The twelfth episode of The Bad Batch season 3, “Juggernaut”, is a fast-paced, haunting exploration of what, exactly, the Batch are up against now. With more than one familiar face added to the character roster, this episode is just the beginning of what’s sure to be a thrilling rescue mission.
The rest of this article contains spoilers for episode 312 of The Bad Batch.
As with most The Bad Batch titles, “Juggernaut” is perfect for its episode. “A massive inexorable force that crushes whatever is in its path” defines the Batch’s absolute determination to find Omega, with the vehicle they use to make a quick escape acting as an equally perfect metaphor.
But the boys’ determination isn’t the only force at play here. With Omega back on Tantiss, we see a new level of fear and danger testing the young girl’s resolve and leaving us to wonder which force (Omega’s or Hemlock’s) will win out against the other.
Tantiss, Revisited
When Omega arrives on Tantiss, the mysterious CX trooper forcefully pushing her toward her fate, she reunites quite quickly with Emerie. As Hemlock orders the older clone to confirm Omega’s blood tests, we are suddenly right back where the series started. Omega in a lab and Emerie following orders.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” Emerie says to a clearly frightened Omega, and based on everything we’ve seen of Emerie so far, she genuinely means it.
But now that Emerie knows exactly what Omega means to Project Necromancer, how long will she continue this façade? How many times can she say she cares for Omega and the other children without actually doing anything about it? Omega is a smart, capable girl. She can see this hesitation in Emerie, and she doesn’t hesitate to question her.
“Am I?” she asks, tilting her head to look Emerie in the eyes. Who, for her part, doesn’t look away.
The question of Omega’s safety reverberates all the way back to Pabu, where her brothers have a somewhat unexpected response to her sacrifice..
Desperation Versus Determination
When I watched the tracker Crosshair launched at the CX trooper’s ship fall in the ocean at the end of “Point of No Return,” my first thought was “Hunter’s going to be so mad.”
I am extremely happy to have been wrong.
Though Hunter is, of course, concerned for Omega’s safety, there’s a stark difference between his desperation from earlier this season and his calm, absolute determination highlighted in “Juggernaut.” This is not a Hunter who doubts if he’ll rescue Omega. This is a Hunter who is sure.
He also knows all too well what Crosshair must be feeling in the wake of losing Omega right before his very eyes.
When Crosshair tells Hunter and Wrecker that he’s kept from them a possible avenue for finding Tantiss because he was afraid of going back, Hunter shows more confusion than anger. More determination to start his mission than fear of what he doesn’t know.
While the Hunter from earlier this season, especially from episode 305 “The Return”, might have fought Crosshair about this secret, the Hunter of “Juggernaut” only cares about how this information might bring them closer to their objective: Omega’s safety. This is never clearer than when Hunter crashes their getaway Turbo Tank through the Imperial labor camp. He speeds around winding turns and shakes off Imperial troopers easily — not caring what he has to do, so long as he gets it done.
The entire sequence out of the labor camp is thrilling and terrifying and full of the kind of tense hope we need to see in an otherwise desperate time.
An Inexorable Force
I’ve discussed in previous reviews the balance this show creates between hope and despair. With the boys so determined to find their sister that they rescue their enemy based off the small hope that Rampart (Noshir Dalal) will be able to lead them to her, “Juggernaut” is no exception.
What’s slightly different this go around, though, is that for the first time in a while, the despair aspect of this balance comes from Omega herself.
Though she’s determined to remain focused and unshakeable, a glimpse of the young girl’s fear shines through in the vault. As Hemlock guides her into the circular room, explaining the part he expects her to play in his work, Omega’s fear heightens. When she sees the other children and hears Hemlock tell her “this is your home now”, Omega is so on edge that the vault door sliding shut behind her makes her flinch.
This being the ending shot for “Juggernaut” makes that balance between hope and despair lean a little further toward despair. But we would do well to remember that while Omega might be in the vault, she is far from alone.
Her brothers are looking for her and, unlike last time, they have a promising lead to follow. Even if that lead is in the form of a bearded menace.
Emerie’s resolve that she’s done all she can is also slowly fading away.
With only three episodes left in this final season, all we can do is take these glimpses of hope and turn them into juggernauts all on their own. With enough force, maybe they can crush the despair in their path, too.
New episodes of The Bad Batch air every Wednesday at 3am (EST) / 12am (PST) on Disney+.
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