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 Fan Art: Uzuri Art

I haven’t done a fan art post for awhile, and figured it was about time. I’m really digging Uzuri Art right now, what a fantastic artist! Check her out on uzuriart.com.

Obi-Wan (in the red Mandalorian armor, no less) and Satine. I adore this one!

Omega. She has portraits of all the members of the Batch, based on the actor Temuera Morrison, as well as Rex.

And since I’m so in love the show Loki, I couldn’t resist this one, lol.

What do you think of this artist’s work? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Star Wars: The Bad Batch–Common Ground

Episode 10 of The Bad Batch, “Common Ground,” probably wasn’t as exciting as most fans would have liked, and didn’t have the same kind of stakes that the last couple of episodes had, but I still enjoyed it and thought it had some interesting themes going on.

The Bad Batch travel with a droid a droid in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. — The Batch with Senator Singh’s droid, GS-8.

The Batch are assigned a mission from Cid to save a former Separatist Senator from Raxus–the capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars–and it doesn’t quite sit right with them. Especially Hunter and Echo, and particularly in the latter case, we can understand why. Echo suffered at the hands of the Separatists and isn’t willing to so easily overlook that. But let’s face it, if anyone is going to writhe under the yoke of the Empire, it’s former Separatist systems. If they didn’t like the policies of the Republic, then they’re certainly not going to accept the Empire. I think the Batch are going to find that their former enemies will likely become potential allies, as I believe they’ll eventually fight the Empire rather than continue with mercenary work.

In fact, they may not have to, since Omega paid off their debt to Cid. The other storyline of the episode was Hunter once again leaving Omega behind, his reason being that Raxus would be crawling with Imperials. True, but I believe his fears are more based on his ability to protect her rather than on Omega’s ability to handle herself. She certainly proved that she can take care of herself in former episodes, but it was Hunter who was with her when Cad Bane took her. He blames himself. So guilt goads him to insist she stay with Cid this time.

Cid speaks with Omega at a dejarik table in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. — Omega’s got her game face on.

While there, Cid claims she’s useless, but during a holo chess match between Cid and a patron of the bar, Omega proves she has a talent for strategy. Cid uses it to her advantage, pitting Omega against a string of competitors, with Omega winning every time. When the Batch return, successful in their mission in extracting the Senator, Hunter is upset that Omega put herself in the limelight like that, and scolds her. Cid tells him to back off, since she just paid off their debt to her. Even Wrecker lets Hunter know he’s being unfair, with a deliberate shoulder bump. So Hunter tells Omega that if she wins a game against him, he’ll never leave her behind again.

We don’t see the end of the game, but we don’t have to. We know Omega will win, and thank goodness for it. I’ll always believe Omega will be better off with the Batch rather than left behind. And come on, the girl’s proven herself! But Hunter, as a new space dad, is just going through what every parent does: the instinctual need to protect. I don’t even like to let my 12 year old walk around the block by herself, so I get it, lol. But sometimes you just have to let go so they can grow.

And we learn more about Omega’s specialness: she’s a pure Jango Fett DNA carrier, yes, but she also has a talent for strategy. Kind of comes out of nowhere, but okay. And not much to do with the Force, really; I was hoping for a little Force sensitivity, but I can live without it, too.

Anyway, some may have thought this one was boring, but I thought it was a solid entry. Not great, but not terrible, either. Curious to see where the Batch will go from here!

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

Star Wars: The Bad Batch–Battle Scars

So it finally happened–we got Rex in The Bad Batch, and it made me so very happy!

It turns out it was Rex that Raffa Martez had been communicating with in the last episode (nice poncho, Rex), and so he knew where to find them. Wrecker and Omega come back to Cid’s place after having their post-mission snack, and Wrecker gives him a big hug–but then complains of his headache. Rex is instantly on guard, getting ready to draw his blaster. He can’t believe the Batch haven’t removed their inhibitor chips yet, and presses upon them how urgent and important it is to get them out.

He says he’ll help them, and they meet on Bracca–a junkyard planet, where some Jedi ships are being destroyed or repurposed. He brings them to the same kind of ship he and Ahsoka had been on, with a medical facility that she used to take out his chip.

Before they can get started, Wrecker’s chip finally wins out, and he attacks everyone. Not wanting him to wreck the med facility, they draw him out of the room and try to stop him, but he’s just too strong and incapacitates them all. Then he goes after Omega. At the last minute, Rex stuns Wrecker, and they bring him back to the med facility and take out his chip.

Wrecker is unconscious for awhile after the procedure, and Omega insists on sitting by his side until he wakes up, despite his attack on her. Again, she knows it wasn’t Wrecker’s fault, and wants to make sure her big brother is all right.

The rest of the crew get their chips out as well, and then Hunter and Rex have a conversation outside the ship. Rex is working with others who oppose the Empire (we’re not sure who he’s talking to on his comlink–Ahsoka? I’d love her to make an appearance here, too, but I’d be surprised if she did. I suppose she doesn’t have to be in everything, lol.) Rex suggests to Hunter that he and his crew join him–that there’s still something to fight for in the galaxy; but Hunter tells him he has to do what’s right for his squad, especially Omega. But I believe, eventually, Hunter will decide to ditch the meaningless jobs from Cid or anyone else, and fight the good fight. Rex understands, and then walks away into the mist. I really hope we see him again!

I love how Wrecker apologizes to Omega for his attack, even though it wasn’t his fault. He feels so terrible, my heart breaks, lol. I’m really starting to love this guy (and to think he was my least favorite of the bunch in Clone Wars). If someone asked me who my favorite Bad Batcher was right now, I couldn’t tell you. I love them all so much! I’ve always been a fan of the clones since watching Clone Wars, but these guys are special. I guess I’ve got a soft spot for those who are born differently (my daughter was born with spina bifida, so I’m always cheerleading the differently-abled).

Anyway, at the end of the episode, they’re spotted by the “Scrapper Guild,” who alert the Empire. I’m guessing next week they’ll have to confront Crosshair again. I’ve read in different places that the BB’s might be able to remove Crosshair’s chip at that same facility, but I feel like it’s too soon to save Crosshair, that they need to have a few encounters with him as the enemy before anything can be resolved. But I could be wrong; we’ll see what happens.

So this was a great episode, and we finally got Wrecker’s chip crisis solved. Once it was addressed, it seemed to be over quickly, with minimal emotional turmoil, and I’m kind of glad, to be honest. I couldn’t bear it if they lost Wrecker, especially for Omega’s sake, and for once, it was a happy ending here.

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

Star Wars: The Bad Batch–Cornered

In “Cornered,” the Bad Batch have to make a stop at Pantora for two things: for Tech to scramble their transponder so their ship won’t be recognized, and to sell some parts for credits so they can get some food. Sounds simple enough, right? Right.

Suu Lawquane warned them that children will find trouble without trying, and of course she was right. Omega finds it pretty quickly, running after a voorpack (a cute dog/cat-like creature that we first saw in Resistance–oh, didn’t watch it? What are you waiting for? Because Buggles is waiting for you!) who took her doll. She runs into Fennec Shand, who has been hired to find Omega. Omega is understandably naïve, and trusts Fennec at first, who promises to help her find her friends. But though she may be naïve, she’s not stupid, and once she sees Fennec’s blaster, she becomes wary. And once Fennec starts blasting at Hunter, she definitely goes on the offensive, trying to stop her.

I like how during the whole chase scene, both Hunter and Wrecker try to save her, but Omega is pretty good at saving herself, for the most part. She’s scared, but gets right to it, doing what she has to to get away. She’s a clone made from Jango’s DNA, after all, (we think; don’t quote me on that) and certainly not helpless. But she’s still a child, and Hunter finally sweeps her up on his speederbike.

I love the whole scene with Echo and the Gran shopkeeper. Like it or not, Echo does look a bit like a droid, especially in that outfit he had on; I thought it was great he argued for a higher price with Hunter. This whole bit has me hoping that they do more with Echo and his perceived place within the Batch; I’m guessing he still doesn’t feel like the others, whether “Regs” or the BB, and that he struggles with his new identity.

We didn’t hear anymore of Wrecker’s “headache” in this episode, but he did hit his head again when Fennec attacked him. I don’t think it’s just going to go away, that’s for sure. Instead, we have to wait in agonized suspense to see how it will play out, lol.

It’s funny, as Wrecker was easily my least favorite member of the BB when we first meet them in Clone Wars; I thought he was way too much of a stereotype and not very interesting. But he’s quickly become a fan favorite, as we’re getting to know him a little better in this series, and I have to admit, I love him, too. He’s a big lug with a big heart, a protective big brother to Omega, child-like and endearing, and I’m very nervous something bad is going to happen to him, lol.

So we knew we’d see Fennec Shand in this series, and it seems she’ll be a recurring character as she continues to pursue Omega. The most obvious guess as to who hired her is the Kaminoans, who want her back for their own purposes, but that answer seems too easy. So like everything else, we just have to be patient and wait for answers.

I’m continuing to love this show, and eagerly await next week’s episode. (Maybe we’ll see Rex next week?)

What did you think of “Cornered”?

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!

Star Wars The Bad Batch: Episode Two–Cut and Run

Welp, it looks like we’ve got another space dad on our hands, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

As soon as I knew the Bad Batch we’re going to visit Cut Lawquane, I had a feeling Hunter would try to leave Omega there. It’s the whole Mandalorian thing all over again, when Din Djarin wanted to leave Grogu with the pretty lady on the nice planet. The would-be father doesn’t believe he can–or should–take care of a child, so he wants to leave said child with another who has children. Problem is, the kid doesn’t want to leave, and in fact they and the child are meant to be together. Just as Din was the only person that could lead Grogu to his proper destiny, Hunter and his crew are the only ones who can lead Omega to her own special destiny. Both Din and Grogu are orphans; both the BB and Omega are modified clones. Makes sense for them to be together.

That’s the main idea of Episode Two, and I’m glad they got it out of the way early on. Other than that, it was fun to see Cut and his family again (I just loved how tender he was with Omega after the Nexu attack; I hope Hunter was taking notes, lol). Interesting that Rex had just been there, and that he, too, sought out the only clone deserter he knew. Clearly the BB will be running into Rex soon, and I can’t wait!

Initially I had questions about Cut and his chip and Order 66–if he ran into a Jedi, would he immediately want to kill them? But after reading a bit about it on some fan groups, it seems the answer is that Cut would need to hear the actual Order to initiate it, which he did not. So I guess any wayward Jedi is safe from him.

The idea of the chain codes was interesting. The only time I’d heard of it was in The Mandalorian, when Boba showed his chain code in his Mandalorian armor. I’m not sure if such a thing had ever been mentioned before, but I suppose it makes sense–kind of like a galactic social security number. The people of the galaxy–like the clones–are being reduced to a number, one that can be tracked. Sounds pretty Imperial to me.

I’m still wondering about Omega’s jewel piece–in the episode, during a sad moment on the ship, she takes the jewel off her head and doesn’t put it back on. I’m wondering if she’s simply missing the only home she’d ever known (although I loved her reaction to the planet’s dirt, lol) or if it’s something else. Burning questions!

The Bad Batch continue to endear themselves to me, and I’m looking forward to what’s going to happen next, where they’ll go, who they’ll meet, and what they find out about Omega and themselves on their journey.

Star Wars The Bad Batch: Episode One-Aftermath

When Disney+ announced that a new Star Wars animated series would be based on the Bad Batch, or Clone Force 99, from Clone Wars, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Like a lot of other people, I wasn’t particularly crazy about them, though I didn’t hate them, either. I was more like, meh. I could take them or leave them.

But I also knew that, given the chance to expand on the characters in their own show, Dave Filoni and crew would do a great job and I’d probably love it.

Well, my intuition was correct, and I just loved the first episode, “Aftermath.” I’m not going to do a plot synopsis, but just make a few remarks about what I thought.

One big question that was answered was: will their inhibitor chips work? Will they feel compelled to execute Order 66 or question it? Turns out, none of them were aware of the Order at all, proving that they’re chips did not work. All except Crosshair. Though his teammates didn’t know it, it was clear to us viewers that his chip was working at least a little with his “Good soldiers follow orders,” bit. Crosshair is my least favorite of the group, so I’m okay with him being the bad guy here and going over to the Empire (though in his defense, it was the chip, after all, and one that got ramped up by Tarkin’s orders). But the fact that one of them had a chip that worked and the rest didn’t makes for a more interesting story.

As far as the characters go, Wrecker, Tech, and Echo remain pretty much the same as we saw them in Clone Wars. But Hunter–who seemed the least interesting character in CW–turns out to be the one who gets more depth. Makes sense, since he has to make some tough moral decisions in the show, and I approve of every one of them.

Concerning Omega: again, I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to her. When I saw the trailers, I thought, oh, okay, a kid to appeal to the younger audience; but what surprised me is that I absolutely fell in love with her, lol. She’s just so darn adorable and sweet, following the BB around like an adoring puppy. What’s really interesting about her–aside from the fact that she’s a female clone–is that she seems Force-sensitive. A lot of fans have been floating that theory around, and I have to agree, that’s what it looks like. If so, that would be fascinating. Is it chance? Or something more–we know that Palpatine likes to tinker with the Force and cloning, but how early did he start? Hmmm….and that stone on her headpiece–is it just decorative, or does it mean something? Questions…

Anyway, I love that Hunter goes back to Kamino for her. He couldn’t save one child, Caleb Dume (more on him in a minute), but he can save Omega. I was a little surprised that the BB didn’t know at once that she was a clone; except Tech, and as he said, “I thought it was obvious.” Obvious to us, I guess; but they weren’t expecting anything like her. By the way, I thought it was interesting the way the clones on Kamino all looked the same again after Order 66. There’s no individuality, something the Jedi encouraged in them; but now they have no use for it. It saddens me. They seem to be meaner, too, the bullies, lol. But I really am curious to know what becomes of them in this new order, how they adapt, both the BB and the “Regs.”

So let’s talk about the appearance of Depa Billaba and Caleb Dume at the start of the episode. They’re on the planet Kaller, fighting against the Separatists when Order 66 comes through. From what I understand, this scene was already done in Canon in a comic; here, some details were changed but the main idea is basically the same.

Was it necessary that it be this particular Jedi and her Padawan in this scene? I don’t think so. They could have put any other Jedi in there, and it could have worked fine. I’ve heard some fans of the comic complaining that they’re changing something that was already Canon, and what was the point? It’s just “fan service.”

On the one hand, I get it. It was unnecessary. It most certainly was fan service. On the other hand, am I upset about it? Not really. Aren’t the creators of the show doing their job with “fan service”? Showing something the fans love to see? I, for one, thought it was kind of cool to see Depa and Caleb (I haven’t read the comics, you see, and I’m betting plenty of other fans haven’t, either), even though we already know what happened to the Padawan who becomes Kanan Jarrus in Rebels. At any rate, I don’t feel strongly about it one way or another. It was neat (if heartbreaking). Let’s move on.

Everything about the episode is great, from the stunning visuals to the score to the fact that we can just jump right into the story without having to learn about who the characters are and where we are in the timeline, etc. It’s a great ride from beginning to end.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where this show is going to go, and from the track record of both Clone Wars and Rebels, I’m guessing it’s going to be spectacular.

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