Oh... so, of course it's the Emperor's clones... but what exactly are the experiments for? I assume "m-count-transfer" means transfer of midichlorians... so what makes Omega so special that her blood can be used to transfer midichlorians, but all the other clones' blood can't? Is she, after all, force-sensitive as well?
Anyway, good episode. I don't think that Crosshair will take their pretty easy escape without doubts and plot a course directly to the rest of the batch... so who knows when they'll meet up with the others.
Omega and Crosshair, good. The midichlorian count and this whole storyline so blatantly existing to retroactively justify Rise of Skywalker? Bad. ‘But wasn’t that Clone Wars?’ Clone Wars worked to enrich and justify characters and arcs of the prequel, filling in blanks of something that already worked on a broad scale. Even if the prequels aren’t great, on a fundamental base story level, they still work. And Clone Wars at its best just wanted to enhance that. Make characters better. Rebels did mostly its own thing. This isn’t making any character richer. It’s stupid lore crap, and it’s obnoxious, and it cheapens the whole show when- with how archetypal and one note most of the Batch are- it feels like the show’s primary, ultimate purpose. Or at least, it became it somewhere along the line.
I like the episode in a self-contained kind of way. What I don't like is that the whole storyline is dictated to reconcile the sequels. Yes I know, I mentioned that before but it's the one serious issue I have: that these shows merely are there for that reason. Would've liked to see what they would've done without chains attached. Still good episode with action and suspense.
This show should’ve ended two seasons ago, it was good when they appeared in Clone Wars, the “m-count” is ridiculous, they don’t even date to mention the complete name, and a clone having that?… please
It's weird that the show puts so much mystery on these things that most of us already knew so long ago
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2024-02-27T02:14:14Z
[7.7/10] After two episodes that are more about establishing mood and the setup of the new season, it’s nice to get an outing like this one that is all about igniting the kindling the show’s been gathering this season.
So we have Omega making an escape! We have Crosshair teaming up with her! We have Dr. Hemlock discovering that Omega’s blood is the key to a successful M-count transfer! We have the frickin’ Emperor showing up to examine his clone pods or pickled Snokes or whatever and growl “this is of the utmost importance”! This is a big deal episode, and you feel it.
What I appreciate most here is the setup and payoff. It would be easy for Omega and Crosshair escaping from an airtight Imperial secured location to feel cheap. (Hello viewers of the Obi-Wan Kenobi mini-series!) Instead, the show establishes Nala Se’s interest in seeing Omega freed, giving her datapad access that makes escape and rescue more plausible.
The shuttle that crashed in the season premiere provides Omega and Crosshair good cause to try to escape out to the area beyond the compound. The show already established how the kennels feed out beyond the walls of the lab, which sets up a good escape route for our heroes. The fact that the shuttle’s comms are down from the crash means there’s still challenges for the good guys to overcome if they want to get out of dodge.
The presence of dangerous creatures beyond the walls was set up by Hemlock in the first episode, and its nice that rather than attacking them, Omega gets help from Batcher and the other hounds, a sign of care shown to others, rather than mere use and discarding, is something that pays off practically, not just ethically.
The way they’re able to distract the stormtroopers and then steal their shuttle is a touch convenient, but the fact that the Bad Batch has protocols for this sort of situation, and that Tech apparently taught them to Omega, adds just the right hint of plausibility and emotion to the scenario. I’m particularly fond of the fact that, even having accomplished all of these unlikely objectives, it still looks like Omega and Crosshair are going to be shot down, until Emerie Karr realizes the truth about Omega, and Hemlock calls off the attack, given how badly he needs what Omega can provide.
All-in-all, the show plays fair with getting Omega and Crosshair out of the compound, which is not something I expected. THere’s meaningful steps along the way, real challenges that are overcome by things the characters know or in ways that require their guile and trust. And most importantly, there’s earned tension every step along the way, as they’re dodging the Emperor’s guards, wild animals, and suspicious droids. This is an appropriately tense escape, and that tone helps make the whole thing feel less like a fait accompli and more like a worthy challenge that took a lot of cleverness and courage from the good guys to pull off.
There’s other interesting details at the margins here. It’s always nice to hear Ian McDiarmid playing the Emperor, even if the whole cloning routine kind of makes me roll my eyes at this point. I appreciate the progression of Emerie Karr, who is resigned to the idea that this is their fate, whether they like it or not, but sees through Omega’s actions that there’s potentially another way. I like Hemlock as a sycophant for the Emperor, while also clearly jockeying for promotions and extra resources. I like Nala Se giving herself plausible deniability in Omega’s escape, given how she’s with Hemlock the whole time.
And most of all, I like the dynamic between Crosshair, who’s aghast at Omega just winging this escape plan on the one hand, with Omega herself, refusing to leave Crosshair behind. The dynamic between them has been one of the most interesting elements of The Bad Batch from the beginning, and it’s nice to see it continuing to bloom. I’m also intrigued by Crosshair’s shaky hand, which doesn't portend good things. Methinks we’ll eventually get a heroic sacrifice from an ailing Crosshair to protect Omega, completing his turn back to the good, and showing that some things are worth dying for, when you’re not being tossed out like used property.
Overall, this is a superb climax to the Tantiss arc we’ve seen so far, and gives the show a clear board to play with going forward, with enough balls still in the air for the show to catch later in the season.