Star Wars' Bad Batch Can Live On In Omega Even After The Final Season
This article contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" season 3, episode 6 and episode 7, "Infiltration" and "Extraction."
We got two brand new episodes of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" this week, and they offered us some of the most dire situations Clone Force 99 has been in, forcing us to wonder how many "Batchers" are going to make it through this third and final season. They only get through "Infiltration" and "Extraction" by the skin of their teeth, but it's worth remembering that we haven't seen any hint of them in the future of the "Star Wars" galaxy. That's not to say they can't make it through; Ahsoka Tano and most of the crew from "Star Wars Rebels" certainly proved that a wide array of characters can remain off-screen for important events and have a compelling story to tell once they re-enter the universe. There's every chance the Bad Batch could fall into that category, but with last season's sacrifice from Tech and the Empire gunning hard for the entire squad, it seems unlikely they will get out unscathed.
One wonders how they will live on beyond this, though. And what of Omega's ultimate fate? That's a question looming over the entire season, although one thing is certain: if the Bad Batch is going to live on, they can absolutely do it through Omega.
Omega's mimicry
One of the most fascinating things to watch for throughout this show is how Omega is a sponge for information and abilities. It's not the sort of mimicry of ordinary children, which you might expect from Omega. There's something else to it. Through the previous seasons, we've seen her train with the various members of the Bad Batch. She learned technical skills from Tech and has been able to utilize them long after his passing. She's also learned to think like Wrecker and use brute force where it's necessary, but with finesse in a way he never could. She's similarly maintained his childlike wonder. As for Hunter, she's been able to obtain his sixth sense for tracking and strategy. In fact, they've gotten out of more than one jam across the events of the show thanks to Omega's strategizing, whether that's in battle or playing games like Dejarik (the same chess-like game that Chewbacca and R2-D2 play in "Star Wars: A New Hope").
But in these last two episodes, we've finally started seeing Crosshair rubbing off on Omega. She didn't have a whole lot of close contact with him before now, and as he was hunting them in the first two seasons, he certainly wasn't a role model, yet she's begun picking up some of his traits, too. There's one particularly poignant moment in the latest episodes where Omega even chews on a toothpick, just like Crosshair does. It's a subtle visual nod to illustrate how moldable Omega is and shows just how much she trusts him now in such a short period of time.
More than anything, this brief moment makes it apparent that if anything happens to the rest of the Bad Batch, Omega would very easily be able to carry on the spirit of the entire cadre.
Something bigger going on?
This also makes one wonder if there's something else going on in the relationship between Omega and the Bad Batch. Despite their appearances, she is, in fact, the oldest member of the group. (The other Clones were subjected to growth acceleration and Omega wasn't.) Is this a clue about the entirety of the Bad Batch hiding in plain sight? After all, Omega seems to have the same abilities as the rest of the Batch. Is it possible they were secretly engineered based on her?
It's certainly a compelling thought and, thankfully, we won't have to wait long to find out for sure. In the meantime, we're still left to ponder the mystery of Omega's M-Count and how that will play out through the rest of the season — seeing as she's essentially the MacGuffin the Empire desperately needs in order to clone Palpatine in time for "The Rise of Skywalker."
Episodes of the final season of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+.