Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Tribe
February 1, 2023 7:02 AM - Season 2, Episode 6 - Subscribe
The Bad Batch helps bring a new friend home.
I'm a bit concerned about the consequences for the Wookiees: they just killed off a whole company of stormtroopers and Trandoshans. The Empire is going to come down even harder.
Nice to see Gungi, and also nice to see that the animators got much better at Wookiees: the ones in the first season of Rebels looked pretty terrible.
posted by suelac at 8:29 PM on February 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Nice to see Gungi, and also nice to see that the animators got much better at Wookiees: the ones in the first season of Rebels looked pretty terrible.
posted by suelac at 8:29 PM on February 1, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yeah, is there such a thing as "deeper into the jungle" when the Empire can launch shuttles from orbit? Though the spider colonies seem to pack quite a wallop.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:29 PM on February 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:29 PM on February 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
“Perhaps one day we will all find a new path.”
“Hopefully, one far away from war.”
Then it wouldn’t be Star Wars anymore, would it?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:30 AM on February 2, 2023
“Hopefully, one far away from war.”
Then it wouldn’t be Star Wars anymore, would it?
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:30 AM on February 2, 2023
I really enjoyed this episode more so than last week's, and I don't know if it was the subject matter (am I softy for Gungi? Wookiee Jedi?) or just the animation was pretty great. Though, there was at least once or twice near the end of the third act where the script seemed kind of abrupt. A big deal is made by Omega running out of the woods to say the fire was spreading, like it's a serious matter and could be a second critical moment of the show...and then we cut to the fire out, everyone wrapping up their work. It was just an unusually abrupt cut for the show. Very much felt like something was removed and they couldn't quite smooth it over.
And for those asking about the Empire coming down on Kashyyyk...under the current "canon" the Empire comes down hard. The majority of the wookiee population is captured, their forest homes destroyed, and they even get explosive implants. And that's the population that isn't sent off planet to work as slaves. Things don't look bright for Gungi and his new tribe.
For reference, btw, Gungi was last seen as a padawan/Youngling in The Clone Wars and was featured in a series of episodes, either being taken to Ilum (future Starkiller Base) with other padawans/Younglings to obtain a kyber crystal for their lightsabers or trying to evade the Separatists...by pretending to be part of a circus. Yah, not the "Best" storyline that one. As far as my faulty memory can recall, I don't think Gungi had been assigned a Jedi Knight or Master to learn under and had been considered a Youngling in the previous show.
Other notes, for a long time, there has been a traditional animosity in the franchise between the Trandoshans (who love to hunt) and wookiees. I believe the Empire's use of hiring the Trandoshans for subjugating the wookiees has been a pretty established thing.
I loved how Gungi's lightsaber usage gave away his presence on the planet. One would wonder if the wookiees went back and destroyed the evidence after the Bad Batch departed...or if eventually an inquisitor was sent to hunt for the Jedi. The use of light, fire, and everything was particularly effective in this episode.
I'm starting to wonder if this episode was helping to make a case for Omega being Force sensitive, based on her comment about the droid smuggling base giving her a bad feeling - then she ends up finding Gungi being beaten. But also yes, someone needs to tie a bell around her neck or something with how she's always wandering off.
This episode also played into the question of what the Bad Batch will do with its future. In this instance, they saw old allies in trouble and without much hesitation, joined their fight against the trandoshans and Imperial forces. It seems like a natural lead into joining a nascent rebellion against the Empire.
posted by Atreides at 7:23 AM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
And for those asking about the Empire coming down on Kashyyyk...under the current "canon" the Empire comes down hard. The majority of the wookiee population is captured, their forest homes destroyed, and they even get explosive implants. And that's the population that isn't sent off planet to work as slaves. Things don't look bright for Gungi and his new tribe.
For reference, btw, Gungi was last seen as a padawan/Youngling in The Clone Wars and was featured in a series of episodes, either being taken to Ilum (future Starkiller Base) with other padawans/Younglings to obtain a kyber crystal for their lightsabers or trying to evade the Separatists...by pretending to be part of a circus. Yah, not the "Best" storyline that one. As far as my faulty memory can recall, I don't think Gungi had been assigned a Jedi Knight or Master to learn under and had been considered a Youngling in the previous show.
Other notes, for a long time, there has been a traditional animosity in the franchise between the Trandoshans (who love to hunt) and wookiees. I believe the Empire's use of hiring the Trandoshans for subjugating the wookiees has been a pretty established thing.
I loved how Gungi's lightsaber usage gave away his presence on the planet. One would wonder if the wookiees went back and destroyed the evidence after the Bad Batch departed...or if eventually an inquisitor was sent to hunt for the Jedi. The use of light, fire, and everything was particularly effective in this episode.
I'm starting to wonder if this episode was helping to make a case for Omega being Force sensitive, based on her comment about the droid smuggling base giving her a bad feeling - then she ends up finding Gungi being beaten. But also yes, someone needs to tie a bell around her neck or something with how she's always wandering off.
This episode also played into the question of what the Bad Batch will do with its future. In this instance, they saw old allies in trouble and without much hesitation, joined their fight against the trandoshans and Imperial forces. It seems like a natural lead into joining a nascent rebellion against the Empire.
posted by Atreides at 7:23 AM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]
Other notes, for a long time, there has been a traditional animosity in the franchise between the Trandoshans (who love to hunt) and wookiees.
Indeed, and in the pre-mouse EU, the Trandoshan species originates from…a moon of Kashyyyk. Implying animosity going back long before the Empire.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 9:25 AM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
Indeed, and in the pre-mouse EU, the Trandoshan species originates from…a moon of Kashyyyk. Implying animosity going back long before the Empire.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 9:25 AM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
The use of light, fire, and everything was particularly effective in this episode.
The lighting really showed off the gorgeous animation this episode.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:58 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
The lighting really showed off the gorgeous animation this episode.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:58 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
One of the reasons why the Wookiees may not be in too much immediate trouble is that it's still relatively early days for the Empire; there may simply not be enough resources to curb-stomp any planet that's even mildly rebellious. Yet. (Even by the time of Andor, they have to press-gang prisoners via a kangaroo court to get enough slave labor for one of their big projects.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:39 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:39 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]
there may simply not be enough resources to curb-stomp any planet that's even mildly rebellious.
Given they've resorted to hiring Trandoshan mercenaries with Imperial insignia spray-painted on old Separatist tanks, I think you're right.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:54 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
Given they've resorted to hiring Trandoshan mercenaries with Imperial insignia spray-painted on old Separatist tanks, I think you're right.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:54 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
(Even by the time of Andor, they have to press-gang prisoners via a kangaroo court to get enough slave labor for one of their big projects.)
Well…Human slave labor. (As to why they wanted Humans specifically for that work, IIRC we had only guesses in the Andor threads, and no official explanation.) My hunch is the Empire would've been able, from its quite early days, to be a little more direct in its enslavements when it came to non-Humans.
Given they've resorted to hiring Trandoshan mercenaries with Imperial insignia spray-painted on old Separatist tanks, I think you're right.
That did jump out at me as…not exactly a traditional Imp approach. FWIW, one of the later Essential Guides (Warfare or Atlas, maybe both) discusses how the Empire's first few months were quite focused on Separatist holdout regions, which Kashyyyk definitely wasn't. So, strategically and maybe also geographically (astrographically?), it's gotta be a low-priority backwater as of this ep. The local admiral is probably somebody's greenhorn failson.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:17 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Well…Human slave labor. (As to why they wanted Humans specifically for that work, IIRC we had only guesses in the Andor threads, and no official explanation.) My hunch is the Empire would've been able, from its quite early days, to be a little more direct in its enslavements when it came to non-Humans.
Given they've resorted to hiring Trandoshan mercenaries with Imperial insignia spray-painted on old Separatist tanks, I think you're right.
That did jump out at me as…not exactly a traditional Imp approach. FWIW, one of the later Essential Guides (Warfare or Atlas, maybe both) discusses how the Empire's first few months were quite focused on Separatist holdout regions, which Kashyyyk definitely wasn't. So, strategically and maybe also geographically (astrographically?), it's gotta be a low-priority backwater as of this ep. The local admiral is probably somebody's greenhorn failson.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 5:17 AM on February 3, 2023 [2 favorites]
Finally watching this one, I got a little derailed by weather this week. It diverges from my "giving up X" theme. They do abandon whatever payment they're supposed to get from the droid mafia (and what do droids need chain codes for, again?), but the focus of the episode is on saving the Wookiees' home (for now) and reuniting Gungi with his people, and I think the pivot point of the episode was trusting trees? Even knowing things get much worse for Kashyyk later, it felt like a positive episode. The Bad Batch finally successfully completed a mission! (Actually, Tech won a bet in that racing episode: at double or nothing, shouldn't that have gotten them some money?)
posted by mersen at 7:14 PM on February 7, 2023
posted by mersen at 7:14 PM on February 7, 2023
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Omega wandering off AGAIN. Why didn't Echo chew her out?
posted by orrnyereg at 7:43 AM on February 1, 2023 [1 favorite]