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 thirteen of season two, ‘Pabu’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Jen Sopchockchai
This recent run of episodes has been stellar. A child labor revolt against a greedy thug. The return of the infamous Zillo Beast from The Clone Wars, Crosshair shoots an Imperial officer point-blank. It’s been a disheartening yet thrilling ride through the hardships of a galaxy under Imperial rule.
This week’s episode has the distinction of being the first one that has been happy. At least, I’m not sure we’ve had any moments up until now that have been this pure in their happiness. Though the fact that I’m calling this episode happy when its plot involves half of an island’s dwellings getting wiped out by a sea surge says something about what the Batch have been going through this season.
Omega closes her eyes and breathes in the fresh ocean air while taking a sunset cruise with a new friend her own age. All of them seem in disbelief that a place such as Pabu exists, under the Empire’s radar. The people all know each other, no one’s trying to take advantage of anyone else. Wrecker actually feels full for once because food is so plentiful. There are jaunty monkeys. It seems like paradise.
We’ve been hearing about Omega not having the luxury of childhood in these dark times. Now there’s a viable option for raising her in a kid friendly environment, staring them right in the face. It has become increasingly clear that Cid doesn’t actually care about them, and has been using them. Finally they can picture a life without her. Tech’s progress in articulating his emotions may even lead to a romance with Phee? That may be going to far; but on Pabu, anything seems possible. There is a natural disaster that wiped out half the city, but the way everyone bands together and helps each other evacuate
Phee has been the biggest and most pleasant surprise in all this. We learn here that Phee risks her life for treasure for neither thrill nor profit; rather, she tries to “liberate ancient wonders” to return them to her fellow refugees on Pabu, restoring cultural artifacts to their rightful owners. She seems wholeheartedly good and nice.
And she must recognize the good in the Bad Batch as well, since she’s willing to share the secret of Pabu with them and only them. Cid doesn’t know about this place. In fact, Liana says that Phee has never brought anyone else there. It also seems to me that Phee recognizes that the Batch are kindred spirits to the citizens of Pabu; the Empire has destroyed all of their home planets, and Pabu serves as a safe harbor to rebuild their lives. That seems to be a reverberating theme throughout Star Wars stories right now.
Pabu is a sanctuary for our heroes once their journey has come to an end. While Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega may someday sail to their haven, their work is not yet done. Their time has not yet come. They still have much to bear.
(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)
Mark Newbold
There’s a tendency in Star Wars – in life – to judge people not only by their appearance, but also by first impressions. Quite often those first impressions are correct, but equally sometimes they’re not and Pabu, the thirteenth episode of the second season of The Bad Batch, proves this to be true. Phee – a character many would quite fairly assume was as shady as slim and as trusty as a Corellians promise – not only steps up for the Batch and Omega, a character she undoubtedly has taken a shine to, but takes them into her confidence. She brings them to the idyllic world of Pabu , allowing them to take their collective feet off the gas and perhaps stay there, giving young Omega a safe place to grow away from the dangers of the galaxy, dangers that grow week by week.
As for this episode, there’s plenty to appreciate. Firstly, the visuals are gorgeous, this stunning location brought to vivid life as a place we’d like to visit again and a logical, quiet, out-of-the-way safe space for the Batch to retreat to. Secondly, the drama of the natural disaster that smashes into the island, completely separate from the insanity and constant peril of their wider lives, a shocking moment as we realise that no, this wasn’t the work of the Empire or the Sith but rather the cold hand of fate that doesn’t want Clone Force 99 to rest until their time is done. As a plot device, it works fantastically well, adding drama and some stunning visuals and sound effects to the piece.
You could look at this episode and claim that apart from the kinetic action of the natural disaster, it’s a thin episode, but far from it. Like most episodes of The Bad Batch there are layers, and here we see a softening of Hunter who has certainly been quieter this season as his team slowly depletes and the continued (and again subtle) development of Wrecker, who has gone from simply being the hulk of the team to being its heart, watching over his brothers and sister while still squabbling with Tech. Perhaps the most surprising moment was the clearly flirtacious glances between Phee and Tech, who seems to be slowly realising that the treasure hunter has taken a shine to him and isn’t over-analysing the relationship. Maybe the chat Omega had with him back in the fifth episode of this second season, Entombed has taken root, and while no one wants his analytical mind to change, why can’t these brave veterans of the Clone Wars have a happy ending? There’s no reason whatsoever, but if they get it then they’ll certainly have to work for it.
Eric Onkenhout
Pabu was unlike any episode of Star Wars I remember. It began like Temple of Doom, with Phee and Omega doing a deal around a poker table with some shady types. A fight breaks out, and the rest of the squad pitches in to help Phee grab the goods and go. Okay, nothing groundbreaking there, but Phee and Omega have a burgeoning relationship, and Phee insists that Omega needs to be around kids her own age.
Apparently, the squad cut ties with Cid finally, so Phee invites them to go to Pabu, where Phee is from. Pabu is an ocean world, and Phee lived on one particular island with peaceful refugees. The key word is peace. This was like an episode of Star Peace. Omega and Phee’s “niece,” Lyana, hit it off, and things are looking great until a seismic event causes a tsunami, and everyone has to evacuate to upper Pabu. Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech help ensure everyone is safe, and despite the destruction the tsunami caused, everyone made it out alive.
This episode is interesting as the goal of the Batch is to eliminate the scum from the galaxy, but by the end of the episode, they decide to stick around and help out. Pabu was a nice change of pace. I didn’t mind the diversion without losing the action. Only three episodes are left of this season, with the last two being a two-parter. They decide to stay, but we know Crosshair will appear again, so I think we’re headed toward a season cliffhanger with the squad getting a call from their old mate. Not looking forward to that while very much also looking forward to that!
