3x02 Paths Unknown

[7.3/10] The construction of this episode is sound. There’s a clear goal, an escalating threat, a thematic hook, a canon connection, and a difficult personal choice that reveals character. These are all things that I ask for from good Star Wars installments, and “Paths Unknown” delivers on all of them.

And yet, for some reason, this episode left me a little cold. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it feels a little by the numbers. While it’s fun stunt casting to get Daniel Logan back to play “Mox”, the oldest of the young “regs” stuck on the planet where Dr. Hemlock’s last lab was located, Julian Dennison gives a pretty flat vocal performance as Deke and Stak, the two other preteen clone troopers, which weakens the episode given how much rests on those characters.

I do like the theme here, which connects to the broader theme The Bad Batch seems to be spinning in its third season, and which has been with the show from the beginning. The young regs are leery of Hunter and wrecker, because the Clone Troopers who were originally at the lab site abandoned them and left them to be subject to orbital bombardment. They’re used to being treated as expendable, and have been taught by Dr. Hemlock’s actions, and the apparatus he oversees, to look out for themselves, because no one else would.

I like the idea of Hunter and Wrecker showing up and demonstrating that there’s another way to live, another way to be, out there. Hearing stories of their connection to Omega, witnessing how far they’ll go to save a younge remember of their team, looking at the tactile proof of her teddy bear in the ship all shows the rightfully mistrustful young regs that loyalty and trust can be vindicated and rewarded, rather than be a sucker’s game. It’s a little simplistic, but it’s a well done idea. And Mox and Stak considering whether to take the Marauder and bail or use it to help their visitors, ultimately choosing to rescue our heroes, is a nice way to dramatize that idea.

That said, the remnants of Clone Force 99 spelunking through the old lab to get data on where Omega is located and fend off Slither Vines is pretty meh. Again, there’s nothing actively wrong with it. The episode parcels out hints of danger, building to creepy little squiggles attacking our heroes, until we build to a sarlacc-esque monster entangling the whole ship. The progression is creditable, and Hunter and Wrecker needing to get a power supply into the lab so they can get a lead on Omega’s location is a worthy practical goal. (And hey, their having to please a crime boss played by freakin’ Anjelica Huston is good stuff too!)

But maybe I’ve just seen too much Star Wars after decades of fandom, to where this all feels like standard stuff to me. I appreciate that there’s a quasi horror vibe to some of it, but the dark palette often leads to the images blending into one another rather than lending the proceedings a real spook factor.

Still, I’ll take a solid episode over a bad one, and this at least gives us a flavor of the lengths Hunter and Wrecker are willing to go to get a bead on Omega, and affirms their unusual devotion, and models a better example of trust and compassion that can exist among clones for a younger generation. There’s still plenty to appreciate about this one.