Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 episode 13 review: ‘Pabu’
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 episode 13, “Pabu .”
As we hurtle towards the finale of season 2 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch we see that Phee, the pseudo-pirate, comes into her own as a key supporter of the squad. Those familiar with Hondo were probably suspicious of her intention but this episode seems to indicate that she is more than meets the eye, and possibly a genuine ally to the Bad Batch
Tech and Phee: A budding relationship
While she may be an ally to the Bad Batch in general, she has a special connection to Tech. Even since Phee was introduced she especially liked ‘brown eyes.’ Much of this season has focused on Tech and his growing emotional intelligence. We have gotten to know much about how the war has shaped all of the Bad Batch’s perceptions. They never got any childhood, and with them being different than the rest of the clones it seems even less likely they would develop relationships. This is why Tech and Phee are such an interesting match. He is the most distant of all of the Bad Batch, but it seems that Phee is able to look past that occasionally cold exterior and value who Tech is.
Cid’s threat
One of the major themes for the season is that the Bad Batch is breaking away from Cid. Even after the Bad Batch saves her multiple times, she still just seems like an asset to be leveraged for her own gain. We finally have this conflict come to a head as Cid threatens to give them up the Empire. Especially with Crosshair now on Mount Tantiss, and the Empire actively looking for Omega, it seems that the winds of change are blowing. Cid has proven that she is not loyal to anyone, and even the questionable characters that the Bad Batch have protected Cid from have warned them that she is not to be trusted. The real question is just how low she will go to make a profit.
The absent childhood of Omega
When looking at the major players in Omega’s life, they prioritize her learning the skills of becoming a warrior. Phee was raised with a more normal background and values learning the people skills that are just as necessary for surviving out in the galaxy. We also see that the episode name is a nod toward’s Phee’s role in Omega’s life as Pabu can mean auntie. We can see Phee acting as an auntie who is concerned for Omega’s happiness (and also a possible partner to Tech). We also get to see Omega laughing and Tech’s observation that she hadn’t laughed in a while just indicates what we suspected. She is living as a soldier and desperately needs some normal relationships. It seems like Pabu would be an ideal place for that, but we can be certain that something will disrupt the sanctuary and pull the Bad Batch off to save their friends.
Final Thoughts
This was an almost perfectly executed side quest storyline for the Bad Batch. It may not have covered the Imperial storyline directly but we got a ton of character development and details that further our understanding of virtually everyone involved. We also know that the relationship with Cid is coming to a head, and the Bad Batch is finally willing to settle down. While we want to buy that this beautiful planet filled with refugees and relics is where the Bad Batch will stay, Mount Tantiss’s horrors are calling out for a rescue mission.
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