Every time an episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on episode ten of season two, ‘Retrieval’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Eric Onkenhout
The tenth episode of The Bad Batch season two, ‘Retrieval,’ wasn’t much different in terms of content from most of what we’ve seen thus far. The only difference with this episode is that it finally declares its intentions and is comfortable in its own skin. It’s safe to say that considering the timeline and the characters, most fans (including me) expected to see Clone Force 99 fighting Imperial forces. Our theories strengthened when Echo arrived, and Crosshair defected to the bad guys. ‘Retrieval’ cleared up any confusion in the future.
‘Retrieval’ opens with the crew attempting to salvage some junk for transportation because their ship, the Marauder, was stolen in the last episode. Not only that, but poor Gonky got droid-napped as well. Showing the Marauder wobble was a nice touch by the animators to show the thief’s inexperience at flying. We soon see that the thief is a kid not much older than Omega named Benni (Yuri Lowenthal).
Benni works for a boss named Mokko (Jonathan Lipow). Benni comes from a long line of juveniles in Star Wars who are either thieves or specialize in some skill. Another one that comes to mind is Jaybo, who appeared in The Clone Wars season one, episode 18, Mystery of a Thousand Moons. Mokko is also another alien boss who rules through fear, like Jabba, Azmorigan, and Unkar Plutt. Top earners (employees who bring in more money) for Mokko receive larger portions of food and water, and that’s what Benni is trying to accomplish by stealing the Marauder.
Mokko tells Benni he can sell the ship in pieces to avoid unwanted attention. The Bad Batch track the location of the Marauder and finds the kid who stole it. We also learn the Techno Union ran the ipsium mine during the war, but Mokko took over when they were forced out. The ipsium is degraded, or so we’re led to believe, which affects the conditions of the mine. At least they’re still working, which indicates that things under the Empire’s rule may not mean success for everyone.
Drake (Aleks Le) ends up earning top earner and gets an entire bowl of soup for himself, which angers Benni. Meanwhile, Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech are repairing their ship. Finally, Omega gets a chance to speak to Benni alone and realizes she relates to Benni for not having a home but offers him food for helping them find their ship, which opens Benni’s eyes to who he should really trust.
Nearing the climax, Mokko threatens to toss Omega into the fiery reactor core below if the Bad Batch don’t leave now. As the tussle starts, Mokko falls off the bridge to his death. In the end, the crew gets their ship back, and Benni returns to mining because it’s what he knows, but now he’ll do it for himself.
The end of the episode affirms what the series is all about when Omega says the Empire is not the only threat. “We’ve seen so many in the galaxy like Mokko.” But Tech assures Omega that there are plenty of good folks like the Bad Batch as well. The crew aims to root out anyone exploiting anyone else for their own benefit. The clones know a thing or two about being exploited.
Onto the next adventure!
Mark Newbold
Of all the Star Wars projects that have graced our screens in the last ten years, few get as on-the-ground as The Bad Batch. While we’re just as likely to be blasting towards a Star Destroyer as being sent out for fruit, the show can illuminate the galactic situation as deftly as it can the smaller, social issues that gtrouble citizens across the galaxy, especially in such a tumultous era of change as the post-Clone Wars galaxy. Here in Retrieval we get up close and personal with a number of very real issues – coercion, lies told on a grand scale, hunger and deprivation and a very Unkar Plutt-like situation that sees the thief who stole the Marauder in the previous episode eventually gain the trust of Omega (and the audience) before old habits see him sell the Batch out as they try to get their ship back and leave.
It’s smart storytelling. The situation at hand not only evokes the plight of the slaves in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but it’s also a microcosm of the wider issues across the galaxy. As the Empire clamps down on the liberty of its populace, so Mokko lies to Benni and the rest of his crew, stuffing his face with delicious food while making them share literal scraps. Their work is tough and arduous, the lies convincing as these kids with nothing else in their lives buy the lies hook line and sinker, much like the galaxy swallows Palpatines deceit without the Jedi to counter him. Of course, Clone Force 99 are primarily driven by their need and desire to get their ship back, while once again it’s Omega displaying the most heart as she goes with Benni to release the ship and get away, learning more about his life and situation than the rest of her clone brothers.
Despite their determination to find the Marauder and escape, the Batch are also keen to root out such operations and end them, and as we reach the climax of the story and essentially end it with Mokko taking a one-way trip into the molten metal below, we could be forgiven for expecting Benni to leave with the Batch, but that’s not the case. With a chance of finding a new world to start over on, Benni opts to stay and build a better future, one that will give him a chance of making his mark and finding his own niche in the rich tapestry of the galaxy. Low key and very, very local, this is arguably the bravest decision of them all. As the lie is revealed and the turn made, there’s little doubt the Batch would have found a way to relocate these kids had they desired it, so it’s admirable that they decide to stay and wage their own defiant stand against tyranny. Not every victory has to be underlined with photon torpedoes and blaster bolts; sometimes, the biggest of victories go largely unnoticed, and while we may never come this way again, the events of retrieval will be long remembered by these liberated ‘lost boys’.
- Hardcover Book
- Horton, Cole (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 160 Pages - 03/21/2023 (Publication Date) - Insight Editions (Publisher)
