michelle Ang) manages to trap Ruby back in the cage. The Havoc Marauder jumps into hyperspace and the group returns to Ord Mantell, where Cid (Rhea Perlman) compensates the team for their work, though they question her and her client’s motivations. Hunter notices a mysterious stranger hanging out in Cid’s bar while Wrecker and Omega head outside for an unnamed post-mission “tradition.”
The Bad Batch aren’t happy with what they got paid for this last assignment, but Cid says it’s generous considering the debt they owe her for expenses. Out in the marketplace, we see Omega and Wrecker enjoying some “Mantell Mix” of what looks like popcorn– similar to the Outpost Mix available at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge– and Wrecker puts the treat on Cid’s tab. In the bar, an Ithorian picks a fight with the stranger over the booth he’s sitting in, and in the back room Cid tells Clone Force 99 they need a “big score” to square themselves with her after bungling the tactical droid retrieval mission in last week’s episode. They overhear blaster fire in the bar and run out to the main room to find the Ithorian and his Weequay friend running away from the stranger, who pulls back his hood to reveal Captain Rex. “Oh great, another clone. Just what I needed,” says Cid.
Rex tells the Bad Batch what he’s been up to, saying that he’s been keeping a low profile since the war ended. Tech says Imperial files list Rex as having been killed in action. “Being dead in the Empire’s eyes has its advantages,” says Rex, who explains that Trace and Rafa Martez told him about Clone Force 99’s whereabouts. Rex asks about Omega, who then enters the bar with an ecstatic Wrecker. “I thought you didn’t like the regs,” says Omega, but Wrecker insists they like this one. Omega says she can tell Rex is a “Generation 1” clone due to the lines on his face, and Wrecker starts having his headaches again. Rex becomes concerned about the inhibitor chip, but Tech mentions that the Bad Batch’s deviant nature appears to have impeded their functionality. As soon as Rex realizes his friends haven’t removed their chips, he reaches for his blaster.
Rex insists Clone Force 99 have their inhibitor chips removed, and says he’ll be in touch when he finds a way to do that. Later, on the Havoc Marauder, Wrecker is experiencing another headache as Hunter says they’re traveling to meet Rex on the planet Bracca (from the Star Wars: Jedi – Fallen Order video game). Omega says she is exempt from having her head cut open as she doesn’t have an chip. Tech compares Rex’s brain-scan with that of the Bad Batch to look for “cellular anomalies.” They arrive at Bracca’s starship graveyard, where they meet Rex and find the wreckage of a Venator-class Jedi cruiser that he says is just like the one on which he had his chip taken out. They spot a Scrapper Guild skiff patrolling the area and try their best to keep out of sight as they enter the derelict cruiser. Hunter sees something moving in the water below and tells his teammates to keep dry.
Inside the cruiser, Rex leads the group over some obstacles toward the medical bay, though Wrecker has some trouble crossing a chasm and almost tumbles into the water below. As he dangles from a rope, the tentacle of a Dianoga reaches out and grabs him by his midsection, dragging him under the surface. He fights his way out while his friends blast away at the creature, and Wrecker manages to climb his way back up to the others. Upon finding the medical bay, Tech scans Wreckers head to find his inhibitor chip, but Omega worries that the surgery won’t be safe and she’ll be left alone. “We’re not going anywhere, Omega,” promises Hunter. Tech finds the chip on his scan, but Wrecker pushes him away angrily. Echo activates the medical pod but the process takes a bit too long and Wrecker attacks Tech before he can sedate him: “You’re in direct violation of Order 66.”
Wrecker knocks Tech to the floor and starts firing his blaster rifle at Rex and the other members of the Bad Batch, yelling “You’re all traitors!” Rex accidentally stuns Echo in the skirmish and Wrecker knocks Hunter unconscious, then pursues Omega down the hallway after she fires a blaster at him. Omega ducks under a stuck doorway, but Wrecker rips it open and hunts for the hiding girl. “This isn’t you, Wrecker. It’s the inhibitor chip,” pleads Omega when Wrecker finds her. “Conspiring with traitors makes you guilty of treason,” he responds. Wrecker almost shoots Omega but is hit with a stun blast in the back by Rex. The team puts Wrecker in the medical pod and successfully removes his chip, but he doesn’t wake up right away, which alarms Omega. “He is alive, but his vitals have not stabilized,” explains Tech as he reads the display. “We won’t know more until he regains consciousness.”
Rex suggests Hunter take Omega outside to get some air while they wait, but Omega refuses, wanting to stay by Wrecker’s side until he recovers. As time passes in the hallway, Rex examines his clone trooper helmet wistfully and watches as Omega sleeps next to Wrecker. Suddenly Wrecker’s hand reaches over and pats Omega on the head. The group is thrilled to see Wrecker awake, and they begin taking turns removing the other inhibitor chips. Wrecker apologizes to Omega for what happened earlier: “I tried to control it as hard as I could. I just couldn’t make it stop. I’m sorry.” Omega gives Wrecker some Mantell Mix she had in her pocket as her way of forgiving him. Outside, Rex answers a communication and tells someone he’ll meet them at a rendezvous. He tells Hunter he’s still fighting to restore the Republic and tries to recruit Clone Force 99 into the budding rebellion.
“Omega needs us, and I have to do what’s best for my squad,” says Hunter as he turns down Rex’s offer. “Which is what?” “I’m still figuring that out.” Rex tells Hunter to let him know where he lands after he gets things sorted out, and the two clones bid farewell to each other. In turn, Hunter says Rex knows how to reach the Bad Batch if he ever needs them. As Rex walks away into the mist, we see the Scrapper Guild watching Hunter through macrobinoculars. “Intruders confirmed on the Jedi cruiser,” says one of the scrappers. “Notify the Empire.”
New episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch are released Fridays, exclusively on Disney+.