Star Wars: The Bad Batch Brings More Indiana Jones References And Sets Up A Major Confrontation
Spoilers for "The Bad Batch" Season 2 Episode 13 – "Pabu" follow.
Omega (Michelle Ang) and The Bad Batch (Dee Bradley Baker) have cut ties with Cid (Rhea Perlman) and decided to adventure across the galaxy with Phee Genoa (Wanda Sykes), as they look for a new way to sustain their lives.
When Phee learns that the Batch has been dodging Cid's calls, she offers to take them to her homeworld, a tropical paradise called Pabu, a place where they can let Omega have a childhood and be free of the yolk of the Empire for a while.
They like it there well enough, but something is wrong. A ground quake of some sort hits the small island community and causes a tidal wave. The Bad Batch springs into action, helping evacuate the lower parts of the island and rescuing Omega and her new friend, who were out to sea when the quakes hit.
When the damage is surveyed, the family of clones decides that Pabu might not be a bad place to lay low for a while, as they help rebuild the devastated community of refugees.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
This episode opens up with an exchange patterned after the one at the beginning of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" inside the Club Obi-Wan. Phee, with Omega at her side, is negotiating with a ne'er-do-well named Crowder over the price of an ancient artifact of some sort. It looks very much like a ceramic banzai tree, but there's no telling if it's real or not. But Crowder wants to turn the tables on Phee. Like Indiana Jones, Phee has a glass placed in front of her, but she refuses to drink knowing it's poisoned.
A fight in the club breaks out and Phee has backup, just like Indy, in the form of the rest of the Bad Batch and they tear the place apart, making off with the credits and the artifact.
The best part of this entire sequence is that when the Bad Batch pulls out, you can see a sign in Aurebesh for the club, and it reads "CLUB LAO CHE." Lao Che was the man who tried to poison Indy in the Club Obi-Wan, crossing that reference back in on itself in a really fun way.
Details to watch out for
When the poison fails crowder, he pushes a button and it releases a kouhun, a huge millipede-like creature that is extremely poisonous. We first saw these in "Attack of the Clones" when Jango Fett ordered Zam Wessel to assassinate Senator Amidala with them. Thankfully, Padmé had Anakin to rescue her, cutting them in half with a lightsaber. Phee had Hunter throw a knife right through the one Crowder set on her.
Another touchstone to Indiana Jones comes in the form of the monkey-like moon-yos on Pabu. The entire, idyllic place feels very much like Sallah's home in Egypt from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the sounds and tenor of Omega playing with the moon-yos has all of the same vibes as Marian playing with the Nazi monkey.
The last thing to pay attention to is the voice of Crowder, Mr. Eenta, and some villagers. It's none other than Steve Blum. Steve Blum is most well known in "Star Wars" for the role of Zeb Orellios in "Star Wars Rebels." He's also been a host of stormtroopers and other bit parts across the saga in films and television. It's great to see him getting work here.
Coda
This episode feels like the stakes are small. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I can see the complaints from certain sectors over it already. I get the distinct impression that the creators of "The Bad Batch" are setting the other side of the coin for last week's setup. With Crosshair in the hands of the people who want to abduct Omega at all costs and the Batch in such an idyllic and peaceful place, it's going to hit a lot harder when they bring the war and the Empire to this would-be paradise. What is their existence going to cost all of those who help them? And how will Omega react to that, when she learns that people will die to prevent her from having anything close to resembling a normal life? And will this confrontation be a three-way situation when Cid finds out where they are and becomes their enemy?
Although this episode is table-setting, it's setting up an incredible confrontation that I can't wait to see.
As for this episode, the lighting of the sunsets and the entire color palette was a wonderful spectacle. The music had echoes of "Star Wars," but familiar notes of "The Bad Batch" and "Indiana Jones" as well, creating a wonderful amalgamation of John Williams' work. And the voice cast, led by Dee Bradley Baker and Michelle Ang, continues to do their best work, episode after episode. It's all adding to the tapestry of "Star Wars" in interesting, expansive ways and keeping it interesting the whole time.
New episodes of "The Bad Batch" air on Wednesdays on Disney+.