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 fourteen of season three, ‘Flash Strike’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Ross Hollebon
Three undefined pieces on the board may decide the outcome of the rescue attempt on Tantiss Base during the finale of The Bad Batch series. We know who Rampart is, but can he change? Is Emerie brave enough to hold an offer to help Echo rescue the children and the prisoners? And can the Zillo Beast, discovered by Omega as she continues exploring the innards of Tantiss, provide the seemingly under-matched “good guys” with something to level the playing field? The final episode should expose whether they are, respectively, a scorpion or a frog from the old fable (likely originated in Russia or Persia).
Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Rampart attempt to navigate the deadly forest after they are shot down while approaching the base—their plan of attaching to the science vessel a success. Rampart, shortly after explaining to Crosshair, “You’re like me. Loyal to no one but yourself,” is separated from the trio of Batchers and is captured by Stormtroopers. What will be his next move when likely confronted by Dr. Hemlock?
Echo manages to gather more intel on the science vessel—as well as Stormtrooper armor and a new droid right hand—before escaping into the base and finding the lab. There Echo is caught by Dr. Emerie, who knows it is him based on Omega’s descriptions of her brothers. She doesn’t raise an alarm. Instead, she hears out Echo’s pleas to do the right thing and be a Clone instead of an Imperial doing a job. He explains the plan is to rescue all the prisoners and that is when she alerts him more children are being observed and experimented on than just Omega. For the moment she appears ready to help Team Omega, but time, and deadly situations, will tell.
Finally, Omega has started to teach the other children to think critically on their feet, employing them to “cover her” if any scientists come to the Vault while she’s spelunking and traversing inside the walls of the base. The kids do their job, and she can report to them that there is a Zillo beast in a giant tank within the base. She has already convinced the children her brothers are there to rescue them—but has she discovered the great equalizer, if there is a way to free the beast and let it attack Tantiss from within like its predecessor did Coruscant during the Clone Wars?
Welcome to the finale.
Mark Newbold
I’m convinced that in a few short months we’ll look back on The Bad Batch with increasing fondness. While it’s often overlooked for other shows (currently sitting in the shadow of the pre-Acolyte build, last season overlapping with The Mandalorian season three) the series has consistently delivered high quality television blending the ‘current events’ of the galaxy with a whole lot of heart as we watch Omega and her brothers navigate their way through this post-Order 66 world. It’s given us a view of the galaxy that we could never have dreamed of just a few short years ago, taking us beyond The Clone Wars not only with characters concieved by George Lucas himself (and as such making this one of the last projects with his fingerprints all over it) but also in a way that has expanded and built up the Palpatine masterplan of Project: Necromancer. This show is far more important than most give it credit for.
Flash Strike had the tough job of bringing the show right up to the finish line, and did it with some panache. While Omega does what comes naturally and works to solve the puzzle of escaping the inescapable Vault, her brothers along with former Vice Admiral Rampart smash into Wayland on their way to Mount Tantiss, navigating the forests, evading the local fauna but ultimately being separated with Rampart back in Imperial custody. Sure, there’s every chance he’ll try and use whatever leverage he has to extricate himself from the situation by offering up Clone Force 99 (and a good-guy-turn may duplicate Star Wars Rebels Agent Kallus a little too closely) but with the finale just days away, we can hope he’ll ‘do the right thing’ (from a very biased certain point of view).
As Omega makes her play and pops the wall cavity to wriggle inside and find a way out she stumbles across something truly surprising; a Zillo Beast, smaller than ones we seen before (but we know how fast they can grown when introduced to the right stimulus) but no doubt able to cause significant damage. How will that factor in to the end of the show, and the most important question – will any of our heroes survive?
Only Rex’s fate is assured. If Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega somehow escape the clutches of Hemlock and the Empire, where will they go? Pabu seems unlikely (although never forget the son of Anakin Skywalker was raised on his adoptive homeworld of Tatooine under the surname ‘Skywalker’, so hiding in plain sight may not be out of the question) and for now that second galaxy of Peridea is shrouded in myth. It seems Tech truly did die, so with no one’s safety assured and Omega such a key element in the entire project, the final episode could make for some uncomfortable viewing as choices are made. As for Flash Strike, it was a high-quality, confident episode that did exactly what it needed to and left us at the cusp of the final episode with plenty of questions yet to be answered.
Dan Lo
Due to yet another mental lapse, I did not initially realize that next week will be the show’s finale. For several hours after watching Flash Strike, I thought there were still two episodes remaining until a friend corrected me. In that context, it makes sense that this week’s episode of The Bad Batch hit us with a slew of cliffhangers: Rampart was captured, Clone Force 99 were on their way to the base, Echo ran into Dr. Emerie who seemed ready to defect, and Omega had hatched a plan that will likely involve a Zillo Beast. That’s quite a few threads to resolve all in one go. Are we in for an hour-long finale?
Maybe I’m completely blanking here, but how did Clone Commander Scorch determine that Rampart was involved in infiltrating the orbital station last week? Regardless, the former Vice Admiral is now back in Imperial custody and has exactly one episode left to make some sort of difference. But for who?
Speaking of blanking, I’m once again lost in the broader Star Wars chronology. Could this be the same Zillo Beast that has previously appeared on a different show, or completely unrelated? I also don’t remember enough about them in general to make any intelligent guesses on how it might play a part in Omega’s escape plans.
I’m having a hard time getting a read on Dr. Scalder’s role in all this. For two episodes in a row, her inspections have served to keep both the kids and viewers on edge but never results in any meaningful consequence. She has even twice nearly caught Omega sneaking through the dumbwaiter shafts like a scene out of Ocean’s 13. If nothing else, Scalder must surely be 100% Imperial due to her name (insert reference to Luke’s last name not being Starkiller).
The friend who pointed out that next week will be the finale also guessed that Crosshair may not make it out of the show alive in order to complete his redemption arc. I hadn’t planned on making any guesses, but it’s appropriate to echo the possibility given that I’ve spent most of the season asserting Crosshair’s main character status. On the other hand, we already saw Tech making an unexpected sacrifice last season. Would another one feel too repetitive?
Last but not least, we’ve had more than a few major cameos this season. There’s a lot to resolve in the finale, but maybe there’s room for one more. On the other hand, with Mount Tantiss being the scene of the final showdown, we might be limited to someone who knows of its secret location. Regardless, we will find out soon enough.
Eric Onkenhout
We are now at the penultimate episode of The Bad Batch as a series with Flash Strike, the 14th episode of Season 3. Omega continues her escape plan. While the Batch arrives at Weyland their shuttle is attacked by Imperial fighters. Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Rampart narrowly escape their stolen shuttle before it crashes into the jungle. In the jungles of Weyland, they’re confronted by vicious beasts while being chased by Imperial troopers. Meanwhile, Echo infiltrates Tantiss Base and in the process gains a droid hand and meets Emerie Karr.
It’s obvious how much of an impact Omega had on Crosshair’s outlook on life. Although Rampart is not convinced. Crosshair says he’s a changed person because Omega didn’t leave him behind and he’ll show her the same respect. Loyalty is everything to Crosshair. Omega’s escape plan has huge Andor vibes which makes sense since the Empire’s prison designs are likely similar on various planets. And seeing the Zillo beast was an unexpected surprise.
Another stellar episode of The Bad Batch. I’m not sure if it’s been confirmed but there still seems to be a lot to wrap up in one episode so I wouldn’t be surprised if the final episode is an hour long or more. With the last episode titled The Cavalry Has Arrived we’re bound to see lots of cameos and Karr has already turned on the Empire by helping Echo, But this still does not feel like the end of their story unless we have some casualties. It’s going to be stressful either way.
- Hardcover Book
- Mann, George (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 512 Pages - 09/24/2024 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
