Star Wars The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 4 Review
The fourth episode of ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ shows more of Crosshair and Omega bonding as they attempt to make their way back to Hunter and Wrecker, showing all the moral ways that Omega tries to fight and the immorality of the Empire. While there is some action, it’s all about the ways Omega and Crosshair compromise, leading to a satisfying reunion at the end.
‘The Bad Batch’ has previously explored similar themes to ‘Andor’ and this episode continues to do the same. There, the early Rebels like Mon Mothma are attempting to fight the Empire within the means of the law, but find their efforts come up short. There is a tension between Mothma and Luthen Rael, who advocates for violent and immoral means of pushing back. And all the while the Empire is exploiting every loophole they can, however immoral, to keep hold of their power. This same tension is felt throughout this episode, albeit on a more personal scale.
This is because although Crosshair and Omega have the same goal of finding a new ship after their shuttle from Tantiss crashed, Omega rufuses to do it in a way that would cause anyone (even stormtroopers) harm, whereas Crosshair would prefer to use his violent skills as a sharpshooter to brute force his way through. It’s a fun and younger way to explore the same themes, culminating in the action piece where both have to work together to escape.
The Imperials in this episode, led by Captain Mann, are taken straight out of ‘Andor’ as they’re much more willing to rely on the oppressive structure they’ve created to keep people in line than turn to violence at the first sight of trouble. It’s a much better type of villain, as while Mann has a cartoonish end, it makes him more compelling to watch.
Crosshair’s back and forth makes up the bulk of the episode, but there are some other important developments. Hemlock is hot on their tail, letting the audience know that he will be a much more involved villain than Admiral Rampart was. It’s a great inclusion. He orders the mobilisation of all their agents to look for them, which likely includes bounty hunters like Cad Bane and others. It’s a potential to include other fun cameos, something that will be fascinating to see develop.
By the end of the episode, Crosshair and Omega manage to link up with Hunter and Wrecker. While it’s satisfying to have everyone back together, it’s a development that’s occurred very fast in the season, only four episodes in. Seeing more of Hunter and Wrecker’s desperation searching for Omega and Tantiss would have served this narrative arc better, as although audiences are told a lot of time has passed, it doesn’t feel like it.
However, this does setup a fantastic exchange between Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair, as the final shot of the episode teased their first encounter since the end of season one. It’s a great hook to leave audiences on, because this is something that the show has been building up to for ages. How is it possible for best friends, brothers even, to recover after this much has happened? It’s a question that many will be dying to know.
