“Common Ground” is another solid episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch

With low stakes, fun side plots, and solid world-building, “Common Ground” is another great episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

“Common Ground” opens with the Imperial occupation of Raxus. Senator Avi Singh openly opposes the Empire and is arrested. Before his defiance, he instructs his droid, GS-8, to send a distress signal and ask for aid in escaping captivity. Cid picks up the signal and tells Clone Force 99 to help Singh for the credits. Meanwhile, Cid is stuck babysitting Omega, as the squad thinks she should keep a low profile with two bounty hunters after her.

As a Star Wars Rebels fan, I love how Singh’s rescue feels like an episode from season 1. If it were that show, the crew of the Ghost would be helping Singh, but since most of them haven’t met or been born yet, it’s up to Clone Force 99. The squad sneaking around, GS-8 messing up the plan, hijacking the AT-TE…all of it echoes the Spectre’s anti-Empire antics. There was a lot of light fun and exciting action.

That said, while it was great to be reminded of Star Wars Rebels, the similarities could also be distracting. While watching the episode, I was sometimes thinking of how much I wanted to watch the other show instead of this one.

Another thing “Common Ground” does well is explore what happened with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, aka CIS. Most fans assumed that after Anakin killed all the major Separatist leaders on Mustafar during Revenge of the Sith, it either dissolved or the Empire absorbed the planets in the CIS. “Common Ground” shows us what the Confederacy’s capital looks like after the Clone Wars.

The Bad Batch promised that it would show fans the gradual rise of the Empire. While it made good on this early on, it’s started focusing less on the galaxy and more on the Bad Batch on the run from the Empire and Crosshair. This episode thankfully shows us more of the Empire’s tyrannical rule.

“Common Ground” also gives us more time alone with the Bad Batch. I enjoyed watching the squad help a Separatist who was their enemy not too long ago. Echo and Wrecker openly distrust GS-8 and Singh and believe the mission is a trap. While Hunter is hesitant to accept the mission, he takes it when Cid reminds him of their debt. They come to sympathize with Singh as they’re reminded that the war is over, and that they now have a common enemy in the Empire. This kind of character development for Clone Force 99 is exactly what we needed after spending too much time on Omega and the bounty hunters last week.

Meanwhile, Cid makes Omega clean her parlor. While Cid is playing a game of Dejarik, she realizes Omega is a great tactician that could help her win games and credits. By the end of the episode, Omega helps Cid win enough credits to pay off the squad’s debt. It’s a cute B plot with a surprising conclusion. Plus, it’s nice to see Omega relax and not be in the line of fire for once.

Overall, “Common Ground” is another great episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch that keeps the plot moving and the characters developing. Maybe Clone Force 99 will finally move on from Cid’s now that their debt is paid off. With six episodes left, this reviewer expects things to come to a head soon.

Grade: B

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