The Bad Batch: S3E15: The Cavalry Has Arrived

Will Clone Force 99 complete their mission in "The Bad Batch" series finale?

I stated last week that the creative team behind “The Bad Batch” was saving the best for last, and they indeed saved the absolute best for last. The series finale, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” is a perfect ending that ties up most loose ends and leaves the door wide open for more tales to be told. Be warned, there are spoilers ahead!

This was the first time this season I sat back and watched the show without a notebook and pen. I wanted to soak it all in, and I’m glad I did. I’m sure I missed a thing or two that won’t be included here, but as an overall experience, it was some of the best Star Wars storytelling that’s been showcased in a while.

As has been the case the past few weeks, this episode picks up where last week’s ended. The remaining members of Clone Force 99 move through the jungle outside Mount Tantiss, trying to get to Omega before it’s too late. Meanwhile, inside the science facility, Omega has brought the other kids inside the Vault up to speed with her plan, and now it’s just a matter of executing it.

Her plans turn out to be disabling and rewiring the medical droid to aid in their escape by sedating Dr. Scalder (Helen Sadler). From there, she leads the others to the area where the Zillo Beast is being held. All is going well until Bayrn (Shelby Young) begins to cry, giving away their position, but not before Omega is able to release the Zillo Beast to create a diversion and allow them to escape the facility.

As Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) near the facility, Crosshair instructs the others to go another route and that he will infiltrate the base on his own. When they protest, he hisses at them that Clone Force 99 died with Tech but is quickly corrected by the other two, who inform him that they will stick together to complete the mission.

With his base under siege from within due to the Zillo Beast, Dr. Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson) quickly interrogates a captured Edmond Rampart (Noshir Dalal) and dismisses him again by telling him that his work for the Emperor makes him indispensable, unlike Rampart. The words sting and fuel a fire within Rampart to regain honor within the ranks of the Empire, and he’ll get his chance sooner than he thinks.

With the Zillo Beast ransacking the base, Omega and the other kids begin their climb to hopeful freedom, and Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair will use the hole in the beast created in the base as an entry point to help rescue Omega.

Echo (Baker) and Dr. Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes) are working together to find Omega. The duo navigates the base as Emerie brings Echo up to speed on Project Necromancer, why the Vault houses children, and why Omega is so vital to the Emperor’s plans.

As everything around begins to fall apart, Hemlock activates the CX Troops housed in the base. They quickly engage Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair in a great action sequence, ultimately capturing the trio but not before they sever Crosshair’s shooting hand. Echo and Emerie happen upon them as Hemlock’s goons take the others to the reconditioning area. Echo’s mission is to find Omega, and he won’t deviate even to help his squad—at least for now.

Omega and the kids reach the platform shortly before Echo and Emerie arrive. Emerie takes the others away in a ship while Omega and Echo head back into the base to find their brothers.

Back inside the base, the duo goes to the detention area and releases all the prisoners, including Rampart and Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo). They rally the troops to continue the fight to free Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair and for their freedom. Nala Se breaks from the group to go to the lab to destroy all her research and ensure Omega’s freedom. This provides Rampart the perfect chance to earn favor with the Empire by gaining control of Tantiss’ secrets. The duo face off in the lab in a moment that is as satisfying as it is sad.

The newly freed Clones descend on the reconditioning area but quickly battle the CX Troopers. Omega is able to free Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair, and they help the other clones take out the CX Troopers. However, Hemlock uses a set of binders to attach his and her wrists together and takes her hostage. Now, it’s up to Hunter and Crosshair to rescue her before he can make it to his shuttle.

Ultimately, they meet up with Hemlock and Omega, but both are weakened by the experiments, and Crosshair is without his dominant hand. Thinking he has the upper hand, Hemlock drags Omega to the side of a landing platform walkway and tells her that if they shoot him, she’ll go over with him. He instructs Hunter and Crosshair to drop their blasters, but Hunter has other ideas.

As Omega pulls the instrument she used to disable the droid from her sleeve, Hunter tells Crosshair to shoot the binders. Crosshair protests but is told that Omega knows what to do: wait for her and then take the shot. She quickly stabs Hemlock in the leg, and as their hands raise, Crosshair sends a shot that destroys the binders, followed by a few more shots that send Hemlock over the edge into the abyss.

They all return to their ship and jump into hyperspace just before Tarkin and the troops arrive. At Tantiss, Tarkin surveys the damage and declares that all funding for Mount Tantiss will now be redirected to Project Stardust, aka The Death Star.

Our clones return to their sanctuary of Pabu, where we see the kids from the Vault playing happily in the streets and Emerie vowing to continue her fight to make up for her past transgressions. As these scenes close, we get a great moment with Echo heading off to continue his search and Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Omega sitting together, realizing they can be whatever they want, and that doesn’t have to be a soldier.

It’s a perfect ending for our beloved Clone Force 99, but series creator and writer Jennifer Corbett doesn’t leave it there. We’re treated with another scene that is equally as beautiful and sets the stage for a whole new set of stories to be told, and I, for one, hope they do.

“The Cavalry Has Arrived” was an excellent way to close out “The Bad Batch,” proving that we are what we choose to be, not who we are told to be. It’s filled with action and heart and is easily the best episode of the season and one of my favorites of the series.

I’ll miss watching the adventures of Clone Force 99. They were some of my favorite stories, and I love anything that has a direct connection with Star Wars creator George Lucas. I know that as the saga ages, it will drift away from Lucas’s original ideas and vision, so I try to cherish every moment when the ideas are pure to that vision.

I can’t thank Dee Bradley Baker enough for what he’s done for this series and for Star Wars in general. “The Bad Batch” showcased his talents for three series in various roles, and he shone every step of the way.

As for Ang, she took a character that I initially disliked and transformed her into one of my favorites. I know I’m a Star Wars cheerleader for just about everything, but for any fans that missed out on ‘The Bad Batch,” you truly missed something special.

“The Cavalry Has Arrived” is a beautiful but bittersweet finale for Clone Force 99, and I hope it’s not the last we see of our defective but effective squad.