The universal brotherhood prevalent among the Clone troopers is one of the most unique aspects of Star Wars, which has contributed to a number of pivotal storytelling opportunities. Even aside from the Bad Batch, who share familial relations due to their unique origin, a bond connects all the Clones across the galaxy, irrespective of their allegiance. As the final season of Bad Batch reaches its midpoint with two episodes, Infiltration and Extraction, viewers are reminded of the connection with the return of a fan-favorite insurgent captain.
In the previous episode, after the long-awaited reunion, the eponymous team ventured to the planet Barton IV to learn about the location of the Imperial outpost in Tantiss, and while making amends with a tragic past, Crosshair strengthened his bond with Hunter. With their prime objective to free the captive, experimented-on Clones from Tantiss, the Bad Batch is still in search of the location of the planet, and as they meet with some of their longtime allies in the latest two episodes, their struggle against Imperial forces gains much-needed momentum.
Spoilers Ahead
What Was The Reason For Captain Rex To Bring Bad Batch On Teth?
The sixth episode begins with the legendary Clone Captain Rex and his team of rebel Clones, including Captain Howzer, providing security for a secret meeting between two insurgent senators, Avi Singh and Riyo Chuchi. Survivor of many battles and an associate of Anakin and Ahsoka, Captain Rex’s reputation needs no introduction, and ever since turning his back on the Empire to help the Clone brothers, he has been a strong ally of the Bad Batch. During the meeting, an Imperial covert operative assassin prepares to take down the senators, but a timely warning by Howzer helps Rex foil the attempt. The operative gets caught and is brought to Teth, the current base of operation for Rex and his crew. The identity of the operative is revealed to be a Clone, one who has been experimented upon by the Empire to the point that his identity has been replaced by a directive. Rex eventually learns that the operative was stationed in Tantiss, and in his data puck, he finds Omega to be listed as a target as well. Echo had already informed Rex about Omega and Crosshair’s escape from Tantiss, and after finding a connection regarding that, he decided to inform the Bad Batch about it. Howzer insists on bringing the batch to Teth in hopes of recovering more information from the operative.
As the batch arrives in Teth, Howzer starts antagonizing Crosshair, calling his change in allegiance a ploy. The duo share a history as they previously squared off in Ryloth during the first season, where Crosshair had killed a number of Howzer’s troopers, and the Captain is still suspicious about his true motivations. Before departing for a new mission, Echo gifts Omega with an energy crossbow. Rex brings the batch up to speed with the recent developments, as well as informing them that Omega is being targeted by the Empire. Omega reveals M-count experimentations on Clones, which Nala Se was forced to do in Tantiss, to be the possible reason as to why she is being targeted by the Empire, but she is unaware of how she fits into the Empire’s plan.
How Do The Imperial Forces Learn About Omega’s Location?
On the other hand, another Clone assassin operative gets activated in Tantiss and is instructed to take down the captured operative by tracking his internal homing device—something that Rex and his team haven’t been able to detect yet. At Teth, Crosshair reveals about the secretive co-ops who have been brainwashed, conditioned by Hemlock to remain loyal to the Empire, and gets worried after learning that Rex has captured one of the operatives alive, as he fears that Imperial forces will track him down in no time. Crosshair’s concerns prove to be true as the second operative reaches Teth and meticulously plants detonators all across the rebel Clone base. Crosshair also reveals that he too was chosen as a potential candidate for the co-op troopers, but fortunately, he turned out to be ‘defective’.
The second operative spots Omega as being present in Teth and informs Imperial forces in Tantiss about his findings. He is instructed to capture Omega alive, and the Imperial forces rush to send a strike team as backup. As the Bad Batch meets the captured operative, he tries to plant suspicion in their minds by hinting at his connection with Crosshair. However, before the conversation can go any further, the second operative manages to take out the captured one, and as the base starts collapsing after repeated detonations, a major number of Rex’s crew meet their end. While exchanging fire with the operative, Rex, Howzer, and the Bad Batch escape through a tunnel in the command room. The base collapses and the second operative gets missing in action, while the Imperial strike team arrives at Teth, led by Rex’s former associate, Clone Commander Wolffe.
Did The Renegade Clones Manage To Escape Capture?
Rex and the Bad Batch decide to access a nearby shuttle, using which they won’t be able to move far as it lacks hyperdrive, but at least they contact Echo for extraction. On the other hand, Wolffe meets the operative and reprimands him for destroying the entire base while his order was to capture the target alive. The operative, seemingly nonchalant, goes on his way to find and capture Omega.
After spotting the rebel Clones for a second time, the operative latches on to their trail once again, and this time, Crosshair rightly assesses his presence. Crosshair’s superior sniping skills force the operative to retreat, and the team manages to enter the shuttle just in time to leave the collapsed base. However, the ever-persistent operative takes out the engine of the shuttle using his sniper rifle, leading to the batch and co. crash landing in the jungle, much to Wolffe’s dismay, who gets worried that the operative’s reckless tactics will foil their mission. Bad Batch proceeds to venture through the jungle to reach the rendezvous point where Echo is supposed to meet them, and the strike team shuttle reaches the crash site. Eventually, Howzer changes his perspective towards Crosshair after seeing him interact with Omega in a caring, responsible way—something that was incomprehensible when the marksman was still an Empire loyalist.
One of the Imperial shuttles confronts the team, and thanks to Crosshair’s help, the insurgent Clones manage to escape unscathed. The operative corners the group near a cascading waterfall, and to draw his attention away from the team, Crosshair starts attacking him. The sniper rifle battle soon turns into a good old fistfight, and the operative manages to almost drown Crosshair to death. Thanks to the timely intervention of Howzer, Crosshair is saved, and the operative gets knocked out, eventually falling down the waterfall.
Unfortunately, the bout of misery hasn’t ended for Rex and the Batch just yet, as instead of Echo, Wolffe’s strike team welcomes them at the rendezvous point. With the team cornered, Wolffe prepares to capture Omega and gets shocked to see his old friend Rex alive, whom he had considered dead in the aftermath of Order 66 commencement. Rex tries to appeal to the humanity of his friend, mentioning that his and the insurgent Clones’ fight isn’t against the rest of Clones and that they oppose the tyranny of the Empire. He mentions as they speak that the Empire continues to exploit and experiment with the Clone brothers at Tantiss. A conflicted Wolffe still seems unwilling to let the insurgents escape, and Rex once again pleads with him to think beyond his directive. He affirms his faith in Wolffe’s judgment, whom he believes to know better than to try and abduct little kids (Omega) for the Empire. Meanwhile, Echo arrives at the spot, and Wolffe needs to take a final decision. Ultimately, Wolffe puts his brotherhood before his loyalty to the Empire and allows Rex, Howzer, and the Bad Batch to leave the planet. This marks the beginning of Wolffe’s turn against the Empire, and eventually, after learning the true extent of the Empire’s malevolence, in Star Wars: Rebels, Wolffe will side with his old friends in resistance against the Empire.
It is revealed that the operative survived the fall, and it seems like we will once again see him cross paths with the Bad Batch and possibly with Wolffe as well. As Hunter and Rex discuss future courses of action, the Captain insists on knowing the particular reason why Omega is being targeted by the Empire. With the proper introduction to the covert Clone operatives, we can’t help but speculate about the wild possibility of Tech being alive and having been turned into the Empire’s killing machine in the veins of Marvel’s Winter Soldier. After all, one of the cardinal rules of fiction is that falling to death is a guise to bring back characters in an unexpected way. This has been followed in “Star Wars” lore time and time again, and there is no reason as to why Dave Filoni will not try to repeat the formula.
