The Short Take:
A more interstitial episode, to be sure. But there are still nuggets of intrigue and suspense.
[SPOILER ALERT: I wouldn’t go in that spoiler water without having seen The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 8 “Bad Territory.”]
The Long Take:
You could say not a lot happened in this episode, and, at least on the surface, you wouldn’t be wrong. Hunter and Wrecker go on a swampy expedition with Fennec Shand in the hopes that she can, in exchange, provide them information about the Empire’s M-Count bounties. Meanwhile, back on Pabu, Omega asks AZ to check out Crosshair’s hand, and then when they realize that the issue may be mental and not physical, they meditate together in front of a gorgeous ocean sunset. We cut back and forth between these two storylines. And that’s it.
Only, that’s not it, because there is a major cliffhanger at the end of the episode. After Hunter and Wrecker part ways with Fennec Shand, being forced to trust her to hold up her end of the deal, Fennec calls an unidentified character and tips them off about The Batch. She says, “I’m sure you can track them down easily enough. I’ll send you what I have.” The fact that the episode ends there indicates that we’re supposed to be in suspense and therefore a.) concerned for The Batch’s safety and b.) worrying who is about to track them down, easily or otherwise.
This is not, however, a cliffhanger at all if you a.) have seen the trailer for this season and b.) recognize a certain character’s theme music. I’m pretty sure Asajj Ventress, the former apprentice to Count Dooku and card carrying Witch of Dathomir, is on the other end of this call. Motifs from her song blare during the entire conversation.
I think the staging of this scene is designed to trick viewers into thinking that Fennec has betrayed Hunter and Wrecker. That rather than keep her word to find them information of the M-Count bounties, she is turning them in to a client (maybe even Hemlock or someone else in the Empire). Even if it’s Ventress rather than Hemlock on the line, she might be looking to cash in on one of these M count bounties and therefore present a threat to Omega.
But when I go back and listen to their shrouded conversation in the context of what Fennec originally promised — to connect Hunter and Wrecker with another bounty hunter who, unlike Fennec herself, has collected one of these M-Count bounties — this may very well be all she’s doing here. She opens with “What can you tell me?” rather than “I thought you might be interested to know the whereabouts of these clones you’re after.” There’s nothing in the dialogue that indicates prior knowledge or any kind of arrangement.
Image Credit: StarWars.com
And Ventress makes sense as someone to connect with Clone Force 99. She’s been burned by the Sith but as a former apprentice has extensive knowledge of the Force and whatever an “M-Count” is (wink, wink). And as the former apprentice of Count Dooku specifically, she also has an indirect connection or potential knowledge of the Kaminoans and therefore cloning science. And she holds enough bitterness towards Dooku that she may be more than happy to help anyone working against the Empire’s scientific efforts.
For those who haven’t been keeping track, Count Dooku betrayed Ventress in an episode of The Clone Wars titled “Nightsisters” (S3E12), after which she recruited her extended mystical family, the titular Nightsisters, to sneak into his castle on Serreno and try to kill him. Fun fact: Clone Force 99 has in fact already been to Serreno on a job for Phee. See Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2. There’s so much here that I flag as related but not quite directly connected. It will be interesting to see if we return to Serreno or track a lost relic of Dooku’s in an Imperial warehouse somewhere in order to investigate the Empire’s interest in M-Count further.
If we enter Ventress’ appearance in the Season 3 trailer into evidence, then it seems even less likely that she’s out to get Omega or The Bad Batch. She says, “I wasn’t planning on killing you, but you’re making it very tempting.” This, to me, implies that Hunter and Wrecker will likely react to Ventress as a threat more than she actually poses a threat. And once they stop shooting at her, they may realize that she makes a much better ally than adversary.
I may be selectively remembering here, but some of my favorite Ventress episodes of The Clone Wars are during the “To Catch a Jedi”/Ashoka on the run from the Jedi Council arc. It was so compelling and satisfying to see her team up with Ahsoka and getting to know her as not a black and white, cackling villain, but as a lost but not all that bad soul who, like Ahsoka, was exploited and misunderstood by an institution she trusted.
As much as I’ve talked about Asajj Ventress, whom we didn’t even see in this episode, Fennec Shand is really the headliner here. I appreciated how in control of the situation she was the entire time, essentially convincing Hunter and Wrecker that they really had no choice but to listen to her and do things her way. She always had an answer for them and never backed down. She’s also extremely perceptive. She says that she knows how much this information must mean to the Batch because they’re willing to make a deal with Fennec despite “their past” — when she chased down Omega on Nala Se’s dollar back in Season 1 (starting in Episode 4). If she hasn’t suspected it already, it won’t take her long to figure out that Omega is the only reason Hunter and Wrecker would go to such lengths to learn more about M-Count bounties.
One might assume that intercutting the Fennec side quest scenes with Crosshair and Omega back on Pabu may just be to make sure we don’t feel as those characters have been left out of the episode. Or it might feel as though we just need to break up the space gator actions scenes with a quieter, more character-focused storyline. I would say that it creates a very meaningful juxtaposition between an open-hearted Omega and a closed-off Fennec. When Fennec first offers the job to Hunter and Wrecker, she says needs a crew tactically for this bigger bounty, but she refuses to actually let herself have a crew. She makes it crystal clear that Hunter and Wrecker are working FOR her and not with her. Cut back to Pabu and we see Crosshair benefiting from reintegrating himself into this crew. He will only be able to stop his hand from shaking and regain his unparalleled marksmanship because of his crew’s love and support.
Image Credit: StarWars.com
The contrast between life as a loner vs. with a crew reflects back on Fennec’s character, as a clear precursor to the events of The Book of Boba Fett, which prompt her to realize that her loner bounty hunter lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. At the risk of losing some of you, I’m going to quote the entire conversation that I think is supposed to be the heart and thesis of that relatively less successful (or at the very least, misunderstood) series.
Boba Fett: Yes. If I'm gonna start a house, I need brains and muscle. You have both.
Fennec Shand: It's tempting. But I'm an independent contractor. I'll do jobs for you. But I value my freedom.
Boba Fett: I can offer you something no client ever has.
Fennec Shand: What's that?
Boba Fett: Loyalty. I will cut you in on the success and pledge my life to protect yours.
Fennec Shand: Living with the Tuskens has made you soft.
Boba Fett: No. It's made me strong. You can only get so far without a tribe.
Image Credit: Couch Soup
Swap “tribe” out for crew and we’re right back in this episode of The Bad Batch. Fennec initially dismisses Boba’s proposal here, but by the end of the series, she has formed an attachment to him and agrees to follow him “to go along for the ride.” The version of Fennec we see in this episode makes perfect sense as one who hasn’t yet met a newly enlightened Boba Fett.
Image Credit: Star Wars News Net
My heart continues to melt as Crosshair continues “to go along for the ride” with Omega. He’s constantly in awe of her as he finds out more about more about what she’s been up to since he left the squad. The idea of her learning to meditate from Gungi (I love you, Gungi!) and then using that to help Crosshair heal is so representative of the warmth and hope of this series. Never has there been a stronger argument for why we all need a crew.
Gungi-stans, unite! Is a six-episode animated series about our favorite Wookiee Jedi too much to ask? Come on, Disney.