Shadows of Tantiss
Omega and Crosshair are free from captivity thanks to Nala Se. Unfortunately, the Empire now has the information they need to help continue the Emperor’s planned cloning exercise thanks to Omega’s blood sample. The two clones must now find a way to reconnect with the rest of the Bad Batch. And, it’s pretty clear that someone will recognize the importance of the Empire pulling back right before the pair managed to escape its clutches.
Action and Escape
Nala Se recognizes the danger Omega is in and does everything she can to help. The facility tests clone blood samples looking for one that won’t degrade to help move the new Empire cloning experiment along. Every clone’s blood sample has been showing degradation, however, Nala Se knows Omega’s sample won’t and once that’s learned she will be in greater danger from the Empire. Nala Se tells Omega what she must do, and Omega wings the rest of the plan taking Crosshair with her.
Winging an escape attempt is never a good idea, but Crosshair points out the lunacy once they learn the Emperor is at the facility while they are trying to leave. It sets up a crazy firefight where Crosshair shoots Omega’s “sister,” Emerie, so they can flee. Meanwhile, Hemlock is fed up with Omega and is willing to sacrifice her for her trouble. This changes when Emerie runs her blood sample and it’s exactly what Hemlock and the Emperor are looking for to advance Project Necromancer.
Hemlock calls off his attack squad allowing Omega and Crosshair to escape. He addresses the situation as a minor setback as he has the sample and now knows who he needs to keep alive to continue with the project.
Advancing the story
Star Wars experienced a large gap in storytelling during the Sequel Trilogy and many of the Disney Plus shows are working at filling in those gaps. While this is a common Star Wars storytelling trope, it’s usually due to a throwaway line that fans want to know more about (See the Clone Wars, the Bounty Hunter on Ord Mantell, and the Battle of Tanab). However, The Rise of Skywalker left fans wondering how Palpatine returned, other than “somehow.” The Mandalorian and now The Bad Batch are doing their part to advance their own stories while filling in those gaps.
Some fans need to accept that parts of the Star Wars universe they don’t like, like Rise of Skywalker, will not be erased from canon but anything set before it will try to explain it better. Still, it’s not up to the Bad Batch to only do that. This show, while strong at times, is hampered by its connections, both forced and organic, to Rise of Skywalker. That film, while admittedly a fun experience for me as a viewer, hangs like an albatross over any series or movie that attempts to explain too much about it. This series would’ve done better to only make a passing reference, like it did in season two, rather than go full bore into this storyline.
Summary
This series premiered with a lot of potential, but the first season felt very disjointed. In season two, the series found its stride and really felt like compelling storytelling. Season three, while not disjointed, doesn’t feel compelling through three episodes. It really feels like Dave Filoni and the other writers are working overtime to connect The Bad Batch to explain the flaws of Rise of Skywalker.
There’s still plenty left and Dave Filoni’s overall track record is encouraging. I’m hopeful this season improves now that Omega and Crosshair have escaped the Empire’s clutches for now. I still want to see more about what happens with Echo and Rex who have only been mentioned, so far. There’s a lot of good, but it’s being overshadowed by something only loosely related that takes place decades in the future.
Stream all episodes of The Bad Batch on Disney+.
Article by Jeremy Brown, Stelmach Brown Media2024
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