“A Different Approach,” the fourth episode of The Bad Batch season 3, is a heart-warming, comical continuation of Crosshair and Omega’s burgeoning bond. And with a surprise ending, this episode brings the season to a new chapter — one fans likely weren’t expecting so soon.
The rest of this article contains spoilers for episode 304 of The Bad Batch.
“A Different Approach” picks up right where “Shadows of Tantiss” left off: Crosshair, Omega, and their trusty lurca hound Batcher speeding away from Hemlock and his nefarious lab, desperate for refuge anywhere they can find it. After a crash landing on the planet Lau, the two clones’ loyalties are put to the test, forcing them to decide whether they tackle the future together or apart.
A “Temporary Requisition of Funds”
Easily the best part of this episode, as with the former three, is Crosshair and Omega’s strengthening relationship. Though Crosshair is still every bit the surly sniper we’ve come to know and love, he’s very clearly not the same person we watched for the majority of season 1. That Crosshair would have left Omega behind when she insisted on rescuing Batcher from an Imperial hold. That Crosshair would have never believed enough in a young girl’s strategic ability to entrust her with his escape.
But this Crosshair? He’s a different story.
When they find Batcher missing after Omega’s “temporary requisition of funds”, the two clones come to a crossroads. One of many for them, of course, but also maybe the most important. After Omega throws their bag of credits at Crosshair and declares she won’t abandon Batcher to the Empire, there’s a moment where Crosshair hesitates. He takes a step toward Omega as if to follow but changes his mind and turns away from her. Then, in a scene where the old, loyal-to-the-Empire Crosshair would have continued walking away, this Crosshair stops, sighs.
Like so many times before, Crosshair is given the opportunity to make a choice on his own, with no chip to influence his action, no orders from a commanding officer. This time, though, Crosshair makes the right choice.
Just like Omega didn’t abandon him on Tantiss, he refuses to abandon her now. A different approach, indeed.
The following scenes find the brother-sister duo in their element — working side-by-side, respecting each other’s skills, escaping together. Again.
All of this leads to the final few moments of the episode, with Omega hopeful to see the rest of the batch and Crosshair, as usual, skeptical. Though these two make a good team, will the same still be said for everyone else?
They Never Stopped Searching
Though Crosshair and Omega are the stars of this episode, the final scenes with two other members of the batch are undoubtedly the most emotional. Set against a classically riveting Kiner musical score, Omega’s hug-and-tear-filled reunion with two of her brothers is exactly what fans have been waiting for.
Over 150 Tantiss rotations have passed between the last time Hunter and Wrecker saw Omega and now. That’s months upon months of searching and worrying and hoping they’d find her. Only for Omega to surprise them, just like she always has, by finding them herself.
In my previous review, I said Hunter and Wrecker’s grief over Omega’s absence is palpable in “Paths Unknown.” That grief becomes all the more obvious when compared with the boys’ utter joy in these last scenes of “A Different Approach”. Hunter’s anxiety and Wrecker’s need to be the voice of reason fade to the back as soon as their eyes land on their sister. Between the space of one hug and the next, they are back. They are here. They are together.
And so is Crosshair.
This episode doesn’t grant us much time with Crosshair’s own, uncertain reunion with Hunter and Wrecker, and that’s perhaps for the best. Though Omega has had time and space to forge her own relationship with the prodigal bad batcher, her other brothers haven’t yet had the chance to work through their issues with him. And if the hard glares between the boys are any indication, the road to forgiveness might not be all that smooth.
But as Omega says to Hunter when he asks how she escaped, she had help. Crosshair, regardless of his past transgressions, did help bring Omega back to relative safety. He prioritized her over himself time and time again. And yet, only time will tell if that’s enough for his brothers to give him another chance.
Notify the Operatives
“A Different Approach” leaves the batch (minus Echo — where is he??) happier than they have been in a long time. But will this peace last?
Before the emotional reunion, we see Hemlock has arrived on Lau. As his troopers search Crosshair and Omega’s crashed shuttle, he tells Commander Scorch “notify all our operatives. I want her found”. Who are those operatives? When will they finally catch up to the batch?
With Hemlock desperate to find Omega, his potential answer to Project Necromancer, we should perhaps hold on to the small pocket of peace at the end of this episode. We might have left Hemlock’s lab far behind, but Hemlock himself is fast on the trail. Omega’s life is very much still on the line.
The countdown continues, and the only difference now is … we have no idea how much time is left.
New episodes of The Bad Batch air every Wednesday at 3am (EST) / 12am (PST) on Disney+.
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