It’s finally here. Bad Batch Season Three has arrived on Disney Plus for our viewing pleasure. It is also slated as the final season for the Batch; barring some live-action revival or a surprise fourth season, which is extremely unlikely, this may be the last we see of some characters. On the plus side, we will most likely get some Star Wars questions answered and some dots connected.
For fair warning- SPOILERS AHEAD – if you haven’t watched the first three episodes of the new season of Bad Batch, we’re about to ruin some things for you. Avoid thine eyes ….
You’re still here, aren’t you? OK, well, you were warned.
The tone has been set. This will be a much darker, more mature season of the Bad Batch. This season has a heavier tone between the storyline unfolding and the music by the amazing Kiner family. This reminds me of the start of Season Seven of The Clone Wars. You knew what was coming, and it wouldn’t be easy. However, we aren’t sure what’s coming with this show, but I am fairly certain it won’t be easy.
At the end of Season Two, we said goodbye to Tech (although I still maintain my “no body, no death” rule). This season, we will say goodbye to more. Will Wrecker, Hunter, or Crosshair survive this? It’s unlikely. And based on tone, the future of Omega is bleak as well. But we are also seeing Omega’s purpose starting to unfold.
One of the best things that Dave Filoni, or as I call him, the Holy Filoni (hallowed be thy name), does is connect the dots between Star Wars properties. He did that with Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian. He is doing it again with The Bad Batch. We didn’t see it as much in seasons one and two, but the Holy Filoni has also taught us that his writing and storytelling style is playing the long game. Early seasons definitely set up later seasons and other properties in these series run by him.
The Star Wars properties most needing connection are the Sequel Trilogy movies. These movies caused a lot of division in the fan base for many reasons, but we won’t get into many of those discussions during this article. But, much like the prequel era movies, these have valid points and deserve their spot in Star Wars canon. They tell a story in the galaxy far, far away and just need their rough edges smoothed out. So where and how does The Holy Filoni come into play here?
“Somehow, Palpatine returned.” This statement is the laziest piece of writing in Star Wars and possibly cinematic history, but it also left a gaping hole in the Star Wars story. We hadn’t even explained how one big bad arrived and came to be before we reintroduced Palpatine like he was a zombie in one of those Living Dead movies. Snokes unexplained two-part corpse was still warm when JJ Abrams was like – hey, here he is! This knotted-up thread needed to be unraveled, and it hasn’t really happened as of yet. Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams are to blame. Had these two sat down and fleshed out their stories together, made a roadmap, so to speak, this wouldn’t be an issue … but I digress.
So, how is this dot getting connected? In The Mandalorian season 3, we were introduced to Project Necromancer. We saw Moff Gideon pursuing cloning to make a better version of himself. In The Rise of Skywalker, Papa Palps asserts that he created Snoke. So, based on what we know, it’s most likely via cloning. In books and comics, we see the introduction of strand casting, which uses Palpatine’s genetic materials to create a version of himself.
The Bad Batch also mentions this project, Necromancer, and we see Papa Palps visit the base where Dr. Hemlock is keeping Omega, Crosshair, and other Clones. Here, Hemlock is testing and performing experiments with the assistance of Emerie Karr (another Female Clone) and Nala Se of Kamino. They perform daily blood draws on the Clones they have captured, including Omega. But Nala Se keeps destroying Omegas samples every day. She tells Omega that if her blood sample were ever recorded, she would be in danger. No other explanations are given to Omega.
In danger from what? What are they looking for?
The answers we are all seeking are starting to be realized a little more fully toward the end of episode three of this season. Crosshair and Omega escaped the heavily guarded facility, which was even more guarded due to the visit of the Emperor, thanks to the help of Nala Se. During their escape, Hemlock orders that their ship be shot down and they be destroyed until Emerie Karr interferes. Why?
In a previous scene, Nala Se is taken into custody by Hemlock after he realizes that she has helped them escape and turns her work over to Emerie Karr. Without Nala Se to keep Omega’s blood from being tested and destroyed, it goes through the machine just like everyone else’s and triggers an alert. That’s why Emerie Karr bursts into the room and tells Hemlock to stop shooting. She explained that Omega’s blood is special and that it is what they have been looking for. Emerie tells Hemlock, “The clone’s sample supported a positive M-Count transfer with no degradation from the specimen.” Hemlock immediately orders his fighters to stand down.
Why that scene is so important: This thread connects the dots between the prequel-era movies and shows, The Mandalorian, and the sequel-era movies. Two very important things have happened in this scene and episode.
This scene also tells us something else we haven’t known before. Omega is Force sensitive, at the very least. She may not become a Jedi, but she likely has some Force capabilities. It will be interesting to see how this part of the story plays out throughout the season. For the time being, Omega and Crosshair are on their way back to the Tech-less Bad Batch. I’m sure we will see them reunite with Hunter and Wrecker, not to mention the three cadets they met up with at Hemlocks’ previously deserted and destroyed facility.
On a parting note, the Holy Filoni is not known for his happy-go-lucky conclusions to stories. Be ready for heartbreak. If the Clone Wars and Rebels taught us anything in their final seasons, the Holy Filoni tells a good story, but he is gonna break your heart doing it. Keep the box of tissues handy; you might need them!
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