The Bad Batch: 5 questions we need answers to in Season 3

Now that The Bad Batch Season 2 is over, here are 5 questions we hope Season 3 answers if and when it’s released in the next few years.

1. Now that Omega is confirmed to have a clone sister presumably with accelerated aging, are there more of them? How does this factor in with Nala Se’s research for The Emperor?

Michelle Ang’s Omega discovers that she has a much older clone sister in Emerie Karr (voiced by Keisha Castle-Hughes).  The doctor does bear resemblance to the child, and it’s entirely possible that other female clones were made prior to Omega becoming the last unaltered clone (compared to Boba Fett’s ‘Alpha’).  The question becomes ‘Are there more of them?’, and does Nala Se successfully break ground on the dark research for Emperor Palpatine?  There is a good chance that she does given where we know things end up in Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (I like those odds!).

2. Will Omega remain under Imperial captivity with Nala Se long enough to further the dark research ordered by Palpatine, and will she be rescued by her Bad Batch family?

Dr. Royce Hemlock (voiced by Jimmi Simpson) is the evil mastermind behind the experimentation on decommissioned clones as well as enlisting Nala Se (voiced by Gwendoline Yeo) to continue her dark clone research for Emperor Palpatine.  As we know from this latest season’s cliff-hanger, Omega has been captured by Dr. Hemlock as an incentive for the Kaminoan (Nala Se) to continue her work on cloning.  It’s a fair bet to assume that a major plot thread in the third season will be The Bad Batch attempting to rescue Omega and potentially Crosshair from Royce Hemlock’s secret base on Mount Tantiss.

3. Will Crosshair continue his turn from loyal-to-a-fault  soldier to brother of Clone Force 99 and join The Bad Batch in their fight for freedom?

Dee Bradley Baker will never receive enough praise for continually finding new voices for a seemingly endless amount of clones in the Star Wars galaxy.  Crosshair underwent major development this season to go from a loyal soldier for the Empire to a self-aware brother-in-arms who now has empathy for the other clones as they are being slated for decommissioning (just as the Tactical droids were in the sixth episode titled Decommissioned).  We saw that he was able to warn the rest of his squad through Plan 88, but is it too little too late for him to rejoin The Bad Batch?  Time will tell in Season 3.

4. Will Cid see justice for her role in betraying The Bad Batch, or will she remain hidden to wallow alone in shame?

Cid, who is eloquently voiced by Rhea Perlman, has been hinted at being a danger to The Bad Batch throughout this second season.  Though this may come as a surprise given their long sordid history and at times she may have given off ‘tough mother’ vibes when sending them on missions, but the hints at her true nature have been there from the beginning.  Cid was very cold and hostile towards the Batch before inviting them into her inner circle, and only seems to be pleasant with them when they serve her best interests.  When they first join up with Cid (in the fifth episode titled Rampage), she assures them “Don’t worry, I’m good with secrets.”  It will be interesting to see if Ciddarin Scaleback appears in Season 3 or if she will stay hidden in isolation out of shame for betraying The Bad Batch.

5. Could Tech still be alive, or have we said our first good-bye to an original member of The Bad Batch?

The Bad Batch made their debut in the first four episodes of the seventh and final season of Clone Wars; and consisted of Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo.  Though we gained an integral member in Omega and lost Crosshair to the Empire along the way, it is extremely sad to lose Tech in Season 2’s finale, as he reminded us that Star Wars often boils down to its characters’ choices.  The choice to spare Saw Gerrera against Tarkin’s orders to eliminate him ultimately led to his attack on the Empire in the season finale (leading to Tech’s death).  However, it is that very choice that helped make The Bad Batch the heroes of the galaxy that they’ve grown to be.  Tech makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the rest of his squad with Plan 99, and falls from the rails along with the damaged gondola.  How Tech’s passing is treated from this finale and into Season 3 of The Bad Batch will reveal which way the narrative is leaning toward his possible return, but sadly for now it is safe to assume he is gone.