While the Star Wars hype this week may be centered on the season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch continues its run of solid episodes in ‘Metamorphosis’. Directed by Saul Ruiz and written by Sabir Prizada, The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 puts Clone Force 99 yet again in the mix with the Empire, even when they didn’t mean to. With only a handful of episodes left in the season, the Batch may have their final mission in their sights.
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The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 opens with an amazing Alien-esque sequence. As a smoking Imperial science vessel drifts through space, a clone commando desperately tries to escape from an unknown entity. The excitement of seeing a clone commando on screen for the first time in a long while quickly vanishes after the beast grabs the commando from above in a way that would make a Xenomorph proud. After, fans are taken to an Imperial facility on Weyland, the likely destination of the science vessel in the opening. The facility keeps Kaminoan chief scientist Nala Se imprisoned who is unwilling to help the Empire’s clone research.
The importance of clone research is hugely important to Emperor Palpatine as The Rise of Skywalker confirms. Throughout events in other Star Wars properties like The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, the early signs of his research have been shown sporadically. The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 continues to add to that puzzle as the destruction of Kamino was less about decommissioning clones and more to do with keeping cloning technology firmly with the Empire. While keeping himself alive indefinitely was always his overarching goal, Emperor Palpatine has other plans for cloning to make the Empire even more powerful.
The Batch’s first appearance in The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 comes in the form of something we have seen maybe one too many times; Cid offering Clone Force 99 another job. Throughout season 2, there has been a clear rift brewing between Cid and the Batch. Cid has continuously put the Batch in danger while they have gotten her out of more than one tough spot with her villainous colleagues. Despite how much the clones have helped Cid, she was rather uninterested in rescuing them from the events of the previous two episodes. This was clearly the last straw as the clones hope that this is their last job. However, the situation isn’t as black and white considering all of the power that Cid has over the Batch given everything she knows about them with the Empire looming.
Despite their apprehension, the Batch decides to take the job which is scavenging the wreckage from the opening sequence. The information from Cid was limited and the vessel itself is unmarked so Clone Force 99 had no idea they would be right back in Imperial business. However, the Empire is the least of their worries as they come face to face with a Zillo Beast. The endangered species is all but invincible to normal weapons making it more than a match for the clones.
The implications of a Zillo Beast making an appearance in The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 are substantial. It proves that Palpatine was successful in cloning the Zillo Beast he captured during the events of The Clone Wars. Its indestructible hide and Its ability to grow in size rapidly after consuming electrical energy make him one of the fiercest species in the canon. If Palatine was able to weaponize the Zillo Beasts’ hide, then there is no telling how the Rebels would ever be able to defeat the Empire decades later. This gives Clone Force 99 one of their most important missions to tackle next: disrupt the Empire’s clone operations. Hopefully, this will lead to a run-in with Crosshair who has been absent since episode 3.
For fans who have been waiting for Clone Force 99 to take the fight to the Empire, The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 sets up an exciting mission that will have ramifications throughout the Star Wars canon. While the back and forth with Cid and the Batch is growing tiresome, Clone Force 99 seems to share that sentiment, and having this be their last mission would certainly be one for the books. Further, having the Zillo Beast return to animation in an Alien inspiring sequence was as perfect as it can get when paying homage to other pioneers in media.
TL;DR
For fans who have been waiting for Clone Force 99 to take the fight to the Empire, The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 sets up an exciting mission that will have ramifications throughout the Star Wars canon.
