Review: The Bad Batch Episode 15 - The Cavalry Has Arrived Plays It Safe in Solid Series Finale

The final ever episode of The Bad Batch works as a tense and exciting season finale, but whether it makes for a satisfying series finale is up for debate. (Disclaimer: while we will go into specifics in a spoiler-tagged section, viewers wishing to go in completely unaware of how the episode turns out may also want to bookmark the page and come back after completing the episode.)



The extended episode plays out pretty much how you would expect it too, with a couple of small surprises here and there, but still manages to keep things tense and exciting as the action ramps up. The odds are stacked against Clone Force 99 and there are several moments where you wonder if this is it, if they have genuinely failed this time and will need the cavalry to come and bail them out. While these moments don't last long, they do help maintain the excitement levels and there are times I found myself roaring in appreciation when some cool lines are dropped and characters get some fun action beats.



I do think Jennifer Corbett and the other writers could have taken more narrative risks, however. While the finale is plenty tense and explosive, and the stakes are theoretically quite high -- the fates of Omega and every single clone on Tantiss are at stake -- I would have liked to see some of those fates tested a little more than they actually are, given that the Bad Batch are in pretty bad shape when things kick off. Fans going in expecting a Rogue One-style ending may be disappointed, though I'd argue that would be far too grim for a Star Wars animated series anyway.



This season has felt remarkably small-scale compared to the other two -- the double episode arc with Rex aside, it has mostly been about the Bad Batch's survival and/or Omega's rescue, rather than getting involved in wider conflicts throughout the galaxy. This doesn't change in the finale. There are no surprising cameos and no moments where the friends they've met along the way arrive to help them out. Everything the Bad Batch achieve is earned by them alone -- this works in the context of the show, I think, and it does mean every member gets a moment to shine. They are all integral to making it out alive and everyone pulls their weight.



Ultimately, it's a solid finale for these characters and the final scene does hint at an intriguing future for some of our heroes. However, there is a conversation to be had about whether the stakes were as high in this finale as they were in season 2. The Bad Batch certainly signs off with a bang, but perhaps it plays it too safe to make it a truly memorable series finale.



Spoilers ahead...







The odds are stacked against the Bad Batch from the off. While Hunter's doing okay, Crosshair's hand isn't looking any better and Wrecker's struggling from the wounds he sustained fighting the beast in the previous episode. Crosshair actually suggests reaching the comm tower and contacting Rex, allowing him to bring the cavalry and turn the tide in their favor.



The episode's biggest surprise is that this never happens, with the Zillo Beast giving them a clear entry point so they abandon the idea of calling reinforcements altogether. They decide to seize the moment and attack Tantiss' surprise weak point while the Empire's disoriented and distracted.



When they get there, the CX trooper squad is already waiting for them. The Bad Batch put up a good fight given their patched up state, but they don't stand a chance against the fresh and prepared CX troopers. When one of them cuts off Crosshair's shooting hand, there is a genuine worry that this episode might not turn out well for our heroes. It's the darkest moment of the finale and a part of me does think it's a shame that things didn't continue to get worse from there for dramatic effect.







Inside Mount Tantiss, Echo and Emerie Karr head to the Vault to rescue the kids, only to find out that Omega's one step ahead of them and they've already escaped. They spend the next little while trying to catch up to them, while the most exciting part of the early stages resides with Omega and the other children. Having dispatched the cruel scientist, they climb through the base's inner workings and make it to the Zillo's holding pen.



Omega sneaks in and reduces the bacta levels that were presumably keeping the beast sedated, and while tensions rise when the baby gives away the children's position, it acts more as a distraction than anything else. The stormtroopers all know they can't harm the children and while they focus on them, they fail to notice that the Zillo has woken up. They try and keep it at bay but it tears through their countermeasures and scales the inside of the base, tearing a hole in the outer wall.



I have to say, seeing the Zillo Beast roar at stormtroopers and smash them out of the way was exhilarating and one of the finale's high points. It's a great payoff for a plotline fans have been waiting to see resolved for 14 years. I like the idea that it now gets to spend its days chilling out on Tantiss, as Tarkin seems prepared to cut his losses on the beast and forget about the whole thing.









Hemlock's stress levels are rising at this point. Having already condemned the cruel scientist to certain death for allowing the children to escape, he now needs to deal with the rampaging Zillo and get things back under control before the rest of the Empire notices. Unfortunately for him that's not possible, as Tarkin is made aware of the security breach almost immediately.



By the time of their second holo conversation, Hemlock is confident that the threat has been dealt with. Clone Force 99 has been captured and while the Zillo and Omega are still at large, he has reason to be confident that it's only a matter of time before they are both subdued and recovered. This makes it hilarious when things immediately take a turn for the worst as soon as he ends the call and the clones are all released from their cells.



Echo and Emerie eventually catch up with Omega and the kids. Emerie takes the children away on a shuttle and while we see them on Pabu later, we don't know what their future holds. Seeing as they're slightly Force-sensitive, it'll be interesting to see if they pop up in new stories. Perhaps as part of Luke Skywalker's future Jedi Temple?







With the children safely rescued, Echo and Omega release all the prisoners in the base. Seeing Echo mow down stormtroopers with his quick trigger finger was very impressive -- at one point he downs three of them in a single second -- and he gets some great moments in the fight against the CX trooper squad later on.



Rampart protests against the plan to rescue the rest of the Bad Batch, pointing out the 'wise' decision would be to leave them and focus on their own safety. Of course, this does little except underline his own selfishness, which ultimately ends up getting him killed. Rampart and Nala Se's stories are arguably wrapped up the most efficiently, and while it is very neat and their encounter is tense, I did hope for Rampart to do a little more damage before he died. As it is, we get to see Nala Se heroically sacrifice her own life to wreck the Emperor's plans, and give the Kaminoans themselves a great bit of closure. If Rampart had been a little less self-serving, he probably would have survived the series.







A part of me was disappointed that the last secret Hemlock was hiding was just a squad of CX troopers, but admittedly they did look great as the anti-Clone Force 99 with their signature weapons and cool helmet designs, if perhaps a little underused. They were plenty threatening and Echo did well to hold up against them, as all the other clone prisoners accompanying him were killed. I honestly thought Echo would die here, and that could have been a fittingly tragic end for the character, but he held out long enough for Omega to free the rest of the Bad Batch.



The most crowd-pleasing moment of the finale has to be Omega stating 'Yeah, but I have THEM,' right as Wrecker roars and kicks the metal sheet off himself, freeing the other two clones. I actually missed that Hemlock ran off with Omega in the chaos as his CX squad was defeated.



Hemlock's fate ended up being quite straightforward. Scorch was killed surprisingly quickly as Hunter and Crosshair got the drop on them, and in the end, it took the Bad Batch's trust in each other to defeat Hemlock. Hunter and Omega had faith in Crosshair's ability with his non-shooting hand, while the older clones had faith in Omega that she would present them with an opportunity to shoot. As soon as the cuffs were broken, they pumped blaster bolts into Hemlock and he fell off the side and through the clouds, a perfect mirror of how Tech died.







So in the end, our heroes and the remaining clones got to ride off into the sunset, and all the Empire's data and expertise on Project Necromancer was destroyed, dealing a huge blow to Emperor Palpatine that we know he never quite recovered from. Echo and the other clones head off to Pantora as Senator Chuchi continues to fight for clone rights, while the Bad Batch stay on Pabu, which the Empire has conveniently forgotten about now that Project Necromancer is dead (its funds redirected to the Death Star by Tarkin).



I would have liked a little more heartbreak if I'm honest, but it seems the writers were going for a Return of the Jedi-esque triumph in the third season, compared to The Empire Strikes Back-esque tragedy in last season's finale. We do get a final tease of what the future holds for the Bad Batch, though. The final scene jumps ahead about five years or so, as we get one last conversation between Hunter and Omega, the central relationship of the series.



Omega announces that she's off to join the Rebellion as a fighter pilot, and while Hunter doesn't like it, he won't stand in her way. He tells her that the rest of the Bad Batch will be there if she ever needs them, setting up a potential reunion with her during the events of the original trilogy. This will raise questions with fans -- if she joined the Rebels, why don't we see her in the events of the original trilogy? Did she ever fight alongside Rex? -- but the Rebel Alliance is big enough that you can imagine she's present in all the big battles, even if we never actually see her. Either way, this surely isn't the last we'll see of Omega.







This was still a fun and thrilling finale, but I don't think it left quite as much emotional impact as it could have and while it tied up a lot of things, I don't know that it delivered on the 'big clone send-off' that we were expecting. What will happen with the fight for clone rights on Pantora? Will the clones all live peaceful lives on their own, or is there still more story to tell? Perhaps that's the mark of a good series finale though; the main things are wrapped up but there are still some nagging questions left to answer.



It will take me a bit longer to mull on the impact left by this series finale, but it was still a solid climax with plenty of thrilling moments. Either way, I will miss The Bad Batch a great deal; a series which, at its height, told some of the best stories in Star Wars animation.



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