Why did we rank the Bad Batch Season 1 Episode 13: Infested as the 2nd lowest episode of the series (thus far)? Is it because there’s no Wilhelm scream? Are the Pykes too forgiving of Roland Durand’s sin against them? Is this story just more fluff? Tune in and laugh as we practice our voice impressions. The Star Wars ranking team is starting to get good at those.
“Not only was it fluff, but I thought it was unnecessary.” - Christian
This certainly was more of a filler episode; not focusing on the overall story nor the characters. Hence, the Immersive Universe (53.2%) ended up as the top ranking category. We learned the history of Ord Mantell, and why the Pykes wanted to be there. Witnessing more of the Syndicate drug trade was great for expanding the lore. We also got to learn of a rather cool character, Roland Durand, and his family history. He’s got to be one of the characters with the most development during the least amount of screen time. However, he’s inconsequential to the series, unlike most everyone else in this episode.
“Cid has been the biggest lifeline to the Bad Batch thus far.” - Amanda
That’s part of the reason why the Characters (40%), Music (44%), Story (45.6%), and Technical Aspects (45.6%) all ranked lower than usual. We didn’t get much of anything new with the Batchers, and even though Cid was the star of this feature, we didn’t learn much of anything new about her. We did like that she was framing Roland; something the Bad Batch shouldn’t be afraid to do. Brody can’t stand her lines and accent, but the rest of the DOTR squad finds her old timey charm quite entertaining and funny. The story for Infested was great for learning about Roland and his role within the universe, but what did it do for Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, and Omega?
“It was cool to see the action that she [Cid] took.” - Tim
We enjoyed the homage to The Lord of the Rings with the underground hive reminding us of Shelob’s lair. Also, the moment when Wrecker drops his flashlight is much like Pippin knocking over the skeleton (down the well) and waking the goblins. Despite most of his failings throughout the series, Tech did a useful thing in creating a flash bomb. Though, being thirteen episodes in, we still don’t have much character development for Tech nor anything new with Echo. I do think it’s helpful to think of the Bad Batch as more of a community effort. The group is its own character as opposed to individuals getting featured in their own episode.
“It was a bit tropey. I felt more like a side quest of a videogame.” - Brody
Even though Infested seems quite inconsequential to the show, we still get a heartfelt message: Compassion. Omega’s compassion towards Roland is a humbling thing to witness. Would you risk your life for someone like Roland? Stepping in his shoes, it is sad to think about kids who have parents in prison or are bent towards. These kids especially miss out on positive role models during such an important time of their life. It’s not a black and white world out there, and compassion can help us understand more of it if we’re willing to give it.
Hot Takes
Brody would rather clean the Bad Batch’s bathrooms for a month than listen to an audiobook by Cid.
The writers are not true Star Wars fans…once again, they did not include the Wilhelm scream.
Roland would make a great villain.
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