Star Wars: The Bad Batch S2, Ep 14 Review
I knew it. I knew it was too early for the Bad Batch to get their happy ending; not with the Empire hunting them and Crosshair in trouble. Moreover, it looks my predictions about Clones are coming true: instead of just forcing them into retirement, the Empire’s begun imprisoning the ones who stand up for themselves. Whether they want to or not, the Bad Batch has to get involved once again.
The Underground Railroad, But for Clones
The episode opens up with Howzer, the Clone Trooper who the Empire arrested on Ryloth after defying Crosshair, and his surviving men being loaded onto a prison ship. Their destination: Mount Tantiss. Thankfully, before they can do so, Echo and a group of other Clone deserters come in to rescue them before the Empire can bring in reinforcements. However, the officer in charge managed to wipe most of their ship’s data, and killed himself to keep intel from getting out.
The fact that the Empire implemented scorched-earth protocols such as this indicates how important whatever the group at Mount Tantiss is working on is to them. They don’t want anyone to know about its existence or the fact that they’re using Clones as fodder for their experiments. Echo manages to get Howzer and his group back to safety on Coruscant, but he can’t crack the data alone. He needs the Bad Batch’s help, and he needs it now.
Crosshair Warns the Bad Batch to Stay Away
When we last saw Crosshair, he was imprisoned for killing his idiotic CO, This episode confirms what fans suspected: he’s at Mount Tantiss, a prisoner of Dr. Hemlock. Hemlock takes a special interest in Crosshair, as he’s hunting for Omega to use her to blackmail Nala Se into cooperating. To his credit, though, Crosshair refuses to tell him anything about his brothers. In addition, he manages to break free long enough to send a message out to the Bad Batch: to get the heck out of dodge. The Empire’s coming for them.
Despite everything that Crosshair’s done, siding with the Empire over his brothers, even after getting his inhibitor chip removed, I never truly considered him to be a bad person. He did what he thought was right, and when he realized otherwise, he turned on the Empire. Crosshair’s loyalty was, and still is, to the Bad Batch. Hopefully, this sets him up to rejoin the squad as part of some redemption arc.
The Bad Batch Brought Back into The Fight
Last week saw the Bad Batch decide to stick around Pabu, this hidden sanctuary that seemed the perfect place to settle down and raise Omega. However, we all knew this semi-retirement wouldn’t stick. It’s hard for the group to leave the only life they’ve known behind, especially when one of them is in trouble. Thus, when Echo comes asking for help, they’re happy to help. Especially Omega, who practically jumps into Echo’s arms when he arrives.
Between Crosshair’s message and the data Echo stole, the Bad Batch’s suspicion’s are confirmed: the Mt. Tantiss facility is part of the Empire’s Advanced Science Division. AKA, the people who will presumably develop the tech that will enable Sidious to cheat death decades later. And they’re using Clones as test subjects for this, along with new brainwashing techniques. In other words, this place is bad news.
With next week marking the two-part season finale, it’s evident that the Bad Batch won’t take what the ASD’s doing lying down. They could end up leading a raid on Mount Tantiss to rescue Crosshair and the other Clones, which would be an epic way to end the season. However, given how dangerous the ASD is, I’m worried for everyone’s safety. Will the Bad Batch succeed? Can they protect Omega during all of this? Will we end up seeing some of the Clones die in the process? The stakes are high, and I’m genuinely nervous about what will happen next week. At least this episode serves as a good segue into their biggest mission yet.
