As a three season journey comes to a close, it’s clear that we are in the end game now with The Bad Batch. This week’s double-feature upped the intensity considerably, and the title of the latter episode, “Point of No Return”, seems entirely fitting. Things have now been set in motion that can’t be undone, and it all sets the stage for what should be an absolutely thrilling final four episodes.
These episodes were dark and bleak, taking things to an extreme that will have massive implications for the rest of the season and the Star Wars universe in general. Let’s dive into the two episodes, and of course, full spoilers are ahead.
The first of the two episodes, “Identity Crisis” doesn’t include any member of the Bad Batch whatsoever, making it an entirely distinct episode. It focuses on Emerie Karr, who approaches Doctor Hemlock about taking the role of chief scientist vacated after Nala Se’s imprisonment. Hemlock agrees and begins bringing her up to speed on Project Necromancer, and for the first time on-screen we get confirmation of what it’s all about. He’s overseeing attempts to clone specimens with high m-count numbers (which we know are Midichlorian numbers), but they’ve been having trouble doing so. They can’t find a way to transfer the m-count numbers, because as Hemlock says, “m-count cannot be directly replicated from the source” – in other words, cloning is nearly impossible. But Nala Se found a different way to do it rather than just replicating m-count numbers, and Omega’s blood is able to bind with DNA to replicate m-count levels.
This all explains why Omega is so important to the Empire, and it clarifies what’s going on with her m-count numbers. While I don’t think we should rule out her tapping into the Force in the coming episodes (especially since there’s the shot of her focusing and meditating at the end of “Point of No Return”), but it’s not quite as simple as saying that Omega’s blood has such high midichlorian numbers. Rather, it’s that Omega’s blood is able to be transferred without losing the midichlorian numbers. It’s a small distinction, but one of massive consequence. It means that there is a way for a clone to be able to hold high midichlorian numbers, and Omega holds the secret to it.
This all ties into the larger Star Wars storyline in a massive way, because we know that Palpatine’s ultimate goal is to clone himself as the secret to immortality. That happens (as seen in The Rise of Skywalker), but not nearly as successfully as he would like. In the era of The Mandalorian they’re still working on Project Necromancer, and the struggles that Palpatine and the Sith Eternal had on Exegol was being able to find a clone body that could replicate the midichlorians. For example, Palpatine’s son Dathan, the father of Rey, was cast out because though he was genetically linked to Palpatine, he lacked the midichlorian connection. So what we know is that Hemlock’s work doesn’t ultimately lead to fruition, and that’s how I think this story will shape the Star Wars canon in the final weeks: while the Bad Batch works to rescue their brothers and sister from Mount Tantiss, they will also likely unknowingly thwart the progress on Project Necromancer and set it back decades, thus saving the galaxy from an immortal reign of Palpatine.
Anyway, what Hemlock also shows Emerie is that the specimens they’re using for experimentation are children with high m-counts. Along these lines, on another planet, we see an alien mother and her young Force sensitive child ratted out to a level one bounty hunter. Cad Bane shows up and kidnaps the child, who is then turned over to Emerie and the Empire for their testing. Hemlock is entirely cold toward the kids, calling them specimens and instructing Emerie not to get too personal with them. Emerie, however, is uncomfortable with the Empire using kids for this, and she seeks out Nala Se for advice – who tells her that she has the position to do something about it. At the end of the episode, Emerie gives the doll Omega had made to one of the kids as a small act of kindness.
“Identity Crisis” is a fantastic episode, highlighting just how dark and evil the Empire is. They’re calloused and cruel, with no problems using kids for their own nefarious purposes. Mount Tantiss is a bastion of intrigue and of evil, a place where cloning experimentation is going on alongside children being imprisoned. But it also sows the seeds of Emerie Karr, herself a clone, working to aid the clones’ cause. It seems she resonates with the kids, presumably because she was once young and vulnerable like they were. Hemlock took advantage of her and enlisted her, giving her purpose, but it seems very likely she’ll turn on him and aid the clones and these young kids.
But she won’t be alone, because in the next episode, “Point of No Return”, everything blows up and the endgame kicks in. While the Bad Batch are on peaceful Pabu preparing to leave after Asajj Ventress’s warnings, the CX assassin tracks them down and alerts the Empire to Omega’s presence on the planet. He destroys the Havoc Maurader, blowing it up, and Wrecker is badly wounded saving Gonky from the blast. With Wrecker unconscious, Hunter begins giving the orders when the Empire arrives, launching gunships to the planet and destroying any way out. Hunter heads off to steal a gunship while Crosshair and Omega get to cover, but everything goes horribly wrong. The Empire begins rounding up the citizens and destroying their home, while Hunter’s attempt to steal a gunship winds up in failure, nearly killing him as he plummets into the water.
Omega feels responsible for all of it (though Hunter had earlier told her touchingly that “it’s the Empire’s fault, not yours”), so she makes a decision: she’s going to turn herself in. Crosshair tries to talk her out of it, telling her they’ll take her back to Tantiss, but she counters by saying they’ve been trying to find a way back there anyway. She insists it’s their only option, that it’s her choice, and that Crosshair can shoot a tracker onto the ship as they’re taking her away. So in a classic Star Wars fashion, Omega surrenders to the Empire to prevent further suffering for innocent people. It’s very much like Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, and like Ezra Bridger at the end of Star Wars Rebels, being led away in handcuffs after surrendering for the good of others. We don’t know whether Omega is really Force sensitive because of her high m-count numbers, but it doesn’t really matter, because she’s very clearly the Jedi-like figure in this series and this action is exactly what a Jedi would do. She’s in the clutches of the enemy in an effort to stop suffering and help others.
But the episode doesn’t end without delivering one final gut-punch. As Crosshair races to get in position to place a tracker on the ship, he’s slowed down by stormtroopers. By the time he’s finished the ship is taking off, and he fires a shot to place the tracker… and misses. All season he’s been struggling with a hand tremor and has lost his accuracy as a sniper, and now the once-sure-shot has missed when it mattered most. Hunter is going to be irate, and Crosshair is going to be filled with shame. Earlier in this season he blamed Hunter for letting Omega be taken to Tantiss in season two, saying that he wasn’t enough to protect her – but now Crosshair finds himself in the exact same situation. He’s now to blame. What the showrunners are doing with Crosshair this season is the strongest storyline of them all, and it’s really compelling to watch unfold.
Undoubtedly this is all leading to an assault on Tantiss, likely with the Bad Batch, Echo, Rex, and Emerie all a part of it. This series is really picking up, but it’s actually been fantastic for a long time. Both of these episodes were fantastic, and I can’t wait to see the final four weeks of the show. As we’ve long known, some of the very best storytelling in the entire Star Wars franchise is found in animation, and The Bad Batch is the latest example of it.
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