– Spoiler Review –
Crosshair and Omega’s escape from the Mount Tantiss base isn’t only of great interest to the Empire, but it’s also gained the attention of Commander Rex’s nascent clone-led rebellion, though will his teams actions put Clone Force 99 in bigger trouble than they already are? Find out in the action-packed and intriguing two-parter, episodes 6 and 7 of The Bad Batch‘s third and final season: “Infiltration” & “Extraction”!
The last time Rex appeared on The Bad Batch, Echo was leaving with him to join his efforts to free their fellow clones, all while trying to strike back at the Empire, and when we catch up to him in season three, we get to see the scale and scope of his endeavors. It all starts with “Infiltration,” as Rex, Captain Howzer, and Senator Riyo Chuchi are all working together, first arranging a meeting between Chuchi and Senator Singh, which gets rudely interrupted by another Clone X-2 assassin, and when they capture the said attacker, we get to see the scale of Rex’s operations, with tons of clones working alongside him on Teth. It’s quite the impressive scaling up and a welcomed sight to see, as we’ve often heard about Rex’s work, but we’ve yet to really see how big it’s gotten, and while we quickly see it dismantled over the course of these two episodes, there’s still hope for it yet. What I appreciate most about Rex’s return though was how personal this fight really gets, as he has a tough time accepting these Clone X’s are impossible to reach, he loses a lot of his men from said clone assassin, and he’s eager for any type of intel on Tantiss so he can rescue all his brothers from their imprisonment. Having to face his brothers is the toughest aspect to all this, as after all, plenty still remain loyal to the Empire, and he comes to learn maybe they can’t all be saved, as another Clone X-3 comes to kill the one they captured and wrecks even more havoc on his life and plans, while he later comes face to face with Commander Wolffe. While the loses CX-3 creates hit Rex’s resolve, we see he’s never done fighting, never done trying to save his brothers, as he manages to talk Wolffe out of capturing them and even letting them go, despite how by the book and Empire-loyal the clone is. Star Wars Rebels might’ve already showed Wolffe’s alliance with Rex, but The Bad Batch earned revealing the earliest steps of how it came to be with Rex’s great debate with Wolffe here.
The history between Crosshair and Howzer isn’t left on the table, as the latter doesn’t trust the former despite his fellow Clone Force 99 members vouching for him, the memories of their encounter on Ryloth enough to sour Howzer on Crosshair for life. CX-2 plays into those feelings at one point, distracting the group long enough for CX-3 to take out his fellow assassin and start mowing down the others. Whereas Howzer has his beef, and Rex is uneasy but willing to give Crosshair the benefit of the doubt, Omega’s downright copying him, toothpick and all. Crosshair notices this and, despite his original feelings for Omega and his usual grumpiness, he’s worst than Hunter with being protective of the girl, checking off items to make sure she’s prepared. It’s cute to see Crosshair’s time with Omega is the catalyst for his change, as he’s finally seeing himself as part of the group, embracing their otherness and his place amongst them, even proudly calling himself defective at one point. As he displays this change, Howzer comes to see Crosshair like Omega and his fellow Bad Batchers have: a better brother. While Howzer might not be as optimistic as Rex, his change of feelings towards Crosshair are enough he comes to his aide, saving Crosshair from CX-3 during their fisticuffs. Having Crosshair and CX-3 duke it out was a great ending for “Extraction,” as their sniper battle and then fight on the waterfall were dynamic and interesting ways to show Crosshair’s effectiveness vs the clone assassin program’s abilities, plus reveals the true strength doesn’t always lie in physical prowess, but having friends who will have your back. I’ll be curious to see what more CX-3 will bring to the series before it’s done, as the scene revealing his survival isn’t only for the fun of it.
Here a few other things:
- The new crossbow blaster Echo makes Omega is nifty as heck! I hope she’ll get a chance to use it more, though my only concern with it this episode was it stood out even in the haze of the smoke grenades when they were trying to hide themselves from the regiment tracking them down.
- Clone X-3’s ship, the CX Dagger?! I shouted “That’s freaking cool as hell” the moment it appeared on screen!! It borrows a lot from the Delta-7 Jedi Starfighter (what Obi-Wan Kenobi pilots in his battle against Jango Fett), just longer and sleeker, while it’s engines looked a lot like the ones from the Night Buzzard, the Knights of Ren’s ship.
- I honestly thought it was clear to Rex and the clones what the Clone Xs were all about and felt like this episode was retreading ground here too much with everyone’s desire to know more…and when more is learned, it doesn’t really change make of what they already knew about the program. The same goes with Omega being the target, as Rex makes it seem like such a big deal but it’s nothing new for the Batch or for her, though at least the episode acknowledges this with the funny lines of the team not being surprised about her being a target. That M-count is brought up, aka midi-chlorians, to the clones and Rex has heard of it but isn’t sure what it means, I’ll be curious how far down that rabbit hole the clones will get before the season ends, as them learning too much would have interesting implications and leave one wondering why it’s not shared with more people what they do learn (or at least seems like it hasn’t been shared much).
- I will say, I watched this right as the sun was blaring into my home, and even though I put up my shades, it was still hard for any setting on my TV to make the episode a little more watchable. I never quite had a problem with Obi-Wan Kenobi, though I know that was pretty dark at times, so I was surprised to have a problem with these two episodes, though when watching them on my laptop later while it was still sunny I didn’t have any problems.
- Hearing the clone’s tune from The Clone Wars….be still my heart!!! Thanks for always bringing the best of the best in the tunes department, Kevin, Sean, and Deana Kiner!!!
- Curious why Senator Singh was recasting from season one…could they just not get Alexander Siddig back, monetarily or timing-wise? His inclusion for the role was a great win for diversity not only on screen for characters in the show, but also in the voices behind them, though now the replacement doesn’t seem to be the same ethnicity, an unfortunate change.
- Remaining season three release schedule: March 20: Episode 8 (“Bad Territory”) | March 27: Episode 9 (“The Harbinger”) | April 3: Episode 10 (“Identity Crisis”), 11 (“Point of No Return”) | April 10: Episode 12 (“Juggernaut”) | April 17: Episode 13 (“Into the Breach”) | April 24: Episode 14 (“Flash Strike”) | May 1: Episode 15 (“The Cavalry Has Arrived”)
- As always, a reminder about the Unwhitewash The Bad Batch campaign, which while most of the clones looked better due to the dimmer lighting overall, I hope it will be something they’ll consider going forward with any more clones in animation.
The Bad Batch season three’s “Infiltration” & “Extraction” offer action, intrigue, and a chance to glimpse Rex’s efforts, even if the Clone X program leaves it in ruins, there’s still hope on the horizon and a new mission for the group: find out why Omega is so important to the Empire.
+ Crosshair’s continued growth and interactions with Howzer/Omega
+ Rex’s resolve and talking down Wolffe
+ Clone X program shows off their abilities
– Felt like retreading ground with some information
– Unwhitewash the Bad Batch
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BAD BATCH REVIEWS
Season Three: 3.1/3.2/3.3 Confined & Paths Unknown & Shadows of Tantiss | 3.4 “A Different Approach” | 3.5 “The Return”
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