Warning! Spoilers follow for The Bad Batch episode 2, “Cut and Run.”
After an explosive, emotional and thrilling premiere episode, the second episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch is more relaxed. Just a little though; there’s still plenty of action.
At the end of episode 1, “Aftermath,” the Bad Batch (minus Crosshair but plus Omega) were strapped into their ship Havoc Marauder and plotting a course for J-19, which is the Saleucami System. By the end of episode 2, the crew is back in the ship leaving J-19 after several lessons in family, parenting and the new order of the Galactic Empire.
The Bad Batch episode 2 ending explained
While the first episode was a grand introduction to the world of the Bad Batch and the newly-birthed Empire, the second episode took a more intimate look at the family dynamics among the Bad Batchers. It also forced them to take a long, hard look at what their lives could be like now that they’re officially deserters and enemies of the Empire.
When they arrive on J-19, we learn that Hunter’s “contact” he mentioned in episode 1 is actually former clone trooper Cut, who built a family with his wife Suu Lawquane (a Twi’lek) and her two children Shaeeah and Jek. Cut fled a troop transport following the First Battle of Geonosis to avoid being killed by Separatist droids during the Clone Wars. He was last seen in The Clone Wars season 2 episode 10 titled “The Deserter.”
On Saleucami, Cut tells the Bad Batch that he talked to Rex when the clone captain passed through the day prior. Cut says Rex was “going on about some behavioral implant” after explaining how the clone troopers turned on their Jedi generals. Omega then says Rex must have been talking about the inhibitor chip, which the Kaminoans implanted in all of the clones to modify their behavior.
Cut and Suu’s two kids then run into the room, excited to see their Uncle Wrecker again (ugh, our hearts). Then, Jek and Shaeeah take Omega outside to throw a ball around the front yard. When Cut asked Hunter about Omega, Hunter tells him she’s one of them: a defective clone.
“The Kaminoans don’t create without a purpose. You all have one, so what’s her’s?” Cut asked.
It’s clear Cut saw Hunter’s fatherly instincts already kicking in when watching over Omega playing outside, and he tells him he has “no idea what he’s in for” in regards to taking care of her.
Cut also tells the Bad Batch the Saleucami is no longer safe for his family, especially as Imperial forces are taking a stronger hold on the system’s ports. As Cut and Hunter walk through town, they see scrap ships taking seized ships to an impound lot to be tagged and registered and a jumbo holo of an Imperial officer explaining the new requirement of citizen chain codes to travel. Cut wants to leave Saleucami with his family, but he can’t get a chain code because of his history as a clone trooper deserter. So, he enlists the help of the Bad Batch to forge chain codes for the Lawquane family.
Back at the Lawquane farm, Omega and the kids are still playing with the ball — until it’s thrown too far beyond the fence. The kids tell her to leave it for later, but Omega leaves the fenced-in area to retrieve it. Behind her, a carnivorous nexu is crouched and ready to attack. When the adults realize what’s going on, Suu gets on the roof with a rifle and Hunter runs out and scares the nexu away with a knife.
Hunter gets angry with Omega and questions why she left the fenced area. Omega cowers in fear (mostly from the nexu) before Cut steps in tells Hunter, “easy, she’s not a soldier.” Omega apologizes, saying she was just trying to get the ball while Cut tells her all that matters is that she’s safe.
For Omega, it’s her first lesson in all the dangers of a big galaxy. For Hunter, it’s a lesson in parenting and comforting a frightened child, no matter what mistake they just made. Suu tells Hunter that children will always find a way to get into trouble but it’s the adults’ job to protect them. Hunter then tells her he wants Omega to go with the family because “you can give her something we can’t.”
The plan to forge chain codes is simple: Tech and Echo arrange for their ship to be seized and taken to the impound lot so the two can steal chain code discs and tap into the Imperial system to forge the codes. Once the Lawquane family is on the transport with Omega, the Bad Batch will break their ship free and leave the planet.
The episode roughly ends with this plan, but not without a hitch. Because this is Star Wars, troopers show up at the worst moment, causing a blaster fight to break out while Omega runs toward the docks with the forged chain codes. When she gets there, she learns that Hunter arranged for her to leave with the Lawquane family.
She asks Hunter if she did something wrong and he says Cut and Suu will give her the life she deserves. But, she wants to stay with him.
“You have to go, Omega. It’s for your own good,” Hunter says.
Omega looks back at Hunter with watery eyes as he runs to the impound lot. The magnetic boot holding the ship in place isn’t responding to Echo’s attempts to release, so Wrecker has to strong-man the massive lock apart. Wrecker then asks where Omega is, and before Hunter can get the words out, they both hear Omega running toward the ship and shouting “wait for me!”
Once they’re safely off-planet and in space, Omega goes to Hunter to talk to him about why she didn’t leave with Cut and Suu. Wrecker, always on brand, is lifting a gonk droid with one arm like a dumbbell, making the machine squeak and wiggle its legs.
“I know I made a mistake, and I have a lot to learn,” Omega says to Hunter. “But you don’t have to get rid of me; I left Kamino with you. This is where I want to be.”
Hunter says he has a lot to learn, too, and tells Omega, “if this is where you want to be, then this is where you’ll stay.”
We don’t know where Clone Force 99 is headed next or what they’ll do as their former comrade Crosshair and the Empire are assuredly looking for them, but it’s clear that Omega is staying put as an official member of the Bad Batch.
The Bad Batch episode 2, “Cut and Run” is available to stream on Disney+. New episodes drop weekly on Fridays. Stay tuned to Dork Side of the Force for weekly recaps and features of The Bad Batch and all things Star Wars!