Television

‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ season 3 episode 12 ‘Juggernaut’ recap/review

An action-packed episode also sets us up for one heck of a reunion as the series finale edges closer.

April 12, 2024

Last week’s episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch concluded with Omega being taken back to the Tantiss Mad Science Facility. This week, we get to see how she’s getting along with Dr. Royce Hemlock while the Bad Batch make a desperate move to facilitate a rescue.

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.

New Lead, Old Foe

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)

Turns out that my theory about Hunter and Batcher sneaking aboard CX-2‘s ship was laughably wrong. The pair emerge from the water on Pabu and link up with Crosshair and Wrecker in the mayor’s house. Wrecker is feeling better, but he’s understandably upset about Omega being recaptured by the Empire — especially now that their ship is gone and they still have no idea where the Tantiss facility even is.

Crosshair then reveals that their old friend Vice-Admiral Rampart may know. When questioned why he didn’t mention something about this before, Crosshair admits that the thought of going back to Tantiss horrifies him. He also rightfully points out that Rampart can’t be trusted. At this point, though, he’s their only option.

The conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Phee and AZI. Phee says she’s been briefed on everything that went down before getting into a pissing contest with Crosshair. The group then decides to head to the Imperial labor camp on Erebus where Rampart is being held and spring him.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)

They initially infiltrate the planet via Phee doing some truly badass flying. After she drops everyone off, the Bad Batch access a terminal to check Rampart’s location. Upon learning that he’s on a turbo tank, they find and hijack it. Rampart immediately recognizes Crosshair, who isn’t thrilled to see his former supervisor. The former Imperial officer also refuses to tell them the coordinates for the Tantiss base unless they help him escape the planet.

Before heading back to the rendezvous point, Wrecker decides to let the other prisoners on the tank go. This alerts the Imperials that something’s up, which results in them rerouting another tank to intercept while also sending out a pair of gunships. Following an incredible chase sequence, the group is saved when Phee swoops in to pick them up.

Rampart attempted to grab a weapon during all this, but was stunned by Crosshair. When he wakes up on Phee’s ship, the disgraced officer says that he actually doesn’t know the coordinates to Tantiss, but he knows how to get them. He also pledges to follow through since they’re all on the run from the Empire now.

Reluctant Return

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)

Back on Tantiss, Hemlock takes Omega to Nala Se‘s old lab, which is now being run by Emerie Karr. Karr is relieved to see that Omega is still alive, but that doesn’t stop her from following Hemlock’s orders and taking a blood sample.

Later, after Omega’s M-Count is confirmed, he takes Omega on a trip to the secret vault where all the other kidnapped Force-senstive children are kept. After explaining how important she is to their project (i.e. Project Necromancer), Hemlock explains that this will be Omega’s new home before locking the door behind her.

The Verdict

Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Disney+)

I’m still not sure how I feel about Rampart being dragged back into the series, but him being tied to finding Omega (and potentially getting revenge on the Empire) is a plotline that could have some serious juice.

Speaking of juice, Phee was killing it this episode. I’ve never been a huge fan of the character, but her flight scenes stood out in an episode filled with incredible action sequences. That being said, she also shined in the exchange with Crosshair — particularly when she brought up Tech. I’ve never bought the chemistry between those two (I still say Hunter would’ve been a better match), but it was a really cool/powerful moment.

One area where “Juggernaut” whiffed a bit was the bookended moments on Tantiss. What could have been the most impactful sequences of the whole episode just felt like a big reset followed by a predictable outcome. The production values and musical score still helped with the atmosphere, but I was hoping for more than what we got:

Karr still feels guilty

Hemlock and the Empire still evil
Omega is greatly perturbed

Thankfully, the Bad Batch’s rescue of Rampart still made this one all types of fun to watch. Let’s hope the former Vice-Admiral can get them to Tantiss next week for even more fireworks.