Review: Star Wars The Bad Batch “Kamino Lost”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The explosive season finale has the Bad Batch escaping from the desolated Tipoca City.

Our Take:

It’s no surprise that the last episode of season one would literally start with a bang. You know, since the Empire is blowing up Tipoca City along with any evidence of the clone-making technology. That final moment in last week’s episode caught plenty of Star Wars fans off-guard, including myself, by notifying the disappearance of the clone troopers and the planet Kamino.  

This week’s season finale immediately picks up where the previous episode left off. It continued to showcase the sheer destruction of Tipoca City and Clone Force 99’s attempt to escape with their lives. During the process, the Batch and Crosshair are forced to work together, with the former learning to come to terms with Crosshair’s decision.  

This moment served as the emotional driving point in the episode as it further represented the relationship between the Batch and Crosshair falling apart due to their different beliefs. In the end, the damage is done with Crosshair choosing to stay behind and continuing to work for the Empire despite him saving Omega and AZI (voiced by Ben Diskin) from drowning. The ending is something that shouldn’t be too surprising regarding Crosshair’s actions throughout the season. However, it worked well enough to provide some depth into the characters, mainly Crosshair. Maybe Crosshair might have a chance to change his mind in season two?

Outside of these well-paced character moments, the season finale continued to offer plenty of high-stakes action that never allowed the viewers to take a long breath. With Tipoca City sinking to the bottom of the ocean, it’s honestly appropriate to see these characters in an actual life-or-death scenario. Everyone survived, except AZI’s battery, but the process beforehand is one of the best I’ve seen in The Bad Batch in terms of the direction and animation.

Overall, the “Kamino Lost” episode is a fitting and heart-pounding end to the first season’s two-part conclusion. After stumbling a few times with its filler chapters and constant guest appearances, the series managed to make a comeback with a game-changing finale that’s intense and engaging. While it did serve as the official end to everything the Clone Wars stood for, it also serves as the beginning of a new chapter for Clone Force 99. Wherever they go from here is anyone’s guess at this point. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long for us to know where they’ll go next since the show’s second season is already on its way.