2x16 Plan 99 (2)

[7.6/10] I was expecting “Plan 99” to put a period on this season of The Bad Batch, if not on the whole series. Instead, this was more of a semicolon. Which is fine! There’s plenty more adventures to be had. But this finale plays more like a setup for season 3 than a conclusion to season 2.

Still, there’s good stuff here. I found Tech’s apparent demise unexpectedly affecting. I’ll admit, outside of his cave-dwelling episode with Omega, I’d never flt particularly strongly about th character. He’s perfectly fine, and serves a purpose in the group's mix. But he hadn't had a ton of depth to this point.

And yet, the noble sacrifice works. Regardless of how much shading he’s received, we’ve seen him traipsig through the galaxy with this crew since the beginning. Now, he sacrifices his life to save them. It’s hard to deny the power of that. The direction and score sell the moment like gangsbusters and give him one last moment of glory. THe tightrope walk along the tram’s cable, and the constant firefight while he works to get power back, sell the peril of the moment. The same goes for the shots of the cable car’s grip slipping on the railway as Tech dangles below.

The show’s creative team still knows how to build tension (no pun intended). Star Wars is a universe where folks always seem to be able to give a big dying speech before they perish. Something about Tech telling WRecker it’s Plan 99 time, his buddies being unwilling to let him go, and him saying “We never did follow orders” before he makes the call himself, situates his death in a broader camaraderie for the group and devotion to his friends. I didn’t expect his death to pierce me, but here we are.

(This all assumes he’s really gone. Star Wars logic suggests that if you haven't seen the body, they’ll be back eventually, and sometimes even if you have! Lord knows Echo came back from dire straits himself.)

I also appreciate the loss for the effect it has on Omega. I sometimes forget that this is a show meant to be accessible to kids. (And given the dark tone it takes sometimes, you can understand why.) But rooting this in her perspective, the difficulty of losing someone you care about, fearing you’ll lose the rest, helps drive home much this means to her, and what a struggle it is to be a child grappling with loss for the first time.

We also get the big Cid betrayal that's been hinted at for a while. She at least seems vaguely remorseful about it, but it’s part and parcel with the steady heel turn she’s taken over the course of this season. I have every expectation that, in true Star Wrs fashion, ti will be godder for her to do right by the Bad Batch down the line. But for now, it appropriately feels like kicking them when they’re down.

ANd we get some pretty big chances to the status quo, or so it seems. Dr. Helock kidnaps Omega and takes her to his clone research facility. The rest of the crew nearly gets arrested but has to go back on the run. Nala Se is strongarmed by Hemlock to continue working on what one can only presume is the Emperor’s cloning process that eventually produces the events of the Sequel Trilogy. And of most note, we find out that Emerie Karr is not just a random operative in the facility, but another clone, who considers herself Omega’s sister.

I don’t mind any of this stuff. Reveals that two characters are secretly related to one another in Star Wars became a bit ho-hum as a twist post-Return of the Jedi. And this was already a rescue mission. But hey, I’m still interested to watch season 3 and figure out how Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and AZ will get their friends back, so they must be doing something right. I just wish this felt more like a full-fledged conclusion to this storytelling cycle in its own right rather than a tease for the next one.

All that said, this was a great season of The Bad Batch, despite the odd dud, it deepened the characters, foregrounded the plight of the clones at the dawn of the Empire, and strengthened the politics, threats, and bonds that affect the characters. The show continues to be a gem in the Star Wars lineup, and I’m glad we’ll (presumably) have it for at least another year.