The Bad Batch: 4 theories on what to expect from Crosshair before the season finale

One of the most potentially interesting aspects of Star Wars: The Bad Batch is the development of Crosshair. Crosshair was a character initially set up to be part of the titular group, only to defect and become a recurring antagonist by the end of episode 1. This development prevents the show from simply becoming a progress meter of “defeat the bad guys and escape,” since one of the main conflicts becomes a question of whether or not the Bad Batch should reach out to him, or if it’s already too late to save him.

We’re 10 episodes of the way through a 16-episode season, and Crosshair hasn’t gotten much development yet. He’s had one episode where he “betrays” the crew, one episode developing his life with the Empire, and two episodes where he chases down the Bad Batch and they escape.

But that doesn’t mitigate the plethora of opportunities the show still has to drum up interesting conflict for the main cast to navigate through.

Theory 1: Crosshair dies

I’ll admit that this is one of the less likely outcomes. Given all that the show has done up to this point to tease his role in the Empire, it would be pretty surprising if his role in the show were to end by the season finale. Still, it allows for more drama between the main characters.

I imagine it to be something like this: Crosshair is still gunning down the crew, and one of them is forced to shoot Crosshair out of self-defense. His death is framed as a tragedy, one where he never got his free will back after the birth of the Empire. The main characters mourn for him, and one plot thread is tidied up in time for the next season.

Theory 2: Crosshair gets redeemed and rejoins the Bad Batch

Back in the pilot, when the Bad Batch wasn’t sure what was going on with Crosshair, they were adamant about rescuing him before escaping from Kamino. Of course, things didn’t go as they intended, but their hope that Crosshair might rejoin them never truly faded away.

This theory is probably the happiest way to realistically resolve his arc in the season. If it ends up coming into fruition, future seasons will probably feature Crosshair coming to terms with actions and trying to make amends with the people he hurt, just like Bucky in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Theory 3: Crosshair stays evil and his inhibitor chip remains unremoved

This one is basically a continuation of the status quo as set by the pilot. Essentially, he continues hunting the Bad Batch, while the Bad Batch continue evading him while simultaneously hoping to bring him back to the good side eventually.

If this ends up being the case, the season finale will probably focus most of its drama on some other plot thread like Omega’s safety, or the Kaminoans, or something else while keeping Crosshair in the background and reminding us that he’s a threat.

Theory 4: Crosshair stays evil after his inhibitor chip is removed

Many of the main cast’s musings about Crosshair have been about how his actions aren’t his fault; they’re the fault of his inhibitor chip. Omega constantly reassures the team (and by extension, the audience) that what Crosshair’s going through isn’t pleasant, and he isn’t given a sense of free will along with it.

But what if it was his fault? It’s entirely possible that Crosshair believes that what the Empire is doing is right, and even if his chip was removed, he would still continue to work for the Empire.

Why else would Crosshair’s chip work on him in the pilot, even while it failed to activate for the rest of the Bad Batch? Maybe because he was the only one willing to entertain the idea that “good soldiers follow orders.” Maybe he was the only one willing to believe that the Empire was genuinely interested in bringing peace and stability to the galaxy.

Or maybe not. Maybe he would’ve remained fiercely loyal to the Bad Batch if he was never given a chip, but his chip has brainwashed him so thoroughly that he now genuinely believes in working for the good of the Empire. In other words, certain beliefs have been drilled into his head without his consent, but even after the external influence is removed, those beliefs haven’t been removed along with it. Similar to how people far removed from cults still hold many of the beliefs they’ve been ingrained with.

This is probably my favorite of all the theories listed, simply because of how nuanced the outcome is while presenting an unrelenting conflict for the main characters.

So there you have it! One way or another, the Bad Batch still has Crosshair to confront. Regardless of how messy it might be for the main characters, odds are that it’ll be interesting for the audience to watch.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is currently airing on Disney+.