– Spoiler Review –
With Omega back in the Empire’s clutches, the remaining members of Clone Force 99 take a desperate mission to find a way to get her back in The Bad Batch’s season three, “Juggernaut.”
With Hunter’s failure to grab a ship leaving him at the bottom of Pabu and Wrecker recovering from the blast he was caught up in as the Marauder exploded, it left Crosshair and Omega to make the decision on what to do as the Empire invaded Pabu. Omega trusted Crosshair to tag the ship she was taken away on with a tracker, but he was unable to make the shot, leaving them with no way to follow her, and I left last week’s episodes curious how the show and its character would deal with this moment. “Juggernaut” doesn’t disappoint since it picks up very shortly after the events of “Point of No Return” and we get to see Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker talk about what happened with Omega. Crosshair defends his choice in trusting her, but I found it interesting he omits his failure with the tracking beacon…nor no one asks him about it, whether it never occurred to them/if he did tell them in the short time between episodes. However, in place of this information he offers a confession and something interesting: he knows where Vice Admiral Rampart is being held and he should know how to get to Tantiss given he shipped off Nala Se there prior to his arrest. It felt fitting Hunter is more upset about Crosshair withholding such information than Crosshair choosing to trust Omega, as we know Hunter trusts her as well though I’m sure he would’ve fought her choice more than Crosshair did. Either way, Crosshair admitting to them all he didn’t want to go back to Tantiss is a great step towards his recovery, as I feel like it took a lot for him to admit he’s still traumatized from his time there, even though it’s obvious through his shaking hand, while I imagine going back and conquering his fears will finally give him a chance to heal. But it also makes sense Crosshair didn’t Rampart’s location earlier because he’s right, I wouldn’t think Rampart would be a trustworthy source either, as he’ll certainly use their needs to further his own, there’s no doubt about it.
Phee Genoa’s return, beyond her short appearances in episodes like “Point of No Return” where CX-2 stole Pabu’s location from her ship, was a welcomed one, as despite the situation she adds some levity to the show. And of her recent appearances, she gets some fantastic moments to go with the expanded screen time, from the detection escaping dead drop planet entry in her ship to coming in clutch to save the team before certain doom. Her acceptance of Crosshair despite his demeanor made me laugh, as her quick trust in him thanks to her romantic feelings for Tech makes the rest of the Batch silly for ever doubting him upon his return given Omega’s trust in him. Since Phee’s their only access to a ship at the moment, I was worried she was going to be brought back if only to be their new pilot, so having her be so integral here and have good interactions with the team helped negate such concerns. As for Rampart’s return, now with scraggy beard and unkempt hair due to his time in prison, I was almost curious if it had beaten some of his nastiness out or not so I’m glad it didn’t, as he’s still looking to further his career at the expense of others. This dynamic going forward, even if it’s only for one more episode, will be interesting to watch, as he knows he’s valuable and milking it for all its worth, so can he truly be trusted or will he lead them into a trap? And how much is too much before Crosshair takes him down for being a true jerk again? We’ll see in the coming weeks!
While “Juggernaut” mainly focuses on the Batch’s attempt to locate Omega after her surrender, it thankfully delves into her return to Tantiss as well. Hemlock is done holding back with her now he knows how important she is, taking her straight to Emerie and having her test Omega’s blood one more time to verify the earlier results. If us viewers hadn’t seen Emerie’s little act of rebellion in “Identity Crisis,” giving one of the kids in the Necromancer vault Omega’s straw doll, her precise control of her emotions (or lack thereof given her upbringing) certainly made it hard to believe she was too concerned over seeing Omega again and what it would mean for both of them. It’s present however, in little ways, in how she responds to Omega or doesn’t have much to say, as if she’s aware of what this all means and she’s already calculating, working out what to do about it. If anything, it feels like having Omega back pushes Emerie to realize what she already started with giving Eva the doll is the right choice, but now the stakes have raised and I’m sure she’s going to look for Omega’s advice on what to do next. I was hoping Hemlock was taking Omega to the same red room he took Palpatine when the Emperor visited, but I wasn’t too disappointed it was the room with the kids, as he verifies they are the M-count subjects they’re testing everyone’s blood against…and then leaves her in the room with them! Omega’s escape was far more assured when she wasn’t a priority, as she mostly had free reign thanks to the need to secure Nala Se’s compliance, but now the gloves are off, it’s going to take an inside job to help make her dream of saving all the clones on Tantiss a reality…
Here are a few other things:
- Ever since the turbo tanks being introduced in Revenge of the Sith, something about their distinctive, boxy, and behemoth design has always led me to want to see them in action for more than a few seconds, especially as the Empire iterated on the design and largely used them in prisoner transport. “Juggernaut” brought the goods, as the team steals one and ends up using it to barrel their way to freedom from the awakened Imperial forces, making for an entertaining sequence I’d like the chance to play out in a video game one day.
- Since we last saw Rampart, fans might’ve heard voice actor Noshir Dalal in a different Star Wars project, as he played Bode Akuna in Jedi: Survivor!
- In case you somehow missed it, the next Star Wars animation show was announced last week: Tales of the Empire, complete with a trailer! It’ll focus on Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, playing out much like Tales of the Jedi. That means there’s still something out there, yet to be announced, showing us Asajj Ventress’ next step on her journey…
- Remaining season three release schedule: April 17: Episode 13 (“Into the Breach”) | April 24: Episode 14 (“Flash Strike”) | May 1: Episode 15 (“The Cavalry Has Arrived”)
- As always, our per episode reminder of the Unwhitewash The Bad Batch campaign, which I hope it they’ll consider going forward with any more clones in animation.
The Bad Batch’s “Juggernaut” picks up the pieces from the previous two-part drop, setting the stage for the final three episodes.
+ Omega’s chilling return to Tantiss
+ Phee and Rampart make memorable returns
– 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 | 3.6/3.7 Infiltration & Extraction | 3.8 Bad Territory | 3.9 The Harbinger | 3.10/3.11 Identity Crisis & Point of No 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