*Warning: The following article contains spoilers for episode five of Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 3.*
After last week’s cliffhanger, it was clear the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 3 would mainly focus on the tensions Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker) and Wrecker (Dee Bradley Baker) still have with Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker). While the episode indeed devotes most of its runtime to the rekindling of their friendship, it also brings back a fan-favorite member of Clone Force 99, as Crosshair and Omega (Michelle Ang) have new intel that will get them close to not only freeing the clones in Dr. Royce Hemlock’s (Jimmi Simpson) captivity but destroy the facility once and for all.
That member is Echo (Dee Bradley Baker), who joins the Clones on a mission to an Imperial port to retrieve the encrypted information on Nala Se’s (Gwendoline Yeo) datapad. Crosshair convinces the Batch that the port is a safe and uninhabited place that will allow them to retrieve the data safely. Of course, anything any character says about a “quick in and out” mission will prove otherwise once they arrive at the place of retrieval.
No one is there when they arrive, but the place isn’t what Crosshair said it would be. For once, sensors are in place to keep outside creatures from entering the facility. This makes Hunter doubt whether Crosshair has left the Empire entirely and isn’t being transparent to the members of Clone Force 99. This rivalry is at the heart of the episode and works best when tension escalates as Batcher (Omega’s pet, also voiced by Dee Bradley Baker…what can’t he do?) suspects something is wrong before the Clones do.
And something is wrong because the floor is trembling. This happens as Hunter and Crosshair bicker about the Clone’s allegiance to the Empire. He then reveals to Hunter that he has killed an Imperial officer, which has made him an enemy of the Empire. But just as they are about to fight it off, a massive Wyrm appears and threatens the safety of the Clones and the Marauder.
The rest of the episode is a rudimentary action scene where the Batch is forced to put differences aside and work together, and it’s as standard as it comes. But what impresses here is the sheer scale of the action, which doesn’t feel as mind-numbing as most fights in the first two seasons. There’s a sense of scope director Nate Villanueva paints through an animation style consistently refining itself from season to season. As such, we’re more involved in the action than at any point in the series so far. There are a few rough patches here and there, but it doesn’t necessarily matter in the grand scheme of the show and the episode itself.
It also helps that the character relationships are far more interesting here than in the first two seasons. There’s a legitimate sense of tension as Hunter and Wrecker discuss their differences, which boils up as the Wyrm appears. Stuff like this hasn’t been felt in a long time in this series, but it’s also a testament to how vital Crosshair is for the show. There was an interesting moral conflict when he was off with the Empire, but it was nowhere near as compelling as his dark turn in season one.
It’s just a shame that their conflict seems pretty much over now, with Crosshair apologizing to Hunter about his mistakes, stating that he didn’t know about the Empire when he joined (really? I find that hard to believe, but whatever). The two seem to have gotten their beef squashed out relatively quickly, but I guess that happens when they are stuck in a life-or-death situation. What’s great about the season is that I have no idea where the Clones will go next, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing in what situation they end up in next Wednesday, with a two-episode midseason drop!
The fifth episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 3 is now available to stream on Disney+.
