Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Faster
January 18, 2023 3:18 AM - Season 2, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Now this is podracing!
Riot racing, which is half podracing and half Wipeout, was pretty fun. Not much else to say about this ep. TAY-0 (RIP) was just on the amusing side of "snarky droid".
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:48 AM on January 18, 2023
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:48 AM on January 18, 2023
You could get whiplash from the tonal differences between last week's episode and today's. The animation and the music were great; otherwise it was a bit insubstantial.
posted by orrnyereg at 5:26 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by orrnyereg at 5:26 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Quoting coriolisdave from a recent Fanfare post: This is very much a kids show
I have to remind myself of that sometimes.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:17 AM on January 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have to remind myself of that sometimes.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:17 AM on January 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm annoyed that this episode had a PERFFFFFFect opportunity, in the antagonist character, to canonize the Herglic species (they even love gambling!), but didn't. Chin-Tusk Guys are alREADy canon, dammit.
Anyway, Ben Schwartz as TAY-0 was a welcome addition. It looks like this is his first actual, credited SW role, but not his first work in the SW world.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 8:58 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
Anyway, Ben Schwartz as TAY-0 was a welcome addition. It looks like this is his first actual, credited SW role, but not his first work in the SW world.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 8:58 AM on January 18, 2023 [3 favorites]
As I watched, I thought I know that robot voice. Had to pause the credits to confirm my Jean-Ralphio suspicions.
posted by oldnumberseven at 12:28 AM on January 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by oldnumberseven at 12:28 AM on January 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also cool was Ernie Hudson as chin-tusk guy. Otherwise, yeah, pretty much what pod-racing was in Ep 1--setting up a videogame tie-in (although I don't really expect one for this)--and I was expecting Omega to stand in for Lil' Anakin, but Tech made a good replacement.
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:47 AM on January 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 4:47 AM on January 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
With episodes like this, one really has to deconstruct them to focus on elements that will very likely appear later in the season. One expectation is that we will see Tech pulling off some kind of difficult flying/piloting type thing in the future and this episode put down the understanding that it is within his abilities. Another is the last minute of the episode, with the criminal boss warning the clones and Omega not to place too much trust in Cid - which means also down the line we're either going to get a betrayal by Cid, or more likely, Cid will come through against expectation because this was entirely intended to give us doubts.
Beyond this, it was an enjoyable, if a bit forgettable episode. I continue to live in a space between liking Omega and finding the character annoying. The leeway the grown ups give the (12?) year old in making major decisions, taking actions without permission, and what not, remains completely baffling. They also found just the right balance of annoying and screen time for TAY-O, but barely.
They continue to not do episode guides this season. Though, it seemed like TAY-O's (and his racer's) paint scheme was inspired by Torra Doza's racing paint scheme in Resistance. There was probably a recognizable racing flag from Mos Espa (PM) among the racing standards, but I'm too darn lazy to go back and check. This was one of the few times we have seen protocol droids reprogrammed/deployed for something other than their typical uses - mixing living beings with droids felt somewhat odd, though it permitted a perspective that an individual like Tech exists between the two (granted, that's more Echo).
The episode does contain one of the most WTF moments in Star Wars and for that, I give it major weird points. When it randomly decided to have a spectator hit and killed by stray blaster bolts, which was then followed by an announcement over the racetrack that spectators assume all risk and the racetrack has no liability....gawd, I guffawed.
posted by Atreides at 7:25 AM on January 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Beyond this, it was an enjoyable, if a bit forgettable episode. I continue to live in a space between liking Omega and finding the character annoying. The leeway the grown ups give the (12?) year old in making major decisions, taking actions without permission, and what not, remains completely baffling. They also found just the right balance of annoying and screen time for TAY-O, but barely.
They continue to not do episode guides this season. Though, it seemed like TAY-O's (and his racer's) paint scheme was inspired by Torra Doza's racing paint scheme in Resistance. There was probably a recognizable racing flag from Mos Espa (PM) among the racing standards, but I'm too darn lazy to go back and check. This was one of the few times we have seen protocol droids reprogrammed/deployed for something other than their typical uses - mixing living beings with droids felt somewhat odd, though it permitted a perspective that an individual like Tech exists between the two (granted, that's more Echo).
The episode does contain one of the most WTF moments in Star Wars and for that, I give it major weird points. When it randomly decided to have a spectator hit and killed by stray blaster bolts, which was then followed by an announcement over the racetrack that spectators assume all risk and the racetrack has no liability....gawd, I guffawed.
posted by Atreides at 7:25 AM on January 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
This episode was definitely for the kids (if they are still watching after last week).
One interesting through-line is the plot point of giving something up to achieve success. In the double-episode, Omega (and the team) gave up on the treasure/initial goal. This time, Tech dropped his weapons in order to win. Last week had Cody abandoning his position - plot results iffy, but clearly a good personal decision. And also Crosshair experiencing the consequences of giving up family (friends, name, etc.) for the Empire.
posted by mersen at 5:19 AM on January 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
One interesting through-line is the plot point of giving something up to achieve success. In the double-episode, Omega (and the team) gave up on the treasure/initial goal. This time, Tech dropped his weapons in order to win. Last week had Cody abandoning his position - plot results iffy, but clearly a good personal decision. And also Crosshair experiencing the consequences of giving up family (friends, name, etc.) for the Empire.
posted by mersen at 5:19 AM on January 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Did the PA guy sound like Principal Skinner to anyone else?
posted by orrnyereg at 7:51 AM on January 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by orrnyereg at 7:51 AM on January 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
With episodes like this, one really has to deconstruct them to focus on elements that will very likely appear later in the season. [...] we're either going to get a betrayal by Cid, or more likely, Cid will come through against expectation because this was entirely intended to give us doubts.
Yeah, to me the line that seemed to have the most…maybe not foreshadowing, but "preemptive resonance"…was Tech remarking about how Cid seems pretty willing to put their lives in danger on the regular; it's kind of significant for a clone trooper to get annoyed with that. Love that character moment for Tech, and potentially for the others: given how serious the season's first episodes were, I wonder if the Batch are gonna start reconsidering their mercenary lifestyle. (Which, in this time period, is interesting because what the hell else are they gonna do? Apart from the obvious thing—parley their connection with Rex into some Rebel Alliance entanglements.)
The episode does contain one of the most WTF moments in Star Wars and for that, I give it major weird points. When it randomly decided to have a spectator hit and killed by stray blaster bolts, which was then followed by an announcement over the racetrack that spectators assume all risk and the racetrack has no liability....gawd, I guffawed.
Me too, although it's not too far removed from the lethal mood of the TPM podrace. But a lot more WTF and funny, just from calling attention to it a bit.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:41 AM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, to me the line that seemed to have the most…maybe not foreshadowing, but "preemptive resonance"…was Tech remarking about how Cid seems pretty willing to put their lives in danger on the regular; it's kind of significant for a clone trooper to get annoyed with that. Love that character moment for Tech, and potentially for the others: given how serious the season's first episodes were, I wonder if the Batch are gonna start reconsidering their mercenary lifestyle. (Which, in this time period, is interesting because what the hell else are they gonna do? Apart from the obvious thing—parley their connection with Rex into some Rebel Alliance entanglements.)
The episode does contain one of the most WTF moments in Star Wars and for that, I give it major weird points. When it randomly decided to have a spectator hit and killed by stray blaster bolts, which was then followed by an announcement over the racetrack that spectators assume all risk and the racetrack has no liability....gawd, I guffawed.
Me too, although it's not too far removed from the lethal mood of the TPM podrace. But a lot more WTF and funny, just from calling attention to it a bit.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:41 AM on January 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:13 AM on January 18, 2023