1x13 Infested

[7.7/10] The word that keeps coming to mind to me with this episode is “sound.” There's little here that truly knocks your socks off, but everything is well-thought out and well done. I will take it, especially for an episode that’s more about developing the relationship between The Bad Batch and Cid than advancing the season arc.

Take the crazy bugs here for instance. We first get a warning about them from Cid followed by a flashlight falling into their burrow, teasing a threat but not showing it. Then, at the midpoint. The encounter comes with warnings from Cid to be quiet lest the crew rouse their attention and hints as to their light sensitivity. Then at the midpoint of the episode, there's an exciting chase that brings those warnings to fruition, with a crazy swarm caused by the noise, and that light sensitivity in action, upping the stakes. Finally, when our heroes have to go retrieve the spice they lost in that chase, we get an escalation with the swarm coming out in full force with a ticking clock for our heroes, while Tech generates a light bomb to defuse the situation.

There’s a strong progression there, with well established setups and payoffs and some exciting visuals along the way. Is it the greatest story ever told in Star Wars, or the most memorable confrontation ever? Nahhh (Though if you’re afraid of creepy crawlies, it might be a tough one to stomach.) But you can see the work and thought put into having it all add up.

Frankly, the best part of this one apart from that sharp thinking and planning is the vaguely horror vibe to the whole thing. It calls to mind the episode of The Clone Wars where the Jedi have to deal with a pack of zombie insectoids in some underground caverns (I want to say they were geonosians?). The creepy, cave-dwelling setting makes for a nicely spooky mood.

The episode also succeeds as a premise. There’s a double meaning to the title “Infestation”, referring of course to the bugs, but also to Roland and his goons, a member of a crime syndicate who’s taken over Cid’s parlor. Roland makes for an interesting new presence and further entree into the underworld for the Bad Batch, and the need to reinstall the devil they know works as a motivation.

But there’s also character here. The Bad Batch are understandably sanguine about whether to stick their necks out for Cid. But as usual, Omega is their Jiminy Cricket-like conscience. She’s forged a connection with Cid and persuades the rest of the team to help her. More to the point, despite his harshness, she has sympathy for Roland, determining that if little pet Ruby (who I had zero memory of) likes them both, he can’t be all bad. Once again we see Omega pushing the Bad Batch to help people rather than just look after their own team, which ties into the larger themes of the show.

We’re also getting deep into the crime thicket now. Roland’s an interesting new player, the son of another crime boss who seems to have dealt with him harshly too, and instilled a worldview that all these threats and killings are just business. (He seems poised to be an Agent Kallus type.) In the same vein, this is the scariest the Pykes have ever seemed, with their no-nonsense threats carrying real force.

Overall, this is another winner, one that feels more like a strong building block than an outstanding installment on its own, but which does what it does well.

(My crazy theory/prediction: The first place we saw Ord Mantell in the new canon is in the “Son of Dathomir” comic series, focusing on Maul’s adventures escaping from his capture by Palpatine in The Clone Wars. He went to Ord Mantell to regroup with the Black Sun crew. Given the appearance from the Pykes in this episode, something tells me we’re going to get some Maul by the end of the season.)