Star Wars the Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 5 Entombed by Darth Slobo
A Galactic Treasure Hunt
This episode was a mix of classic sci-fi and fantasy references and was truly another one of Filoni’s homages to George Lucas and one of his classics: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Even the musical score of this episode had classic Indiana Jones themes highlighted by powerful crescendos at new discoveries along their treasure hunt.
Much like last week’s episode, while it seemed this episode didn’t drive the overarching storyline of the season forward much, I think this episode expanded the overall lore of Star Wars into some new-er territory. With that being said it was a very fun episode and it was fun to try and catch all the sci-fi/fantasy pop culture references.
Overall, while it didn’t drive the story, it was a fun side quest!
I give it an 8.5 “Galactic Treasures” out of 10.
“Entombed” Recap
In what seems to be becoming a theme, we open again with the Wrecker and Omega, this time the pair are making their way through a junkyard in search of a compressor. As Wrecker finds his compressor Omega finds a few other interesting looking items that seem to peak their interest.
Wanda Sykes is back! Phee is busy in Cid’s bar sharing stories of her escapades to two patrons, a human and an Ithorian (hammerhead) who are highly engaged with her story. The Batch is not impressed as Wrecker and Omega return with their loot to which Phee is quick to evaluate. Phee takes interest in one piece that Omega aquired and has her droid, Mel, evaluate it. Mel finds that this seemingly insignificant piece actually has coordinates on it, leading Phee to conclude—this is a treasure map!!!
Omega attempts to convince Hunter they should accompany Phee on this treasure hunt, but it is clear the Batch does not trust Phee, and they are hesitant to go on any more of her “treasure hunts” as the last time they went on a mission influence by Phee they came back injured and empty handed.
In an interesting conversation between Phee and Omega, we find out Phee is a Treasure Hunter/Pirate/”Liberator of Ancient Wonders” who has visited and is tracking previously uncharted star systems across the galaxy.
The map takes them to the Kaldar Trinary System, a baron planet resembling Mustafar or Malachor. As soon as they begin to examine the planet’s surface the compass that Omega had found activates.
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In a scene that is similar to Lord of the Rings mixed with Indiana Jones the treasure hunters find a secret entrance that leads them inside of a mountain that was thought to be a dead end.
As they proceed into the mountain and examine the room they entered Phee shares with the Batch the legend of Skara Nal and the supposed treasure: the heart of the mountain. As they examine the cave markings Tech’s analysis concludes they are thousands of years old, pre-dating the republic and even predating the ancient race, the Je’Daii order.
Almost like a video game Phee works to solve the ancient puzzle and get them close to the heart of the mountain. In attempting to completing the puzzle they find—in true Indiana Jones fashion—the path is filled with traps. As Omega discovers another element to aide their puzzel solving, the lens within the compass, which reveals the pattern for the puzzle. As they make their way through to the next chamber, they are attacked by an alien, and in their brief blaster fight the cave they are in collapses. And in classic treasure hunter narrative, the group is separated, leaving Phee, Omega, and Hunter to proceed on the main path, while Wrecker, Tech, and Echo must follow through side tunnels.
As Hunter, Omega, and Phee face more puzzles, Hunter and Phee have some entertaining exchange while Omega figures out the next puzzle. This scene we get a classic Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade homage where Omega discovers the order in which they must step on blocks to cross the path, then tests the durability of the path by throwing a rock across the passage.
The separation was only brief as the group re-connects very quickly, they proceed into the chamber that holds THE HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN—which looks very similar to the elemental stones of the Fifth Element. Again, in classic Indiana Jones fashion, as soon as Phee removes the hearth from its cradle, chaos ensues (Raiders of the Lost Arc anyone?).
The mountain explodes, a beam is emitted into the sky, and a giant techno machine rises and begins on a destructive path emitting a surge of energy similar to the Death Star beam. By Tech’s logic, because the mecha-beast activates when the heart was removed, they must return it to its place in order to shut it down and escape the planet. We can see why now the planet was levelled; it is surely implied that this beast was the cause of the planet’s destruction. As this is happening, the alien creature returns to attack the group and the heart is knocked out of reach. Phee pursues the heart and is rescued by Hunter and we unfortunately see the demise of Phee’s droid Mel by the beam of the super weapon. As Tech replaces the heart in its cradle, it melts, and with it the mecha-weapon is destroyed, leaving the heroes empty handed, again, on a treasure hunt.
The episode ends with Phee attempting to lure the Batch into another hunt to find an ancient “chalice” while explaining that her trusty droid Mel’s memory is backed up on the ship so they can still chart the system.
Stand out Scenes
Star Wars with a hint of Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, and the Fifth Element
Throughout this episode it was like a search-and-find for popular sci-fi and fantasy elements brought together in one super fun episode! Here are some I found, what did I miss? Multiple Indiana Jones references throughout, The Mines of Moria – Lord of the Rings, Elemental Stones from The Fifth Element, Lens of Truth and Video game-esque puzzles – The Legend of Zelda.
Expanding the Star Wars Universe
As we find out more about Phee she explains that she explores previously uncharted star systems, having visited many over her adventures. This is an interesting addition to lore as the mapping of Star Wars planets and systems is a popular topic among fans and with each weak we seemingly get introduced to a new planet and star system, this leaves the door open for potentially endless new planets to discover AND centuries of history with these new star systems as well.
Popular Fan theories BUSTED
When the huge mechanized terror was briefly shown in the trailer, I know that many popular Star Wars analysts predicted that this was going to be some sort of Imperial attempt at cloning or reproducing the Zillo Beast that we saw terrorize Coruscant in The Clone Wars Animated Series. While this wasn’t the case, it is entertaining to see how close or how far off fan theories can be when making inferences about trailers!
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