The Bad Batch S3 E10 and 11 Breakdown: “Identity Crisis” and “Point of No Return” Have Us Questioning What Comes Next
This week there were two episodes of The Bad Batch with twists, turns, potential side-switches, and an ESB-level cliffhanger.
This week The Bad Batch had a double feature of episodes that were very different, but both worked together to start and catapult us into the last act of the series… And we’re starting to wonder what that final act will entail.
As always, in order to break down these episodes we will need to spoil large amounts of what happens.
Spoiler Warning! If you haven’t watched this week’s episodes of The Bad Batch, read on at your own risk.
Identity Crisis
Episode 10 focused on Dr. Karr and the nature of the experiments on Tatntiss.
The episode opens on a quiet market in a quiet village where a very young child throws a pot much heavier than they should have been able to budge. There are whispers that the child is “cursed” and “gifted,” but those are quickly hushed because talk like that only brings trouble. It’s already become quiet-but-common knowledge that we don’t speak of the Jedi and we don’t acknowledge possible Force sightings. But they aren’t hushed quickly enough because trouble does come, in the form of Cad Bane taking in the child for his M-Count bounty.
Project Necromancer
Back on Tantiss, Karr requests a promotion and is put in charge of Project Necromancer in Nala Se’s stead. But when she gets admitted into the program she’s dismayed to see that they’re experimenting on three children. There are few adults “with their abilities” left- surprising, I know, and children tend to be easier to control. Hemlock explains that they don’t understand what’s happening and just listen to directions, but this is quickly disproven when one attempts to escape.
Hemlock also goes on to explain that Omega is necessary to their work. Midichlorians in Jedi blood can’t be synthesized directly from a sample and only Nale Se had worked out a way to do it. Omega’s blood is the only known compatible binder that could replicate the desired abilities, making Omega’s blood important even if she doesn’t have any latent Force abilities.
Karr’s Possible Change of Heart
In just the first few days of her new assignment, Karr seems to be getting slowly disillusioned with the entire experiment. She wants to be warm and protective towards the kids- after all, they’re just kids. But Hemlock says that they’re just scientific assets and to not engage with them more than possible. When the one child tries to escape, much more force than is necessary is used to subdue him, and then he’s placed in solitary confinement despite posing no real threat. And then there is the infant brought to the facility.
Point of No Return
Episode 11 returns to the Bad Batch, in the process of packing up and saying their goodbyes. Omega doesn’t want to leave Pabu, but Hunter thinks it’s not safe to stay in one place for too long… And he’s right.
Phee stops for a fuel-up, and in that time the mysterious Clone-X2 jumps onto her ship, steals a bunch of her information, and hops back out. He calls somebody and mentions that the info was hard to find, but he breaks through the encryptions and finds where Omega is before heading there himself. And when he got close, he turned on a few gadgets that masked his ship’s entrance so warning alarms wouldn’t be set off.
Clone-x2
In the previous episode, we see Hemlock looking at something very similar to the mysterious clone’s armor and contacting him directly with instructions to find Omega. And now he is breaking through encryptions in moments. There is a decent chance that this clone is Tech who had been found by Hemlock after last season, brought back to Tantiss, patched back up, and then reprogramed and brainwashed. The same reprogramming didn’t work on Crosshair, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for Tech.
Imperial Attack
With Omega’s location in hand, not only X2, but an entire Imperial battalion descends on Pabu, destroying everything from the Bad Batch’s ship, to the simple fishing ships. When Pabu’s mayor tries to reason with them into stopping, Clone-X2 calmly explains that they’re looking for a fugitive, and until their target is found they’ll continue to burn down this entire civilization. Imperial bad guy one oh one.
The Batch splits up, and Omega is left with Crosshair, who she convinces to let turn herself in. He argues for a bit, but she explains that if she does quietly the Empire will leave, and more importantly, she can be tracked. They’ve been looking for any clue to the location of Tantiss, and this is their chance.
Unfortunately, when Crosshair tries to shoot a tracker onto Omega, he misses, and she is once again flying off with the Empire with no way of knowing where she is.
What did you think of this week’s episode of the Bad Batch? Do you think the batch will find Omega? What do you think is in store for the remaining episodes? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
