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 episode eight of season three, ‘Bad Territory’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Eric Onkenhout
In Bad Territory, Phee contacts Hunter because he asked her to find out what she can about what an M-count is. Phee says Class-1 bounty hunters have been retrieving M-count targets for the Empire. Omega suggests they ask Fennec Shand what an M-count is because she was hired to capture Omegas for the Kaminoans. Hunter and Wrecker track down Fennec on a space station and they make a deal. Fennec gives them information about M-count in exchange for help capturing a bounty: Sylar Saris, The Slayer of Ordo Eris. The three of them travel to a toxic, polluted world to find Saris. While floating down the river, they encounter vicious alligator-like creatures and a river full of mines.
Meanwhile, on Pabu Omega tries to help Crosshair with his shaky hand. She suggests it’s not a physical issue but a mental one. So Omega teaches Crosshair how to meditate to calm his mind and his nerves. Giving more evidence that Omega is Force-sensitive. Omega said she picked up the technique while she spent time with Gunji. It would’ve been nice to see her meditate before this so it didn’t seem so convenient.
Bad Territory had a very traditional storyline where the good guys needed something, but in order to get it they had to complete a mission first. It’s a lot of work for information most viewers know the answer to. I appreciate the time Omega and Crosshair are getting to spend together. Time that isn’t spent evading blaster bolts. Sylar Saris was a pretty formidable foe for a one-and-done character. It took all to take him down. In the end, Fennec said she doesn’t actually know what an M-count is but knows someone who does. That someone is expected to be Asajj Ventress.
Mark Newbold
We’re deep in the mire now as the galaxy wakes to the hunt for Omega and the search to learn what the dreaded M-count really is hots up, and what better character to introduce back into the action than Fennec Shand, last seen in the debut season of The Book of Boba Fett. Her return not only delivers a genuine modern Star Wars heavy-hitter, but reminds us of her own arc, from someone at this point in history who will not lift a finger to make life easier for anyone (even allies) to Fett’s most trusted lieutenant. That by itself is worth the watch, but it’s the little touches that are where the intrigue lies. Phee tells our heroes about bounty hunters bringing in M-count bounties without knowing what they actually are, but here we realise that Phee crossing paths with Clone Force 99 happened after Crosshair went his separate ways, and so the acquirer of rare antiquities and the stories she shares with his fellow clones are all new to him, making him feel even more out of the loop.
That said, we also get some quiet, thoughtful moments on Pabu as Omega, AZ and Crosshair continue to train, his hand still shaking. The issue isn’t physical, it’s deeper than that and we get a sequence that will stay long in the memory as Omega teaches Crosshair to meditate, and the gruff clone actually gives it a go. Michelle Ang said that her relationship with Crosshair was her favourite one of the season, and so far her words have very much been bourne out.
Of course, the episode couldn’t exist simply on these kind of moments. Like Ethan Sacks Bounty Hunters comic, The Bad Batch has action coursing through its veins and a mission to a polluted, toxic world to help Fennec collect the bounty on Sylar Saris is packed with creature attacks and lush visuals, capped by a pitch black gunfight that sees the batch finally get their man (or insectoid). Fennec stalls on delivering the information she promised, and as the episode rolls out she’s on the comm to an unrevealed someone. Given we’re past the midway point of the season and she’s seen in the trailer we can surmise that mystery person is Asajj Ventress.
What Ventress’ role will be in the final episodes is unknown, but simply having her there adds star power (and fire power) to the show, and continues to hook us in just as the Empire continue to tighten the net around our heroes. She could be the fly in the oitment – as could Fennec – and with redemption being such a huge element of the Star Wars story who knows what twists we’ve yet to experience. My gut is telling me that next weeks episode is going to be the keystone of the season.
Dan Lo
Season three of The Bad Batch has been fairly focused so far. The opening four episodes were dedicated to Omega and Crosshair’s escape from Tantiss, followed by Crosshair’s reacclimatization to Clone Force 99. Then the story began opening up in last week’s double feature, increasing the scope of the series and setting the stage for much higher stakes. Then, suddenly, the show went into side quest mode.
Or did it? Sure, in a universe filled with technology still completely unfathomable to us, it’s a little odd that our heroes don’t have some sort of intergalactic internet with which to look up the meaning of “M-count”. And it may also be somewhat convenient that Fennec Shand happened to be the most ideal source of that information, and that her price was to help bring in a mark. On top of that, our heroes held up their end of the bargain at great personal risk, but were left hanging at the end. Very frustrating. But to write it all off as a side quest would be missing the most important aspect of the episode: Crosshair’s arc. With Hunter’s leadership skills back intact, he easily convinced Omega to stay behind to help look after the sniper’s shaky hand. In turn, Crosshair’s development continued to unfold in ways only possible in the exclusive company of Omega. Several episodes ago, I mentioned that he’s become more of a clone than he’s ever been. By the end of Bad Territory, he’s even starting to resemble a Jedi. Are we sure his negative M-count readings were accurate?
A quick detour about Fennec: While it’s definitely neat to see the same character appearing across multiple shows, it can also be chronologically confusing. Or maybe not for younger and more nimble-minded viewers, but I found myself taking way too long to remember if this was pre-The Mandalorian/The Book of Boba Fett Fennec Shand. After finally realizing the answer was obviously yes, it became interesting to observe a character who is currently a villain knowing they will later become, well, less of a villain. Like Crosshair, her arc is still unfolding too.
If I may indulge in a quick gripe about Hunter, the inconsistency of his abilities has been a bit puzzling. In the final season of The Clone Wars we learned that he has enhanced senses for electromagnetic frequencies, a skill that was immediately showcased. Then it went largely dormant ever since, before abruptly taking center stage again during his reluctant collaboration with Fennec. “Gripe” is probably too strong of a word of course, but the sudden return of his ‘superpower’ was something that jumped out at me.
When was the last time Star Wars characters landed on a planet that didn’t have breathable air?
Jen Sopchockchai
Fennec Shand is really the headliner here. The contrast between life as a loner vs. with a crew reflects back on Fennec’s character, as a clear precursor to the events of The Book of Boba Fett, which prompt her to realize that her loner bounty hunter lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Fennec initially dismissed Boba’s proposal but by the end of the series she formed an attachment to him. The version of Fennec we see in this episode makes perfect sense as one who hasn’t yet met a newly enlightened Boba Fett.
Hunter and Wrecker go on a swampy expedition with Fennec Shand in the hopes that she can, in exchange, provide them information about the Empire’s M-Count bounties. Meanwhile, back on Pabu, Omega asks AZ to check out Crosshair’s hand, and then when they realize that the issue may be mental and not physical, they meditate together in front of a gorgeous ocean sunset. We cut back and forth between these two storylines. And that’s it.
However, there is a major cliffhanger at the end of the episode. After Hunter and Wrecker part ways with Fennec Shand, being forced to trust her to hold up her end of the deal, Fennec calls an unidentified character and tips them off about The Batch. She says, “I’m sure you can track them down easily enough. I’ll send you what I have.” The fact that the episode ends there indicates that we’re supposed to be in suspense. This is not, however, a cliffhanger if you have seen the trailer for this season and recognize a certain character’s theme music. I’m pretty sure Asajj Ventress is on the other end of this call.
Ventress makes sense as someone to connect with Clone Force 99. She’s been burned by the Sith and has extensive knowledge of the Force and whatever an “M-Count” is, and as the former apprentice of Count Dooku she also has potential knowledge of the Kaminoans and cloning science.
Some of my favorite Ventress episodes of The Clone Wars are during the “To Catch a Jedi”/Ashoka on the run from the Jedi Council arc. It was satisfying to see her team up with Ahsoka and getting to know her as not a black and white, cackling villain, but as a lost but not all that bad soul who, like Ahsoka, was exploited and misunderstood by an institution she trusted.
(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)
