For a show that could easily have hung on the coat tails of The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch has subverted any negative expectations and delivered a rip-roaring start to its first season. As Bounty Lost opens we’re right back where we left the gang at the end of Reunion, tearing off Bracca at full speed with former batch brother Crosshair in hot, angry pursuit. Thankfully, Tech’s piloting skills are up to the task as what remains of Clone Force 99 make the tough decision to jump to hyperspace without their sister Omega, now in the clutches of legendary bounty hunter Cad Bane. It’s here we find Omega, secured in a hold onboard Bane’s ship the Justifier as she converses with droid TODO-360, sneakily gaining her freedom as she fixes the droid after his leg was shot off last episode and then deactivates him to forge an escape and contact the Bad Batch. As Bane brings the Justifier out of hyperspace over Bora Vio and lands on one of the floating, Cloud City-like platforms, Omega is able to escape off the ship and run into the abandoned, rusting instalation.
As we follow Omega’s predicament, the batch’s worries for her safety and Bane’s irritation at her ingenuity we swing south to Kamino as prime minister Lama Su finally makes his intentions very clear regarding Omega, telling Nala Se that their only concern is retrieving Omega’s DNA, not ensuring her safety. With Attack of the Clones character Taun We sent to Bora Vio to rendezvous with Bane, the tables are set, and that explodes into action as Fennec Shand arrives, taking on the more experienced Bane as Omega successfully contacts the batch and is rescued before a calamitous crash in a failed escape pod occurs and Bane’s pursuit is stifled as Shand sabotages his engines.
Another tremendously enjoyable and fact-packed episode that has ramifications far beyond the realms of The Bad Batch. We learn that Omega has a brother called Alpha, a fellow first-generation clone the galaxy knows far better as Boba Fett. With The Book of Boba Fett coming our way in December, could we be seeing brother and sister reunited in live action? So many possibilities, but as far as Bounty Lost goes, it’s another example of confident storytelling and quick plot resolution as the gang are reunited. Very satisfying indeed.
Read our previous reviews of The Bad Batch here:
