The Bad Batch: S3E12: Juggernaut

A thrilling blend of action and intrigue, 'Juggernaut” delivers a captivating episode.

When 'The Bad Batch' hits its stride, it's a testament to the brilliance of Star Wars storytelling. The third season of “The Bad Batch” has had its ups and downs, but the last two episodes have been great. Building on the excitement of last week's action-filled installment, this week's episode maintains the momentum as Clone Force 99 goes on a mission to locate Omega and liberate her from Mount Tantiss.

Before our group can do that, they first have to get off Pabu. With little sense of where to go, Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker) confesses he may know someone who can get them to Tantiss. When pressed on why he hasn’t said anything before, he simply states it’s a place he never wanted to return to. The shadow of that place still haunts him.

They find that the keeper of this information is Admiral Rampart (Noshir Dalal), who is imprisoned on the labor camp planet of Erebus. So, before they can locate Tantiss, they first have to infiltrate an Imperial labor camp, free a well-known prisoner, and escape—a task that Wrecker (Baker) is joyfully ready to undertake.

But with no ship of their own, The Bad Batch must find a way off Pabu, and that is when Phee (Wanda Sykes) mysteriously appears. Ironic that the person who will help them find Omega is the person who unknowingly led the Empire to her in the first place.

After a swift stealth approach gets them onto the planet undetected, they commandeer a turbo tank and take out the Stormtroopers guarding Rampart, who instantly recognizes Crosshair and refers to him by his clone number CT-9904. This sets up a series of back-and-forth between the two, which is some of the best moments in the episode. Their distaste for each other is wickedly good fun.

Rampart informs them that he will tell them what they want to know after he’s off the planet, but that won’t be easy. Detected by the Imperials, Clone Force 99 must fight their way across a bridge in one of the most fun battles I’ve seen this season and then escape a duo of gunships as they race precariously along a narrow road on the edge of a canyon.

With their tank disabled and the gunships closing in, Phee pulls her best Han Solo impersonations from “A New Hope” and zooms in from nowhere to save the day.

Once free of the planet, Rampart informs them that he doesn’t know the way to Tantiss but might know how to get around that. Keeping his cards close to the vest, he divulges little, so they must trust him as much as possible.

Back on Tantiss, Dr. Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes) informs Dr. Royce Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson) that Omega’s sample once again yielded positive results. Hemlock explains Omega’s importance to their work on Tantiss as he leads her down the corridor to “The Vault.” When she inquires who the other children are, Hemlock states they are “the rest of the puzzle.”

This was one hell of a fun episode. The action was great. The banter between Crosshair and Rampart is phenomenal, with Baker and Dalal working their craft to perfection. I can’t say enough how amazing Dee Bradley Baker is. His performances week in and week out completely blow me away.

In a thrilling blend of action and intrigue, 'Juggernaut” delivers a captivating episode that is sure to please.