"The Bad Batch" S1, Ep. 5: Returning callbacks of the Jedi

You know that up-and-down, curvy look of a light graph, or how you can move your arm up and down while hanging out from a car window? That's the sort of cadence that The Bad Batch has established after five episodes. We've had a couple of great highs, but also a couple of low lulls. The fifth episode, "Rampage," is one of the latter. And already we're seeing these slowed-down episodes are really only used as side quests to play off Star Wars nostalgia.

And like some Star Wars fans, I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff. "Rampage" was oozing with references to Star Wars lore, most of which called back to Return of the Jedi this time.

This week's mission for the Bad Batch was simple: head to Ord Mantell, then find an informant named Sid, whom the Jedi trusted, and ask if she has any information on the bounty hunter who is looking for Omega.

Sid lies about who she is, but Omega uses her "intuition" (a.k.a. the Force) to identify Sid; she looks like the same race as Bossk from Empire Strikes Back. Anyway, Echo thought Sid could help them figure out who hired Fennec Shand (her appearance was the big reveal in last week's episode) to find Omega. Sid can help, even though she says she doesn't really know, but of course she wants them to do her a favor by freeing slaves, then pay 70% of the rewards.

On their way to rescue these slaves, Wrecker indicates his head is still hurting; he's been dealing with a head injury for a couple of episodes now, so I'm sure some plot point will reveal why this injury is significant at the least opportune moment. Maybe his inhibitor chip is trying to turn back on?

During their mission, the Bad Batch manage to get caught as a giant flying creature - it reminded me of a Boga, the creature Obi-Wan Kenobi rode in Revenge of the Sith while on Utapau - so of course Omega proves herself with a rescue within the rescue.

And how does she do it? She frees an adolescent Rancor!

I must say, I initially was taken aback by how the Rancor looked in animated form. It's giant head seemed a little too cartoonishly plump, but I suppose it mostly looked like an accurate representation of the only other Rancor we've seen (in Episode VI). The rancor did let out its classic growl, which was pleasant.

Omega also got hold of a cool bow-looking laser weapon, though we didn't get to see her use it. What a wasted opportunity. The weapon is a callback to The Clone Wars; it may have a connection to the Nightsisters' weapon, or at least be an homage to it.

Meanwhile, we see Sid working with another familiar character from Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi: Bib Fortuna makes an appearance! Escorted by Gamorreans into Sid's office, it appears Sid has some back-end dealings going on, possibly with Jabba the Hutt. With all the bounty hunter business going on, it makes perfect sense that Jabba would be involved. But I have a hunch he isn't the one who wants to find Omega. Bib Fortuna, of course, was last seen on-screen at the end of Mandalorian Season 2, when Din Djarin kills Bib in Jabba's palace and sits on the throne, which sets up "The Book of Boba" show.

As the Bad Batch collect their cut of the take, Sid insinuates she's interested in their affairs and may be sending one of her cronies to follow the Bad Batch.

All in all, very little happened in this episode, but again, we are teased with the likelihood that other popular characters, like Boba Fett or Jabba, would appear in this show. The story is oozing with setup for some big reveal of significant character appearances. To me, the longer they elude to this without actually showing us anything, the worse off the show will be for it.

Notes:

-Han says "Well the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind" near the beginning in Episode V. Ord Mantell is also a location you can visit in a couple of older video games. I guess it also appeared in certain comics.

-As a gamer who absolutely loves Monster Hunter: Rise on the Nintendo Switch, this week's episode gave me some serious Monster Hunter vibes when the Rancor fought the Boga. It was Wyvern Riding at its finest! We saw a light whip (a nod to a tool we first saw in Rebels)

-There was an unpainted Mandalorian helmet hanging in Sid's office. She's definitely more connected than we think. It'll be interesting to see if we find out which Jedi communicated/worked with her, not to mention the fact that it makes sense for Boba to be the one who hired Fennec Shand to find Omega, especially since he knew about the Kamino facilitation and operation.