We got very political in this week’s discussion! The Star Wars ranking team is evaluating all that is good and bad about The Bad Batch Season 1 Episode 10: Common Ground. With the consistent theme of governments led by the people, for the people, we discuss what that means and why it’s important to find that common ground with our fellow citizens. We also have a few suggestions for Disney+, and compare Star Wars to McDonald’s. Tune in for the rank and some good debate!
“It’s the most fluff of an episode, but also the most political so far.” - Christian
We ranked the characters (54.8%) and technical aspects (50.8%) as the top two categories for this particular episode. With the mention of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, mandatory government curfews for citizens’ protections, and the Batch’s distaste for the separatists, it’s hard not to learn a little more about some characters and their deeper beliefs. The Batch is faced with a decision: Do we draw the line at helping a separatist like Avi Singh, or complete the mission for the good of the group? Even though he doesn’t contribute to the overall story of The Bad Batch, Avi Singh does show some commitment to his people at the beginning of the episode. He even sacrifices one of his prized possessions, shattering a priceless vase! However, he doesn’t have much conflict when faced with that last moment of fleeing his planet or staying. He leaves, almost without a thought.
“I did like how they added complexity to what constitutes your enemy.” - Brody
We also get to learn more about Cid. She shows some humility and vulnerability while also staying true to her character of wanting to capitalize on her situations. She realizes her weaknesses during her strategy game loss and utilizes Omega’s natural strategy abilities to win some money. Hunter even acknowledges that Omega is ready for more responsibility within the Batch; she can come along with the missions now. Hunter is also a bit more brutal in his action sequences. A change of pace for the meek leader we’ve been criticizing.
“I did find it really cute when Hunter was giving an order to Omega.” - Amanda
For the technical aspects, this was a pretty episode. Raxus is a beautiful planet, with pretty colors, which reminded us of Naboo. Also, the mechanics of the crowd listening to Avi Singh was quite pleasing to the eye. That many people in one shot was done well for an animated series.
“Those crowd scenes, the mechanics, that animation, that was good. I really enjoyed that.” - Tim
The other categories: story (50%), music (42.8%), and immersive universe (48.4%) did not score so high. Common Ground doesn’t push the story significantly for the series. The music wasn’t memorable, and the only thing contributing to the immersive universe was the introduction of an insignificant couple of characters on a different planet that we’ll soon leave. However, that doesn’t mean we stopped the discussion there. We had some fun getting political with Star Wars content. Afterall we are human with our own personal opinions. It’s important to learn how to communicate them respectively to one another.
Hot Takes:
Disney, instead of donating money to politicians, how about you use that money to make your user experience better on your streaming platform?
The Rebels are Antifa.
The Bad Batch is a bunch of side quests with no real main story.
Star Wars is for conservative audiences…it advocates small, local government and no mandated curfews.
Star Wars is the McDonald’s of the entertainment industry.
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