Every time an episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on episodes fifteen and sixteen of season two, ‘The Summit’ and ‘Plan 99’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Eric Onkenhout
The final two episodes of The Bad Batch for the season aired this week, and there definitely wasn’t a shortage of cliffhangers and tension going into the next season. Star Wars is very good at this, and even though longtime fans are used to it, there’s always speculation.
Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, and Omega are trying to find out more about the Advanced Science Division but finding any information is proving difficult. And there’s even less information about Dr. Royce Hemlock. However, the guys learn that Hemlock will be at a conference on Eriadu at Tarkin’s compound. Eventually, we find out that also in attendance is Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), Hurst Romodi (Rogue One), and Barton Coburn, who appeared in several episodes of The Clone Wars, including the ones where Ahsoka was banished from the Jedi Order.
I wanted to touch on one thing specifically about these final two episodes. In my head, I pictured the guys getting a call from Crosshair asking to be picked because he decided the Empire isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and that he’d had enough. I also pictured Palpatine learning of Chuchi’s plans, and she’d mysteriously get assassinated, and the Bad Batch would catch some heat directly from Palpatine. None of that happened.
Yes, the guys attempt to recover Crosshair but need to go through Hemlock first, which makes sense and adds a lot to the story. And Palpatine was nowhere to be found except for that one episode. Which also makes sense. You don’t want him in it too much. First off, I don’t believe Tech is dead. In Star Wars, unless there’s a body, he’s not dead (queue Mace Windu’s return). And yes, Hemlock tosses Tech’s goggles at Hunter as proof, but sorry, that’s not enough. Hemlock could be bluffing. There is definitely a possibility he’s dead, but it’s not guaranteed.
We’re left with Hunter and Wrecker as prisoners on their way to Tarkin, and Omega is captured and taken to Mount Tantiss, where she reunites, sort of, with Crosshair. And she learns that Scientist Emrie Karr is her sister. This part bugged me. In previous episodes, I sensed some hesitation from Emrie, but we’re resorting to familial ties again. So Boba is her brother, and now Emrie is her sister. Okay then.
If Cid didn’t deserve my ire before, she certainly has it now. Maybe she didn’t exactly didn’t enjoy turning the guys in, but she certainly profited from it. I hope she gets what’s coming to her someday. These were good episodes, but I wished Crosshair was able to reunite fully with his brothers. It would have made for a happier ending, something Lucas was all for. I liked the title Plan 99, in that it refers to Clone Force 99, and 99, the clone was The Clone Wars.
Hopefully, the third season will be announced during Celebration Europe next week, and the speculation can begin.
Jen Sopchockchai
I have to go for the jugular, just as this two-part finale did.
Tech is dead.
While the fan in me is heartbroken that Tech is gone, the critic in me is really impressed that Jennifer Corbitt and Brad Rau had the guts to infuse real loss into this story which, at least this season, has been trending darker and more mature the more we explore The Empire’s chokehold on the galaxy.
There is an argument to be made that Tech may still be alive. I would not have entertained that possibility until Doctor Hemlock tossed Tech’s broken goggles in front of Hunter. The fact that Hemlock found Tech and took just his goggles is a classic “but we didn’t see a body” move. And I’ll bet that if Tech had any life left in him at all, Hemlock would have snatched him right up and brought him to the lab for testing.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Omega discover Tech in the lab next season. Her overjoyed reaction that he’s not actually gone might be worth the take-back. And the idea of an Omega, Tech, and Crosshair team-up to take down Hemlock from the inside sounds like a very Bad Batch storyline. If this is indeed the last we’ve seen of Tech, he went out in the best way possible. His self-sacrifice so the rest of the squad can survive was noble, and, to me, reflects a consistent follow-through of his progression this season. He has stepped into more of a leadership position during missions, proving that he’s not just a talking datapad. He’s grown closer to Omega. And we have learned that he may not always express his emotions in a conventional way, but that does not mean that his feelings run any less deep.
And so, considering all that, this final act, which can speak much louder than his non-emotive words, seems like a fitting way for him to essentially say, “I love you” to his family. And that’s beautiful.
On a more superficial level, Tech’s death scene was just some straight-up cool action hero stuff. The way he says, “When have we ever followed orders?” right before he shoots at the hinge and drops from sight into the fog had the swagger, gravitas, and dramatic timing worthy of stars like Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, or even some of the best James Bonds. I didn’t want to say goodbye, but if we have to, I’m glad he got this final moment to shine. It creates an ideological counterpoint to the phrase Crosshair and other Order 66-ed clones have used throughout the series, “Good soldiers follow orders.”
Tech’s invocation of the code “Plan 99” adds even more depth to his final moments because, only the week before, Crosshair referenced “Plan 88” in his warning to the Batch. These are both big moments of self-endangerment for the sake of the whole squad’s safety. I also think that the 88/99 pairing here may nudge me more into the theory that Crosshair and Tech will join forces with Omega to not only escape but take down amount Tantiss and free all its clone lab rats.
The history behind Plan 99 and the use of the number 99 in Clone Force 99 supports this idea of self-sacrifice. Clone 99 was an actual clone first introduced in Season 3 of The Clone Wars. He suffered numerous genetic “defects” during the cloning process and had been relegated to a janitorial position on Kamino. When Separatists invaded Kamino, however, Clone 99 lost his life trying to help his brothers. Clone Force 99, also considered “defective,” were named in Clone 99’s honor. Tech, then, is following in the tradition of 99 in death.
Finales are always at the top of their game when they feel like the natural conclusion to stories that have been unfolding all season. That’s how I felt watching these last two episodes, even if I was super stressed out and eventually gutted by what happened. Back in the early episodes, I predicted that even the seemingly standalone mission episodes would gradually chip away at sculpting a full and fulfilling story. I’d like to cash in that “I told you so” now, thanks.
(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)
Mark Newbold
As the final review of the second season of The Bad Batch (and thanks to all of our reviewers this season, it’s very much appreciated), it would be tempting to sum up at length what we’ve seen this season, from the opening salvo of stand alone adventures, through a swelling, knitting together of plots to this, a double-barrelled season finale that enthralled, entertained, devastated and left us wanting more. Of course, the loss of Tech is the marquee moment of these two episodes, an act of selfless heroism that proved he truly heard and took to heart every remark from Omega and Phee while showing him be be every bit as much of the warrior as Wrecker or Hunter.
In addition, we have the ongoing ‘B-plot’ of Doctor Hemlock and Emrie Karr, now holding both Crosshair and Omega captive as Wrecker and Hunter escape, only to lose their sister to the stars with no clue of where to find her. With Cid clearly regretting her decision to turn in the Batch for money, could she be the one to make amends and help them find Omega, or is she now out of the picture. It’s a harsh galaxy, often with no clearly defined right or wrong answer, but it feels (thankfully, hopefully) inevitable that a third season of the show follows this gut-wrenching cliffhangar and lays down more answers regarding Palpatine’s clone ambitions. Could Exegol be in the future of this show? Quite possibly.
Of course, we must remember that this is Star Wars. Rogue One is unique in its admirable stubborness to keep the Scarif team in their graves, where so many (Darth Maul, Chewbacca, Palpatine) return after their apparant demises. Seeing Tech’s goggles doesn’t necessarily mean he perished on Eriadu, but a miraculous return could spoil what felt like the ultimate – and in Tech’s own words logical – sacrifice.
#We’re watching young Omega, a first generation child of the Imperial era, see just how bleak the future is for the galaxy while honing her skills with her clone brothers as they travel around the galaxy. We’ve watched her get dirt between her toes, make friends (Phee being the most charmingly enjoyable), see far distant stars and grow. She’s also experienced loss (Echo as he leaves to work with Rex), grief (the death of Tech) and betrayal (Cid) and as we head towards that third season we can only hope that her skills are enough to see her and the rest of the batch through.
From where we leave them the future is bleak and dark, but one thing remains that the dark can never snuff out – hope.
