'Star Wars: The Bad Batch' Breakdown: The Details And History That Enrich "Decommissioned"
This post contains major spoilers for the latest episode of the series.
The protagonists of The Bad Batch remain on Ord Mantell at Cid's in the latest episode, "Decommissioned." Tech and Wrecker take it upon themselves to train Omega in the use of an energy bow when Cid interrupts them with a new mission. She wants them to head to Corellia to steal a tactical droid from a decommissioning facility. With clones now serving the Empire, the data from a Separatist tactical droid skyrockets in value. While on Corellia, they run into complications when they encounter another pair of ne'er-do-wells with the same mission. Ultimately, they all work together to fight their way out of the droid decommissioning facility, and Hunter has to make some difficult decisions.
The Martez Sisters
This episode features the return of the Martez Sisters, Trace and Rafa. They've joined up with the nascent rebel movements and are working to acquire the tactical droid for themselves.
Fans will remember Trace and Rafa as the pair of smugglers that Ahsoka Tano paired up with after she left the Jedi Order. Together, the three of them were captured by the Pyke Syndicate and tortured after they dumped an entire load of spice.
In those episodes, Rafa was distrustful of Ahsoka and her altruism. Seeing her in this episode having chosen a side and vowing to fight against the Empire shows just how much their time with Ahsoka influenced her. It also speaks to how much good the story of Jedi doing good deeds can do, reinforcing the power of Luke Skywalker's story in The Last Jedi. You can watch the Martez sisters in their first appearance in Star Wars in episodes 5-8 of the final season of The Clone Wars.
The Martez sisters are able to complete their mission and hand off a datarod full of the information to their mysterious contact, but who is this contact? I have suspicions that it's Bail Organa, who was one of the chief leaders supporting the rebel movement in its earliest days. The wisp of a costume seen in the hologram could very easily be one of his robes. Depending on how much time passes on this show, it could also open the door for exploring more of Ahsoka's backstory and relationship with the Martez sisters. If they're working for Bail Organa, it's not long before Ahsoka is acting as Fulcrum for him as well. Seeing Ahsoka reunited with the sisters would be a lot of fun.
Into The Details
This episode begins with the clones of the Bad Batch training Omega on the use of the Zygerrian energy bow she managed to retrieve last episode. Energy bows have been in use in Star Wars for a while, most notably utilized by the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Omega doesn't quite have the strength or focus to handle it reliably just yet, but she'll learn.
As the Bad Batch head to Corellia, it's important to remember that these are the streets Han Solo is currently running as a young scrumrat. He's about 10 or so in this moment, still eight or 10 years away from when we catch up to him in Solo: A Star Wars Story. This is the industrial area of Coronet City, and the first time we've been back to Corellia on screen since that film.
For as many ties as the location has to Solo, it actually shares more in common with the aesthetic of Attack of the Clones. The sounds from the decommissioning facility are captured straight from the Attack of the Clones sound design and the droid conveyers and decommissioning pits look like Attack of the Clones as interpreted through the lens of Alien 3. As Omega falls toward her (not) likely doom, it feels almost like Ripley jumping into the molten steel at the end of that film.
In terms of small details, the last thing I want to point out is the police droids. They look a little bit like HK-assassin droids, but not quite. They're speaking Huttese, though – or at least swearing in Huttese. They can be heard saying "E chu ta," which was the same insult levied at C-3PO on Cloud City by E-3PO, just before he was blasted to bits by hidden stormtroopers.
Home Base
It seems as though the Bad Batch will be calling Ord Mantell home for the next little while. The Martez sisters know it, and pass that information along to their contact, making one wonder if they'll end up involved the Rebellion just like Rex and Gregor eventually will.
But there are complications on the horizon as well. Wrecker's constant concussions seem to be activating his inhibitor chip. This seems to be setting up a race against time for Tech to analyze and remove them before Wrecker goes out of his mind. But with no Jedi around, will it cause him to turn on the rest of the team? Or will they simply not notice? Will it manifest at the worst possible time? The rules of drama certainly imply the latter.
In the meantime, we'll see what job Cid has next for the Bad Batch, if any, especially after Hunter purposely failed the mission on which she sent them.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch airs on Fridays on Disney+.