‘The Bad Batch’: Michelle Ang Shares Her Reaction To Reading the Finale’s Scripts for the First Time
The season 2 finale of The Bad Batch was not exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows. After the writers teased a brighter future for the squad in Pabu two episodes prior, hopes were up that they would get a “happily ever after” ending with the two-part finale, but that was definitely not the case.
Spoiler alert for The Bad Batch season 2 finale
In a new interview with StarWars.com, voice actress Michelle Ang (Omega) revealed her reaction to reading the script for the first time and realizing what the writers had planned for the fate of the squad:
“I normally get the scripts about a week before the recording session, which is really plenty to read and internalize what’s going on. But I had no idea — not even an inkling! — that we were going to lose one of the Batch. And definitely not Tech! If anything, it felt like they were building Tech up to be the new primary relationship. So, I was genuinely devastated. It felt a little bit like it was a prank or something. I was really shocked.”
As Ang went on to explain, what made the moment really stick was the fact that the episode kept going and we experienced the grief of Tech’s loss along with the Bad Batch and especially the young clone:
“They’re not going to let that sentimentality have them deviate from what they view as their purpose, you know? And I think that’s sort of the bittersweetness of it. If everything had crumbled at that moment, that would’ve almost been less sad for some reason. But the fact that they still have so many other things coming at them that they have to keep going is what makes it that much more sad and painful and sweet.”
To her, it was also key that they killed off Tech at the end of the second season and not at the end of the first, for instance, where their relationship were not as mature. Said Ang:
“I remember talking to Jen [Corbett, head writer and executive producer,] about it. They’ve done a beautiful job because it would’ve been devastating for young Omega to have formed this relationship [with Tech] and then lose it so quickly. But because in Season 2 she’s that much more secure and emotionally strong and stable and seen so much, she’s at an age where the understanding of what’s happened, but having the resilience to continue, is actually possible for her. We could go there.”
In the final moments of the episode, it is revealed that Omega has yet another sister, as Jango Fett had an additional female clone. This is Dr. Karr, whom we’d been introduced to earlier in the season, and who is voiced by fellow New Zealander actress Keisha Castle-Hughes. Ang revealed that she also had no idea the twist of her being Omega’s sister was coming, and that she was very glad to see who they cast to lend the voice of the character:
“I had no idea! [Supervising director] Brad [Rau]was sort of tip toeing around what this character would end up being. And then I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s my sister! She’s a clone, too.’ [Castle-Hughes’ casting is] classic and also amazing because she’s a household New Zealand name. There was this sort of cultural immediacy that we both shared, which meant that we could just click straight away and fall into this relationship quite easily. It was just really awesome to hear her embody this character that is so different from both herself and from Omega.”
In a separate interview with StarWars.com, Castle-Hughes herself revealed that she had a hunch that both Omega and Dr. Karr would have some connection when she was asked to speak in her natural New Zealand accent:
“I mean, the big giveaway for me was that they had asked me to use my natural accent, and Michelle Ang as Omega uses her natural accent, as well. And so I immediately was like, ‘Okay, so we can assume that these people are from the same place and we are going to reveal some kind of history there.’”
Emerie Karr made her debut in episode 11 of season 2, Metamorphosis, and according to the actress, it was the first few moments that were the most difficult for her to depict:
“It was the first time that it was really tricky to find the right tone for Emerie. The big thing that I was trying to discover is like, what is Emerie’s understanding of family? We had to come from a truthful place, and I think that it’s much more intellectual space that she understands that being sisters means something, but probably hasn’t had that emotional experience yet, and hasn’t really had the emotional experience of family.”
You can check out the rest of both interviews in the links above. Josh’s discussion on the two-part finale can be found here.
Stay tuned for more Bad Batch news, as the third season will likely be announced during April 10’s panel at Star Wars Celebration.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
