After the harrowing 3-episode premiere, The Bad Batch continues with Season 3, episode 4, “A Different Approach.” Let’s recap everything you missed.
We open with Omega and Crosshair barreling through hyperspace in the Imperial shuttle they stole. After the dog fight last episode, the ship is heavily damaged. They pop out of hyperspace and are forced to crash land on the planet of Lau.
The ship short circuits out, which upsets Omega. She wants to get the coordinates for Tantiss to go back and rescue the other clones. Crosshair thinks going back is a horrible idea as the Empire will be looking for them. Instead, they head out to a nearby spaceport.
Back on Tantiss, Doctor Royce Hemlock visits Nala Se in her prison cell. He clearly knows she somehow helped Omega and, more importantly, knows she destroyed all of Omega’s blood samples from the episodes “Confined” and “Shadows of Tantiss.” Nala Se tries to sway him about false positives as a possibility of happening, but Hemlock doesn’t seem convinced of that.
Back with Omega and Crosshair, the spaceport is crawling with Imperial stormtroopers. Since Crosshair spent the first two seasons in the Empire, he knows what kind of troopers they are. Omega decides they need disguises so they don’t draw too much attention to themselves. They steal some clothes from a clothesline to blend in more. Crosshair suggests they head to the spaceport to sneak onto a shuttle.
Crosshair wants to fight his way into the heavily guarded port, but Omega has a better plan. She decides to try to bribe their way onto a ship. The person running the ticket counter agrees… for 30,000 credits.
Building on previous seasons (because The Bad Batch has never had filler episodes), Omega learned how to hustle for credits from Cid in playing parlor games. However, a fruit seller child outside overhears them.
Omega walks up to a Trandoshan gambler, playing up the naïve child act. It doesn’t take long for the man to start losing credits quickly. The game is interrupted, though, when an Imperial captain and his two stormtroopers come in. The officer eyes Omega and her win streak, deciding to join her game. He challenges her to a game.
The clock is ticking, though. Outside of the city, Imperial patrols have found the clones’ stolen shuttle.
The Captain and Omega’s game is tense. He’s not a fan of Batcher there, so Crosshair pulls her away. The Captain is quite cocky, boasting about how he’s such a good opponent.
Omega still beats him. The Captain concedes, as he was beaten fair and square.
As Omega and Crosshair try to leave, the Captain is notified about the shuttle outside town. He stops them from leaving, saying there’s a fine to pay him since gambling is illegal. Omega quickly pays it so they can avoid getting arrested. And the Imperial leaves just like that. The clones have the money they need and head towards the port.
Only when they get outside, Batcher is gone. The fruit stand kid knows where the hound went… for a price. After payment, he tells the clones that the Captain and his soldier took Batcher towards the cargo docks.
Omega, of course, wants to get her dog. Crosshair is completely against it as they have their clear route off the planet. Omega refuses to leave Batcher. She throws the credits at Crosshair, saying he can leave if he wants. She races off to save her space pup. Crosshair starts to leave, but then, unsurprisingly, he pauses.
The cargo docks are swarming with Imperials and crates with more creatures inside of them. As Omega is sneaking in, it doesn’t take long for Crosshair to join her. In a cute moment, Omega wants to free all the animals trapped in the cages.
Crosshair dryly answers, “Don’t push it.”
As they get close to Batcher, the Imperial Captain reveals himself. He boasts about the “strict pet policy” of the planet Lau. He wants his money back and drops an even bigger reveal:
Dr. Hemlock is on his way.
Surrounded, Omega is ready to do things Crosshair’s way, and they fight back. And Omega gets to do the thing she wanted to do: She rushes to a control panel and frees all the animals to cause chaos on the cargo docks. While Crosshair covers them, Omega grabs Batcher to steal a ship. In the mayhem, a beast grabs the Captain and eats him. Crosshair hops on the ship, and they take off out of there.
Hemlock arrives to the crashed shuttle and wants his troops to track the cargo ship they stole.
Thankfully, Crosshair and Omega are aware that their ship can be tracked. They sent a message to Hunter and Wrecker to meet them at a remote location so they can also ditch their ship.
They arrive at the Season 1 planet where the Batch made deals with Hera Syndulla and Gobi Glie, and the Batch’s ship is waiting for them. Omega runs off the ship and sprints into the arms of Wrecker. She hurries to Hunter, giving him the biggest hug. She reveals Crosshair to them. The music swells, and it’s all tense.
Which is where the episode ends, and we’ll have to wait until next week to find out how the rest of the Batch react to Crosshair’s return.