Welcome to the Heavy Spoilers, show I’m your host Paul and if you having clone problems I feel bad for you son I got clone force 99 problems and a batch ain’t one. The fourth episode is now out and throughout this video we’re gonna be going through the latest entry, unpacking all the easter eggs in it and also giving our thoughts on what they could be teasing at with Cid.
What is Riot Racing in Star Wars?
Now, the entry itself is called “Faster” and this entire episode is based around Riot Racing. This seems like it’s the more chaotic version of Podracing, which we of course saw all the way back in The Phantom Menace. That movie spawned numerous games including Podracer for the N64 which I don’t mean to brag about but I was basically the Sebulba in my house. My dad couldn’t beat me, my sister, no chance, and my mum couldn’t even get the engine started, what a chump.
Now, the track itself has noticeable nods to the one from Mos Eisley. There’s a starting position with the upper seats that look similar to how it was laid out there. There’s the ramps as well and these very much replace the sand ones that we had on the planet.
The racers are also in the same vein as the Podracing ones and we’ll get into these characters later in the video.
However, journey back to my youth with me once more and I actually think that this also takes inspiration from another PlayStation classic.
All the way back in 1997, there was a futuristic racing game called Wipeout 2097 that too had tracks like this across the galaxy. These were lit up with neon scenes and metallic tracks that bent round planets like what we have here. Might be a reach but do me a favour and reach for that thumbs up button if you enjoy the video. Make sure you subscribe for breakdowns Jango Fett for a King and with that out the way, let’s get into the video.
So we start off on Ord Mantell which is looking a lot brighter than usual. This is one of the corners that still hasn’t been overtaken by the Empire at this point and it doesn’t get its claws into it until much later on. However, I have a feeling that Cid might even end up potentially selling out the batch and this could be what’s being teased at. I really doubt it but I think it’s a theory worth exploring as there are several warnings that Cid’s vicious. I think most likely her or Wanda Sykes could reach out to the Imperials and this will be how Crosshair and Rampart track them down.
Now we then cut to the Streets and see a Gotal walking through eating what appears to be Meiloorun Fruit. This was a snack of Hera and Gotals have appeared throughout the saga.
In Cids parlour we see Omega and Wreckerplaying Holochess which is shot to resemble how it played out in A New Hope. Everytime we visit this bar we have to point out that the three pumps on the back are also what appeared in a New Hope and these ended up being used as the head of IG-88. Thumbsdown the video if youre sick of that easter egg anyway…Omega says that she owes him two cartons of Mantell Mix and this is something that the pair ate throughout season 1 at several points.
Looks like no one can escape the Energy crisis and even Cid is worried about the electricity bills.
Easter Eggs and References in Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Season 2, Episode 4)
On the bar we can see that Tec is playing the card game Sabaac which is also the thing that Han won the Millennium Falcon in.
Turns out, Hunter and Echo are transporting Nerf Nuggets which are what Nerf Herders….Sorry N(erf) Herders… make from the Bison like creatures Nerfs. Now, neither of the two are in this episode and instead we get a story focused on these three and Cid. AZ is still working in the bar and I actually suspect that he might be the first of Crosshairs victims when he comes to the parlour and finds them missing.
Now, the planet is packed with Aliens but we first start off with a focus on a bottle. I believe this is the drink Phattro which is served in cantinas across the galaxy. We don’t see who this belongs to but, later on, the Champion is sat sipping it so this is probably our introduction to him.
As we pull up, we see a Gotal again, some Rodians, some Twi’leks and some Arconas which are those weird triangle head aliens.
There’s also an Aqualish which is the same species as Ponda Baba and all of these aliens appeared in the Mos Eisley Cantina which was the hive of scum and villainy. Not being racist mate, but…them appearing here again…well lets just them aliens being used again lets…you know…but we’re not saying anything wrong with that.
Cid takes them to the main arena which we can also see using a bridge for the start and finish line with lights in the middle like the pod racer track. Theres also a tower where the commentators sit in and I’m pretty sure this is the first time it’s been in the Star Wars saga, let me know if I’m wrong though, and on the track we see pit droids along with a racing droid as well. Known as Ringers Droids, these are used because their processing power means that they can make split second decisions that allow them to race at such high speeds.
This was something Qui Gon discussed in The Phantom Menace and he said that Anakin’s reflexes would have to be similar to a Jedi in order to do this.
Tay-O is used to winning and, as we say, pride comes before a fall. I love the way his head flips around so he can talk to people behind him and he’s got a pretty cool design.
His modified speeder gets bust up on the course but firstly we meet the gangster in these here parts called Grini Millegi. Voiced by my guy Ernie Hudson you know he told the world that busting makes you feel good….as a Ghost buster. Now his species is quite rare and this is actually a Dowutin. If you’ve played fallen order then you might recognise this species and Ninth Sister was one in the same. He also has a Gamorrean with him and his champ who Grini wants to pit against Cids.
Now, unlike Podracing, attacking the other players is allowed. When Sebulba was doing it during Phantom Menace he was breaking the rules and all the stuff with his flamethrower built in the pod was only overlooked because the Gangster of the planet ran the entire circuit.
Here, though, it’s allowed, and we see the first race playing out. Amongst the racers we can catch a BX Battle Droid and you might recognise them as appearing in the episode last week. These were highly advanced battle droids that were only used in extreme circumstances because they were more costly to produce.
After the war ended, many of the droids continued operating but like the clones they had to find other roles that weren’t being soldiers. Similar to how the Bad Batch have gone off and done their own thing, they have too and they very much represent the remnants of war that no longer have a true purpose. We also see a protocol droid and quite a funny one that calls all the way back to Attack Of The Clones that we’ll talk about in just a bit.
How Does Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Season 2, Episode 4) End?
Now, we see just how dangerous Riot Racing is when an innocent bystander gets hit when the guy starts throwing shots out to everyone like when I called all my viewers chumps. In front of him is a Bith and it goes to show: life’s a Bith, and then you die. The racers get to a canyon similar to beggars and they make a point of not taking the left tunnel which foreshadows events later on. Now, whereas Jabba sat in the main tower in Phantom Menace we see how Millegi does it in his. His champion takes out Tay-O with a reverse saw with him being bottle necked in similar to what happens to Tec later on.
Tay-O has been completely bust up and Millegi comes to collect. Cid’s been writing cheques that her butt can’t cash and thus they put an all or nothing bet on. This echoes the one in Phantom Menace which Qui-Gon had with Watto and I dunno if Millegi should be accepting all these bets with kids who clearly can’t pay up.
Millegi takes Cid and gives them 24 hours to repair the racer. They start to fix up Tay-O who says, “Where are my arms and legs?”. Got a lot of vibes to C-3PO panicking that he’d been shot in Empire and it’s sort of like poetry they rhyme. Echo talks about how this isn’t the first time Cid has caused them trouble because of her dealings and this is most likely a nod to Durand in Season 1.
Cid and Millegi drink to old times with the former saying she’s changed. Millegi thinks that CIds true nature will surface eventually and if put in a precarious position she might have to choose between herself and the Batch. The Empire are of course gonna be hunting them and I think it’s gonna be her on the line come the latter parts of the season.
Tec tries to tell Tay-O the best route to take for the course but he’s smashed like it’s the Like button by a stray racer.
Thus Tec has to tec to the track and we are introduced to the racers. This includes a battle droid head on a protocol droid heads body. If you cast your mind back to Attack Of The Clones then you may remember that C-3PO had his head put on a battle droids body and vice versa. Now this was eventually put back to normal but I’d like to think that this battle droid ended up being put back on a protocol droids body and this is my guy living life in the fast lane having survived the war.
Anyway the race begins with it immediately heating up. As the racers fly through the tunnels we get several ads and in the back we can see a Yellow Seraph class Urban Landspeeder. These were shown on Naboo in Phantom menace and you could play in one in Battle for Naboo for the N64. How I miss those days. There’s also one for Coruscant before we cut to Pit droids giving us a hat trick of Phantom menace easter eggs.
Tec ends up ditching the weapons on the speeder so that he’s faster and he also puts further energy into the shield so that he can survive the blasts. Slowly he makes his way up the chain as the racers are whittled down and he takes the left offshoot tunnel. This is pretty much the Temple Of Doom track filled with precarious holes and death defying drops.
However, it gives Tec a boost and, when he’s bottlenecked in like how Tay-O was, he manages to emerge out on top through using the two racers against each other. They were clearly in on the bet and part of Millegis crew but it’s bacfired. In Sebulba style they’re taken out before hitting the finish line and the batch go to get Cid back.
The gangster stops his champion from shooting them and instead he gives a warning that Cid can’t be trusted. We dont really know much about her and again I feel like she may be the lynch pin that brings everything with them crashing down.
Anyway that ends the entry and I thought this was a fun episode that reminded my why this…is podracing…well Riot Racing. Anyway was nice just having an offshoot with some of the batch and though it didnt push the overall story forward massively it’s hard to ding this episode because of how fun it was overall.
So yeah really enjoyed it and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it below.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect scene in Spider-Man: Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it’s definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace
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