Small Screen Star Wars Tower of Babble

As we close in on the series finale, you'd like to see episodes with longer runtimes. The concern being that we might run out of time to effectively wrap up all the story threads before the series wraps up. Despite only coming in at 26 minutes this week (about average for the series), "Into the Breach" gets a pass on this nitpick for two main reasons. Firstly, the pacing is near perfect. There isn't an ounce of fat in this episode, and the momentum caring the viewer into some extremely tense final moments is masterful. Secondly, they nailed the Star Wars tone here. Despite extremely high stakes, the general sense of adventure is maintained, and Rampart's humorous interjections keep things from getting too dark. As a whole the episode feels exactly as long as it needs to be and is an extremely compelling installment in the Star Wars saga. If you can't find yourself investing in these characters after these nail biting moments I'd recommend checking your pulse.

After this week, 'The Bad Batch' is only left with three more episodes before the series wraps up entirely. Last week's two-parter set the stage for a clear endgame - The Batch need to find Tantiss Base and rescue Omega. With that in mind, this week sets up an intriguing idea off the jump - perhaps the former Admiral, now prisoner, Rampart, knows the location. Unfortunately, the episode spins it's wheels with a "mission of the week" format without really moving the plot along in any significant way, and uses information the audience already knows as if it's a big reveal. This would have been a great episode in the middle of the season, but not for the fourth from last episode. The action and visual fidelity were top notch as always, but at this point in the series that's not enough to carry the story at this critical stage.

This final season of 'The Bad Batch' is coming at us fast. It was less than a month ago that we were treated to a dramatic two-part episode that left the team reeling, and now again this week another two-part episode drops, and it's another doozy. First, with "Identity Crises" we spend time back on Tantiss with Doctor Emerie Karr as she takes over for Nala Se on Project Necromancer. It's the first time a current or former member of The Batch doesn't appear on screen, as we instead spend the entire episode on Tantiss learning more about the insidious work being done there. It's gripping dramatic television. Next, with "Point of No Return", the stakes ramp up to 1000 as the Empire strikes out against Pabu in an attempt to recapture Omega. The action here is stunning and where the episode leaves off sets up a thrilling final few episodes as we lead into the series finale.

The trailer for this final season of 'The Bad Batch' teased the return of a fan favourite character from 'The Clone Wars'. A Sith assassin who has been part of Star Wars since the Tartakovsky animated shorts, who seemingly died in a novel adapted from an unused story from an animated series, only to return in all her glory as neither Sith nor Jedi. That's right folks Asaj Ventress returns to the screen as the titular "harbinger" of bad news. Julian and Rachel discuss Asaj's big return, what the information she delivers about the "m-count experiments" means for Omega, and whether we think this is the last we see of this assassin turned bounty hunter.

After an exciting two-parter last week, where the larger clone conspiracy plotline was brought to the fore, we return to something a bit more quaint. This week's episode falls more into the "mission of week" type format. Something we got pretty used to from seasons 1 and 2, but haven't seen much of this season. That is likely due to the fact that this is the final season, and there just isn't as much time to spend on episodes that don't really drive plot or character development. This week's A and B plot format attempted to tackle both of those tasks, but largely fell short of being a satisfying enough on either level. We see Hunter and Wrecker working with fan favourite bounty hunter, Fennec Shand, as they look for clues on the Empire's "M-Count experiments". Meanwhile, Omega tries to help Crosshair heal is hand tremors. Julian and Rachel unpack the episode scene by scene as well as discuss the first trailer for 'The Acolyte'.

The larger clone struggle returns to center stage with the return of some fan favorites, in what feels like a sequel to the stellar “Clone Conspiracy” episode from season 2. This two-part episode ramps up tension quickly and then relieves it with exciting action set pieces framed by gorgeous scenery. Crosshair and Omega continue to play a vital role at the center of the plot, and with the assassin clones becoming a larger part of the mystery, we are eager to learn more about how everything ties together. These episodes do a great job of clarifying the stakes for the remainder of the season while also planting seeds for things we know are still coming.