Credit: LucasfilmThis week’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021), ‘Tribe’, sees the return of a recognisable furry jedi, and a return to a certain jungle planet filled with teddy bears (not that one).
It opens with Clone Force 99 (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, with the exception of young ward Omega, voiced by Michelle Ang) delivering counterfeit chain codes to the Vanguard Axis, droid criminals operating out of a space station base.
While the Clones hand over the codes to the droid leader, Omega hears a Wookiee cry of distress and heads off to investigate. She finds a wookiee cornered by two of the Axis, and Omega’s distraction gives him the opportunity to overpower his attackers. When Echo appears, he runs away in fear.
Omega follows him and the pair are almost cornered by the Axis until the rest of the Bad Batch turn up to help. In that moment, the wookiee reveals himself to be a Jedi, and uses his lightsaber, retrieved from the Axis leader, to help the group make their escape.
On their ship, Hunter and Omega reassure their new friend they are allies and not like the Clones who tried to kill him and the rest of the Order in Order 66.
The wookiee confirms what the rest of us already knew: he is Gungi (Jonathan Lipow), a young Jedi who has been trying to return to his homeworld of Kashyyyk but was captured by the Vanguard Axis. The bad Batch agree to help him get back to his planet.
As they approach the verdant world, they pick up signs of smoke and deforestation, potential indicators that the Empire have made their presence known. After landing in a jungle clearing, they begin to navigate the lush undergrowth, encountering some Kinrath, large spider creatures who descend from a nest in the canopy. Gungi tells them if they don’t attack, the Kinrath will leave them alone, and they manage to make it to a forest overlook which reveals a forest under distress.
When they eventually make it to the village, it’s completely gone, destroyed by Trandoshan scavengers. The lizard species has been using Imperial Tanks to ravage the planet, led by Commander Venomor (JP Karliak). Our heroes spot them from the undergrowth and Gungi attacks, with the Bad Batch backing him up. After taking out the small party, they make sure to stop the fire spreading.
A group of wookiees led by their leader, Yanna (Shelby Young) arrive to greet them. She takes the group back to their village. Commander Venomor is seen asking his troops to hunt for the Jedi specifically after finding saber flashing at the scene of the battle. After Yanna’s scouts find a large contingent heading towards the village, the Bad Batch agree to stay and help them fight them off.
Yanna asks the trees for their help and guidance, part of the wookiees belief that Kashyyyk belongs to the trees primarily. Yanna says they have a plan, and when the Trandoshans attack, the wookiees and Bad Batch lead them into the Kinrath nest. The Trandoshans’ aggression triggers the Kinrath to attack, wiping out the group.
Commander Venomor is relentlessly hunting Gungi and Omega with his flamethrower. Gungi attacks him in a clearing until the Kinrath step in and take him out, cocooning him into their canopy lair. The episode ends with Gungi staying with Yanna and her people.
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About The Bad Batch:
From showrunner Dave Filoni comes a new animated Star Wars sensation. Created as clones of bounty hunter Jango Fett, Clone Force 99 — ‘The Bad Batch’ — are an elite force of Clone Troopers who turned their back on the Galactic Empire’s regime to carve their own path through the galaxy. Alongside young ward Omega (Michelle Ang), they embark on adventures during a time of great turmoil in the galaxy.