The Bad Batch season 3, episode 3 review: Shadows of Tantiss

This review contains spoilers for The Bad Batch Season 3 episode "Shadows of Tantiss."

I'm usually not a fan of multi-episode premieres, but The Bad Batch proved me wrong with its execution. "Shadows of Tantiss" was the perfect way to close out the week.

Building on the setup of episode 1, "Confined," this week's story came full circle as Omega and Crosshair made their daring escape from Mount Tantiss. It was nice to see this little story build over two episodes and reach fruition in the third. Yes, all the steps were a bit predictable, but that doesn't matter when it's really well executed. The inevitable escape from Tantiss wasn't the point; the point of all the setup was for Omega and Crosshair to bond as a team. Never forget that character development is plot. Episodes 1 and 3 put Omega and Crosshair in a better place. She'll be the key to bringing him back into the Batch with Hunter and Wrecker.

The series also took some major steps tying into the bigger story of Star Wars. A massive chunk of The Bad Batch's narrative has been explaining the "Somehow, Palpatine's return" in The Rise of Skywalker. Ever since Star Wars Legends stories, Palpatine has always been a big fan of cloning to preserve his life and Empire. The Bad Batch has been put the early steps of this on screen. It's a nice moment tying into The Mandalorian by naming Project Necromancer, which is more than likely Palpatine's plan to clone himself. Star Wars rhymes and these sorts of things build nice synergy among the shows.

Now, all we have to do is get the family back together. Knowing from episode 2 that Hunter and Wrecker are heading to Pabu, my suspicion is that's where the next episode will take us. Omega knows where Pabu is and knows it's a safe place. It could be time for the Batch to reunite in paradise.

There are still lingering questions coming out of the premiere. Does Crosshair even know that Tech is dead (supposedly. I won't give up on my boy until the final credits run)? Why is Omega's blood important? We've never known her enhancements, so is this why she is important? Is the fan-favorite theory about her being Force-sensitive true? We'll have to see.

Raising questions is not bad as we come to a close for The Bad Batch's Season 3 premiere. It set up the show's final season while making a ton of headway going forward. It was an excellent episode overall and a great week of Star Wars television.