Every time an episode of The Bad Batch lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the fifteenth episode of season 1 of The Bad Batch – Return to Kamino. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Carl Bayliss
So our 15th episode, Return to Kamino (or Finale Part 1 according to the Disney Plus episode guide) reaches the point we’ve all been waiting for – Crosshair, having captured Hunter, returns with him to Kamino, which is now a shell of it’s former hub of activity. The Empire have been busy relocating the resources they want and, ahem, disposing of those they don’t and what’s left is being stripped out by the new TK troopers.
Crosshair activates Hunters com, knowing that the rest of Clone Force 99 will see it and come looking for their comrade, and sure enough they duly oblige. However, Omega knows of a secret landing pad and tube transfer systemunder the water (very Naboo-esque) which can sneak them into the city via a hidden lab, where they locate AZI-3, Nala Se’s droid who is pleased to see Omega.
Crosshair is expecting them and, leaving Omega and the trusty Kaminoan droid, Echo, Wrecker and Tech go to spring the trap, where Crosshair reveals that his love of the Empire isn’t as a result of his chip as he had it removed, but rather his own desire for order and loyalty.
However, Omega and AZI-3 activate some of the training droids to disrupt things, not before Crosshair takes out the 4 imperial troops in an attempt show Hunter that despite his loyalty to the Empire they can trust him, and that they should be part of this new Empire which needs their skills. Whilst then fighting off the training droids, the order is given to leave the clones there and evacuate the facility.
This allows the Imperial Star Destroyers to move in and they begin their barrage on the city – the Clones make their way out, having stunned Crosshair, but Hunter tells them to bring him along. However with the platforms under heavy attack they retreat back into the city, as it sink into the ocean for our cliff-hanger ending.
As we’ve had throughout the season, the visuals and music work hand in hand to convey the emotion in scenes, and were as stunning as ever, and the twist regarding Crosshair’s chip was unexpected and beautifully executed. My only real criticism is not of the episode, but of the timing of Disney’s confirmation of the a second season – if they’d have waited 10 days we could have gone into these episodes with a real sense of jeopardy, but now we know there is to be a second season then some of them have to get out alive. And one more week to wait to see how it all pans out!
Paul Naylor
It’s the subtleties of The Bad Batch that make it such a joy to watch.
From the use of elements of John Williams soundtrack to Attack of the Clones when Hunter arrives on Kamino as prisoner of Crosshair; to the flattening of Omega’s hair following a landing in typical Kaminoan conditions, as the crew find transport via a snazzy tube network beneath the waves. It’s all impressively rendered.
Watch it again and marvel at Omega’s reflection in the curved glass of the tubes in the cloning facility; or at the inclusion of Crosshair carrying Hunter’s helmet like a hunting trophy as he taunts his former crew-mate along the sanitised corridors.
In what was another outstanding episode, as Crosshair tries to manipulate Clone Force 99 to join The Empire, he reveals that his inhibitor chip was removed long ago. The crew is stunned by the revelation – and Crosshair is stunned by Hunter’s blaster.
Meanwhile, Tarkin gives Vice Admiral Rampart the instruction to “fire when ready“, a chilling recall from previous Star Wars adventures. As the Bad Batch makes an attempt to escape Kamino, with the unconscious Crosshair, the Empire opens fire.
The ending is cinematic in its execution, with brief glimpses of familiar visages from what is now an abandoned cloning facility, again harking back to Attack of the Clones and the many sights we shared for the first time in 2002 with Obi-Wan upon his arrival to Kamino.
And then utter destruction. Did the heroes survive? With an episode remaining and season 2 confirmed, I think we can assume yes, but nevertheless, the final instalment has a lot of questions to answer, and a lot to live up to following episode 15.
Daniel Lo
Omega apparently predates the Bad Batch. This is a surprise. My Clone Wars era chronology is pretty murky, so I have to either conclude that Clone Force 99 haven’t been around for as long as I thought, or Omega has received some degree of growth deceleration. A re-introduction of young Boba Fett might help shed some light on this. Regardless, it’s a rather major revelation dropped in a low key way in the latest episode “Return to Kamino“.
Speaking of Kamino, we get what turns out to be a first and final look at some features of Tipoca City: A hidden landing pad, tube system, and of course the birth lab of Experimental Unit 99. Their final approach to the doomed locale also gets the John Williams treatment. Nice.
For the entire second half of the season, Crosshair sports a shaved head and heavy scarring exactly where his inhibitor chip was planted. Am I the only one who failed to perceive the implications of that? Either way, I’m glad I did because it makes for a much more interesting reveal. The training room scene shares some common elements with the throne room fight from The Last Jedi: An antagonist performs a team kill, switches sides, fights off a slew of faceless enemies together, resumes hostile relations, loses consciousness, and the overall facility takes major damage. Naturally, Crosshair doesn’t know about that last part yet. Will this upcoming knowledge convince him to fully rejoin the Bad Batch before the season’s end?
As a quick side note, this reminds me of an observation I lightly hinted at in my review of “Rescue on Ryloth“. When our heroes take off from senator Taa’s private hanger, Crosshair fires several shots and completely misses. Which, for Crosshair, is fairly unusual. Of course I have no idea if there is any intended correlation with the chip’s possible absence at that point, and rifle fire may not have done any damage anyway but it stood out to me just the same.
I admit I wasn’t expecting Hunter to be reunited with the team so soon. While that’s been the general pattern for every major character forcibly separated from their companions of choice, I was expecting much more drawn out consequences when the credits first rolled after his capture. Of course, this was also before the announcement that a second season is on the way.
Some random thoughts that popped into my mind while watching: Why doesn’t Echo ever wear a prosthetic hand? How did the Havoc Marauder slip past the Venators undetected? Why is it almost always night time when we go to Kamino? How did Omega’s hair dry so quickly? Why did Tech think that entering the middle of a room on a slow lift would offer any advantage at all? Did Crosshair genuinely have Omega’s best interest in mind? Why do the training droid storage shelves eject so forcefully? Why did Wrecker seem upset about the opportunity to fight droids? How many times has Tarkin said “You may fire when ready” in his lifetime? Why did Hunter use his left hand to shoot Crosshair? And last but not least, have we ever said goodbye to a Star Wars location in such a poignant manner?
Ross Hollebon
“You are never going back to Kamino,” Hunter says to Omega. “I promise.” This line from Ep. 9 “Bounty Lost” felt like it would ring hollow and the penultimate episode of the inaugural season of The Bad Batch just proved Hunter unable to keep his word—to his benefit via a rescue attempt.
And while Omega wants nothing to do with the cloning tubes of Kamino, the water planet remains one of my favorite approaches in live-action or animated episodes. The storms, Kevin Kiner’s haunting score, and hovering Venator class Star Destroyers choke most sense of hope during both arrivals, Crosshair’s ship and then the Bad Batch. And the tension builds from there, especially when a human trooper under Crosshair’s command alerts Vice Admiral Rampart that she doesn’t trust her superior officer’s intentions with his fellow clones. This is yet another reminder that the Empire are puppet masters pulling the strings on a much larger scale than any one-off narrative.
Tech understands that an activated communication device from Hunter is a trap, but Clone Force 99 refuses to abandon their leader and, fortunately, has Omega who knows secret ways to traverse Kamino. From an off-the-grid underwater landing pad to a tunnel system (with gorgeous visuals) connected to Nala Se’s private research lab—where she lets her brothers know that this lab is where they were all created.
And it isn’t just Omega who is facing demons and being put in a position to share deep secrets—Crosshair continues taking passive-aggressive jabs at Hunter, especially when explaining to his soldiers that they don’t need to hunt down the arriving clones. The jaded sharpshooter says, “They don’t leave their one behind, most of the time,” which puts Hunter on the defensive and continues to tighten the tension.
The action picks up, TK troopers are once again recognized, and eventually, we find everyone together in the wide-open training room, where Crosshair momentarily rescues his former comrades with the purpose of recruiting them to the Empire—revealing this is his decision after having had his inhibitor chip removed. What he doesn’t hear is Rampart’s order to, “Let the clones die together,” leading to another desperate escape, this time by the entire Bad Batch as the Empire begins to destroy Tipoca City from above.
The finale can seemingly go in so many different directions.
Becca Benjamin
In part one of The Bad Batch season finale, “Return to Kamino,” we see the twilight of an era. The end starts now, where it all began, on Kamino.
Episode 15 of The Bad Batch as a whole is reminiscent of Matthew Stover’s prologue of his novel adaptation of Revenge of the Sith, “The Age of Heroes.” Essentially the ending lines up where it all started, old friends reunite, life and death, decay and rebirth, literally and figuratively, and it’s (both) visually and musically compelling.
Thematically, the inevitable fall is set up and ready to blow from the moment we hear the rendition of the Kamino theme music play from Attack of the Clones. As it swells, your heart knows impending doom is only moments away from our beloved Bad Batch and it’s going to get ugly.
But before that, we see a more mature and direct Omega emerge as she sets the tone and order for her fellow brothers in arms. It’s a pivotal character moment for her and shows her coming into her own as a leader. Omega insists on stopping at nothing to rescue Hunter even as Echo tells her to “focus,” but she’s having none of it. Eventually, they not only follow her lead but trust her enough to take orders from her when landing on an unseeable platform on Kamino.
Meanwhile, Crosshair taunts Hunter by activating his comlink to alert the others of his whereabouts. Words exchange between the two, and Hunter is fit to be tied when it comes to putting Omega in harm’s way. And as he stews, so does Crosshair because he knows the boys (and Omega too) will come for Hunter even though they never returned for him, leaving him behind to become a weapon for the Empire. As they deal with their feelings, this frees up one of the TK soldiers of Crosshair’s squad to confide in Rampart that more and more, they are beginning to distrust his motives when it comes to Clone Force 99.
As The Bad Batch docks on a secret landing pad on Tipoca City, Omega leads the way to yet another seclusive place; an underwater tubal passageway to Nala Se’s private laboratory. Now, for those avid Star Wars readers, we’ve seen something similar to this underwater seascape. Remember Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline? Good, because in that novel, Leia Organa goes back to meet with Rinnrivin Di for the second time on a water planet called Sibensko. And Leia accesses a waterway (like we see here on Kamino) to reach Rinnrivin’s location.
Ok, moving on, back to Tipoca City and inside Nala Se’s lab, Omega schools the boys on where it all began. She breaks the news on where their enhancements took place, and suddenly, it all seems to start making sense that none of this was ever going to end well. And, before they even reached the lab, Echo noted the emptiness of the whole facility, clones and Kaminoians alike.
Dovetailing back to the opening moments of this episode and the whole domino setup thing, well, this is when it all comes to ahead. Crosshair has Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech right where he wants them and in turn, so does Rampart as he speaks with Tarkin via hologram. As Tarkin gives Rampart to “fire when ready,” Crosshair reveals to his so-called brothers that he no longer has his inhibitor chip, that he blames them for not coming back for him, and that he has willingly chosen to fight for the ever-growing Empire. It’s a lot to take in. And not just for the characters, but for us, the audience as well.
As the first half of the season finale comes to a close, we see the fall of the prequels through a new lens. The spotless and sterile Kamino cloning facility is empty and abandoned. All the incubators that once held life are vacant, giving off an eerie feel. And then, as Wrecker carries an unconscious Crosshair over his shoulder running alongside his brothers and Omega, Rampart gives the order to “let the clones die together,” opening fire on the facility. Our last view is of the cloning facility tumbling into the dark waters of Kamino.
Until next week, the mission is over. Pass the mantell mix!
Eric Onkenhout
We’ve made it to the penultimate episode of the first season of The Bad Batch, and if Return to Kaino Part II is half as good as Part I, my head might explode. Seriously, it’s still early, but Return to Kamino might be one of my top episodes of any Star Wars series. The Bad Batch locate Hunter, who is being held prisoner on Kamino under Crosshair’s watchful eye. The trap is set. All that’s left is to spring the trap.
It makes complete sense for the series to return to Kamino as this is where the series began and where a prominent part of The Clone Wars germinates. With that comes the music heard during the approach to Tipoca City. Kevin Kiner has been killing it once again, and using cinematic musical queues in a series pulls the stories together tighter.
On Kamino, Crosshair activates Hunter’s comlink knowing the rest of the squad will come to rescue him, which they didn’t do for Crosshair. It doesn’t take long for the team to locate Hunter and make haste towards Kamino. With Rebels, there was Kanan’s rescue, and The Mandalorian had Grogu’s. Each “planning” episode” happened right before the final “rescue” episode. That didn’t happen this time. It’s satisfying that Star Wars stories don’t always follow the exact blueprint.
Return to Kamino revealed a little more about Omega’s origins. Omega and the Bad Batch were created in Nala Se’s secret laboratory. Omega admits to witnessing their births. This means the connection between the Batch and Omega is more substantial than we thought. When Omega chose to sit with the squad in Aftermath in the mess hall, it was because of that connection. Hearing Omega say, “this is where I was created” gave me goosebumps. To think a person wasn’t born but created is kind of creepy.
The last thing Omega wanted was to return to Kamino, but she doesn’t hesitate when it means rescuing Hunter. I was personally impressed with Omega’s fortitude. She’s so young but is incredibly strong. As expected, the Batch arrives, and an epic fight commences. What makes this fight scene so good isn’t just the action but the emotional background leading into it. From the beginning of Return to Kamino, we hear stormtroopers question Crosshairs loyalty to Admiral Rampart. Crosshair only wants to reunite with his brothers. Yes, he remains with the Empire because they accepted him.
Crosshair asking Hunter to join the Empire is similar to Vader’s “join me” or Kylo Ren holding his hand out to Rey. It’s easy to see where Crosshair comes from and what he wants, but he’s going about it the wrong way. During the melee, Omega releases a bunch of deadly training droids. This forces Crosshair and the Batch to team up and fight off the droids.
Like Spider-Man temporarily joining Doctor Doom to fight Sin-Eater, you’re just waiting for the inevitable betrayal. Although, maybe it’s just me waiting for the other shoe to drop. The Bad Batch theme really kicks in when they come together to fight off the droids. I’m sure this brought back memories of shooting clankers during the war.
Once the droids are destroyed, Crosshair reveals that he had his chip removed some time ago, and the decision to remain with the Empire was all his. He likely had it removed after his injuries on Bracca. I wonder if he had it removed because he wanted to be more like a recruit, knowing project War-Mantle is in full effect. Hunter quickly stuns Crosshair and has Wrecker carry him as they make their way back to their shuttle.
I can’t blame Crosshair for feeling abandoned. The Batch even crossed a galaxy to rescue Gregor, a clone they didn’t know. How would that make Crosshair feel? Probably like they never cared about or liked him in the first place. Granted, he wasn’t the nicest guy, but he was part of the team. To play devil’s advocate, the Bad Batch probably thought they wouldn’t be able to rescue Crosshair without killing him. Crosshair doesn’t strike me as a guy who would go down without a fight, especially under the control of an inhibitor chip.
Star Wars is all about redemption, so there’s still hope for Crosshair. What happens to the rest of the squad is also up in the air. Star Wars is also about tearing our hearts out, so let’s hope for the best and expect the worst. Speaking of the worst, Tarkin gives the order to obliterate Tipoca CIty. Watching the Venator-class ships destroy Tipoca CIty hit me harder than expected. The visuals of the empty cloning facility and the mess hall were haunting. It’s a definitive way to end the prequel era—by destroying the facility that fed the Clone Wars. An amazing yet ominous episode!
Until next week…the end is nigh. Season two is coming.
Mark Mulcaster and Mark Newbold discuss Return to Kamino on Episode 102 of Making Tracks
