“War-Mantle” sets up an exciting Star Wars: The Bad Batch finale

Tense action, great characters, and great story moments make “War-Mantle” one of the best Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode in a long while.

While the last couple of Star Wars: The Bad Batch episodes haven’t been the most exciting to watch because they felt like filler, “War-Mantle” is one of the best installments yet, and even sets up a thrilling finale.

The fourteenth chapter begins with Gregor escaping from an Imperial facility while Stormtroopers chase him. Before he is capturing and imprisoned, he plants a distress beacon for Rex to find him. Clone Force 99 is then sent to rescue Gregor on Daro. They hatch a scheme to rescue their comrade while also facing off against the Empire’s Stormtroopers.

The story this week significantly improves from the previous week’s plotlines. Not only is it more thrilling than the previous episode, but it also moves the main story of the show along with severe consequences. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the events of this episode eventually lead into the finale. I am just glad this wasn’t another week of pointless side-quests.

We finally get enough time between the characters, which I have wanted since the beginning of the series. Echo has some moments to shine, especially when he reminds Hunter they rescued him from Skako Minor with little reinforcements and intel. Omega and Wrecker hang back on the ship, and we get to see more of their strong bond. They have the strongest chemistry on the show, and I love to see their spunky little sister/goofy older brother dynamic.

Tech also has a lot of lines in this episode. He was hit or miss for me when the series started, especially when he didn’t have much screen time to highlight his character. When he is a prominent character in an episode and has more lines to deliver, it isn’t difficult to see why he is a strong character. We have a good balance of humor, like early in the episode when Wrecker thinks everyone is making a good point, and Omega and Wrecker are hanging back and chatting on the ship. It is safe to say any scene with Wrecker in it has a high chance of being funny.

We also get more crossover characters. Gregor appeared in

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

and

Star Wars Rebels

, and his appearance here bridges the gap between both series. Hopefully, next week we will learn how Gregor trained the new Imperial soldiers and how we escaped from the facility the first time. While his cameo isn’t as big as Rex or Hera’s, it is still great to see these characters pop in and expand the

Star Wars

universe.

We also get more world-building with the Empire’s operation in Kamino. Rampart decides to seize control of Kamino and end the clone operation. Lama Su and Nala Se attempt to take control back, but Rampart stops them and takes Nala prisoner. The Admiral might have killed Lama, but it was off-screen, so we can’t be certain yet. We will definitely see more of Nala Se, and I am excited to find out how this storyline converges with the others and if she and Omega will reunite by the end of the series.

While the B story is tense, the A story is just as suspenseful. Clone Force 99 sneaking around the base on Daro and shooting their way through Stormtroopers and Clone Commandos is the best part of the episode. The action is just as good as any Star Wars video game.

Overall, this is one of the strongest Star Wars: The Bad Batch episodes in a while. The cliffhanger has me looking forward to next week as Hunter and Crosshair are finally reunited and will most definitely have a heated confrontation. I’m also excited to see how Clone Force 99 and possibly Gregor and Rex will rescue from the Empire’s clutches.

Grade: A –

There are two more episodes left of The Bad Batch, with the finale airing on Aug. 13 only on Disney Plus.

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