Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 arrived to viewers who may not have been the biggest fans of the previous seasons but still watched because they love all things Star Wars, and this season delivered on every aspect of the Star Wars universe.
Unlike the previous seasons where there were multiple side quests and one-off episodes, Season 3 followed the same overall plot where any side quest came back to the main mission: first, unite Omega (Michelle Ang, Fear the Walking Dead) with her squad, and then keep her safe from Doctor Royce Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson, Westworld) and the Empire. With every episode leading to this quest and all of them coming together, it felt like a completely thought-out season where all the elements blended well together.
One strong aspect of this is not having Cid (Rhea Perlman, Cheers) in the final season. But what isn’t expected is there is no mention of Cid at all throughout the final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Some of the side plots that felt useless to the overall plot of keeping The Bad Batch (Dee Bradley Baker, American Dad!) with Omega hidden from the Empire in the previous season were always the ones Cid was involved in and gave the squad a mission to complete for credits.
So, to not include any help from Cid, even in a redemption arc of Cid making up for her betrayal, felt like an easy and smart way out to focus just on The Bad Batch. This allowed for more character development between Crosshair and Hunter, but more so between Crosshair and his hand recovery. However, mentioning Cid would have allowed viewers to see a different side of Wrecker and Hunter, as they may place blame on her instead of being the noble clones that they’re made out to be — this could have been an interesting factor put into the overall plot.
With this being the final season of the show and the plot needing to wrap up, there felt like two endings that took place: one in Episode 5, “The Return,” and the other in the final episode, Episode 15, “The Cavalry Has Arrived.” Episode 5 is a good end for The Bad Batch if the season got canceled and they didn’t have the resources for a full season because the squad not only is physically reunited and back on a mission together, but they also work out their differences and become mentally united. While this episode still would have left some questions unanswered, it could have worked for a quick ending.
But thankfully there is more to The Bad Batch Season 3 and viewers became even more invested in Omega and her survival in the hands of Hemlock, and then back with her squad. However, Episode 15, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” also left a few things unanswered, like Commander Wolffe’s (Dee Bradley Baker) journey to him leaving the Empire. But again, this is Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and not a show surrounding Wolffe, so it does make sense to only have a cameo of him with the Empire compared to fully fleshing out his story.
This season dove into the squad’s emotional side. One prominent factor was Crosshair trying to regain control over his hand and be able to shoot as accurately as he previously did. This gave viewers deeper insight into Crosshair, allowing them to grow a connection with his character.
The very last part of the season shows us Omega all grown up with Hunter still trying to protect her. This glimpse into Omega wanting to join the rebellion’s fight against the Empire reinforces her being a clone and wanting to fight the good fight. It also provides some assumptions that can be made as to what happens to The Bad Batch and gives them a peaceful ending, which feels satisfying. After everything the group has been through, becoming possible mountain men is a storyline that suits them.
Overall, The Bad Batch Season 3 proved how good a show can become if you give it a little time. This season is the best one out of the three and truly delivers on having the focus of Star Wars: The Bad Batch be on the actual Bad Batch, which was needed.
