Summary
“Metamorphosis” splices a tense creature feature with an intriguing overarching plot, giving The Bad Batch much more shape than usual.
This recap of The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11, “Metamorphosis”, contains spoilers.
This week’s episode of The Bad Batch – understandably overshadowed by the third season premiere of The Mandalorian – is essentially a creature feature. And the creature is one we’ve seen before, the Zillo Beast from an episode of The Clone Wars in which Palpatine wanted to use its indestructible hide for the Republic army. However, the introduction of a pretty sinister new character, some side-lined old ones, and the tight tension of the episode makes this a fairly solid outing for Clone Force 99, even in the midst of a relatively middling season.
The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 11 Recap
That new character is Doctor Hemlock; the old ones are Nala Se, and Lama Su, the Kaminoans who oversaw the cloning operations. This helps to create a more serialized thread in the background of what would otherwise be a monster-of-the-week episode, with The Bad Batch’s second season continuing to focus on the purpose and future of the clones within the new Empire.
But most of it remains a creature feature. Clone Force 99’s presence in the vicinity of the monster is thanks to Cid, once again, though that relationship is becoming rather strained since her abandonment of them during their previous mission, though simply severing ties given how much she knows about them would be a considerable risk. Thus, the team is strongarmed into investigating what turns out to be a Kaminoan research vessel.
The Alien-style vibe of this episode is a welcome change of pace, and it’s respectable how the overarching plot is tied in with the destruction of Kamino, the Empire’s plans for the future, some of the Zillo Beast research proposed in The Clone Wars, and so on, and so forth. This gives “Metamorphosis” the unusual distinction of being an episode that feels very distinct while also feeling like a cog in a much larger machine, informed by choices and themes from elsewhere. That’s kind of the point of this expansive multimedia storytelling style, and Bad Batch has felt disconnected from the broader mythos often enough for this to feel refreshing.
Some of the novelty is undermined by the familiarity of the Zillo Beast, so its growth to gargantuan proportions after feeding on energy feels inevitable rather than surprising. That’s why the Imperial plot matters so much; Clone Force 99 not just fighting off the creature but beginning to unravel the Empire’s schemes gives much more shape and significance to “Metamorphosis” than it would have had were it simply a chance encounter. The introduction of Doctor Hemlock also feels like something we should be keeping an eye on as we go.
