Youtini Recaps THE BAD BATCH | "Infested"

THIS RECAP CONTAINS THE BAD BATCH SPOILERS.

We’re thirteen episodes deep into the all-new, unique and ambitious animated project, The Bad Batch! This is where we break it all down.

Don’t forget, you can relive each new episode of The Bad Batch with the good folks in our DiscOrd (spoiler tags please) and with the crew on our weekly Bounty Hunt live stream. 

This article is purely an episode summary, but if you want speculation and fanfare, both the DiscOrd and livestream will be the places to go.  THERE WILL BE SPOILERS BELOW.

Down we go.

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Fresh off of the young-Hera arc on Ryloth, the Bad Batch returns to Ord Mantell to a surprise. And not a welcome one. Cid has been replaced, and a Devaronian has taken over. 

The Devaronian in question is Roland, the son of a crime boss who is trying to make a name for himself. His end game? Join the Pykes. What could go wrong?

In the words of the late, great Emperor...everything.

Returning to their ship in order to get away from Ord Mantell, who do the Bad Batch find but Cid herself? She explains that her territory is a key port for the gangs due to multiple hyperspace routes, ideal for smuggling. Omega is the only one who wants to defend Cid as the two continue their sweet relationship.

Cid’s proposed solution: steal a shipment of spice from Roland.  When the Pikes arrive, Roland won’t be able to pay, and order is restored. In order to retrieve the spice, however, they need to sneak into a secret entrance below Cid’s office. 

Persuaded by Omega’s loyalty to Cid, the team goes to Ord Mantell’s old mining tunnels. Cid tells “Tiny” and “Goggles” (don’t you just love Cid’s nicknames?) to keep calm and quiet so they “don’t wake the hive.” 

Great, every good animated show has some spooky jump-scare-in-the-darkness episodes. It’s fine. We’re all fine here. How are you?

Big Guy drops his flashlight torch a la Pippin in Mordia, and while trouble doesn’t immediately ensue the tension builds! On the surface, Cid’s Weequay and Ihtorian team up to provide the distraction the Batch needs to empty out the office. It’s nice to see Cid’s regulars pitching in to help her retake her establishment.

Discovering the spice is gone, Roland finds the secret hatch in the office and his “laser brains” descend into the tunnels for a mine cart chase. This time with bugs! Turns out they don’t like light, so the BB deters them with torches. But during the chase, the bugs take out the spice. 

Those bugs are in for a wild night with all that spice, am I right?

The Pykes show up and there’s a stalemate in the office. Cid and the BB return to the cantina to find a scene of carnage alongside an ultimatum: They have to return to the mines and recover the spice. The down payment? Omega has to stay behind with the Pykes. It’s not totally explained why other than the Pikes get their way and DON’T mess around. 

“Goggles” does some research and it turns out the cave bugs are called Irlings, and due to their nature, the best bet is to get the job done by nightfall. This time Cid feels a sense of loyalty to save Omega, and I’m not crying, you're crying.

Omega and Roland have a heart to heart. After all they’re both the Pykes’ prisoners, right? Pretty soon, Roland discovers what we’ve all learned over the last few months: she’s hard not to love. 

On their way out of the cave, spice in tow, Cid accidentally bumps a mining cart, and the Irlings swarm! Wrecker immediately freaks out, and Tech fashions some kind of flash canister to go Lady Proxima on the bugs. 

The spice returned, the Pykes feel the debt is paid. They release Omega, but not Roland. One final lesson to be learned. Omega surprisingly steps up to his defense, as does Syd, but the Pikes aren’t persuaded. In a scary slice, it looks like Roland’s been decapitated! Oh no! Thankfully they only took one of his horns. Looks like we’ll be seeing more of him. He’ll be the Devaronian with only one horn. 

Overall this episode is promising for introducing rivalries between the riff-raff of the galaxy, an interesting new character, and establishing just how adept Omega is at befriending people nobody else gives a chance.

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You can find more recaps of each new episode of The Bad Batch right here, you can tune in to Bounty Hunt, Youtini’s Star Wars TV aftershow, every weekend for full spoiler reactions and discussions from your favorite The Living Force podcast hosts and fun special guests from the Youtini team.

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