The Bad Batch: The Cavalry Has Arrived Thoughts
The Bad Batch premiered on May the 4th in 2021. Three years later, it is time to say goodbye to a top tier Star Wars story birthed from The Clone Wars.
We have reached the end of the Bad Batch arc, which started in season seven of The Clone Wars and continued with the release of the premiere episode three years ago on May 4, 2021. And the finale, rightly, gets almost an hour to close the chapter of most of these characters while leaving room for more exploration for Omega.
From the beginning fade-in of a stripped-down series logo (reflecting their stripped armor) to the ending fanfare, “The Cavalry Has Arrived” is one heck of a ride.
As One Chapter Closes…
Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair have experienced many battles throughout the season (and many more we haven’t seen during the Clone Wars). While the physical battles have been thrilling, the internal struggles make The Bad Batch unique. To get inside the minds of a group of soldiers coming to terms with a changing galaxy and their place within it.
When the Bad Batch was first introduced in “The Bad Batch,” they did not appear to care for any regular Clones but ultimately came to respect Captain Rex and took in Echo, the former 501st member. However, Echo has always had a stronger connection to the rest of the Clones, even though the Clones did not welcome the Bad Batch.
Therefore, Echo leading the rescue of the Clones on Mount Tantiss is a perfect decision as he represents Rex and Howzer, who surprisingly do not appear in the finale. Echo and Omega manage to find each other and then rescue the others together, which shows how much Omega has grown (more on that later).
Echo was sidelined for much of season two and almost all of season three, so having him play a significant role in liberating the Clones and destroying Mount Tantiss is wonderful.
Wrecker has been the least developed member of the Bad Batch (including Batcher) and was also the closest member to Tech. However, the show never explored the emotional toll of Tech’s loss on Wrecker. With Tech gone, Wrecker has carried a lot of the comic relief.
In previous seasons, that comic relief has often been in the form of physical gags, but season one did turn that into tension with the presence of the inhibitor chip, which made every bump Wrecker received that much more intense. In this episode, Wrecker is in bad shape after his tussle with the Dryax, and there is an equal amount of tension on whether he will make it.
“The cavalry has arrived” were the first words uttered by the Bad Batch in their introduction episode, and Wrecker said them. In this episode, he pulls his weight-so much that there were indications he might not make it out alive as he spends most of the mission collecting injuries.
Wrecker does survive, although it is only clear whether he makes it once they reach Pabu. However, his character never really went anywhere past amusing one-liners.
Crosshair and Tech are the most rounded members of the Bad Batch. Tech described Crosshair as “severe and unyielding,” so watching that shift happen subtly for two seasons has been a pleasure. And despite actively trying to harm his brothers and Omega, no one has been harder on Crosshair than himself. Crosshair still thinks he deserves whatever fate awaits him on Tantiss and tries to go in alone, telling Hunter and Wrecker that Omega needs them more.
The moment is a rare showcase of vulnerability for Crosshair, who may feel more alone than ever since returning to the team. He mentions that Clone Force 99 died when Tech died, suggesting he believes he is not worthy of the honor.
After his brothers assure him they will NOT leave him to face his fears alone, Crosshair leads the team into the base when the Zillo Beast bursts through. Unfortunately, they are ill-prepared for the Evil Batch of Clone operatives. In the most symbolic moment in the series, CX-2 cuts off Crosshair’s shaky shooting hand, releasing Crosshair from his trauma.
Crosshair can later lean on Hunter to steady himself as he makes the most crucial shot of the series (after taking a deep breath like his sister taught him), breaking the binders between Hemlock and Omega and sealing Hemlock’s fate. Omega hugs her brothers, and Crosshair finally exhales, releasing all the pain he was carrying this season.
The final shot of Crosshair is so memorable because he looks happy and content-a great end to one of the best character journeys in Star Wars.
It is fitting that the last scene with Hunter and Omega (and Batcher). The epilogue has an undisclosed time jump as an adult Omega prepares to leave Pabu to join the Rebellion. Hunter is waiting by her ship, revealing that he still has his sharp senses. While Hunter still struggles with letting Omega go, he tells her that they (Wrecker and Crosshair are still around) will be there if she needs them.
Hunter and Omega have always had a special relationship that is the closest resemblance of a father/daughter dynamic. He has struggled the most with navigating Omega’s growing role within the team and treating her like a fellow soldier versus a child (which is understandable).
However, Hunter trusts Omega’s instincts and capabilities during the showdown with Hemlock, where Omega’s life is on the line. It is also fitting that Hunter is the one helping Rex to find the other children’s families, knowing the pain of separation from a child.
Hunter tells Omega that they have all fought enough battles and have earned the right to choose who they want to be. This scene beautifully transitions to the epilogue, where Omega chooses to fight against the Empire (and take Tech’s goggles and Lola along with her). Omega tells him that this (joining the Rebellion) is her fight. The generational handoff of war feels all too real, and Omega tells Hunter she’s got this. He and his brothers have earned their rest from war.
Only time will tell if we see Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, or Echo (who is not mentioned in the epilogue) again. I will not complain if Lucasfilm wants to release a novel or comic series of lost missions where we can revisit the Bad Batch (including Tech). But, as far as the future is concerned, this is the perfect ending for them.
Another Chapter Begins
There is no doubt in my mind that we will see Omega again. From her beginnings as a naive young Clone who never set foot off Kamino to her current status as a confident leader who executed her plan to escape perfectly, Omega has proven a worthy subject of many more stories. “The Cavalry Has Arrived” shows Omega taking everything she’s learned from her brothers and applying it to lead the captured kids to safety and encourage them to be brave and challenge themselves. She talks Jax through his fear of heights, referencing Wrecker’s same fear. She gives all of them essential roles and positive reinforcement.
Lucasfilm will continue to explore stories from the Galactic Civil War and the New Republic era, and there is now an older Omega 3D model to utilize. As I mentioned, we could also see Keisha Castle Hughes (voice of Emerie) as a live-action Omega in one of the MandoVerse series or the film.
While there are rumors of an Asajj Ventress spin-off show, this ending also sets up an Omega spin-off series. I would prefer the latter, but that is a testament to her strong character progression and growth. It is also a way for the Bad Batch to live on through her adventures.
The Hi-and-Bye Faceless Villains
Add the Clone Operatives, an anti-Bad Batch team, to the “rushed introduction for a fight” category. The fight was exceptional and tense, but even that could not live up to the hype presented by the creators of this group from the season’s first episode.
The Rise of Skywalker had the same issue with the Knights of Ren, who were first scene in Rey’s vision in The Force Awakens, only to be absent from The Last Jedi to have an underwhelming fight with Ben Solo. The Praetorian battle in The Last Jedi might have been the answer to place the Knights of Ren earlier in the trilogy; however, the Praetorian guards stole their thunder and continued to stand out in their appearance in The Mandalorian season three.
Still, the presence of the anti-Bad Batch as a threat is felt more than that of the Knights of Ren, but they should have been introduced earlier, perhaps in “Point of No Return,” to make an impression.
The Tragedy of the Clone CX-2 Arc
There is a difference between letting your imagination run wild, as those debating who Marrok from Ahsoka was, and the writers intentionally throwing a red herring that leads nowhere. The writers knew people would theorize who CX-2 was and naturally lean toward Tech. There were also supporting scenes to feed into this: CX-2 survives impossible odds and often gets the better of the team the way only one of them could. In the end, CX-2 identity remains a mystery, but Hemlock certainly modeled him and the others after the Bad Batch.
As we neared the end of the season, however, it seemed less likely that CX-2 would be Tech. Ultimately, CX-2’s identity did not matter, he was just a mirror of what Crosshair could have become.
There are two sides to this outcome and whether it is a satisfying conclusion for this character (who was heavily promoted with the other characters, getting a character poster). On one hand, Star Wars has always struggled with killing off beloved characters (specifically Force-users) in animation. Therefore, it is a welcome revelation that Tech, as of the end of the series, is still dead. Even though it is unlikely that Lucasfilm could always bring him back, for now, Tech’s sacrifice means something and gives The Bad Batc h some much-needed stakes that have been lacking in the franchise.
However, the handling of CX-2’s character is a head-scratcher overall. By never revealing his face, there was a missed opportunity to connect with a Clone who, while a villain, is also a victim of experimentation. Spending time with this Clone while seeing his face (whether familiar or not) would have made his and the other operatives’s deaths more tragic and emphasized the fate the Bad Batch avoided. As it stands, his death was just anti-climatic.
Rampart’s Sins and the Last Kaminoan
There was no character shift with Admiral Rampart. When the moment came to stand with the Clones, he proved that you can’t remove the Empire from everyone. Nala Se tells Omega that she must destroy the lab so that her work does not remain in the hands of the Empire. She takes a detonator from a fallen Stormtrooper, and Rampart, following her, takes that same soldier’s blaster.
Rampart does not see his release from an Imperial labor camp as a chance for freedom but as a reminder of his fall from the grace of upper Imperial rank. Hemlock tells Rampart that his work makes him indispensable, unlike Rampart.
Hemlock’s words must have hit a nerve with Rampart, who is desperate to obtain information on Project Necromancer as a bargaining chip with the Emperor. He is so thrilled at getting what he wants that he does not notice Nala Se has activated the detonator. After he shoots her, the detonator falls at his feet, and he can’t even get a complete word out before the lab explodes-farewell to Rampart and goodbye to the last Kaminoan.
A Good Death
The one certainty this episode was Hemlock’s demise. Would it be the Zillo Beast that took him down? Would the Emperor send Darth Vader to do the deed after Hemlock inevitably failed?
The writers found the perfect answer: Hunter, Omega, and Crosshair’s team effort sent Hemlock to the bottom of Mount Tantiss, which was full of blaster fire. To add insult to injury, Tarkin gobbled up Hemlock’s hard-fought resources. No notes.
After three years and three seasons, that is a wrap on The Bad Batch, a series that hopefully will find more fans as the years go by, and we see characters introduced here in other areas of Star Wars stories. Congratulations to the entire team of writers, composers, art department, animators, and everything in between for the incredible three years of storytelling. Onwards!
Originally published at http://creditsandcanon.com on May 4, 2024.
