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 five of season three, ‘The Return’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Dan Lo
“Oh don’t pretend this is all about me. I tried to warn you, Hunter. I risked everything to send you that message. You ignored it. You let Omega be taken to Tantiss.” I admit that I blanked during that exchange between Crosshair and Hunter, and had to seek the assistance of Wookieepedia to get reacquainted with some events from the previous season. I’ve mostly avoided watching TV shows for most of my adult life, and retaining detailed storytelling continues to be a challenge to this day.
In The Return, the Bad Batch got as close to a full reunion as they’ll ever get. Mourning the loss of Tech as a group must have happened offscreen. The closest we got was Crosshair’s pause in response to Echo admitting the challenges posed by Imperial encryption without Tech. It wasn’t entirely clear if it was a moment of sadness or brainstorming, if not a bit of both.
I found it interesting that Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair all had uncharacteristic moments. As they were working on getting the giant ice wyrm outside the sensor perimeter, Wrecker lamented “why is it always a huge monster?!” I knew that Wrecker doesn’t like heights, but since when did he have a problem with large creatures? As the commanding officer of Clone Force 99, Hunter checked his leadership skills at the door by often giving Crosshair the cold shoulder. And as for the prodigal clone, Crosshair displayed a soft side that we never saw even prior to his defection such as attempting to console Omega, arranging the clone trooper helmets, and petting Batcher. He even got perilously close to apologizing to Hunter during the closing scenes. Crosshair is now arguably more of a clone than he’s ever been, and I say that as a compliment.
Rex also got a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it name drop near the end of the episode, which made me half-wonder why it’s been so long since we’ve seen him. In live action shows, characters may be written out of a stretch of episodes for various financial or logistical reasons but this is an animated series where the voice actor is already in the studio. Not a complaint, but just a random thought that came to mind.
The highlight of the season so far has got to be Crosshair’s arc. It feels organic and believable with a coherent assortment of events that has sparked the gradual changes. He’s clearly the main character, and even the latest helping of Star Wars droid humor involved him as he fired at an understandably nervous AZI. Do we know the reason why his hand got shaky? Intentional or not, it’s a nice nod to Saving Private Ryan.
Eric Onkenhout
The fifth episode of The Bad Batch, The Return, served as a satisfying addition to Crosshair’s story arc. Omega and Crosshair reunite with Hunter and Wrecker, and later Echo and Rex on the tropical island of Pabu. Crosshair is slowly trying to gain his skills as a marksman back while suffering from the trauma he endured as an Imperial prisoner. Omega encourages Crosshair to talk to Hunter. But folks like Crosshair need to go about things their way, it cannot be forced. The good sign is that Hunter and Wrecker seem open to having Crosshair back.
The group need to travel to an Imperial outpost on Barton IV to restore the use of Nala Se’s datapad. The outpost is abandoned and the one Crosshair was stationed at when he assassinated an Imperial officer. With the underground wyrm, The Return, reminded me a lot of Dune, but also Star Wars Rebels: The Lost Commanders with the joopa fish. As the episode progressed and nothing was overtly being said I got a little worried that Hunter and Wrecker might allow Crosshair back without discussing what happened. Crosshair was noticeably touched when Wrecker brought out his old uniform. But like I said Crosshair needs to move at his own pace. Hunter confronted Crosshair on a couple of occasions until Crosshair finally explained everything at the end. And it was great seeing Hunter accept his explanation and apology. And I loved that Hunter admitted that he also had regrets. That’s what great leaders do.
The Bad Batch has improved upon each episode this season. Crosshair is such a complicated character and he’s experienced both sides of the war. His knowledge and Omega’s identity will be invaluable going forward.
Mark Newbold
For an episode that is so packed with action and tension, it’s the smaller moments – the glances, the stares (many of them as icy as the world they’ve returned to) and the tentative rebuilding of old relationships shattered by betrayal that capture the attention. We know the makers of the show can really deliver when it comes to pulse-racing action, and The Bad Batch is a show that can really knock it out of the park, but this series has also been noteworthy for dialling into the relationships – complicated relationships – and bringing us character development and interaction you’d expect from a live action show. I’ll say it again; if The Bad Batch was a live action show, it would be adored every bit as much as any of the other live action shows (although of course we wouldn’t have Dee Bradley Baker or Michelle Ang spoiling us with thier talents) but as an animated show it’s somewhat overlooked. A shame for sure, but for those of us paying attention, it’s a treat.
Their tactile task is simple. They need an Imperial computer to access Nala Se’s datapad, and Crosshair knows where there is one closeby, and so we return to Barton IV and plenty of danger as a snow wyrm prowls the perimeter of the base, the repetitive pulse of the beacon that keeps it at bay now turned off. It’s big, hungry, angry and looking for snacks, and with Clone Force 99 present and somewhat preoccupied it could be in for a feast. Thankfully, this is the instigator of some batch bonding, as Crosshair and Hunter click back into their old military routines like clockwork, keeping the creature at bay as they reactivate the beacon. Meanwhile, Wrecker shows us he has the biggest heart, Crosshair regrets at choices made, Echo a cautious note and Hunter more glares than a daytime soap but enough of an opening in his armour that perhaps there’s a chance for Crosshair to make amends.
And of course Omega, the prize now hunted by Hemlock and the Emperor, who is the keystone of this fractured unit. She has close ties to all of them, and is eager for a return to the old harmony they used to enjoy, but we know that will never happen; Tech is gone, and without his fastidious, dilligent ways the dynamics of the group are forever changed. We’re almost halfway through this third and final season which criminally ends this spring, and with a lot of ground to cover they’d better get their act together fast, because the galaxy is coming after them.
Jen Sopchockchai
Last week, I wrote at length about how emotional the reunion between Omega and Crosshair and Wrecker and Hunter was. I thought their first conversation might be explosive, or that Omega, anxiously darting her gaze back and forth between the two divided factions of her family, would have to stop at all out fight between them. What I got instead was more passive aggressive brooding than anger. The more I think about it, the more I can see how this is actually truer to the characters, who have always been reluctant to explicitly share their feelings with one another.
The titular return to Barton IV, the planet featured in S2E12 “The Outpost,” highlighted how complex Crosshair has become, as that episode marked a major turning point for his character and, more specifically, his character’s understanding of the Empire. The second I recognized where the “remote facility” as the place where he pleaded for Mayday’s life and shot the Imperial officer who callously refused to waste resources on them.
The return of the ice vulture here was a brilliant visual callback to “The Outpost,” as that same creature circled overhead in the final scenes of that chilling, masterfully told story. It’s reappearance in “The Return” is a very efficient way to visually clue us into Crosshair’s interiority — that he returns to Barton IV out of necessity, but in doing so must confront the events of “The Outpost” and therefore his past as a part of the Empire. But…BUT. If I read too much into the symbolism of the ice vulture, I can say that the reappearance of this creature serves as an omen that portends Crosshair’s death. It would make the most sense for him to be the one who makes it possible for Clone Force 99 to destroy Mt. Tantiss and save all the clones there. I’m not sure how many Bad Batchers we will lose by the end of the season, but if we only lose one, Crosshair seems like the most likely candidate, purely from this character arc perspective.
I still see one huge unresolved issue: trust in Omega as a full-fledged member of the crew as opposed to a ward under their care. If Hunter’s reaction to Crosshair says anything, it’s that he still, despite everything they’ve been through, doesn’t full entrust Omega to make her own judgments and decisions. Wrecker very clearly says that if Omega is cool with Crosshair, then so is he — no questions asked. The series has handled Crosshair’s growth and development so nicely; I really hope that Hunter may arrive at a similar place with Omega.
(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)
Ross Hollebon
I did not expect to think of Dune 2 while watching the most recent episode of The Bad Batch, but here we are during an episode focusing on relationships.
Certain scenes and events made me think of other movies and shows as the action played out. Days after seeing sandworms playing hero roles on Arrakis, a snow wyrm becomes an episodic baddie back in the Star Wars galaxy as the crew of Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, Crosshair, Echo, and Batcher descend upon an abandoned Imperial base to access files on Nala Se’s data pad.
The snow wyrm was originally repelled by sensor markers giving off a high-frequency tone surrounding the base. This is relative to the Star Wars Rebels base on Atollon. The Ghost Crew needed to secure sensor markers to keep the krykna at bay to keep the base safe. Speaking of the knobby spiders, the iced version of them, on Malso Kreiss during season 2 of The Mandalorian, inhabited underground ice tunnels like the snow wyrm. That ferocious wave upon wave of space arachnids chased Din Djarin, Grogu, and the Frog Lady—and nearly destroyed the Razor Crest.
Those crossovers or nods are relative, but the most important relationships in this episode were between the remaining members of the Bad Batch. Omega continues to do her best to get Crosshair and Hunter back on the same page, but it takes time. There are moments of Echo taking verbal jabs at Crosshair, Wrecker saying all he needs is Omega vouching for Crosshair for him to trust his old comrade. But as the tension ratchets up, thanks to the issue with the aforementioned snow wyrm, it is Hunter and Crosshair having it out that appears to finally clear the air.
Hunter demands to know what the sniper is hiding. Crosshair tells him he has done terrible things for the Empire until they betrayed him. He owns it but then also calls out Hunter for mistakes. Mistakes that put Omega in danger. Hunter has his own internal reckoning and it appears the band is back together, especially when Hunter says, “I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better. And who knows? There just might be hope for us yet.”
This group of fugitives will need all the hope they can muster as Dr. Hemlock and his Imperial resources continue to hunt down Omega for her relationship to a high M-count and achieve the Emperor’s wishes for cloning advances.
- Hardcover Book
- Gratton, Tessa (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 448 Pages - 06/11/2024 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
