REVIEW: The Bad Batch – Season 3, Episodes 14 and 15, “Flash Strike” and “The Calvary Has Arrived”

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Television Reviews

It has been an incredible season of The Bad Batch this year, making it equally exciting and sad to see the show go. This is my favorite season of The Bad Batch, a show that has gradually gotten better and more laser-focused on its overarching story. To think we went from a relatively filler-y season 1 to this is really interesting to me. The Batch is on their way to rescue Omega from Mount Tantiss for the final time, and she has a plan of her own. Let’s dig in. 

***SPOILERS***

In “Flash Strike,” Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Rampart approach the base on Tantiss. Echo infiltrates the ship successfully, mining the needed information from its computer system. Meanwhile, on Tantiss, Dr. Hemlock is informed of the Batch’s possible involvement and sends fighters to search airspace for them. The ship ferrying the Batch is hit, forcing them to jump, much to Rampart’s horror. They’re split up upon impact, Crosshair crashing with Wrecker and Hunter with Rampart. They quickly reunite, with Rampart continually expressing his displeasure at the plan. Echo manages to snag a stormtrooper suit, blending in seamlessly with the troops at Tantiss. Sensing the presence of her brothers amid the chaos at the lab, Omega formulates an escape plan with the other kids. Rampart questions Crosshair’s change of heart. Echo meets Emerie, and they instantly recognize one another based on Omega’s descriptions. The two decide to trust each other, working together to free all of the children who are being held in the Vault. The Batch’s attempts at stealth are thwarted when Rampart stumbles and screams his way into a dryax, starting a three-way fight between the boys, the beast, and Tantiss’ forces. The kids in the Vault distract Dr. Scalder while Omega scopes out their escape route. 

In “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” Echo searches for the Vault in the computer system. When he’s unable to find anything, Emerie takes him down to the Vault. Meanwhile, the rest of Clone Force 99 infiltrates the base with some help from the Zillo beast on a rampage, courtesy of Omega. Emerie and Echo don’t find the kids in the Vault, quickly realizing they’ve escaped. Hemlock activates a whole squad of CX troopers to dispatch the Batch and a band of regular clones rescued by Echo and Omega. Emerie takes the other children to Pabu while Echo and Omega stay to help their brothers. This motley crew finds the Batch in the “training room,” fighting the CXs to free them. Nala Se heads to the lab to destroy her work, stealing it back from the Empire. However, Rampart follows her, reading the information for himself and shooting Nala Se. In death, she drops a bomb, blowing the whole lab up along with them both. In the “training room,” Hemlock releases poison gas, knocking out most of Echo’s recruits. However, the Batchers begin waking up and bust out of their constraints. Hemlock cuffs Omega to himself, and they leave the base pursued by Crosshair and Hunter, while Wrecker stays back to fight the remaining CXs. A firefight ensues, with the boys killing Hemlock and his goons and freeing Omega in the nick of time. 

Going into this series finale, I had sky-high expectations but also many concerns. Simply rescuing Omega from Tantiss wouldn’t be enough; what happens to all of the clones on Tantiss and other important clones like Cody and even Howzer? What was that Asajj Ventress episode about? Who or what is Clone X? What happens to the Zillo beast? After all, the creature was featured in The Clone Wars and brought back here. Its fate must amount to something, or why mention it again? Especially in a direct continuation of The Clone Wars (sort of), which implies some form of closure. Some of these questions and expectations are satisfyingly met in the show’s final two episodes; others, not so much. I think The Bad Batch could have gone on a couple more seasons to tie up loose ends, especially from the clone stuff set up in season 2. However, I must commend them for not dragging this story out for as long as possible. I have a lot of mixed feelings right now. I’m not going to strictly go in order as a lot of “Flash Strike” directly sets up and relates to “The Calvary Has Arrived.” I’ll start with Echo and Emerie, a dynamic duo I didn’t know we needed. I’ve liked Emerie from her introduction at the end of season 2. The only female clone besides Omega, she seems to have been a mistake (unlike Omega). Her only loyalty was to Dr. Hemlock, and as such, I think Omega’s tight bond with her brothers surprises and confuses her. Emerie sees herself as trash, elevated to a higher status by Dr. Hemlock. But Emerie’s closeness with Omega developed at the end of season 2 and the beginning of 3, began to change that. By the time the Batch arrives, Emerie only wants to help. This is further brought on by her recent experiences with the vault children. The problem is that Emerie has empathy for other beings, and that doesn’t make for a good Imperial scientist. 

It’s interesting to see Dr. Hemlock never loses trust in Emerie; even at the end, he blames problems on Dr. Scalder, which is funny. I hate Dr. Scalder, as we’re all supposed to, so seeing her treated this way while Hemlock doesn’t suspect Emerie at all is satisfying. I like Emerie’s development a lot, and teaming her up with Echo is a surprising but satisfying end to her rehabilitation as a character. However, her most important relationship is with Omega, so I wish the two “sisters” had a moment in at least one of these episodes. Besides that, I’m very happy with this character and the ending she got, taking the other children to Pabu and eventually, hopefully, back to their homes. This is also Echo’s best moment in the series so far. He accepts his droid-like nature (post-”enhancements”), sneaking onboard as a droid to reach Tantiss. Rallying the clones to help save his brothers is such a great character moment, one that gave me chills. He even gets a good laugh when he takes a droid’s hand to better his trooper disguise, even saying, “Thanks for the hand.” Classic. 

Crosshair has continually been a highlight of this series, and the finale isn’t an exception. He has an interesting, cryptic exchange with Rampart in “Flash Strike” where the latter implies they’re the same, loyal only to their own safety and goals. The implication is that a former Imperial like Rampart is purely self-serving, taking every opportunity. He can’t understand why someone like Crosshair would change for the better, valuing his brothers (and sister) over a career with the Empire. Another great moment comes when Crosshair volunteers to break in and get Omega while Wrecker heals. He doesn’t want to risk losing him or Hunter like they all lost Tech, and he says he “deserves this.” Because of his choices earlier in the series, Crosshair is willing to consign himself to death to protect his family. Crosshair has the most satisfying character arc of the series, even better than Tech’s, Hunter’s, or Omega’s. And that’s saying something, even if Hunter’s arc really ended in season 1. But Crosshair’s best moment is also the most shocking: losing his shooting hand. This scene was so quick and unexpected that it took my breath away. Much like The Clone Wars before it, and Rebels to a lesser extent, The Bad Batch has displayed violence and death before. Losing a hand is hardly anything new to Star Wars, either. Something about the music and how this scene is “filmed” shook me to my core. Aside from the apparent callback to former Star Wars glory, losing his hand is also huge for Crosshair specifically because his whole identity was tied to his function as the team’s sniper. This is NOT how I expected them to resolve his hand tremor caused by his trauma on Tantiss, but I can’t say I’m not happy. Omega hugging Crosshair first, confirming that he does matter to her as much as Hunter and Wrecker, is also touching. Crosshair may feel he deserves to die, but he is loved and needed by those around him. 

Clone X (all of them) didn’t turn out to be anyone we knew; not Cody, or a resurrected Tech, etc. In fact, we never find out what happened to Cody. While Emerie is on Pabu with the others before the time jump, we don’t know her final fate. Speaking of which, there is a time jump epilogue where a grown-up Omega tells an aged Hunter that she’s leaving to join the Rebellion. This is a fitting ending for her; Hunter and the boys kept her safe and gave her a relatively normal childhood. Now, Echo’s impact on her is evident as she must fight for others to have the same chance at a safe, peaceful life. I imagine we will see Omega again elsewhere, but I almost hope we don’t. This is a perfect ending, and she didn’t become a Jedi. Thank Goodness that for one time ever, the main character can have other skills than that. Omega is a skilled pilot and has Tech’s goggles on her dash, which may have made me a little misty-eyed. I wanted Rex to show up with Wolffe and some other clones; I assumed this was the “cavalry” the title referred to. My biggest complaint is with earlier episodes as they relate to this one; those episodes with Fennec and Asajj were a waste of time. None of that was necessary, and I could have done without the “Is Omega a Jedi?” talk, especially since it mercifully amounted to nothing in the end. 

Overall, “Flash Strike” is an exciting, action-packed episode, and “The Cavalry Has Arrived” is more than that. Taken together, they provide plenty of action, eye candy, emotional moments, and suspense. The tense scene where Dr. Scalder almost catches Omega would have given me déjà vu if it wasn’t so compelling, nonetheless. My favorite moments are Crosshair losing his hand, Emerie working with Echo to free the clones and children, Echo rallying the troops, Hemlock’s demise, and the big hug. But the very ending is excellent, as well. This is how Star Wars should do a passing of the torch; after all, we are only great thanks to those who came before us. It’s not about outdoing your mentors or stepping over them but carrying their legacy forward by doing what’s right. Omega is everything Rey could have been: a skilled but flawed character inspired by those around her rather than constantly inspiring everyone else.