Impending Fascination

“War of the Sontarans” Feels Like The Best Of Old And New “Who”

“Doctor Who: Flux” manages something we haven’t seen for a while on the show. The pacing is tight, and the cliffhangers are genuine shockers that leave the audience wanting more. That isn’t a complaint about the quality of the last few seasons. It’s just the difference between self-contained, for the most part, episodes and an […]

“The Halloween Apocalypse” Is A Mostly Strong Launch For “Doctor Who”

“The Halloween Apocalypse” manages, mainly, to deliver what you want from an opening episode of “Doctor Who.” Part one of a six-part serialized season, “The Halloween Apocalypse” lays out what we can expect coming up. However, attention to our main characters seems to be missing still, a criticism often lobbed at the Chibnall years of […]

“The Suicide Squad” Entertains But Deserves More

In some ways, “The Suicide Squad” didn’t have to do much to succeed its predecessor, “Suicide Squad“. Many dismissed the first film entirely because of a lousy studio. I’ve warmed to it some listening to David Ayer cryptically reveal what might have been. I was excited, however, when the announcement came that James Gunn would […]

“Kamino Lost” Begins The Imperial Era Without A Lot Of Detail

“The Bad Batch” wraps up its inaugural season in “Kamino Lost,” not so much with a bang as a lot of whispers. The struggle to escape a watery grave doesn’t pack in the excitement that you might expect from the finale, nor does it answer any of the season’s lingering questions. We do get a […]

“Return To Kamino” Finds The Plot Of “The Bad Batch”

A “Return to Kamino” finally brings the focus of “The Bad Batch” to its leading players. Thus far, the show has suffered a bit under Dave Filoni’s tendency to take a look at the galaxy at large. That’s not a bad thing, but it leaves “The Bad Batch” feeling more a supplement to other programs. […]

“War-Mantle” Offers The Most Development Late For “The Bad Batch”

“The Bad Batch” has suffered some for not moving its plot along. The show has spent more time adding to other “Star Wars” properties than developing its characters. “War-Mantle” finally begins to change that and sets up the final conflict of season one. Hunter gets a character-defining moment, something we haven’t seen since episode two. […]

Cid Gains A New Enemy In “Infested”

“Infested” does what a lot of Dave Filoni‘s “Star Wars” does. It introduces characters and ideas that we’ll likely see again. It also doesn’t advance the plot in any meaningful way. None of the characters offer any real reason for the things they do, so we end up with an episode that feels like it […]

Howzer Takes “Rescue On Ryloth” Away From “The Bad Batch”

It’s almost difficult to review “Rescue on Ryloth” as a separate episode of “The Bad Batch“. Without Howzer’s internal conflict, “Rescue on Ryloth” would merely serve as clean-up from last week’s “Devil’s Deal”. Dave Filoni loves his small slices, though, so here we are. At the very least, we get a picture of the dawning […]

“Devil’s Deal” Brings Back Some Old Friends

“Devil’s Deal” presents a bit of a quandary for “The Bad Batch.” It offers an intriguing story with familiar characters that you know and love. It gives us more insight into how swiftly the Empire moved after “The Clone Wars.” We get glimpses of the inner conflict of many that fought alongside the Clone armies. […]

“Common Ground” Has Fascinating Ideas But Is Missing Something

Just as everything started to heat up on “The Bad Batch,” “Common Ground” comes along and brings the pace back down. We do get the team questioning their programming more. This is the kind of thing that should have come before Omega’s arrival, though. “The Clone Wars” did a lot of the heavy lifting for […]