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Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 16 Review

Well, everyone, we’re finally here. Season one of Star Wars: The Bad Batch has officially come to an end. Fittingly, the finale takes place entirely on Kamino, where the show, and the Clone Troopers, first began. Rather than go out with a massive bang, though, The Bad Batch chooses to end on a somber, bittersweet note as everyone, both in-universe and in the real world, realizes that things can’t go back to the way they once were. No matter how hard we may want them to.

A Surprise Disaster Survival Scenario

At the end of the last episode, the Empire made the decision to tie up loose ends on Kamino by destroying their major cities and cloning facilities, condemning them to life back under the sea. In more immediate concerns, though, the Bad Batch find themselves trapped on the sea floor in the ruins of Tipoca City with very little chance for survival. As a result, the team and their former squad mate Crosshair have to work together to escape to the surface.

This episode has all the hallmarks for a disaster film. A group of people trapped in a desperate situation. Rising tensions between group members. And most of all, things continually go from bad to worse as the team tries to beat the odds. The Bad Batch has been in tough scrapes before, but this pushed their survival skills to their limit. It’s a really good premise, and the show does a fairly good job of showing it.

However, it’s not the impending death that’s the big draw. It’s the characters themselves.

Crosshair’s Uncertain Future

Crosshair has been the black sheep of the Bad Batch since the series first began. Following Order 66, we saw him ultimately remain loyal to the Empire while his brothers and Omega deserted. At the time, many of us thought that his decision was not of his own free will; that it was the inhibitor chip forcing him to act like that. However, last episode dropped a bombshell by revealing that Crosshair got his chip removed some time ago. This called into question just how much of Crosshair’s choices were of his own accord and which were because of the Empire’s manipulation. Unfortunately, the season finale offers few in the way of answers.

In a particularly somber moment, Omega tries to talk to Crosshair about his decisions. She admits that she wanted to believe that it was the chips that turned him into what he is, but now thinks that it may have just been him the whole time. In other words, it’s the nature vs. nurture debate in full force, and Crosshair may be on the nature side.

Then, just when we think that Crosshair’s not going to change, he ends up saving Omega’s life. But when the time comes for the others to leave, he chooses to remain loyal to the Empire, despite seeing how they’ll just use him. It’s a very mixed message about Crosshair’s future, much like it was for Ben Solo, and while it leaves the door open for him, I’m not sure how many fans will appreciate it.

Tie-In to The Mandalorian and Sidious’ Ressurection

The final moments of the episode, though, are when things start to get interesting again. Having been taken off-world by the Empire, Nala Se’s relocated to a new world to continue her working in cloning technology. If the Empire’s phasing out Clone Troopers, though, why do they still need to work with the technology. Those who have seen The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker may have figured it out.

In The Rise of Skywalker, we learn that Darth Sidious continued using cloning technology decades after the Clone Wars. Firstly, it’s stated that he created Snoke using that tech. More importantly, though, he used it to create a new body to possess after Anakin killed him. While it’s not said on-screen, it’s all but implied that he was using the Kaminoan’s technology to do all of this. Now, we may see the beginning to that project. If it is, then The Bad Batch may have just started to fix the flaws of The Rise of Skywalker.

No Idea On Season 2

While it was nice to get a continuation of The Clone Wars, I have to admit that, in hindsight, the first season of The Bad Batch has been a mixed bag. It’s had some pretty great moments and gave us some franchise-altering information. On the other hand, the plot of the season had little cohesion between episodes. Worse, the season finale does little to hint at what Season 2 might be about.

Despite these misgivings, though, I still think that The Bad Batch has potential when it comes to bridging the gap between the prequels and original trilogy. If we’re lucky, then maybe season two will give us the prototypes to the TIE Fighters, something I’ve always wanted to see in Star Wars. Here’s hoping!

I Give “Kamino Lost” a 3/5

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New Revelations about Sidious’ Return and Rey’s Dad

When word came out that Darth Sidious would be returning for The Rise of Skywalker, fans speculated as to how he survived. In October, I posted an article talking about a story from the old Expanded Universe that saw the Sith Lord resurrect himself through cloning. I theorized that this would be a likely explanation as to how he returns in Rise of Skywalker. Sadly, the movie never explained it, so I had to leave that as my headcanon.

Then, I found this article on Screenrant, and I couldn’t help but smile. The newly released novelization of The Rise of Skywalker confirmed that Sidious had, in fact, survived by cloning himself. Before his death in Jedi, he had sensed that Vader may turn on him, so he came up with a massive contingency plan to ensure his return and the resurrection of his Empire.

Sidious’ Plan B

Sometime before the Battle of Endor, Sidious secretly had most loyal followers to create batches of clones for him to inhabit once his body failed him. When Anakin threw him over the railing, his original body died, but his spirit refused to go to hell. Instead, he traveled to Exegol, his secret Sith stronghold in the Unknown Regions, to take his new body.

Meanwhile, those most loyal to him enacted to the Contingency Plan. On the surface, it seemed to be a mad scheme to destroy the Galaxy in retribution for his demise. In reality, it was meant to purge the Empire of all but it’s best and most loyal people. When the Galactic Civil War came to an end, those followers fled into the Unknown Regions where they founded the First Order. What almost none of them knew was that they were one piece to Sidious’ plan. When the time came, he would reveal himself, take command of the First Order, and reconquer the galaxy.

It’s a long and complicated plan that would require decades of plotting in the shadows. It’s also the kind of long-term game that only Darth Sidious could play, and reminds us why he’s one of the most evil beings in fictional history. He even went the extra mile by creating Snoke to lead the First Order and corrupt Anakin’s grandson.

Fortunately, his plan hit a snag. As this article from SyFy Wire explains, Sidious minions couldn’t create a suitable clone of him in time. As a result, he was stuck in an imperfect body, unable to handle his Dark Side powers. That’s why he looked like he was falling apart in the film.

The Truth About Rey’s Father

That same SyFy article reveals the truth about Rey’s father. Instead of being the biological child of Darth Sidious, Rey’s dad was more like a Boba Fett person. The Sith Eternal managed to create another, unidentical clone of Sidious that had none of his power in the Force. Instead of killing him, Sidious sent his clone into the galaxy to continue his bloodline as another backup plan. That’s how Rey was eventually born.

So, since her dad was a clone of Palpatine, that technically makes Rey Sidious’ daughter rather than grand-daughter. This doesn’t change the fact that she’s descended from the guy who’s actor considers more evil than the Devil himself. What this revelation does do, though, is make fans cry out in relief.

Like almost every fan of the franchise, I was dumb-founded at the fact that Darth Sidious could have any children. Mainly because of what that implies. What sentient being in their right mind would do that with that hideous, twisted abomination? It’s a huge relief to know that it was just a clone!

Why Didn’t They Say So?

Unfortunately, these dual revelations about how Sidious cheated death and had a son also reinforce just how much better The Rise of Skywalker could have been. There were just so many small details left out that could have gone a long way to improving the film. If they had dropped more hints about this stuff before the movie was released, or even decided to split the film into two parts, then the film wouldn’t be so controversial.

Still, that’s the beauty of Star Wars. Whenever the films don’t get to explore a subject or topic, the expanded universe will be able to build on that. So I guess this is a good start. Now all Disney has to do is push forward, stop dragging their heels, and bring the Jedi back in full!

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I rewrite the final battle of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I just got done writing my review of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where I made my issues and praises for the film known. As I was writing it, though, there was one thing that I realized was bugging me more than anything: the final battle between Darth Sidious, Rey and Ben Solo.

I’ve seen what Star Wars is capable of doing with its final battles, and I don’t think that Abrams did enough to make it as epic as possible. So rather than stew over it or complain, I decided to go the fan fiction route. Here’s a summary of how I would have done the final battle.

A Real lightsaber fight

I would have kept everything the same up until the moment when Sidious drains Rey and Ben of their life force. At that point, the Emperor would be restored to his full power. Having no further need for the two, he then attempts to choke the life out of them. But Ben and Rey use their combined Force power to hurl Sidious back into his throne, giving them a chance to recover. Enraged, Sidious vows to break them before making them watch as he destroys everything they hold dear. Brandishing his twin lightsabers for the first time in decades, the Dark Lord then unleashes his decades of Dark Side mastery upon the two Jedi. Then, we start hearing a remix of “Battle of the Heroes” and “Duel of the Fates” play in the background as the duel between the last Sith Lord and the last Jedi begins.

What follows is an incredible display of swordsmanship and skill in the Force as the three combatants put every ounce of their abilities on full display. Lightning-fast strikes, near misses, epic leaps and acrobatics. Basically, it’s what the lightsaber duels should have been like, but weren’t because Abrams couldn’t get it through his head.

The fight continues as the battle in the sky above Exegol continues to rage, with everything proceeding as it does in the film as the cavalry arrives. In the temple below, Rey and Ben are barely able to hold off Sidious, as he’s getting progressively stronger as the fight wears on. By this point, he stops using his lightsabers altogether and begins hurling portions of the temple at the pair. Finally, he then batters the two with thrown debris in a moment mirroring Luke and Vader’s duel in Cloud City. He then hurls Ben into the crevice.

A Final Clash

Having seemingly bested the two Jedi, Sidious then arrogantly decides to make Rey suffer and feel utter despair for her insolence. Thus, he unleashes the full extent of his power on the Resistance Fleet as Rey can only look on. When all seems lost, though, Rey feels a familiar voice and a hand on her shoulder. In her mind’s eye, she then imagines that Luke is standing before her once more, telling her to not give up and let Sidious win. We then see visions of each of the Jedi we’ve come to know throughout the franchise, each offering their own words of encouragement:

• Obi-Wan
• Qui-Gon
• Yoda
• Mace Windu
• Ki-Adi Mundi
• Ashoka Tano
• Kanan Jarrus
• Ezra Bridger
• Leia
• Anakin
• Any Jedi we see in the franchise!

With their words ringing in her ears, Rey then slowly stands, with Luke and Leia’s lightsabers in hand. Now fully committed to finishing his granddaughter, Sidious then brings his devastating force lightning to bare on her. Slowly but surely, Rey pushes forward as we see images of the spirits of all the Jedi Sidious murdered joining her with every step. However, when it becomes clear her lightsabers are not enough, Rey puts them aside and uses the raw power of the Force against the embodiment of evil.

Force Tug of War

Rey continues to bravely stand her ground against the Dark Lord, pushing him back before he begins to retaliate. Right when all hope seems lost, the throne behind him comes hurtling out of the air, forcing Sidious to momentarily shield himself with the force. We then see that this was the result of Ben, who managed to crawl out of the crevice while Sidious was distracted. Rey uses the chance to overwhelm Sidious with his own Force lightning. As the Dark Lord’s claimed by oblivion once more, we then see flashes of all the previously mentioned Jedi standing behind Rey. This symbolically shows that she’s carrying the weight and strength of the entire Jedi as they cast the ultimate evil into the depths of hell. Thus Darth Sidious, the tyrant who enslaved a Galaxy and nearly destroyed the Jedi, finally dies.

That’s How You Do a Final Battle, Abrams

If part of this seems familiar, then there’s a reason for that. I got the inspiration for the final clash between Rey and Sidious from the beam struggle between Gohan and Cell in Dragon Ball Z. That’s a hallmark moment of the series, and a good example on how to kill a good villain.

So, at any rate, that’s how I would have wanted the final battle to play out. I know a lot of it couldn’t happen due to the constraints of budgets and reality. However, I still think we should have gotten that epic lightsaber duel. The Sequel trilogy lacked any good ones!

Do you agree with my idea? How would you have wanted the fight to end?

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My Honest Review of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I would like to state, for the record, that I’ve always been unsure about the Star Wars Sequel films. I love the franchise to death, but I thought making new movies could end up backfiring. However, I buried by concerns and went to see the new movies anyway. I put up with the fact that The Force Awakens rehashed the original film; and I tried to accept what Rian Johnson did to Luke. Now here I am, having seen The Rise of Skywalker bring an apparent end to the Skywalker Saga. My ultimate verdict: meh. Here’s why.

The Folly of the Sequels

Going into this, The Rise of Skywalker had a lot of things working against it that the original films didn’t. Thanks to the Internet, fans could now be very vocal about what they liked or disliked, and Star Wars became no exception. As we saw with reactions to The Last Jedi, this could divide a franchise’s fanbase in two. As a result, Disney tried to reconcile both parties in the span of a single film and give everyone a satisfying ending. Truth be told, though, I think that making the perfect ending to the Skywalker story was impossible. We can’t please everyone, especially in regards to something as beloved as Star Wars.

Then there’s the effect of The Last Jedi. Despite what critics say, that movie was divisive among fans. Rian Johnson had good intentions, but him trying to subvert expectations split the fanbase in two. I didn’t like how Luke got handled, and I especially didn’t like how Holdo’s actions almost wiped out the Resistance. Needless to say, but The Last Jedi put things in a bind for The Rise of Skywalker.

Lastly, there’s the elephant in the room: the passing of Carrie Fisher. When I heard about Carrie Fisher’s death, I mourned for her like so many others. After that, my thoughts turned to the future of Star Wars. How could they finish the Trilogy without Leia, when The Rise of Skywalker was supposed to give her a prominent role? I think we all knew that this film would be the final chapter in Leia’s story, and the fact that Carrie didn’t live long enough to film it gave the movie a bittersweet tone. That said, I think they did the best with what they could.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Now that I’ve gone over all that, time to dive into the spoiler zone as I talk about five major plot threads that left the biggest impact on me. I wanted to do this without spoiling anything at first, but I realized that’s impossible for me.

Palps is Back!

This one’s so obvious I don’t even count it as a spoiler: Darth Sidious’ back. First off, the film does confirm that Palpatine did die in Return of the Jedi like we saw. However, what the film doesn’t confirm is how the Sith Lord came back from the dead. The closest we get to an answer is Palps quoting what he said at the Opera House in Revenge of the Sith about the Dark Side being a pathway to many abilities. So I’m just using the headcanon that he used the Dark Side and cloning to come back.

Fortunately for the Galaxy, the process brought him back more dead than alive; his body’s falling apart and kept alive by life support. However, while he’s as cunning and manipulative as ever, I think death damaged the Sith Lord’s mind. Whereas before he hid his true nature behind a facade, in TROS he drops all pretenses and openly proclaims himself a Sith Lord to the Galaxy. That would explain why his master plan sounds so convoluted, though:

1. Lure Rey to Secret Base
2. Transfer spirit into Rey’s Body
3. Unleash massive armada of retro-looking Star Destroyers with mini-Death Star cannons to reconquer Galaxy

I’m going to have to devote another post to this, but my point is, I think they could have done a little better bringing Sidious back into the films. When you’re so evil that your actor considers you to be more evil than the Devil, you want to do this character justice

A Look at How Darth Sidious Cheated Death in the Expanded Universe

Ever since the trailers for The Rise of Skywalker dropped and we heard the laughter of Ian McDiarmid, Star Wars fans went crazy. As a lifelong fan of the franchise, who is admittedly a little bitter over the loss of the EU (#MakeRevanCanonAgain), I was skeptical. I immediately asked one question, the same question everyone is asking: how the heck could Darth Sidious still be alive? We saw Anakin throw him over the railing and explode in a ball of dark side energy. Not even a Sith Lord could survive that.

However, assuming it’s not a red herring or he’s a ghost, I keep coming back to a single theory: cloning. We know Palpatine has access to advanced cloning technology. It’s possible he could have made clones of himself when and if he died. It’s a theory that’s been proposed already, but that’s not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about the time in the Expanded Universe where Palpatine did, in fact, come back from the dead. It’s called the Dark Empire series, and I think it gives us clues on his possible return in The Rise of Skywalker.

Sidious’ Cheat Code

Like many Sith, Palpatine tried looking for a way to cheat death so he could rule his Empire for eternity. Fortunately for the Galaxy, while the Force has ways to extend one’s life by decades, even centuries, true immortality is a myth. Thus, Sidious found himself a workaround using cloning technology. He made an army of mindless clones of himself that he could inhabit when his original body died.

As a result, when a redeemed Anakin threw him down that reactor, he did die, but his spirit stayed behind. He traveled to his private fortress near the center of the galaxy, where he possessed a younger clone of himself. Thus, Darth Sidious returned from death.

The Shadow Hand

One would think that his first priority would be letting the Galaxy know he’s alive. Rather than do that, Palpatine stayed in the Deep Core and watched his Empire tear itself apart like a pack of starved Womp Rats. He built up his forces and created an arsenal of super weapons. These included the Eclipse and Eclipse II, two Super Star Destroyers with miniature versions of the Death Stars superlaser. There were the World Devastators, mobile factories that sucked planets of resources and churned out ships and weapons. Then my personal favorite, the Galaxy Gun, a platform capable of firing planet-destroying missiles through hyperspace. It’s like the galaxy’s biggest sniper rifle.

Around six years after the defeat at Endor, Sidious made his move. Using the Force to create a portal to his fortress world of Byss, Sidious captured Luke Skywalker. Rather than face certain death, Luke pretended to bend to the reborn Sith. However, Sidious eventually broke him for real, turning him into the leader of his armies. With an armada of ships and deadly superweapons, Sidious announced his return to the Galaxy.

However, Sidious once again underestimated the power of love for another person. Leia chose to confront her brother, and was able to bring him back from the Dark Side. Together, they used the Force to cut off the Emperor’s connection to it. As a result, he lost control of the massive Force Storm he just created, destroying him and his flagship.

He then came back, again.

Final Death

Having suffered several major setbacks, things only got worse for the Sith Lord. Due to the actions of a traitorous guard, Sidious’ remaining supply of clones were falling apart; even the genetic template was damaged. Desperate, Sidious sought the aid of the spirits of the Ancient Sith Lords. They advised him to take the body of Leia’s infant son, Anakin Solo.

Yes, Leia and Han names their youngest son Anakin. They wanted the name to stand for something good again.

Sidious tracked the family to Onderon and brought his armada in to finish the job. However, Luke arrived soon afterwards. Alongside him and Han was a Jedi survivor of Order 66, Empatojayos Brand, and his padawan, Rayf Ysanna. The three Jedi engaged in a furious fight with the Sith Lord and his Dark Jedi guards. Despite besting his guards, the Emperor killed Ysanna and mortally wounded Brand. However, Han Solo arrived, and with a well placed blaster shot, struck the Dark Lord down; which is what Sidious wanted. No longer needing his body, his spirit rushed towards young Anakin. Before he could do anything though, Brand used the last of his strength to throw himself in front of the baby and his mother.

Knowing that he was dying, Brand used all his power to trap Sidious within him. He told Luke he would drag the Emperor to the depths of hell, where all the Jedi he’d murdered would ensure he would never return. Thus, cursing the Skywalker bloodline, Darth Sidious died, this time for good.

A Similar Scenario for Sidious?

First off, this story came out in the early 90s, well before the Prequel Trilogy established the idea of the Chosen One. Thus, even though it’s said the Chosen One would destroy the Sith, Sidious’ survival seems to contradict that. It was a crazy time for Star Wars.

Secondly, I bring this story up now because, in my opinion, cloning may be the best way to explain how Sidious’ returns in The Rise of Skywalker. He could have created clones of himself on some remote planet where he could lay low and gather his strength over the next thirty years. That, and he’d probably see the Galaxy falling apart as some sort of sadistic entertainment.

How he came back, though, doesn’t matter in the end. What matters is that Darth Sidious is back from the dead, and by the look of things, he has dark plans for Kylo Ren and Rey. What’s surprising, though, is how I’ve warmed up to the idea of Sidious returning. If the rumors and speculations are true, then he’s been behind everything in the movies. He’s one of the greatest villains of all time, the overarching antagonist to Star Wars. Seeing him one last time will be awesome. Plus, after all’s said and done, he’s still got the Villain Pub on How it Should Have Ended to go back to.

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