A throwaway episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch becomes compelling by the end

Episode 9 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, “Retrieval,” opens with the crew arriving on an unknown planet to find an ipsium mine that Cid owns. Ipsium is a highly combustible mineral that is valuable when refined. The planet is fairly remote, but there are poachers in the area, as well as dangerous storms on the way.

Hunter and Tech go into the mine to find the ipsium while Omega and Wrecker stay outside and stand guard. After obtaining the ipsium, an unknown assailant steals their ship, leaving them stranded with a storm nearby. With no communications or transport, Tech ascertains that their only option is to hike 40 clicks to the nearest spaceport.

Omega tries to get a hold of Echo, but he is too far away. Tech says that he disabled his communication device anyway, which saddens Omega. A large group of antelope-like creatures comes their way and they have to grapple hook their way to safety. Wrecker successfully protects the ipsium case, but the storm starts moving in, forcing the crew into another mine for shelter.

The ipsium gets destroyed in the storm and the crew starts bickering amongst themselves. Omega gets upset when Tech says it is unlikely they will get the marauder back, and she complains that they already lost Echo and can’t lose the ship too as it is their home. Hunter explains that they didn’t lose Echo, and Tech demands to know what her problem is. Omega tells them she wants to be alone and goes off into the mine.

Tech and Omega get personal on Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Hunter and Wrecker send Tech to find Omega. He finds her extracting more ipsium, and they both come to the conclusion that they can blow their way out of the mine with it. They also collect more to replace the supply they lost in the storm. When trying to reach a vein, Omega falls into a shaft with a river at the bottom and Tech goes in after her.

Tech and Omega have an endearing heart-to-heart talk where Omega voices her frustration over Tech not acting like the Bad Batch is a family, and seemingly brushing off Echo’s departure last episode. Tech tells her that he does indeed care that Echo and Crosshair chose their own paths, and even though it can be hard to understand, he has to respect their decisions and move on. He also explains that he processes things differently because of his augmentations, but that he feels the same way Omega does even though it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.

The pair meets back up with Hunter and Wrecker and they blow their way out of the mine using Tech and Omega’s plan. When they arrive at the spaceport they find it abandoned, but Tech says he is able to send a communication with an array on top of a building. They contact Cid for help, but she says she’s busy. The obviously frustrated group demands that she send a ship since she was the one that sent them on the mission. They also bring up all the times they got her out of a tough spot. She says she’ll send someone in a few days.

Verdict

“Retrieval” was interesting, as it began as just another side quest to kill time but turned into something more meaningful. Omega is obviously pretty sad that Echo left the group, and when Tech seemingly doesn’t care, she is very hurt. This episode explored the inability for some people to communicate their emotions in the same way others do, but makes it clear that they still feel the same things. That’s a pretty mature theme to examine, especially for a kid’s show.

We also got a little pay-off on the idea that Cid is not reliable when she almost abandons the Bad Batch to fend for themselves on the hostile planet. Even though she promises to send a ship in a few days, the look on Hunter’s face at the end of the episode may indicate he’s finally done dealing with the flaky trandoshian. Perhaps he will contact Echo and Rex and finally get the Bad Batch into the fight against the Empire.

Episode Grade: B

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