Bad Batch: 'The Cavalry Has Arrived' - Review and Music Breakdown

Breaking down the music in Star Wars The Bad Batch, Season 3, Episode 15, "The Cavalry Has Arrived" by Kevin Kiner.

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[lifelightv]

I think the reason the empire doesn't touch pabu after the series ends is bc the proof of its existence died with hemlock and cx-2, as it was an operation solely ran by hemlock's science division

[panzernerd]

I think it's crazy how many people said that they wouldn't even adress Tech's death. But they should have waited because they DID end up adressing it. Also, I love the new Zillo Beast roar but my favourite theme has to be the f*cking cool CX troopers themes

[jackson]

The Bad Batch contained some of my favourite music in Star Wars. The Bad Batch main theme, Omega's theme, Crosshair's theme, Mayday's theme, Plan 99, the CX troopers theme, and many more. The list goes on and on. Love this show and love what the Kiner's did with the music.

[hobbricks_lego_man]

Glad you were finally able to get this out! Great catch with the Crosshair theme at the end when Omega says goodbye to Hunter - I noticed that his theme returns during the end credits in the track called “I Am Ready.” One of my viewers pointed that out and I absolutely wouldn’t have noticed it otherwise.

[jungleblazers]

YEEESS!!! I've been looking forward to this for a long time. I loved how they brought back all the themes in this episode. From plan 99 to Crosshair's. My favorite was the music from the standoff at the bridge, and man did seeing Hemlock get shot so many times feel satisfying. #deserved

I think we all had that question as to how and why the Empire forgot about Pabu, but you know what... I don't care. The Bad Batch got their happy ending, and I'll be damned if they took that away from them. They've been through so much.

Now we wait for the Kiners' next Star Wars project, which will most likely be Ahsoka Season 2.

[naraie]

Finally this video was able to get uploaded, been looking forward to this and I'm happy you got blessing from the Disney/YouTube gods to do it!

I do agree that the finale felt rushed, but I was still satisfied with how it ended. I think a lot of people's impressions from the odd finale is twofold:
1) There were definitely rewrites. I cannot recall the specific source at the moment, but there was an interview with Michelle Ang before the season premiered where she stated that the ending changed. And considering the pacing/direction of episodes 1-5 versus 6-11, there was an abrupt shift that definitely left me a tad frustrated. There was enough of a connecting thread to make it coherent, but perhaps my expectations were too high.
2) Speaking of expectations, I observed from the fandom that expectations drove a lot of the resulting reactions. Some fandom expectations I felt were too high (Omega being force-sensitive) or were misplaced (Tech being a CX clone). Many fans drove hard into those theories and were left feeling empty when the finale, though very action-packed and well-executed, did not meet their expectations.

For me it was nice to enjoy the ride and look at the story objectively. Which leads to a couple more of the thoughts you brought up in your video:
1) I think there were a lot of misguided expectations in regards to the CX clones. I predicted at the beginning of the season that they were just a metaphor to everything the Clones (and specifically TBB) stood against: the CX clones were what the clones we knew and loved *could have been* if they had not experienced the galaxy as individuals who celebrated their individuality, independence, ingenuity, and heart. Seeing the rest of the CX clones, whom you've dubbed "The Evil Batch" further confirmed that. They were the antithesis of the bois, mixing and matching their qualities into something more sinister, dark, and scary. It would have been nice to see them earlier, but I don't disagree with them being released in the Finale. The team needed to face themselves to escape the hell of the Empire once and for all. I thought fans looked too much into who they were and what purpose they served: they were just a tool/tactic used by Hemlock, a metaphorical complication that TBB needed to challenge and defeat in order to complete their mission.
2) In regards to why everyone went back to Pabu and everything seemed safe despite their island being invaded by the Empire, my theory (which was confirmed with many folks in the fandom) was that anything in regards to Project Necromancer was kept entirely in-house under Hemlock's control, and no one outside of Tantiss knew what was going on. All the info was kept in the databanks in the Lab, which was destroyed by Nala Se. Therefore, all Imperial records of Pabu's existence and location were also destroyed. Sounds silly for all the eggs to be kept in one basket, but this is the Empire and Hemlock is just another typical villain that does stupid things and (predictably) karma bites him hard for it.


However, TBB is still my favorite piece of Star Wars media, and seeing the Kiners work to make this series sing was a delight to experience. Thank you for your reviews and analyses, you kept bringing attention to an aspect of the series that I haven't seen covered as much, I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughts and insight!

[MauiTank]

One of my favorite music parts of this finale wasn’t addressed in this video was the end credit music where they made plan 99 sound more joyful and at peace

[UnsortedSeeds]

The last two episodes of thistle series weren't so tense that I was literally on the edge of my seat. There were so many times that it was hard for me to breathe because the writers had already established that none of the were safe from being killed back in season 2. At the end on Pabu, the tension finally released (held for over a week), and I had a good cry. Lol the epilogue with Hunter and Omega just made me cry harder.

I do feel that the ending was a little rushed. I'd had the impression before season 3 that there would be at least another couple of seasons before the show ended because there were so many questions that got brought up over the course of the series and left over the from The Clone Wars. Many people on Reddit are convinced that Disney decided to pull the plug on it to focus more money on the live action content. I can't say if that's for sure what happened, however I'm of the mind that discontinuing clone content would be a mistake considering how popular and beloved they are among the fans.

I'd figured that the empire never went after the squad on Pabu because any data about it, the squad, and Omega would have been destroyed by Nala Se. It was a top secret facility that few within the empire had access, so having a backup location for everything stored there could lead to vulnerabilities. However, we did see that there were several other mountain facilities in the distance from Mount Tantiss that would have been equally top secret, so I'm left to wonder a) what were they doing in those other facilities, b) why couldn't they store backups in hoses other facilities as a failsafe, c) why didn't they notice Tantiss being attacked and send reinforcements, and d) what happened to them when Tarkin arrived?

I also wondered about the Zillo beast because of the foreshadowed plans from early on in the Clone Wars over a decade ago. Would the emperor really let it go so easily, or is it just another example of Tarkin's short-sighted hubris at play?

Andrew that is why it should have been a longer series, though I am very happy with how it did end. After the heartbreaking tragedy of the Clone Wars ending and Tech's sacrifice in season 2, I wasn't quite prepared for any more sadness.

[panzernerd]

NO WAY, IS THIS FAKE!?
HOLY SHIT
(I'll write another comment after I am done watching(

[MiaNilsson-xm]

Many thoughts. The entire ending felt rushed. They crammed a bit of everything into this. The Mazda squad (sorry! 😂). And then the whole batch survives like nothing. And make iit out. And ALL data destroyed.To retire happily. Seriously???? And the epilogue... No. Just NO.
Why is even Crosshair's theme at the end (he's not *in* the scene)?
Why doesn't Nala Se ever *get* a theme? Minor 1-episode crooks get a theme. NS was the only mother Omega knew. She saved her life a number of times.
I *thought* I identified a theme for Batcher in E1, but it's only there twice, not to return afaik. And so on...
I'm a bit confused about much of the musical storytelling in S3.
Especially the first part (E1, 3, 4) of the season focus on Crosshair and Omega forging a bond yet leaving out their respective themes almost entirely.
If I compare this to previous finales -especially S1 E15-16 which I consider some of the best visual AND musical storytelling, not to mention plot, of the series (or ANY StarWars) the difference is marked.
The use of themes in S1 finale is quite an interesting one. We have BB theme/CH theme constantly interacting, almost tripping over each other, as both parts really desire a reunion albeit with TOTALLY different goals. And CH theme altering with SoldierOfTheEmpire theme (sometimes assigned to the chip, but imho that's *wrong* ) to hammer in the "this is who I am".
We have the Kamino, Clones, and Omega themes as well. And the Sacrifice theme (Loss-theme?) shows up twice (it's actually in CutAndRun, too). (Yup. Got the time-stamps.😂)

Yes ofc we get the E4 last scene (reunion), and then the marvellous E5 where esp. Crosshair's theme *really* gets to shine. (When he goes for the helmets even *harp* is used for some of his music - dang, I almost go maternal there. Nice touch of vulnerability and sincerity there, imho.) But esp early season 3 otherwise seemed like missed musical opportunities galore. Or at least a very different way to tell a story. Not bad. Just... different.

It remains a gem of a series.