Review: ‘The Bad Batch’ Episodes 10 and 11 – ‘Identity Crisis’ and ‘Point of No Return’ Are Two of Final Season’s Best Episodes
This week, The Bad Batch ramped up the tension with two episodes that were fascinating and heartbreaking in equal measure.
“Identity Crisis” finally decides to give us a look at Dr. Emerie Karr, and how she’s getting on since Omega’s escape in the premiere. A proper look at her character has been a long time coming, and though her arc is perhaps a bit predictable, it’s no less fascinating as we get our best look so far at what exactly the Empire is getting up to on Mount Tantiss.
“Point of No Return” brings us back to the Bad Batch as a whole, and it’s probably the most important episode of the season so far. The stakes are at their highest point, as the clones’ very way of life is threatened and the drama is heightened to the nth degree. Some parts are absolutely heartbreaking but I didn’t want it to end, desperate to get a glimmer of hope.
For anyone feeling that the last few weeks had slowed the pacing a bit, don’t worry. These latest two episodes are full of intrigue, action, drama and heartbreak. Though there is a danger that the story might lead us back into familiar territory for the next few weeks, I’m desperate to learn more in the aftermath of these episodes.
Spoilers ahead…
Let’s start with “Identity Crisis”. It was obvious we were in for a special episode as soon as it became clear we were getting to spend some time with Dr. Emerie Karr. Her arc was admittedly more predictable than I thought it would be, as we see her wracked with guilt over the Empire’s treatment of its subjects, but there was still plenty of fascinating stuff to dig into.
The most interesting part of the episode was finally getting to see inside the bowels of Project Necromancer, where we discover that Hemlock and Nala Se have been taking blood samples from Force sensitive children (it seems Star Wars Rebels‘ Project Harvester feeds into Necromancer). Karr gets a lot of interactions with the Iktotchi and Mirialan subjects and is quickly appalled by the Empire’s treatment of them.
It’s not entirely clear why Karr feels more of a moral obligation to these kids than she did to Omega or the other clones, but my best guess is that their shared origin is exactly why Karr wasn’t moved to help Omega or Crosshair. Perhaps she believed that because all clones were bred for a purpose, they had an obligation to cooperate in the facility — whether that was to guard the place, take part in mental “training” to become a Phase Zero trooper, or become a scientist as she likely saw Omega.
Seeing these innocent children experimented on and treated harshly might have triggered a moral impulse within her because unlike the clones, whose fate are officially tied to the Empire, these kids had no business being here. Obviously we can see that what’s happening to the clones is wrong, but it seems that uprooting children from their homes to be experimented on is a step too far for Emerie. Either way, she now realizes it’s not enough to simply keep her subjects “safe”. They need to be treated with care and affection.
Hemlock warns her early on not to get emotionaly attached to the subjects and Emerie obeys, but the guilt gets too much for her as she watches the Mirialan get stunned for attempting to escape and the Iktotchi accuses her of lying. Emerie is also shocked that the newest subject is a toddler (extracted in a very welcome cameo by the badass and morally suspect Cad Bane), so after a chat with Nala Se it appears she’s resolved to finding a way to help these children. This character development has come at an opportune time, considering how the next episode ends.
I want to briefly touch on Hemlock, because the episode does a little to expand on his character too. The writers clearly wanted to provide more context to understand why he’s desperate to get Omega back and perhaps make him seem more dangerous. Hemlock is stressed. Despite Palpatine’s unwavering support, the additional funds that Project Necromancer demands is attracting scrutiny from some powerful people — namely Tarkin, who demands Hemlock explain why on earth he needs more money.
We know in Rogue One that Tarkin was very concerned by how much Project Stardust was costing the Empire, so it makes sense that he’d also be concerned about another expensive and mysterious project that he actually has no involvement in, unlike the Death Star. Tarkin isn’t impressed when told he doesn’t have the clearance to learn about the project, so Hemlock is left realizing that he needs to get results soon.
Though Palpatine won’t pull the project, he might find someone new to head it if it keeps drawing unwanted attention without getting results. It provides some valuable context as to why Hemlock needs to get Omega back ASAP.
That brings us to “Point of No Return”. Hemlock has dispatched the Phase Zero trooper we saw a few episodes ago attacking Rex’s base to extract Omega. We discover that the trooper has already acted on a lead, tracking down a “female Trandoshan” who is surely Sid. She gave up Phee Genoa offscreen, and we’re left wondering exactly how much persuading Sid needed to rat out the Bad Batch yet again. The trooper sneaks on Genoa’s ship, breaks her navicomputer’s encryption and discovers the location of Pabu.
The Bad Batch are actually getting ready to leave Pabu, acknowledging that they’re not safe staying in one place while the Empire hunts Omega. They’re busy packing when the Phase Zero trooper arrives, hiding in the exact same cave that Ventress landed in last week. Seriously? You’d think they’d have locked down that particular hidey hole knowing how much of a security risk it is.
Omega leaves Tech’s damaged goggles in the Pabu museum, which feels like the biggest indicator yet that Tech might be coming back. The obvious theory is that he’s the one in the Phase Zero trooper armor, brainwashed at Tantiss. But if that were the case, you’d think Omega would have seen him in the facility before she escaped. Also, if Crosshair managed to resist the brainwashing then surely Tech could too. Perhaps the fall compromised his mind in some way? We’ll find out for sure by the end of the season, I suppose.
Once the trooper gets a visual confirmation on Omega, everything goes downhill from there. He activates explosives on their ship, knocking Wrecker unconscious for the rest of the episode. Hunter, Crosshair and Omega try to enact a new escape plan, but it’s to no avail. Hunter is shot down trying to commandeer a clone gunship, and while he’s swimming back to shore, Crosshair agrees to let Omega surrender.
He reluctantly agrees with Omega that the best option is to let her go and then try and track her back to Tantiss, but when the moment comes to shoot a tracking beacon on the Phase Zero trooper’s ship, he gets discovered and rushes his shot, missing the target entirely. Seeing that beacon plop into the ocean brought a desperate cry of “No!” from me, as unless this is all part of a larger plan, they’ve lost Omega again.
While this episode was another cruel reminder that there is no hiding from the Empire and is executed brilliantly, I can’t help but feel a little anxious as to what this means for the show’s immediate future. If Crosshair and Omega don’t have another plan, then aren’t we just back at the same point we found ourselves in at the beginning of the season? Of course Crosshair is still free, but I hope we’re getting something different than the Bad Batch trying to chase down leads to find Omega again.
The show hasn’t let me down so far, so hopefully that’s not the case. I can’t wait to find out what happens next week.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
