Review: Star Wars: The Bad Batch “Rescue on Ryloth”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Hera Syndulla joins forces with Clone Force 99 to rescue the freedom fighters and her parents from the Empire.

Our Take: 

It looks like the Empire has gained the upper hand in last week’s episode. Luckily for us, their small victory will be short-lived. In the previous episode, the show took a break from all of the Bad Batch action to focus on Hera Syndulla, one of the characters from Star Wars Rebels, and the freedom fighters. This week once again focuses on Hera and her droid buddy Chopper and puts Clone Force 99 back into action.

The episode continued where “Devil’s Deal” left off where Hera escaped from the Empire while the freedom fighters were taken into custody for “attempted murder” on Orn Free Taa. She then makes contact with the Bad Batch to help her break them out. Last week’s episode shifted away from the show’s formula to explore a different viewpoint on the Empire’s takeover and reintroduce Hera in the Star Wars universe. It’s a strategy that I think worked well in its favor. “Rescue on Ryloth” brought that formula back by placing its focus back on the titular characters and have them take on a rescue mission. The only difference was that Hera hired them to complete it instead of Cid.

Depending on how you feel about the show’s formula since the beginning, it’s a satisfying return to form that cleverly relies more on stealth and strategy rather than basic shoot-em-ups. Last week saw a friendship blossomed between Hera and Omega, and “Rescue on Ryloth” continues that trend as Omega was more than willing to help her rescue her family compared to Hunter. After all, Omega would do the same for the Batch if something happened to them. These moments helped provide some slight hints of development for Omega as she continues to learn how to become a soldier.

The episode also saw a surprising turnaround for Captain Howzer (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker), who’s been working under the Empire’s command. He realized who they truly are and helped the Batch escape with the freedom fighters near the end of the chapter. In addition, Howzer managed to convince most of his brothers to stand with him against the Empire’s tyranny, only to be arrested seconds later. That moment alone was fitting enough to expand on Howzer’s role and his relationship with Hera’s father, Cham. It also raised some speculation that not all of the clone troopers affected by Order 66 are mindless minions to the Empire.

Overall, “Rescue on Ryloth” delivered a welcoming return to form regarding the show’s formula, for better or worse. While it still retained a few elements from the past couple of episodes, including the guest-of-the-week piece, it’s another enjoyable mission that proves that stealth is as exciting to watch as shooting up bad guys. Whether you’re used to the formula or not, it’s easy to admit that it’s good to see the Batch back in action again.