My Review of the Bad Batch Episode 4: Cornered

#StarWars #BadBatch #Episode4 #Cornered #FennecShand

What an action packed episode. Episode 4 of the Bad Batch was certainly one of the more intense episodes in the series so far. By far the best thing to come out of the episode is we finally meet Fennec Shand for the first time! Of course the last time we saw her was during the season 2 finale of the Mandalorian. And while she might have been on the good side alongside Mando and Grogu, she is most certainly a villain in this series, at least for now.

In this episode Fennec Shand is given a really menacing portrayal. There is a certain fear and caution whenever she is on screen and whenever she meets one of our main protagonists. Most likely tasked by the Kaminoans to hunt down Omega, she is presented as a serious adversary to contend with. What I really like about the way Fennec is portrayed, is whenever we see her without the mask, she appears to have some level of humanity in her. Although unlike Omega, we are familiar with Fennec enough to be cautious of her. The show ultimately tries to pull us in by having her display some level of friendliness to Omega and the way in which she initially attempts to capture Omega is through softer methods. Hoping to entice Omega to just willingly come along.

However, the moment the helmet goes on, it becomes all business. Fennec with the mask on finally reveals the threat that she is supposed to be. The relative ease in which she dispatches Wrecker and a very close contender when coming up against Hunter just goes to show that she is a force to be reckoned with. But the show is also careful in its portrayal of her, taking care not to deviate too far from her portrayal in the Mandalorian. In the Mandalorian we get the sense that while opportunistic, she still adheres to a moral code. She tags alongside Boba Fett as thanks for saving her life. And we see this reconfirmed in the Bad Batch when she hands the credit over to the greedy port authority despite failing to prevent the Bad Batch from leaving Pantora. So a big props to the creative team for maintaining this consistency.

Pantora is a really interesting planet that we haven’t really explored before. Pantora, which is the primary moon in orbit around the planet Orto Plutonia, has been mentioned in the Clone Wars before. For some us observant fans it's particularly relevant to the episode about the Talz and Senator Ryo Chuchi of Pantora. The art design for Plutonia is something new that we haven’t seen before. It seems that the creative design takes inspiration from islamic architecture. However, I do think that the inspiration taken is somewhat limited. While there are a few visual cues to tell us of the uniqueness of the location, at street level it mostly remains the same. It quickly becomes quite generic as the plot moves on and we kind of forget about the unique architecture that we previously saw when the Bad Batch were landing on the planet.

Another really interesting moment is the great support the people of Pantora have for the Empire. This really juxtaposes with how the Empire was perceived on Saleucami, where its citizens were much more fearful and cautious of the clones. On Pantora the opposite is true, we see crowds of people cheering for the clones and celebrating the end of the Clone Wars. This is a really cool detail that has been put into the show. The difference in response to the Clones and the Empire just goes to show that depending on which part of the galaxy you are in, the Empire is seen either as an oppressor or saviour.

So I am really excited about where the show goes next. Now that our protagonists have all the supplies they need, it is clear they will be headed to Idaflor, but not much is known about the planet. And we Fennec Shand hot on their heels the pacing is only going to pick up from here.

That’s all for today’s video, be sure to like and subscribe and I will see you in the next one!