The Bad Batch: The Harbinger Thoughts
The Bad Batch (sort of) gets answers and a warning in a strange but beautiful episode.
“The Harbinger” wasted no time revealing Fennec Shand’s contact; indeed, it was Asajj Ventress. It was a mistake for Lucasfilm to show that hand in the trailer, but the team chose to chase buzz during the marketing campaign. Otherwise, her appearance would have surprised fans of the show, many of whom watched The Clone Wars.
As such, this episode was more anticipated, but there were other surprises as the episode unfolded.
A Strange Reveal and a Fine Line of Retconning
While Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair await intel from Fennec Shand, Omega and Batcher are playing when Batcher wanders into a cave. Batcher starts freaking out, so Omega investigates, finds a ship, then Asajj Ventress finds her. The whole sequence of events is shot like a horror film, but for the viewers who have watched The Clone Wars, we know Omega is not in danger. And it is a nice throwback to when Ventress was a nightmare for the Clones (who could forget the kiss/kill Clone scene from “ARC Troopers”?).
If you watched The Clone Wars but did not read the novel Dark Disciple, Asajj’s appearance would not necessarily ring any alarms. The last time she was seen, Asajj was a successful bounty hunter and, at the time, the last survivor of Dathomir witches ( Jedi: Fallen Order added another one with Merrin, and Ahsoka, another still with Morgan Elsbeth, is also a survivor). So, Ventress as Fennec’s contact makes sense.
However, if you read Dark Disciple, you may have questions, given that Ventress dies in her lover Quinlan Vos’s arms. This is a beautiful and heartfelt goodbye that is possibly now undercut by this revelation.
It is a problem of Lucasfilm’s own making, back when Disney acquired the studio and made a distinction in media moving forward that everything was canon and mattered to the Star Wars universe(s). Also, as noted in the premiere episode of The Bad Batch (retconning where Kanan Jarrus and Deepa Bilbaba were during Order 66), creatives on one project should not feel tied to the limits of stories set by other creatives in other mediums.
Things get trickier when the retconning affects character growth or representation. In the Tales of the Jedi episode “Resolve,” Ahsoka’s journey after Order 66, leading to her becoming an early participant in the Rebellion, is reworked in a not-so-great way: A brown, queer woman named Kaeden and her sister Miara are replaced by an unnamed white sister and brother.
When they worked on Dark Disciple, did Katie Lucas and Christie Golden intend for Asajj to rise from the dead and continue in the Star Wars underworld of bounty hunting? Probably not, yet here we are with more Asajj. Parting with characters for good is an ongoing issue for Star Wars.
With a simple line, “I still have a few lives left,” as she leaves, the actual explanation of how Ventress is still alive will have to wait for another series.
A Beautiful Fight
Naturally, a former Separatist assassin who is responsible for hundreds (likely hundreds of thousands) of Clone deaths would be a problem for the Batch. Wisely, Ventress does not give them her name, but the sense of distrust is strong with the guys regarding Omega, so Crosshair confirms from Tech’s files that the Force-sensitive stranger is Asajj Ventress.
So, after Asajj sends Omega away on a “test,” the others tell her to leave. Asajj refuses, and a hand-to-hand fight ensues. Those types of fights are already rare in Star Wars, but this fight between Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Asajj was 69 seconds before weapons got involved and felt like a 3-on-1 brawl that was motion-captured. Well-choreographed, realistic movements and great depth of field made it one of the best fights in Star Wars.
Even though severely outmatched, the battle also showcases that the three can hold their own against anyone unless it is a highly trained Force user. But even though the three had no chance of defeating Asajj (who wasn’t even trying to kill them), it was still entertaining to watch.
A Beautiful Creature
As has also become a staple of The Bad Batch, there is always a monster to bring the clashing parties together. This episode introduces the most beautiful creature yet: a sea creature called a vrathean that Asajj accidentally summons while giving Omega her third test. Star Wars pulls from real life in many aspects, and this creature resembles a mix of a cephalopod and a mollusk, specifically in terms of color change.
The squiggly pupils are also similar to the w-shaped pupils of cuttlefish. Sea creatures are excellent references for sci-fi/fantasy creatures because much of the ocean and its inhabitants are still a mystery to humankind, so many sea creatures look alien.
Luckily, the vrathean, responding to Asajj’s energy, did not lose its life; it was just the typical limb. In a testament to her growth, Asajj does not try to kill the creature and reprimands the guys for shooting at it, declaring they are only making things worse. She connects with the creature to calm it, de-escalating the situation.
This Asajj is vastly different from the one in The Clone Wars film, but even compared to the last time most people saw her in The Clone Wars season five. This creature would have been a casualty of the power grab between the Republic and the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Still, it is a lesson for Omega and the team: Sometimes, you must trust in things beyond your control or understanding.
Side note: In a return to comedic relief, Wrecker is very endearing in this episode as a big guy whose pride was bruised from the Asajj fight but still puts up the tough-guy appearance in front of his sister (“We were just getting warmed up”). The brotherly concern remains sweet as Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair try to respect Omega’s wishes in trusting Asajj while still watching over her.
A Strange Way To Not Provide Answers
So, the vrathean is the final push for the guys to trust Asajj in time for her to give her final verdict to Omega: based on her observations, she does not have a high M-Count. However, we certainly cannot have a straightforward answer, so after Omega leaves with Wrecker, Crosshair says she is lying.
Speaking hypothetically, Asajj says that if Omega had potential, she would have to leave the Batch and train. Based on Omega’s excitement at the thought that she could be a Jedi earlier in the episode, she might choose to go if given the opportunity. The entire series has almost been building up to some goodbye between Omega and her brothers.
Ultimately, this episode did not provide any answers for Omega (or the viewers). But, true to the title, Asajj’s presence and message that they are not safe on Pabu foreshadows dark days ahead for our heroes and the paradise they call home.
Originally published at http://creditsandcanon.com on March 31, 2024.
