Star Wars: The Bad Batch S3 Ep 8 Review
It’s a strange feeling of irony when the audience knows the greater scope of the plot in a story when the characters do not. Last week’s two-parter saw the return of Captain Rex, only for his growing movement of Clones to suffer a severe setback at the hands of the Shadow Troopers. AKA Clone Troopers brainwashed and stripped of their identity to the point where they’re organic droids. To make matters worse, the Clones now know that Hemlock’s after Omega is due to an M-Count. We know it stands for Midichlorian Count, which decides if a person is Force Sensitive, but they don’t. And if the Bad Batch wants to shut Tantiss down, they need more intel first. That leads to the return of a certain bounty hunter, Fennec Shand, and tees us up for the return of a fan-favorite character in the next episode.
Ever since the skirmish on Teth, the Bad Batch has decided that Omega needs to lay low. It’s a decision that she’s not happy about but begrudgingly goes along with while her brothers try to learn more about what an M-Count is. However, the only lead they can get is from Phee, who reveals something interesting. As it turns out, the Empire offers bounty hunters big rewards for bringing in people high M-Counts. In layperson’s terms, the Empire is hunting down and capturing any Force Sensitive they can find.
Find Fennec Shand
Since the start of the Disney-owned era of Star Wars, the franchise has worked on several reasons behind the Empire’s decision to hunt down Force Sensitives. While none of them are good, the most insidious reason has to do with Project: Necromancer. AKA Darth Sidious’ attempts to create a newer, stronger body for his spirit to possess, allowing him to cheat death. Thanks to The Bad Batch, we’re seeing the beginnings of this dark conspiracy that will ultimately shape the rest of the saga, and the notion that Omega might be the key to it all is disturbing. Unfortunately, the Bad Batch doesn’t know about this, forcing them to find a bounty hunter to learn more. And the only bounty hunter they think they can trust is…Fennec Shand.
On their own, Hunter and Wrecker locate Fennec, who agrees to give them a lead so long as they help her capture a particularly difficult mark. The pair agree, but both parties make it clear that if push comes to shove, they’ll look out for themselves. Given their past history, it’s natural that the Clones feel weary of Fennec. However, just because she’s a bounty hunter doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have standards. She did choose not to keep hunting Omega after Nala Se called off the bounty on her, after all, so she can be trusted so long as people don’t try to screw her over. In the end, she keeps her word and promises to pass on the word to a contact. More on that later.
While this episode was fairly slow-paced in comparison with some other episodes, the setting for the trio’s caper makes up for it. The trio’s hunt takes them to a world that evokes the appearance of the bayous found in the southern US. That includes the brackish water, airboats, and even space alligators and/or crocodiles. I’ve never been to that part of the US before, but it is one place that I’m interested in going to see.
Crosshair Starts Getting Some Therapy
Meanwhile, at Hunter’s insistence, Omega takes it upon herself to help Crosshair with the problem with his hand. No matter how stubbornly the sniper refuses aid, it’s obvious how much of a problem his tremors are becoming. And, while he does complain about it, he doesn’t stop Omega from helping him or AZI from examining it.
As it turns out, though, the problem might not be physical but psychological. Crosshair doesn’t want to admit it, but his experiences since the end of the Clone Wars have taken their toll on him. Choosing the Empire over his brothers, realizing the Empire doesn’t care about him and his time as Hemlock’s guinea pig. I don’t think he’s taken the chance to process all of these things, and the collective stress is physically affecting him. His confidence and sense of self-worth are shot, hence why his marksmanship has suffered.
Omega’s solution doesn’t yield results right away, but that doesn’t change how wholesome it is to watch. Using what she learned from Gungi, the Wookiee Jedi, Omega teaches Crosshair meditation techniques to help him find inner balance. Say what you want about the Jedi, but they could be good at finding a sense of inner calm. The show’s teasing fans with the idea that Omega might be Force Sensitive.
It’s Ventress. It has to Be!
In the end, Hunter and Wrecker have to wait for Fennec to contact them. However, before the episode ends, we see her talking to that mysterious contact about the whole M-Count thing. With that in mind, it should be easy to figure out who Fennec spoke to: Asajj Ventress.
Ever since the trailer for season three revealed Ventress’s appearance, people have been eager to see the return of the fan-favorite character. More importantly, fans want to know how Ventress is even alive. Now, we might not have to wait much longer. If the next episode marks Ventress’s return, it will be very memorable.
