Summary
Omega and Crosshair finally reunite with Clone Force 99 in a fun little episode with strong character moments and a worthwhile emotional payoff.
In the three-episode Season 3 premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Omega and Crosshair escaped from Mount Tantiss. I’m pleased to report that Episode 4, “A Different Approach”, picks right up from there since the only weak aspect of the opening triple-bill (at least for me) was the Hunter and Wrecker outing that felt like a throwback to the adventure-of-the-week format that this final season has moved away from.
Remaining couched firmly in Omega’s point of view and burning her relationship with the cantankerous Crosshair for fuel, Episode 4 is a good example of more serialized storytelling that builds to a bit of action and a nice emotional payoff when Omega is finally reunited with Clone Force 99, but it’s refreshingly the kind of episode that can only exist because of two prior seasons of character development and build-up.
After sustaining damage to their ship in the escape, Omega and Crosshair are forced to drop out of hyperspace and crash-land on the nearest planet, which is a backwater that nonetheless has an Imperial presence.
In a brief scene back on Tantiss, we’re reminded that Hemlock, despite having allowed Omega to escape, is still very much in the interest of getting her back to confirm her DNA sample was accurate. If it is, which we know it will be, then Nala Se’s future, as he says, will be slightly uncertain. For now, she’s claiming the result is a false positive. That’s her story and she’s sticking to it.
Omega the Hustler
Omega, Crosshair, and Batcher make it to the local spaceport, but without chain codes, they can’t board a shuttle. Crosshair, true to form, wants to go in all guns blazing, but Omega is adamant about not unnecessarily hurting people, so instead she tries to bribe their way onto a transport. The attendant is amenable to the idea but wants the hefty sum of 15,000 credits per ticket.
Omega’s bright idea to rustle up the dough is a payoff to her preternatural ability for parlor games, which we saw way back in Season 1. In Episode 10 of that season, “Common Ground”, Sid had her hustling people at Dejarik. Here, she’s able to swindle everyone in the local Cantina to such an extent that Imperial Captain Mann takes an interest and offers to play her.
Mann loses, but after the game, he takes 10,000 credits of Omega’s winnings because gambling is apparently illegal, despite the fact he just sat there and played. Omega and Crosshair still have enough money left behind to buy their tickets, but that’s the least of their problems, since during the game Mann forced Omega to take Batcher outside. When they leave, they discover that the lurca hound has been taken to the docks.
Crosshair Gets His Way
Of course, Crosshair isn’t keen on the idea of getting Batcher back, while Omega is adamant, and this highlights what I like about this relationship. Crosshair, even when he was still part of Clone Force 99, was always colder and more mission-oriented than the others, to the extent that he eventually switched sides. Omega is happy to challenge him, though, and crucially he can’t help but go along with her. He doesn’t need her to escape; he wants to protect her, and he has arrived at that impulse organically, despite everything.
When they get to the docks and find what is quite clearly a small-scale alien smuggling ring, Mann lets on that he found the crashed shuttle and already deduced who Omega was. Hemlock has been informed and is on his way, so now’s finally the time for Crosshair to do his usual thing and shoot everyone while Omega frees all of the captive creatures.
Mann is swallowed up by a Rathtar, and Omega, Crosshair, and Batcher are all able to escape before Hemlock arrives.
How does Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3, Episode 4 end?
Once aboard, Omega sends the Marauder a coded transmission with a secret meeting place, and she finally reunites with Hunter and Wrecker. It’s a nice moment with real emotional pull, and it also brings Crosshair back into Clone Force 99, at least unofficially. The old dynamic might not be entirely the same, and we’re still unfortunately missing Tech, but it’s still getting most of the gang back together in time to take the fight to Hemlock and the Empire.
What did you think of Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 4? Let us know in the comments.
