REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch,’ Season 2 Episode 5 – “Entombed”

This week in The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5, Clone Force 99 goes on another treasure hunt. Unlike the quest for riches in the season 2 premiere, the Batch isn’t chasing the spoils of war. Directed by Nathaniel Villanueva and written by Christopher Yost, “Entombed” takes viewers on an Indian Jones-style adventure led by Phee Genoa (Wanda Sykes).

The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 opens with Omega and Wrecker doing some salvage for a compressor. In their search, Omega finds a variety of items that she thinks are useful as they return to Cid’s Parlor. As the duo return, Phee is spinning a story about one of her daring adventures to a couple of patrons, much to the chagrin of Tech and Hunter. While Omega shows her haul, Phee identifies one of the objects as an ancient compass. As a treasure hunter, she is eager to find out where the compass leads and offers to split the take with the Batch.

After some discussion, the Batch agrees and heads off to the uncharted Kaldar Trinary system, landing on a barren planet. From here, The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 really leans into the Indian Jones troupes for an action-adventure story. Kevin Kiner’s score is at its best in this episode as the music mimics an Indy movie in the best way. There are plenty of puzzles to solve and traps that are sprung as Phee and the Batch navigate a structure that is thousands of years old, pre-dating the Republic. If the perils of the ancient structure aren’t enough, they are also perused by a creature in the darkness that has never been seen before.

When the Batch and Phee finally get to the treasure, The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 takes a turn that I am not many viewers will expect. It really subverts the final trap troupe while adding so much to the lore of the Star Wars universe. Something that you have to see to believe. But it is at these moments, that “Entombed” separates itself from the action-adventure story fans saw in the premiere. This week’s episode felt much more like a story that was meant to be fun and a distraction away from all the heavy themes that have been explored early on in the season.

The Bad Batch isn’t a series that I expected to really expand the lore of Star Wars in any major way. While this week’s episode doesn’t expand Clone Force 99’s story, The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5  does raise a lot of questions for fans to ponder over for the universe at large. The ancient facility pre-dates the Jedi and the Republic to an age never seen before in the current canon. The technology at play really makes you think of what the galaxy looked if structures like the one  Kaldar Trinary system existed. Star Wars really has only scratched the surface of the stories the universe can tell.

As for the Batch themselves, I think this a necessary episode for their characters. For the first time in a long time, The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 was just an adventure, not a galaxy-saving mission. It still has some of the themes seen early on in the season where they have to choose whether or not the treasure is worth it, but largely it is just a fun episode.  Many members of the Batch have expressed angst in wanting to do more and the pressures that come with that need. Here, they just get to go on an adventure where we do learn a little more about the Batch themselves.

By the end of The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5, Hunter does ease up a bit on Phee and sees her in a different light. Season 2 continues to place Omega with characters who are not Hunter and it is paying dividends. Omega and Wrecker are probably my favorite pairing but we also see Omega taking a thing or two from Phee before the episode’s end. As Omega continues to grow, it is great to see her taking pieces of personality from those closest to her to form her own. It is unclear how Hunter feels about all of this but I am sure it will be explored soon.

Overall, The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 continues last week’s trend of not advancing the plot but being a fun episode with lots of little things to love and appreciate. The most committed Star Wars lore junkies will likely pour over the episode to unlock the ancient secrets. Some will enjoy an Indian Jones adventure in Star Wars. Others will just appreciate hearing Wanda Sykes teach the Bad Batch all there is to know about being a liberator of ancient treasures.

The Batch Batch Season 2 Episode 5 is currently streaming exclusively on Disney+, with new episodes every Wednesday.