The ninth episode of The Bad Batch season 3, “The Harbinger”, forces the Batch even further down an uncertain path and reminds us that the way forward isn’t always as it seems.
The rest of this article contains spoilers for episode 309 of The Bad Batch.
With seven episodes left in its final season, The Bad Batch finds itself with many questions left to answer and not a lot of time to do it in. “The Harbinger”, however, goes a long way in continuing to answer one of the biggest questions of the show: is Omega Force-sensitive?
This question gained traction after episodes 301 and 303. With Omega’s blood containing something that mixes well with high M-count levels — and Dr Hemlock desperate to return her to his lab because of it —audiences were left wondering what this means for Omega herself.
Who better to explore this question than one of Star Wars’ most unconventional and beloved Force-wielders, Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) herself?
A Few Lives Left
Last seen (chronologically) in the book Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden, Ventress has had an … interesting … experience in this franchise. Though The Bad Batch has left the details of her return up to audience’s imaginations, the Ventress we meet alongside the Batch in “The Harbinger” fits in well with the Nightsister we’ve come to love.
Following up on Fennec Shand’s tip from the end of episode 308, Ventress tracks the Batch to Pabu, carrying a few questions of her own. Why are they asking about M-counts? What will they do with the information? Why should she trust them? Despite Ventress’s dicier past with Count Dooku and the Dark Side, these aren’t the questions of a bounty hunter looking to hand over M-count bounties to the Empire.
After an intense hand-to-hand combat sequence that is a testament to the animation team’s visual and technical skills, Ventress confirms where her loyalties lie. Or at least where they absolutely do not.
“We were pawns in the same war,” she says as she stares down a defeated Hunter. “And we all lost. The Empire is more dangerous than you could possibly fathom.”
Though the audience knows well the terrifying potential of the Empire, the Batch are only just scraping the surface. Whatever the future holds for them, it most likely won’t be pleasant. Especially with Omega still at the top of Hemlock’s list.
The Truth is Rarely Comforting
As the only person the Batch has encountered who can give them a solid answer about M-counts, Ventress takes her job seriously. Throughout the remainder of the episode, she tests not only Omega’s Force potential but also her willingness to train.
Idling far out on the Pabu ocean, Ventress encourages Omega to try and connect with the nature around her. After several unsuccessful moments, Omega declares that she gives up. But when Ventress blames Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair for the young girl’s “lack of training and discipline”, Omega defiantly declares that she is trained.
From what we’ve seen of Omega’s growth through the series, we know the smallest member of the Batch is right. Her brothers, and the friends she’s made, have passed on to her their wisdom and their skills. And she’s adapted them exceptionally well. But, as Ventress indicates, those skills and the skills required to wield the Force are not the same.
This doesn’t bode well for the ‘Omega is Force-sensitive’ argument. But the following sequence, and Ventress’s final words to the boys, leave the question up for interpretation once more.
Reach Out — For Everything
When a vrathean — a kraken-like sea creature — attacks them, Ventress shows Omega (and her ever-watchful brothers) that wielding the Force doesn’t always have to look like brute strength. In a beautiful scene that once again touts the animators’ talent, this time in a softer and more gentle manner, Ventress uses the Force to connect with the vrathean. To calm the creature and reassure it of their harmless intentions.
This connection we see between person and creature — sentient to sentient — is not unique for The Bad Batch. We’ve seen it, albeit in more casual ways, every time Omega connects with an animal. The biggest example of all being Omega’s deep connection with Batcher, forged because of her kindness to the lurca hound in the most hostile of environments.
Of course, this affinity for and skill with animals does not necessarily make Omega Force-sensitive. There’s always more to it than that. But it’s interesting that Ventress herself doesn’t give Omega or her brothers a straight answer. She doesn’t say Omega is not Force-sensitive. She simply says that she doesn’t appear to have a high M-count.
For all intents and purposes, we are right back where we started. But perhaps not exactly.
The Harbinger
Before she leaves Pabu, Ventress has one final discussion with Hunter and Crosshair. When the brothers accuse her of lying to Omega about either the girl’s M-count levels or what she means to the Empire, Ventress doesn’t deny it.
“If Omega did have that potential, she’d have to be trained,” Ventress says, eying the brothers skeptically, “which would mean leaving you behind.”
It’s hard, though not impossible, to imagine a scenario where Omega leaves her brothers for any reason other than to protect them. Including training to strengthen her Force potential. Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair might be committed to sticking by their sister’s side, but Omega is also committed to sticking by theirs. Perhaps this is something Ventress could sense more easily than she could Omega’s potential.
When Ventress tells Omega she should be thankful she doesn’t have a high M-count, otherwise the Empire would target her, Omega questions her. “But I’m already a target,” she reminds everyone.
Whether or not Omega is Force-sensitive doesn’t matter if she would never fully commit to the training. But it also doesn’t matter if, at the end of the day, she’s still who the Empire wants, regardless.
The precarity of her situation is heightened even more when Ventress gives Hunter and Crosshair one final warning. “If I were you, I’d leave this place,” she cautions as an ominous score plays in the background. “You’re not as safe as you think you are.”
Ventress’s warning, combined with the overall darker visual tone of a usually bright and colorful Pabu, proves that the episode’s title is apt.
But if Ventress is the harbinger, then what’s still to follow in her wake?
New episodes of The Bad Batch air every Wednesday at 3am (EST) / 12am (PST) on Disney+.
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