1x03 Replacements

[7.3/10] “Replacements” is a bit of a villain episode, which I always appreciate. It gives us a chance to dig a little deeper into the motivations and personalities of the antagonists, which helps make for a richer story overall. We see Crosshair leading a new squad of conscripts. We see Tarkin listening to the plans of newcomer Admiral Rampart. And we see the Kaminoans plotting to use a member of the Bad Batch as the new source material for new and improved clones.

Little of this is terribly deep, but it’s all solid. As “Aftermath” established, the Kaminoans have a vested interest in keeping their expensive cloning operations running, which creates friction from a skeptical Tarkin. The future Grand Moff even declares the clone army a “relic of the past” here. So the cloners fighting for their financial survival, trying to come up with a way to show their clones are worth the expense, gives them an even greater interest in tracking down their “property” on the run.

Likewise, I like the introduction of Admiral Rampart as another foil. He’s a voice in favor of using a conscript army, with the argument that they would not only be cheaper, but could still be just as effective as their clone counterparts. It signals the beginnings of a transition for the eImperial Military as it transitions from the Republic Army. Creating a face for that transition (beyond the wooden puppet version of Peter Cushing’s visage) helps cement it and add another useful player to the proceedings.

We also get to see Crosshair in action with his hypercharged inhibitor chip, as well as some friction between the conscript troopers and their clone commander. The mouthy trooper is right that volunteers, just there for “three hots and cot”, are the way of the future. But Crosshair shows why the Empire still wants clones around. When sent to wipe out Saw Gerrera’s crew on Onderon, the regular soldiers hesitate to fire on the civilians just hitching a ride. But Crosshair has no compunction about it, taking out the lieutenant who refused to be an executioner even when it’s what they were ordered to do.

It makes for a marked contrast from the series premiere. Hunter and company saw children and other innocents with Saw and refused to do the Empire’s dirty work. The conscripts, at first blush, seemed to draw the same line. But after Crosshair showed any dissension would be punished with lethal force, they followed orders. The elimination of the remaining members of Saw’s group is pretty brutal, and signifies the depths to which the Empire will go, showing no mercy and dealing harshly with those who’ve done nothing to earn such cruelty. If we didn’t already known how bad the villains were here, we certainly know now.

Of course it’s not all bad guy stuff in “Replacements”. We also get a pitstop from the Bad Batch that reads like an homage to Leia and Han’s detour in the belly of a big space worm in The Empire Strikes Back. There’s not much to this little jaunt. The Bad Batch’s ship breaks down; they need to replace a part, and they have to contend with a local beast to do so. But it manages to provide some meaningful and pleasant moments.

On the meaningful side, Omega proves that she’s not just Hunter’s ward, but an asset to the team. When Hunter passes out after a confrontation with the beast, she restores his oxygen and dives in after it. The episode cuts a contrast between her and Crosshair, with the chip-manipulated clone firing on innocents when they’re utterly defenseless, and Omega choosing not to use her blaster on the dragon, even in a scary situation, instead finding another way. There’s mercy and decency there, qualities which seem to have been drained away from Crosshair.

The rest of the Bad Batch still has some regret about leaving him behind, even after what he did. They want to believe his actions aren’t his fault, and there’s talk of going back for him eventually, borne out of loyalty. The Bad Batch doesn't leave one of its own behind. But it does welcome someone new into the fold. It’s manipulative as all hell, but Wrecker making Omega her own room aboard the Bad Batch’s ship, officially welcoming her as a member of their group, is a heartwarming moment, and it totally worked on me.

Overall, “Replacements” spends more time adding shading to the bad guys than it does exploring the good guys, but that’s a good thing when the show is still establishing itself. Getting to know the antagonists better, putting them in contrast with our heroes, makes it more satisfying when the inevitable clashes between the two begin to happen.