REVIEW: The Bad Batch – Season 3, Episodes 10 and 11, “Identity Crisis” and “Point of No Return”

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

“Identity Crisis” introduces a Force-sensitive baby who gets reported to a bounty hunter. Meanwhile, on Mount Tantiss, Emerie is promoted to head scientist, Nala Se’s former post. Despite getting exactly what she wanted, Emerie is shocked to find that the “specimens” she will be overseeing are Force-sensitive children who just want to go home. She meets with Nala Se, who denies having any say in the situation. Cad Bane apprehends the baby and sells him to the Empire after confirming his M-count. Emerie gives Eva, one of the kids in her care, the doll Omega made.

In “Point of No Return,” the Batch prepares to leave Pabu behind. Omega adds her doll and Tech’s goggles to Pabu’s treasure room. However, before the Marauder can take flight, Clone X bombs it, tossing Wrecker and Gonky into the water. Clone X and commandos charge the shore and destroy all ships and skiffs to corner Omega. After attempts to run and hide, Omega turns herself in despite Crosshair’s reluctance. To make matters worse, Crosshair fails to land a tracker on the ship, so Omega can’t be traced later.

Any time The Bad Batch has a two-part release coming up, I know it’s going to be good. These episodes are not only entertaining and conducive to the season’s intrigue, but they’re very surprising, too. I’ve found Emerie very interesting, and I have a lot of questions about her, but I didn’t expect her to get her own starring episode. Keisha Castle-Hughes is perfect for the role, as she sounds older and colder than Michelle Ang’s Omega. They sound similar, but there’s a distinct weariness in Emerie that contrasts beautifully with Omega’s optimism and concern for those around her. Granted, in “Identity Crisis,” I think we see how much Emerie actually does care about others. In the premiere, her concern for Omega was clear, misguided as it may have been. But Emerie is genuinely horrified to learn that Dr. Hemlock and Nala Se were working on children, keeping them in holding cells, lying about letting them go home, and regularly taking blood. This absolutely tracks with the Empire’s treatment of Force-sensitive children in Rebels; Palpatine was secretly sending bounty hunters after them as early as The Clone Wars. In this sense, the plight of the alien baby is a familiar one, but it works emotionally. I really like how the storylines in “Identity Crisis” converge and collide in “Point of No Return.” This is what can be achieved when these shows slow down and take their time. If this were one rushed 22-minute episode, the results would be completely different, and the show would be lesser for it.

The unnamed Force-sensitive baby has a crappy neighbor. This is another recurring theme in Star Wars: innocent people being ratted out to the Empire for no real reason. The machine the neighbor uses looks just like the one Timm uses in Andor to tip them off to Cassian’s whereabouts. I love the scene that reveals Cad Bane as the hunter coming for the baby. Even though it’s clear who he is from his iconic silhouette, the foggy, mysterious framing is unsettling and evokes feelings of dread. He’s played perfectly here, cold and unbothered. He makes characters like Asajj and Fennec look like angels by comparison; he even clocks Emerie’s concern for the baby, warning her that she gives too much away. I love that after seeing Emerie’s growing compassion for Omega, we now see her character tested when other children are in danger. Emerie seems like less of a bad person and more of a devoted Imperial who truly didn’t know what the Empire was capable of. I also like how, in “Identity Crisis,” she goes from someone trying to climb the ladder to completely regretting her choices. I think the episode’s title refers to her, as getting what she wanted forces Emerie to reconsider the Empire, her career, and who she is as a person. Nala Se’s brief appearance also leads me to think about her; she genuinely feels bad for the kids and tries to help as much as she can. I’m finally pretty certain she actually does feel love and concern for Omega rather than seeing her as a creation to be protected. If what Nala Se valued the most about Omega was her DNA, she wouldn’t care about these other kids. They have midichlorians, but I don’t think Nala Se cares about that.

This is a nitpick, but Dr. Hemlock is a little dumb for letting the kids see him lock and unlock the door to their cells. Jace’s escape attempt isn’t that far-fetched, and Hemlock inadvertently gives him all the info needed to try. I think Emerie will end up trying to help the children in some way and betraying Hemlock despite the relationship they have. I almost said “bond,” but there’s no emotion there on his end. He doesn’t care about Emerie; just like Omega, Crosshair, and every other clone, Emerie is a tool to him, a means to an end. But she is loyal and craves his respect, as shown when she asks to be promoted to head of the science labs. I’m very intrigued to see how this all goes down.

They indirectly refer to Cid and Phee as “the Trandoshan” and “the pirate,” respectively, when talking about leads on the Batch. I don’t have anything to add about this; I just appreciate the writers trusting the audience to follow along. Sometimes, a lack of over-explanation is interesting because it forces you to pay attention. At first, I thought Clone X would interrogate or even harm Phee to find the Batch. But he only takes her coordinates from the ship’s computer, which is scary in a different way. This info puts him on track to Pabu, endangering the idyllic island planet just as Asajj warned last week. I think it’s doubly tragic that the Batch was working on leaving when the Empire arrived.

Some final thoughts here: the whole Batch fails in “Point of No Return,” as Hemlock now has Omega again, and the boys have nothing to show for it. They can’t track Omega to save her and the other clones trapped on Tantiss. Who is Clone X? They focus way too much on this guy for him to be a nameless, faceless clone. I assume they will reveal his former identity soon. It was absolutely savage when Clone X shot down one of the Imperial ships to take Hunter down. And speaking of Hunter and the failures of the Batch, I think he is going to lay into Crosshair for “letting” Omega go. It’s not his fault, but her loss and the lack of a tracking device will be chalked up to his rejoining the team. This is going to be a big blow-up, and I both anticipate and fear it. I’m worried about Wrecker! He never wakes up after the detonators destroy the Marauder, and this entire sentence is just tragic. Omega’s gone, the Marauder is scrap and ash, and the strongest of Clone Force 99 is out of commission. Can things get any worse?

“Identity Crisis” and “Point of No Return” are wonderful and make great companion pieces. The first episode is Andor-coded, quiet and analytical. We watch Emerie go about her day and observe her changing attitude. Meanwhile, “Point of No Return” is a tragedy from start to finish. As soon as Clone X locates Phee, it’s a downward spiral, and it’s great to watch. We’re in the final stretch of what has turned out to be a surprisingly nuanced, thoughtful series, and I can’t wait to see how they tie up all these loose ends.