– Spoiler Review –
The Bad Batch is back for its final season in a big way, and not because it dropped three episodes for the season three premiere, “Confined,” “Paths Unknown,” & “Shadows of Tantiss,” but rather for its breathless pace returning us to the clones’ story while managing great character moments and suspense at the same time.
I’m going to talk about all The Bad Batch’s opening three episodes together, “Confined,” “Paths Unknown,” & “Shadows of Tantiss” in this review since they flow so well when watched in a row like this. Harboring some concern over dropping three at once, I came around to see the team’s vision in doing so, as just “Confined,” while great on its own and effective in its tone due to the cyclical nature of its story and the oppressive confines of Mount Tantiss for Omega (Michelle Ang) and Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker), wouldn’t have been a totally satisfying return on its own, leaving us in the dark on what is up with the rest of the crew. “Paths Unknown” functions largely like episodes from previous seasons, though it shows how different the mindset is overall with this being the final season thanks to pushing the story forwards while catching us up on the fractured Batch and introducing some interesting new elements like other escaped clones and more Imperial experiments. “Shadows of Tantiss” confirms some big things about what Dr. Hemlock is doing on behalf of the Empire, showing The Mandalorian a thing or two on how to build up to and reveal a similar thing it fumbled on, all while paying off “Confined” and its tone with a suspenseful escape attempt by Omega and Crosshair. Knowing many of the press were screened the first eight episodes and their reactions are largely how I feel about this premiere alone, I think we’re going to truly be in for a wild ride that should avoid earlier seasons’ downsides.
It doesn’t take long for us to see Omega is still as hopeful and rebellious as ever in the premiere, as while “Confined” reveals her rote, monotonous life assisting Nala Se and her sister, Dr. Emerie Carr (Keisha Castle-Hughes), in a very effective manner, we see her trying to be nice to patrol creatures used to guard the mountain from local monsters, building a new Lula doll, and hyping up Crosshair about plans for escaping one day. Had “Confined” director Saul Ruiz and writer/executive producer Jennifer Corbett, the animation teams, and voice cast not rose to the occasion, the jarringly good shift to months later halfway through would’ve had less bite, as we’re expecting the same thing from how the episode is presented only for them to suddenly reveal Omega’s longer hair and copious amounts of marks tracking the days passed. She’s not as bright eyed anymore either, not even noticing or looking up at Crosshair when they pass in the hallway, showing how time has eroded some of her earlier enthusiasm. She’s still doing her best to treat one of the lurker hounds with love and respect and telling Crosshair she’ll find a way to escape with him, regardless of what he says, but frustrations about her situation get to her. She rebels a little too far when her lurker is threatened with execution for being too domesticated, destroying the droid tending to them and setting her friend free, which brings the threat of retribution by Dr. Hemlock, still played to eerie perfection by Jimmi Simpson, who promises he’ll make Crosshair’s life worse if she keeps it up. It’s a rather defeating moment for her and she’s left in her room, recently ransacked by Emerie of personal items, to face the darkness of the situation. But Emerie returns Omega’s new doll to her and she hears her lurker howling in the wild, offering hope in a rather dire time for her.
The conversations between Crosshair and Omega in “Confined” are fantastic, as we learn much more about Crosshair and his mindset after everything and how positive an influence the rest of Clone Force 99 was for Omega. Crosshair is quick to dismiss Omega’s optimism about escape, as one would expect from the stricter, pessimistic member of the Batch, but it’s less about his previous failed attempt and more about his own inner turmoil. Crosshair, after all his decisions, feels like he deserves this life, this punishment, and has seemed to accept it. Omega’s come a long way from her time on Kamino and she wants nothing more than to be with her brothers, her family, and never be a prisoner in a lab again, so despite his warnings and dour attitude, she’s still willing to talk escape with him and assure him she won’t leave him behind, even if he doesn’t think he’s worth it. Omega tries the same stuff on Emerie, her clone-sister whom we don’t get much more info on during these opening episodes, but it’s a much harder sell. In a way, we see what Omega could’ve become through Emerie, devoid of her spunk and individuality, removed from the plight of her clone brothers, not caring what’s beyond the walls around her because it’s all she knows. But the fact Emerie returns Omega’s new doll and later she’s willing to hide the fact she found Crosshair and Omega in the middle of their escape attempt in “Shadows of Tantiss” hints the younger clone’s tenacity and hope have broken through, if a little to her older sister. I’m excited to see more of Emerie, if not only to learn more about her story but what becomes of her as the season progresses, while I’m curious to see how long Crosshair and Omega will be alone before finding the rest of the Batch after their escape, as their interactions were a joy here and we can already see Crosshair begin to feel worthy again.
In-between all the Tantiss-set action, “Paths Unknown” reveals the lengths Hunter and Wrecker are going to locate Hemlock’s secret base so they rescue Omega. They are working for the Durand criminal syndicate, crossing the Pykes in the process even, to get what information the Durands might have. The moment they have a lead, Hunter is eager to go, uncomfortable with his failure and not willing to stop long enough to face it. Wrecker, normally the one eager for action and explosions, urges caution, the loss of Tech and Omega’s capture weighing on every decision and choice he makes. They still follow the lead, even without Echo, who left to help Rex and is unable to get to them for a couple of days, so there’s no backup on the mission. Despite this, they find the next best thing when they land: escaped “reg” clones! The facility the Durands pointed Hunter and Wrecker towards has been “Base Delta Zeroed” by the Empire, but not before removing everything to a new location and a few younger clones managing to escape. These teenaged ones, Mox (Daniel Logan returns!), Deke, and Stak (both Julian Dennison!) have made do surviving in the jungle, even though it’s full of an experiment gone wrong, deadly and toxic vines with a mind of their own, but it’s clear the clones want to get off the planet as fast as possible. Deke steps up to help Hunter and Wrecker check the destroyed facility in hopes of tracking down where Hemlock went to next, despite protestations from his fellow survivors, as he’s sympathetic to them trying to track down a member of their squad. Mox and Stak steal the Marauder, unwilling to let this chance slip by since they don’t believe the others will survive, though they decide to help their fellow escapee and the remaining Clone Force 99 after they hear their screams for help. I quite enjoyed exploring this concept as much as they did in “Paths Unknown,” as it was interesting to see young clones without a cause, much like the Batch was after fleeing Kamino initially, and how Hunter offers them something other than being a trooper, a life on Pabu, not even asking them to join up and help. It’s a promising option for future clones the team could find, giving them a chance at peace for awhile, to see what they really want to be, instead of what those who made them had in mind. Given how the clones are being phased out overall, they’re lucky they have such a choice compared to all those before them.
Since Tantiss was first shown at the end of season one, speculation has run wild about what Legends things may appear again or what wild machinations Palpatine has the secret science base working on, though the season two finale hinted at something the Emperor would take advantage of for his return/The Mandalorian’s Moff Gideon’s own plans as well with Grogu. Of the two shows, The Bad Batch revealed what’s really going on much better, as the slow burn over the course of the show so far didn’t just lead to a reveal of what’s really happening and then it all gets destroyed, rather it has richer ties to the larger story of the Saga and offers intriguing mysteries. One of Hemlock’s main projects, which Nala Se is overseeing after being compelled by Omega’s capture, is Project Necromancer, which is where they are matching clone blood up to a mysterious sample source in hopes the resulting clones’ M-count, aka Midichlorian count, would remain the same, at the very least. Nala Se keeps destroying the samples Emerie takes of Omega’s blood, but when she’s called away to join the Emperor’s visit and Emerie is allowed to do the testing, the Kaminoan urges Omega to flee, as she already knows the young girl’s blood will produce what the Empire wants. Moff Gideon was trying something similar, creating clones of himself in hopes of having the Force, but it all gets burnt down the moment we finally learn what it is, so there’s no real payoff. This Project Necromancer is part of Palpatine’s larger plan to escape death, giving him a body to transfer to, that comes into play by the time of the Sequel Trilogy when he fully returns in The Rise of Skywalker, while we know the Imperial Remnant is still working on it thanks to the Shadow Council scene in The Mandalorian’s Chapter 23. I’m a big fan of how we’re slowly having stuff seeded which lead to the sequels and their events, as the Mando-verse’s stranglehold on the time between original and sequel trilogies has left some bigger moments unexplored or explained. As for more immediate concerns, this opens one big question: who are they getting the blood to test with all the clones’ blood? Is it a familiar Force user, like say Asajj Ventress, considering she returns in this season? Or someone else we know? Or are they really suggesting Palpatine’s a big blood donor? Either way, given what they all showed here, I’m sure we’ll get an answer before the series is over.
Here are a few other things:
- It was a joy to hear more exceptional Kiner family music, from how they played into the monotonous feeling of “Confined” and the suspense plus Palpatine spookiness of “Shadows of Tantiss.” Also, I loved how each member of the family was mentioned in the credits this time around!
- As always, we’re sharing the Unwhitewash The Bad Batch campaign, which has advocated for the correct skin tones of the clones throughout the series. The young regs we saw certainly felt more correct, yet the main Batch characters still haven’t been changed enough to accurately reflect their Māori heritage from actor Temuera Morrison. At least they got Julian Dennison, another Māori actor, alongside young Boba himself Daniel Logan, to play the younger clones in “Paths Unknown.”
- I wonder how long Nala Se’s known about Project Necromancer and/or how Omega would be vital to its advancement. Is it something with how they created Omega? And why Omega and not Emerie…or did they not try her? If not, maybe with Omega away, could they turn to use her…or will she offer to test herself? Otherwise, the Empire’s pursuit will be even more relentless of the Batch and Omega than ever before.
- The slithering vines in “Paths Unknown” certainly felt like an attempt on the Empire’s part to make something similar to the Drengir, a deadly species of plants that came to mess with the galaxy during Phase I of The High Republic’s storytelling. Regardless, it was a well-done sequence and very spooky one at that, from the lighting in the scene to the weird little blob creatures, while the vines themselves were gross and expansive, making it really feel like a big threat.
- Anjelica Huston voices Isa Durand, the leader of the crime syndicate Hunter and Wrecker get their information, though her first Star Wars gig wasn’t that long ago, as she was also the Sith Mother in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2’s “Screecher’s Reach”!! Roland Durand (Tom Taylorson) was first introduced way back in “Infested,” so I appreciate the payoff from him saying he’d have work for them if they needed it in the future. And lastly, considering female Devaronians aren’t canonically supposed to have horns, unless the ones she has are from a crown she’s wearing, unintentionally (more likely than intentional) The Bad Batch introduced another trans character to the galaxy far, far away!
- I’m glad we saw the young clones hotwiring the Marauder to open the ramp instead of it having been just left open. They finally learned to lock their doors!
- Over on the official site, there are a great deal of interviews: Michelle Ang (Omega), Dee Bradley Baker (the clones), Jennifer Corbett & Brad Rau (executive producers), Athena Portillo (executive producer). They also have an excellent recap of the series so far, if you’re hazy on some things or don’t have time to rewatch it all!
- Clone Force 99 made their comic debut, set before the events of the series, last year in Dark Horse’s Hyperspace Stories #10!
The Bad Batch’s final season premieres with three exceptional episodes which already revealed big secrets, featured big events, and sends our group back on a collision course with the biggest target on their back yet.
+ The tonal precision and months ahead leap on “Confined”
+ Revealing one big mystery but leaving plenty to theorize over
+ Omega with Crosshair and Emerie
+ There’s another way for clones to be
– Unwhitewash the Bad Batch
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BAD BATCH REVIEWS
Season Two: 1.1/1.2 Spoils of War & Ruins of War | 1.3 The Solitary Clone | 1.4 Faster | 1.5 Entombed | 1.6 Tribe | 1.7/1.8 The Clone Conspiracy & Truth and Consequences | 1.9 The Crossing | 1. 10 Retrieval | 1.11 Metamorphosis | 1.12 The Outpost | 1.13 Pabu (by Katie) | 1.14 Tipping Point | 1.15/1.16 The Summit & Plan 99
Season One: 1.1 Aftermath | 1.2 Cut and Run | 1.3 Replacements | 1.4 Cornered | 1.5 Rampage | 1.6 Decommissioned | 1.7 Battle Scars | 1.8 Reunion | 1.9 Bounty Lost | 1.10 Common Ground | 1.11 Devil’s Deal | 1.12 Rescue on Ryloth | 1.13 Infested | 1.14 War-Mantle | 1.15 Return to Kamino | 1.16 Kamino Lost