The fifth episode of The Bad Batch season 3, “The Return,” is a beautiful continuation of the show’s focus on family and forgiveness. The surprise return to a meaningful Star Wars location also allows one character the room to explore old wounds.
The rest of this article contains spoilers for episode 305 of The Bad Batch.
“The Return” is a fitting title for this episode in many ways. From the batch’s return to each other on Pabu to Crosshair’s more personal return to the icy planet of Barton IV from season 2, this episode begins the process of weaving together the characters’ experiences despite the years that have separated them.
For the first time in several months, if not years, Crosshair is finally in the same place as his family, with his old armor. It’s bittersweet that despite this return, there’s still a member of the batch missing.
Tech’s death is felt more persistently in this episode than in any of the previous four. Perhaps because the group themselves broach the topic of his absence in very clear terms. When Echo says that the batch’s mission to hack into the imperial datapad Omega took from Tantiss will be difficult “especially without Tech”, there’s a pause that feels more like a moment of silence. It’s a moment that tells us maybe there’s more to say, but maybe now isn’t the time to say it.
This undercurrent of things left unsaid runs throughout the episode, with Hunter and Crosshair finally forced to come to terms with their rocky relationship.
Loyalty and Brotherhood
Hunter and Crosshair have been at odds with each other since the moment they heard “execute Order 66” in episode 101. While some of this tension is due to the negative effects of Crosshair’s inhibitor chip, just as much, if not more, comes from the two soldiers’ own choices.
As the sergeant of Clone Force 99, Hunter has always put the wellbeing of his squad, as a whole, above anything else. While Order 66 and the transition of the Republic into the Empire did not change this, they did alter what Hunter considered to be the best options for the batch. Following orders turned into following instincts.
For Crosshair, the transition wasn’t so simple.
With the chip influencing his beliefs and actions, Crosshair started this show at a disadvantage. Early on, we even see Vice Admiral Rampart instruct the Kaminoans to increase the influence of Crosshair’s chip to test just how compliant they can make him. Therefore, many of the nefarious choices we see the surly clone make in season 1 are not so much his own as they are the chip’s. This doesn’t excuse Crosshair’s actions, but it does help explain them.
And Hunter is willing to believe this isn’t the brother he knows and cares for until Crosshair himself tells the batch that at some point his chip was removed. Meaning that some of his worst actions came straight from his own choices. For Crosshair, following orders didn’t turn into following instincts, because his instincts drastically changed. Following orders instead became the sole explanation for his situation — a goal to focus on and an excuse to survive off of.
They Always Work It Out
Though we’ve seen Crosshair work hard to undo this type of thinking and revert back to old, better instincts, Hunter has not. Similarly, while we’ve seen Hunter grow as a leader and a generally caring person, Crosshair has not. “The Return” goes a long way in bridging this gap.
Not only do the two brothers get to yell every frustration out of their system, they are also reminded of what it means to trust in each other.
We see a positive shift in their interactions when Hunter watches Crosshair arrange the abandoned clone trooper helmets that once belonged to Commander Mayday and his squad. The unit that once patrolled the Barton IV depot, and the commander who led them, made a significant impact on Crosshair in episode 212, “The Outpost”.
It was with them when Crosshair, for the first time in a long time, put his trust in someone else. It was with them when he took his first real stance against the Empire. And, perhaps most importantly of all, it was with them when he learned how Mayday and his men remembered their fallen: arranging their helmets in a place of honor, dignity, and respect.
Hunter doesn’t know this as he watches. But from that point through the rest of the episode, he listens and he learns. And that’s really all the start he and Crosshair ever needed.
After the two work together toward a successful mission and are reminded of what things used to be like, we finally see both brothers’ defenses fall.
For the first time ever, Crosshair admits to his mistakes. “I thought I knew what I was doing,” he says, back turned to Hunter. “I thought I was being a good soldier.”
This is a pivotal moment, for the show and for the characters alike. Hunter’s next words, how he chooses to respond to Crosshair’s confession, mark the direction for the remainder of the season.
Ever the leader, Hunter chooses kindness.
“I have regrets, too, Crosshair,” he says while facing his brother straight on. “All we can do is keep trying to be better. And who knows? There just might be hope for us yet.”
As Crosshair joins his family on the ship, an ice bird, similar to the one that haunted him the last time he was on Barton IV, flies away. A reminder, perhaps, that Crosshair doesn’t have to linger in his past. He is allowed to move on.
To hope, as Hunter says, to be better.
A Mission Closed, A Mission Opened
With the remaining members of the batch finally back together and working once more as a team, where will the story go from here? Though he doesn’t make an appearance in this episode, Hemlock is very much on the forefront of everyone’s minds. Especially Omega’s.
It’s Omega’s determination to rescue the imprisoned clones on Tantiss that leads the batch to Barton IV. “I left all those clones behind,” Omega says to Hunter back on Pabu. “I need to do this.”
Hemlock may be on the hunt for Omega, but she is very much on the hunt for him, too.
The only question is: will she find him before he finds her?
New episodes of The Bad Batch air every Wednesday at 3am (EST) / 12am (PST) on Disney+.
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