After last week’s penultimate episode, we’ve finally reached the end of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. The series’ final story arc has left a lot of ground to cover (even in a double-sized episode), but the tale of our crew busting into the Mount Tantiss Mad Science Facility to rescue Omega can still reach a satisfying conclusion.
As always, the recap portion of this review will contain plenty of spoilers along with some brief explorations of Star Wars lore. The order of events has also been streamlined a bit for the sake of clarity.
Beastly Distraction
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
The episode opens with the Tantiss Base on lockdown due to the Bad Batch’s recent shenanigans. Hemlock also gets to have a meeting with Rampart, who’s just as arrogant as ever. That being said, his hubris is no match for the sinister confidence of the Empire’s top evil doctor/scientist.
Meanwhile, Karr finally reaches her ethical breaking point and decides to help Echo find Omega. Their job is made exponentially easier when Omega and her Force-sensitive friends unleash the base’s Zillow Beast, which begins wreaking havoc.
Back outside, Hunter and Crosshair become concerned that Wrecker’s injuries from their run-in with a dryax are worse than they initially appeared. Wrecker brushes off their concerns and insists on remaining with the team to rescue Omega. Crosshair then attempts to turbocharge his redemption arc by deciding to infiltrate the base on his own, but his teammates refuse to abandon him. When the Zillow Beast comes lumbering outside like a boss, the trio uses its path of destruction as the perfect cover to sneak in.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
Back inside the base, Hemlock unleashes a team of clone assassins that will sadly never be made into action figures by Hasbro. They are also led by CX-2, who it must be noted is NOT a brainwashed/resurrected Tech.
The Bad Batch engage in a battle with the brainwashed clones, which is all types of awesome. Unfortunately, they’re defeated, captured, and brought to Hemlock, who vows to turn them into mindless killing machines, as well. Hemlock’s plan is interrupted by a call from his boss (Governor Tarkin), who is none too pleased about all the Zillow Beast tomfoolery — especially at a base/operation with information he isn’t privy to. Tarkin announces he’ll be arriving at the base soon to do some middle manager-style intimidation.
Meanwhile, Omega and Karr free the other clones along with Rampart and Nala Se. When Omega decides to stay behind to rescue the rest of her team, the rogue clones vow to remain and help, as well. Nala Se joins in on the heroics and heads back to the main lab to make sure her research doesn’t stay with the Empire. Rampart follows her and forces the Kaminoan scientist at gunpoint to reveal all of Project Necromancer’s secrets.
We don’t get to see what he saw/read, but we all get the basic idea by now. Rampart proceeds to explain how this new knowledge will make him indispensable to the Empire. Nala Se responds by activating a detonator she took from a dead trooper and blowing them both up along with all her research.
*Side Note: I’ve never thought of Kaminoans as stone-cold badasses, but that was awesome.
A Long Time Coming
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
The rogue clones attack the part of the facility where the clone assassins are kept while Omega uses the distraction to enter the room where her now unconscious teammates are. She nearly pulls it off until a sentry spots and captures her.
Hemlock walks in and unleashes a gas on the level below that knocks out the rest of the rogue clones. Echo is able to remain upright thanks to the TK stormtrooper armor he stole, but is eventually subdued. Hemlock then proceeds to smugly point out that Omega’s efforts have failed. Karma rewards him almost immediately when Scorch runs in to announce that the main lab just blew up.
Hemlock tries to save face by pointing out that he still has Omega, who is the key component to Project Necromancer’s success. Omega counters that she still has her brothers. This perfectly timed comeback is followed by Wrecker waking up and breaking free of his restraints. He proceeds to cause enough destruction that the gas in the room below disperses and the restraints holding Hunter and Crosshair malfunction. Before the pair can fully wake up, Hemlock captures Omega and tells the clone assassins to handle the intruders while he and Scorch escape.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
Following a fantastic fight sequence, Hunter and Crosshair go outside and shoot down the ship that Hemlock summoned to pick him up. The pair also gun down Scorch, which feels really weird for those of us who were big Delta Squad fans back in the day.
Hemlock attempts to use Omega as a hostage, but an awesome moment between her and Crosshair results in the mad scientist getting shot and killed. The trio then links back up with their friends, gets in another shuttle, and makes it off the base moments before Tarkin arrives.
Upon seeing the failure of the secret project, the Imperial commander declares that all funds being used for Tantiss shall now be redirected to Project Stardust.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
The Bad Batch, rogue clones, Karr, and kidnapped children all return to Pabu. Echo endeavors to help some of the clones settle down on Pantora, which is represented by clone-friendly senator Riyo Chuchi. Karr gladly accepts when he invites her to accompany them.
Meanwhile, Hunter and Omega reflect on how nice it is to feel safe now that the Empire’s research has been destroyed (and completely overlook how the Empire found them on Pabu before). Hunter also assures Omega that he and Rex will work on getting the children reunited with their families. When she asks where the clones who don’t leave with Echo will go, he replies that they’re finally free to choose their own path.
In a flash-forward epilogue, we see Omega returning to Pabu to get her ship and join the Rebellion. She tells Hunter to watch after Crosshair and Wrecker before giving Tech’s goggles a pat on the ship’s dashboard and flying away.
The Verdict
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)
From a purely narrative standpoint, ‘The Cavalry Has Arrived’ was fantastic. In addition to the brilliant fight sequences, we got extremely satisfying conclusions for some of the series’ best story/character arcs:
- Omega showed how amazingly tough and capable she’s become since the Bad Batch first found her.
- Crosshair was able to overcome his PTSD by trusting Omega, who guided him through a torrid emotional journey this season.
- Nala Se made the ultimate sacrifice to hurt the Empire that took everything away from her.
- Rampart and Hemlock finally got what was coming to them.
That said, the implication that Omega and her family will now get to live peaceful lives on Pabu doesn’t make sense. If the Empire found them once before, they surely will again.
Additionally, this whole thing with amazing retconned characters from the Clone Wars/Pre-Original Trilogy surviving past Return of the Jedi is becoming absurd. Don’t get me wrong — I was all types of glad to learn Ahsoka and Rex were still around. I can also accept that the surviving crew from Rebels participated in the Rebellion. But we’re now getting to the point where this out-of-sight-out-of-mind shelving is hard to rationalize.
Maybe we’ll get a new series featuring Echo and all those freed clones. If we do, it’ll likely have him visiting the Bad Batch and getting their help again. Would it be cool to hear the Kiner’s musical theme for the team as they jump back into battle? Absolutely. But there’s also nothing wrong with giving them a heroic end/death like Tech got. Heck, it’s one of the reasons the ending to Rogue One was so good.
There were plenty of other plot threads dangling about (the return/resurrection of Ventress, where Cody went, how Wolffe, and Gregor met up with Rex, how Project Necromancer continues, etc.), but let’s just assume those stories will get told in another form of media. For now, we have a great season finale pretending to be the end of a series. It might not be conventional, but the Bad Batch never were big fitting into boxes.
Hopefully they don’t stay shelved for too long until we see them again.
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