Fennec Shand Takes on the Bad Batch! Who Will Win?

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 4 Review

Regardless of what I think about Disney’s handling of Star Wars (the Sequels), there is one thing I think that they’re doing well: making the franchise a cohesive story. As amazing as the Expanded Universe was, it also lacked cohesion at times. In the post-Skywalker era, though, Disney’s determined to make sure everything remains connected to each other. For example, this episode sees the return of a character we met in The Mandalorian, Fennec Shand. Or, in this case, it’s an introduction to her when she was younger. Which begs the question: how does she look so young in The Mandalorian?

A Supply Run Gone Wrong

This week, the Bad Batch continues its search for a place to lay low from the Empire, only to be waylaid by two things: the ship’s running out of fuel, and they’re out of food. As a result, they have to stop on Pantora to get both while Tech works on scrambling their ship’s ID so the Empire can’t track them. Which means they also have to sell off some of their excess weapons for credits. And Echo.

No, I’m not joking. Hunter passes Echo off as a droid due to his appearance and sells him to a vendor for easy credits. The second they’re finished, Echo bails to rejoin them. In other words, they just conned someone.

One interesting aspect of The Bad Batch is the fact that as time goes by, the titular team’s going to have to perform morally questionable things to survive at times. That means bribing officials, swindling innocent civilians, and the like. They have to do it for the sake of Omega, but how far are they willing to go to keep themselves safe? I’m hoping that the show won’t shy away from these complex moral questions as the show goes.

In the meantime, though, the Bad Batch has to deal with a more immediate problem: bounty hunters.

Fennec Shand Is a Ruthless Bounty Hunter

It’s not certain if it was the Empire or the Kaminoans, but someone has a bounty out for Omega and her new family. And a younger Fennec Shand is ready to collect on it.

Fennec Shand has built up a good fan base since The Mandalorian two years ago. We’ve seen her mow down a squad of Stormtroopers before, but how good was she against the Bad Batch? Very, very good.

It may be because they’re low on weapons and supplies, but she puts the Bad Batch through their paces. She holds her own against Hunter, and manages to knock Wrecker out cold. In the end, the best the team can do is fight her to a standstill.

Bottom line, regardless of the time period, Fennec Shand is one of the deadliest women in the Galaxy. And now that she’s on the Bad Batch’s trail, things are going to be tougher for them. Still, the interactions between her and Omega seemed pretty genuine. Maybe they will work together one day.

Starting to Get Interesting

Like The Mandalorian before it, The Bad Batch is starting off slow. But given how this is about a group of AWOL Clones running from the Empire, this is to be expected. Give it enough time, and we’re likely to see scenes as epic as Luke in the Hallway in the future.

So, the Bad Batch continues their search for a safe home, but now they have Crosshair and Fennec Shand on their trail. And they’re likely only the first of many. No matter how you slice it, there’s going to be a lot more action on The Bad Batch.

I Give “Cornered” a 4/5. Bonus points for this classic “listening to music while something awesome happens” trope

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