The Bad Batch Season Premiere Thoughts (Eps 1-3)

Season 3 of the Bad Batch is finally here and I’m so excited!

As you may know, Disney+ dropped the first three episodes together: “Confined,” “Paths Unknown,” and “Shadows of Tantiss.” I’m just going to briefly go over the plot of each and give my thoughts. This one will be a bit longer than usual since there are three episodes to discuss.

So just to be clear: SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It actually starts with a recap of Season 2 and the very first thing we hear is Tech’s words: “When have we ever followed orders?” Yeah, okay, thanks for that, I can see how this is gonna go already, lol. Heartbroken jokes aside, I think it signifies that Tech’s absence will no doubt haunt the entirety of Season 3 (whether or not he “comes back” has been hotly debated since the S2 finale, and though I have thoughts on that, I’m just going to wait and see).

Anyway, “Confined” begins on Tantiss with where Omega and Crosshair are at physically and emotionally. Omega is in a Groundhog’s Day type of existence, helping Emerie everyday with her lab chores, as well as feeding the lurkhounds in their kennels. Emerie tells her she’s not a prisoner, but this just shows how blind she is to her own servitude. It will be interesting to see how Emerie develops over the course of the season. Emerie takes Omega’s blood for testing every day, along with all the other clones, but Nala Se secretly disposes of it. Questions that began in S1 pop up again about Omega and what’s so special about her, questions that have been nagging me all along. But more on that later. She helps and befriends one of the lurkhounds, which she names Batcher, an obvious metaphor for the Batch themselves. Batcher is different and the Imperials conclude she’s useless and slates her for termination; the same could be said of all clones, not just Clone Force 99. You just know that Batcher is going to be important somehow later on.

Crosshair, meanwhile, is quite defeated, slumping along with the other clones, laying morosely on his cot in his cell. He’s totally given up, and he doesn’t care. Omega sneaks down to his cell when she can and talks of escape; he tells her not to bother with him, not to waste her time on “lost causes” like the lurkhound and himself. He tells her he belongs there, obviously punishing himself for all the things he did while with the Empire. Omega tells him that none of them belong there. She’s not going to give up, on escape or on him. It’s not clear if Omega told him about Tech’s death, but I’m going to assume she did until I learn otherwise. If so, maybe he partly blames himself. After all, they were trying to find him (at Tech’s urging), and their plan to get intel on his whereabouts caused Tech’s death (as well Saw Gerrera’s not-very-well-thought-out attack on Eriadu. In fact, I totally blame him. But I digress.)

“Paths Unknown” shifts to Hunter and Wrecker, the only two of the Batch still together, as Echo is off with Rex somewhere. They get some intel on an Imperial lab from Isa Durand and her son, Roland, who we met in S1 when he took over Cid’s parlor. I actually kind of like Roland, lol. His mother, on the other hand, is an icicle.

Echo and Rex can’t meet up with them for two more days and Hunter decides to go without them. Surprisingly, it’s Wrecker who is the voice of reason: he says the last time they infiltrated an Imperial base, not all of them came back. Hunter won’t wait, which further shows his desperation to find Omega. The fact that they messed with the Pykes for the Durand intel shows how far Hunter is willing to go.

So off they go to find this lab, but unfortunately, the intel is outdated: the lab was destroyed by orbital bombardment. They meet up with some young clones who escaped the lab and have been living in the jungle on their own. They surmise Hunter and Wrecker are “99s, defective.” Wrecker’s response, “Defective AND effective!” is perfect, and obvious t-shirt material. Anyway, the young clones explain that the Imperials destroyed the facility when they lost control of one of their experiments, which they face soon after–slithervines that have overrun the lab. They bring them to Mox, a slightly older cadet, who is impressed by their loyalty to Omega, but won’t help them because it’s too dangerous. Deet, one of the younger ones, wants to help, however, and he leads them to the lab. There’s a control panel there that might have some intel that could point the way to where they might have gone. They bring Gonky along for power, and get some intel, but are attacked by an even bigger vine-monster. The other two boys decide to help (after thinking about stealing the Marauder and leaving) and get them out. The intel only gives them a sector to search but it’s better than nothing. Hunter tells the young clones they’ll drop them off on Pabu where they can decide who and what they want to be.

“Shadows of Tantiss” goes back to Omega and Crosshair on Tantiss. Turns out that the Emperor is making a visit to the facility to check on Hemlock’s progress with “Project Necromancer.” Hemlock wants Nala Se to be with him, so she can’t dispose of Omega’s blood like before. She warns Omega that she must leave; she tells her to take her datapad and find a shuttle to get off the planet. Omega won’t leave without Crosshair, however; she runs down to his cell and convinces him to distract the guards, which he does. She brings them down to the kennels to escape through Batcher’s empty tunnel to the outside; she plans on finding the shuttle that had crashed in the first episode and using the communications system to contact Hunter and Wrecker. Emerie finds them first, however, and calls for backup before Crosshair stuns her. The flee into the wilderness with lurkhounds and Imperials following. The communications system in the downed ship doesn’t work and Omega begins to despair. But Crosshair tells her they’re not done yet and they execute Order 72, which apparently means split up and surprise the enemy from two sides. Batcher helps out and they commandeer the Imperials’ shuttle.

They’re pursued by fighters and probably wouldn’t have gotten away except for one thing: Omega’s blood count shows that she’s a match for what they’re looking for– a high M (midichlorian)-count with no degradation. This is what they’re looking for in Project Necromancer, which I presume is how the Emperor is trying to achieve immortality–transferring his essence into a Force-sensitive clone of himself, which tracks with what we’ve seen in the Mandalorian and the Sequel Trilogy.

Anyway, Emerie makes the discovery and tells Hemlock to break off pursuit, since they’ll need Omega alive. Omega and Crosshair jump into hyperspace and get away. Hemlock calls it a “minor setback,” as he has all the resources of the Empire behind him.

There’s SO much I loved about these opening episodes, especially the dynamic between Omega and Crosshair. Crosshair’s got a long way to go, but I’m glad to see he’s still got some spark left in him, and that he’s softening toward Omega. Just a little bit.

I’m also gratified to learn about Omega’s high M-count. It doesn’t mean that she’s Force-sensitive, I guess, but maybe she has a strong potential if taught. Certainly more so than Sabine. If Sabine can learn, who presumably has a very low M-count, then Omega has huge potential. I flirted with the idea of Omega being Force-sensitive early on during the first season; I even made a post about it outlining my “evidence.” But then nothing came of it and I gave up on the idea. So I’m loving this interesting turn of events and I’m eager to see where it all leads.

A very satisfying opener for Season 3, and I can’t wait for the next episode!

Oh, and side note: we get a very brief glimpse of the assassin that’s in the trailer, the one similar to the clone assassin in S2 that went after Senator Chuchi. Of course, there’s been a lot of speculation about who this might be: Cody? (I don’t think so). Rampart? (Maybe? But again, I don’t think so). Tech? (Gahh!!!) It could very well be no one special, just another clone, but I have a feeling it’s someone we know, or they wouldn’t have (briefly) called attention to him right now. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see on that, too.

Oh, side note #2: Crosshair’s tremor. This is an interesting development. Not surprising, considering the trauma he’s been through, but it will definitely affect his sharpshooting skills. He’ll have to reconsider his future, what he may want to do or be going forward, like the rest of the Batch has had to do this whole time. A tall order for a man who followed the Empire, in part, because he didn’t know what else he could be besides a soldier. Anyway, no more side notes or I’ll go on forever, lol.

What did you think of these episodes? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

The Bad Batch Fan Art

In anticipation of Season Three of The Bad Batch premiering February 21st, I thought I’d get us hyped up with a few BB posts leading up to it. (All right, I’m already hyped up, lol). A good fan art post is always fun.

Here’s a Tech piece that’s new to me. I don’t think his goggles ever glow like that, but it’s cool!

Howzer of the fabulous hair.

I think this one of Crosshair is really interesting. Who does Crosshair see when he looks in the mirror? Looks like he shot the mirror, so maybe that’s your answer, lol.

I like this one of Fennec Shand; the coloring matches a part of her helmet.

Another imagining of grown-up Omega.

This black and white of Hunter is intense.

What do you think of these images? Who do you hope to see in Season 3? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Why I Think Omega is Force-Sensitive

Star Wars: The Bad Batch' - Who Is Omega? - Inside the Magic

I was going to wait on the Bad Batch rewatch until just before Season Two premieres next year, but after I finished Clone Wars I just naturally segued into it.

The first time around, I really wanted Omega to be Force-sensitive, but despite some clues, it didn’t seem to be going that way, so I let the thought go. Not everyone has to be Force-sensitive, right?

But now with this rewatch, I’m picking up on those clues again, and I just can’t let go of the idea that it will be discovered she’s Force-sensitive. Here’s my reasoning:

Several times during battles or crises, Omega comes through and succeeds and states, “Guess I just got lucky.” Well, okay, maybe. But the fact that she says this not once, but a few times makes me think otherwise. (And Obi-Wan always said, there’s no such thing as luck). And yes, it may be part of her “enhancement,” but just what is her enhancement? Hmmm…Force sensitivity, maybe?
When the squad visits Cut on Saleucamai, he tells Hunter that all of Clone Force 99’s defects were for a purpose. So what is Omega’s defect, and its purpose? With the others, it’s obvious what their skills are, but with Omega, it’s a mystery. Perhaps it will manifest more obviously with age, but it just seems strange that not even Omega knows what her enhancement is. It seems hush-hush, which suggests something amazing–like a Force-sensitive clone.
When Omega picks up the Zygerrian weapon, she’s not immediately good at it, which is natural. Like everyone, she needs to practice. Echo tells her she needs to ignore distractions, which is also true for everyone. But later, during the heat of battle with some droids, she hits her mark every single time. She manages to ignore all the distractions, which includes fear. Sounds very Jedi-like to me…

When they meet Cid, Omega is the only one who figures out that the first person they meet there is Cid. Almost immediately. Precociously perceptive? Yes. From the Force? Maybe.
We know from The Mandalorian that cloners in the post-Rebellion era were tinkering with making clones that were Force-sensitive. They’re not Kaminoans, but maybe they were inspired by the Kaminoan’s work, including any secret Force-sensitive cloning. In fact, in The Mandalorian, Dr. Pershing, the cloning scientist, wears an emblem on his uniform that is reminiscent of a Kaminoan symbol the clones wore in AOTC. And at the end of S1 of The Bad Batch, the Empire has taken Nala Se, the Kaminoan scientist who tinkered with Omega and the Batch, to their own cloning facility. I know all of this is for cloning Palpatine, but it just seems to suggest that Omega may have been the prototype. Nala Se did have access to Jedi on Kamino, after all.

Dr. Pershing stands against a medical table cowering from The Mandalorian — Dr. Pershing’s emblem…

Several identical looking children, clones, sit at computers in Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones — And the emblem on the clones in AOTC. Hmmm…..

None of this is solid proof that Omega is Force-sensitive, of course. And even if she is, she may not have the powers of a Jedi, like telekinesis. She could be more like Chirrut Imwe, from Rogue One: aware of the Force and able to take advantage of that, but unable to manipulate it.

Or I could be completely wrong, lol. I could be reading into things to see what I want to see. Because I would LOVE Omega to be Force-sensitive. Only time will tell, and I can’t wait for Season Two!

What do you think? Do you think Omega is Force-sensitive? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch–Rampage

In episode four, “Rampage,” the Bad Batch travel to Ord Mantell, where Echo knows of a Jedi informant that may be able to help them find out who is after Omega and why.

Once they get there, Echo admits he’s never met “Cid” and Tech, without a hint of irony, replies that it would have been nice to know that beforehand. Turns out Omega is the only one who figures out who Cid is (a female Trandoshan); is it the Force? Or just heightened instincts? The guessing game with Omega continues.

Cid says she can get them info on the bounty hunter they ran into, but only if they do a job for her (more Mandalorian echoes, but I don’t mind). She wants them to find a “kid” named Muchi who’s been kidnapped and is being held on the other side of the planet. If they bring the kid back to her, she’ll give them part of the bounty, and the info they’re looking for.

The Batch find a group of people being held by the slaver Zygerrians, and believe they found the kid. But they get captured; Omega, who had been sent back to the ship, flees some Zygerrians nosing around, and tries to help them escape. She frees a creature that turns out to be a baby rancor as a distraction. It also turns out that the beast is Muchi.

The rancor is an effective distraction, and Tech, Echo and Omega try to lead the captured people back to the ship, while Hunter and Wrecker fight off the Zygerrians and try to capture Muchi. Since the creature will submit to a strength hierarchy, Wrecker battles her until they’re both exhausted.

Once back at Cid’s, Bib Fortuna arrives and collects Muchi for Jabba the Hutt. Cid tells them that the bounty hunter that attacked them is Fennec Shand, but couldn’t find out who she’s working for. She gives them their portion of the bounty, and then offers Hunter (who she called “dark and broody”) some future jobs. Hunter replies that he’ll think about it, but Cid subtly threatens him, saying that they must be important if they’re being pursued by bounty hunters. The subtext being that she could haul them in herself if Hunter doesn’t do what she asks.

I thought this was a fun episode. Some people think that Muchi is the rancor that Luke fought and killed in Return of the Jedi, and while that’s understandable, she’s actually not–in the Aftermath book, we find out that Luke’s rancor opponent was a male named Pateesa. But if people who haven’t read the book want to think Muchi is the one from ROTS, it’s not a big deal, either. It’s just us book nerds who know the difference, lol.

I like how Omega came to the rescue and showed her strengths. I also love the big brother/little sister relationship between her and Wrecker–he high-fived her when Cid said that she was smarter than any of them. Of course, Wrecker had another headache in this episode, and it doesn’t bode well–I’m steeling myself for tragedy. I’m really hoping that it all works out in the end. (Please let it all work out in the end!)

The Batch are beginning to understand that not only do they have to sell their services to survive in this new world, but that they may be asked to do some–questionable–things. This time it wasn’t so bad, just retrieving a baby rancor, but it was for Jabba the Hutt, a known criminal. And if they work for Cid again (and they probably will, considering her threat), who knows what she might ask them to do in the future. They’ll have to decide how far they’re willing to go, for credits and survival.

It’s also interesting to consider that the Jedi used the disreputable Cid as an informant, showing how desperate they’d become during the Clone Wars, and how they had resorted to going against their principles. Definite cracks in the armor.

I just want to point out that I loved the laser bow that Omega picked up during the battle, and can’t wait to see her use it.

And as I watched and listened to Cid speak, I thought, I know that voice. Who is it? I couldn’t figure it out and had to wait for the end credits to find out it was Rhea Perlman. Oh yeah, of course! What do you know?

Anyway, a fun episode with some interesting implications.

What did you think of “Rampage”? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch–Replacements

The Bad Batch Spoilers Ahead!

The title of the third episode of The Bad Batch–“Replacements”–refers to several different things: the ship the crew are travelling on, the Havoc Marauder, crash land on a planet and need a replacement part; Omega is proving to be one of the crew and, in essence, she is replacing Crosshair as the fifth member; and finally, the Clones are slowly being replaced by enlisted soldiers in the Empire’s armed forces, in a project called War Mantle.

There’s a lot going on in this episode. Hunter and Omega go after the moon dragon that took their capacitator; Hunter gets knocked unconscious, and Omega decides to go after the part alone, down into the dragon’s lair. She finds it, but the beast gets vicious. I don’t know about you, but to me she seems to calm the dragon down (perhaps with the Force?) before throwing the flashlight so it will go after that instead (it feeds off the electrical power). She tells Hunter that she “tricked” it, and indeed she did. But how? Did she use the Force, perhaps even unknowingly? Maybe. Omega is still an enigma, and probably will be for some time.

Meanwhile, Echo is working on repairs to the ship, and Tech is working on something that will give them more information on the chip inside their heads. Which is a good thing, because Wrecker suddenly has a bad headache, right where the chip would be. He hit his head in the crash, and maybe it’s done something to the chip–I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this. Like Wrecker is gonna go Crosshair real soon, which is even more heartbreaking than it was with Crosshair. Crosshair was naturally stand-offish, but Wrecker is just a big kid, with a big heart–while confined to the ship, he makes Omega a little room of her own, and gives her his tooka doll (the fact that a big, tough man like that had a tooka doll in the first place speaks volumes about him).

Crosshair, meanwhile, has been put in command of some non-clone soldiers and given the same mission the Bad Batch had failed: take out Saw Gerrera’s insurgent group on Onderan. One man gave Crosshair some lip on the way to the planet, mocking his clone status; but he was the first to refuse the orders to kill the people in the group. Crosshair kills the soldier, and when the other soldiers hesitate, he turns and kills Saw’s group himself (Saw wasn’t even there). “Good soldiers follow orders,” he says. Chilling. And a taste of the Empire’s war crimes to come. Back on Kamino, however, Crosshair sits on his bunk after the mission, as if regretting what he did. Or at least questioning his own actions. As Omega told Hunter, it’s not his fault, it’s the chip. And she tells Hunter that maybe because of that, they can get him back. I really hope so, because it’s heartbreaking to witness Crosshair’s manipulation. I’m hoping Tech’s contraption will have a role in bringing him back.

We’ve been introduced to General Rampart, who is in charge of transitioning from clone soldiers to a volunteer military force (Project War Mantle, first heard about in Rogue One, when Jyn was naming off various projects while looking for what turned out to be Stardust). This force will be trained by clones, and then they’ll be transitioned out completely. The Kaminoans, of course, are alarmed by this development, as their entire business is dependent on the government needing–and paying for–their clones. Lama Su and Nala Se talk about creating an even more enhanced clone, with abilities that would make the Empire want them. I’m guessing they mean the enhancements that the Bad Batch have, and they say that they already have one to use–Crosshair–but I’m also suspicious that they may want Omega, too, for her mysterious powers. So they’ll be hunted for even more reasons, is my guess.

So there’s a lot to chew on in this 25-minute episode, and I can’t wait to see where it all leads!

What did you think of “Replacements”? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!

My Star Wars Weekend Update

Hello fellow Star Wars fans and happy weekend!

May the 4th is only a few days away, and with it is the premiere of The Bad Batch. I’m looking forward to it, and in preparation I’ve been re-watching Season 7 of The Clone Wars. As of today, I’m only halfway through, but will get the other half in by the time the show starts on Tuesday. The two arcs I’ve watched are the initial episodes with the Bad Batch, and Ahsoka’s time with the Cortez sisters.

The Bad Batch arc is pretty entertaining, as we get introduced to these very different sorts of Clones. Clone Force 99, as they’re called (after the Clone named 99, whose mutation was rapidly accelerated aging, and who became a fond fan favorite) are kind of fun to watch, even though I’ve always thought they’re a bit cliched. Oh well. In the arc, the BB, along with Captain Rex and Anakin, are on a mission to find out how the Separatists are predicting their every military move; Rex believes that they’re getting the information from Echo, a Clone who presumably died in an earlier episode, and who Rex left for dead. Turns out Rex is right, and they’re using Echo’s mind and memories for their “algorithms.” Echo is left mutilated and haunted by his experience, and ends up joining the Bad Batch, as he’s no longer like his other clone brothers. I think Echo is going to be my favorite BB member, if only because he’s quite unique and a touch more vulnerable than the others.

The arc with Ahsoka and the Cortez sisters is fine, it’s great seeing Ahsoka again, but I feel the arc went on way too long. I like Trace and Raffa and what Ahsoka learns from them (namely that not everybody thinks the Jedi are all that), as well as the fact that Maul is involved in the criminal underworld, but 3 episodes with these ladies? I feel it could have been tightened up a bit. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the season, which is really where the meat of the whole thing is.

Anyway, I’ve set up my corner of the bedroom with a desk and got my microphone unpacked, but now I’m waiting for a new computer I ordered, which should be in today. It’s a Dell Inspiron, and though I’m no expert on computers, it seems like it’s a decent laptop. At any rate, I’ve never paid this much for a computer before, lol. My needs are simple–internet and podcasting–but I want it to be a good investment. Anyone have any opinions on Dell computers? I had one a long time ago, one of the very first computers I ever owned, and I seem to remember liking it. It was a bulky desktop computer; I’ll never go back to those, lol. Once I get the new one up and running, it’s time to start podcasting!

I’ve pretty much set aside the fan fiction right now, at least for the past week, since I’ve been focused on the blog, setting up the podcast, and rewatching the Clone Wars. But I do intend to finish it. I’m about two-thirds done with the first draft, and I do like the story. It’ll have to wait a bit, though.

I would like to mention that at work today (I work in a grocery store) I saw a woman dressed up as Princess Leia. She had the long, flowing white dress and the cinnamon bun hairdo, and she looked great! Apparently she was going to a Star Wars-themed 40th birthday party. I love that grown-ups can have Star Wars birthday fun, too, lol.

My non-Star Wars indulgence this week was going to see The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings being my other favorite fandom, though Star Wars has been with me a lot longer) at my local movie theater. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I last saw it on the big screen. How can that be?! I was so thrilled our theater brought back all three films in honor of the Oscars (Return of the King won a slew of them, including Best Picture), but I could only make the time to see Fellowship. For all the epic scope of RoTK and its brilliance, Fellowship is probably my favorite. It was a really happy two and a half hours spent that evening, and what made it even better was that I was the only one in the theater! It was like my own private showing of the film.

Have a great weekend and see you around the blogosphere!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Release Date

Yesterday Starwars.com announced that The Bad Batch will be premiering on Disney+ on Tuesday May 4, 2021 (Star Wars Day), and its second episode will air on Friday May 7th. A new episode will subsequently air every Friday thereafter.

I’m fairly excited, as this is the first of the many new Star Wars series we’ll be getting in the next few years, and any new Star Wars is exciting. I will admit that when the Bad Batch, as they call themselves, showed up in the last season of Clone Wars, I wasn’t crazy about them. I didn’t hate them, I just thought the characters were a bit cliched. (Every time I see Hunter, I see Rambo, lol). I do find all the clones fascinating, though, so a new twist on them isn’t a bad thing (no pun intended).

Anyway, the Bad Batch (officially called Clone Force 99) are a group of clones that didn’t quite come out of their pods the same as their identical brothers, so they don’t fit in. They look a bit different, and have different natural skills. They are Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and the later addition of Echo. The show will take place immediately following the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. It will be interesting to see how these clones (and all clones, actually) deal with the aftermath of Order 66, and how they fit into the new order, if at all.

I’m confident that this show will contain the same level of excellence that was evident in the last few seasons of Clone Wars. I’ll definitely be grabbing my popcorn and tuning in on May 4th, and will be posting my thoughts on each episode. Can’t wait!

Are you looking forward to The Bad Batch? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll talk about it!