The Bad Batch recap: Episode 3 ‘Replacements’ ending explained

Warning! Spoilers follow for The Bad Batch episode 3, “Replacements.”

New recruits, good soldiers following orders and moon dragons — oh my. The Bad Batch episode 3 was a mixed bag of sweet moments between the “Dad Batch” of Clone Force 99 and their new member, Omega, and ominous exposition from Tarkin, who’s evaluating the future of the clone program on Kamino. A lot happened in the 27-minute episode titled “Replacements,” including showing who those replacements are and what they’re replacing.

Catch up on The Bad Batch with our recaps of episode 1 and episode 2.

The Bad Batch episode 3 ending explained

The end scene is also the most adorable moment of The Bad Batch so far — “new dad” Wrecker surprises Omega with her own room out of an old gun turret on the ship. It’s decked out with curtains, strapped together cushions for a bed, a great view of the stars and Wrecker’s beloved Tooka doll, Lula. Omega’s excitement at finally having her own room just melted our hearts.

At first, it was worrisome to see Wrecker stay behind on the ship while Hunter and Omega went out to look for the moon dragon, especially since Wrecker was complaining of a headache (we can’t help but think of the inhibitor chips). But seeing that he stayed behind to make Omega her own room shows another Bad Batcher embracing being a “dad” and welcoming the young girl clone into their club.

All of this happened because the Bad Batch crash-landed on a desolate moon after being thrown out of hyperspace due to a damaged capacitor. While poor GNK droid “Gonky” was being thrown about the cabin, Wrecker was yelling about how they were going to die. But that was until he saw Omega strapped in next to him, cowering in fear. He then changed his tune to try to reassure her they will be just fine.

Narrator: they were just fine. But the ship was looking a bit worse for wear, including deep scratch marks and a busted capacitor. As Tech replaces the part, Echo sweeps his flashlight around the dark landscape of the moon, convinced he saw something.

Inside the ship, the lights and systems go down again and they all hear footsteps on top of the ship. The creature scurries and the Bad Batch sees it’s carrying their capacitor. Tech says it’s likely an ordo moon dragon that feeds off pure energy. Hunter tries to take Wrecker with him to find the creature and get the capacitor back, but Wrecker says he must have hit his head during the landing (see our concern over his inhibitor chip). Instead, Omega convinces Hunter to take her with him.

During their adventure to find the moon dragon, Omega watches Hunter as he does what he does best: tracking. Omega asks if she could learn to track and at one point the conversation turns to Crosshair. She tells Hunter he shouldn’t be angry at him.

Hunter says, “I’m angry at myself; we don’t leave our own behind.”

When they find the capacitor, the moon dragon is still nearby and attacks Hunter, knocking off his breathing apparatus and rendering him unconscious. The dragon gets away with the capacitor and Omega signals Wrecker and Tech for help. But she decides to take Hunter’s blaster and flashlight to go after the dragon herself.

When she jumps inside a tunnel, she finds the dragon’s lair littered with old ship parts and scraps. She finds the capacitor, but the dragon isn’t thrilled she’s trying to take its meal. Omega crouches in fear, pointing the blaster and flashlight as the dragon roars at her. Instead of shooting the dragon, Omega takes a chance and turns off the flashlight, tossing it aside. Sensing a better snack, the dragon goes after the flashlight while Omega grabs the capacitor and leaves the lair.

Outside, Hunter is awake. Omega tells him, “I tracked the dragon; like you did” and shows him the part she retrieved. Don’t worry, she tells him, she didn’t have to use the blaster.

When they get back to the ship and Wrecker surprises Omega with her new room, she exclaims, “It’s perfect! Thank you, Wrecker.” Hunter then confirms she’s part of the squad now, too, before they head back into space.

What happened with Crosshair?

In between scenes of the Bad Batch on the desolate moon are moments with Crosshair and Tarkin on Kamino. Here’s what happened between the former Bad Batcher and the Imperial with the future of the clones in his hands:

Crosshair is back at the Kaminoan medical bay for more evals. Nala Se tells Tarkin that Crosshair is “responding favorably” to the procedure of enhancing his inhibitor chip protocols. Another Imperial walks in, named Rampart, and tells Tarkin the new recruits have arrived to begin training under their new commander: Crosshair. Rampart walks them to the hangar bay to introduce the first elite squad of recruits, who are all non-clones. Rampart, like Tarkin, isn’t convinced of the efficiency of the clones and wants to embark on the cheaper option of conscripted soldiers. But, he wants these troopers to be trained by the aging clones.

To test the new recruits, Tarkin commands Crosshair to take them to Onderon to find Saw Gerrera’s camp and wipe out the “insurgents.” The Kaminoans argue that conscripted soldiers could never reach the same level of efficiency as clone troopers, but Rampart counters by explaining the loyalty of those who “willingly enlist.” The names of the new recruits aren’t given, but on the way to Onderon, one of the men questions why they put a clone in command of the mission. “Enjoy being commander…for now,” he tells Crosshair.

On Onderon, Crosshair and the recruits engage in a blaster fight with Saw’s people, though Saw isn’t among them. Several are killed, including the pilot, as the shuttle tries to fly away. Crosshair then shoots a woman point-blank after she refuses to tell him anything about Saw’s operation. Several other people — civilians — cower in fear as they exclaim they were promised transport off-planet. One of the recruits tells Crosshair “forget our orders, this is wrong,” saying they didn’t sign up to be an execution squad.

Crosshair repeats the chilling mantra, “good soldiers follow orders” before killing the new recruit. He then tells the rest to “finish the mission,” which they do by killing the civilians.

Though Crosshair returns to Kamino with one less recruit, Tarkin is pleased by their work and promotes Rampart to admiral, turning over the trooper project to him. Tarkin reiterates that he sees the clone program as a “cost-prohibitive relic of the past,” but “for a time, it’ll serve a purpose” — i.e., training the next generation of stormtroopers. The Kaminoans, meanwhile, worry that conscripted soldiers will make clone troopers obsolete. Unfortunately, the original genetic material from Jango Fett is degrading, so they talk about an experiment to use DNA from a Bad Batcher to create superior clones.

Elsewhere, Crosshair leads the new recruits into the Bad Batch’s former barracks, which still have Wrecker’s graffiti art and tick marks on the wall from completed missions. Crosshair returns to his old bunk, just as Omega gets her own room in the Havoc Marauder as an official member of the Bad Batch.

The next episode of The Bad Batch drops Friday, May 21, on Disney+.