The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 14 “Tipping Point” shows what Echo has been doing with the help of an Imperial Senator. Crosshair’s fate is getting even worse and the members of the Bad Batch learn that someone’s after them.
Recap of the story so far
Crosshair shoots down Lieutenant Nolan, an Imperial Officer that refused to help an agonizing Mayday. Nolan didn’t even pretend to care about what happened to any clone. This was Crosshair’s breaking point.
After cutting ties with Cid, the Bad Batch had nowhere to go. Phee takes them to Pabu, a remote island that has everything for its villagers to live peacefully, away from the Empire.
Dr. Hemlock learns about the existence of Omega, Hemlock must capture her if he wants Nala Se to “cooperate” with their investigation.
This review contains spoilers.
Clones strike back
Echo separated from The Bad Batch in order to help other clones. Unlike Omega, Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker, he started as a regular Clone Trooper so his emotional attachment to other “regs” is stronger.
With the help of Senator Chuchi, Echo has helped free many clones from the hands of the Empire. What began as a two-man operation is slowly growing into something that could threaten the newly appointed Emperor and his power base.
TK Troopers and Stormtroopers might be younger and have more modern gear but even with those two advantages, they’re still no match for the experienced and highly-trained Clone Troopers.
A squad of Clone Troopers could dispatch a group of Stormtroopers double or triple the size, and that’s without even considering that some of these Clone Troopers may be Arc Troopers or Clone Commandos.
When a new power establishes its essential that any opposing group gets eliminated or neutralized, this is to prevent any possible insurrections in the future. If given time to regroup a small force could grow into something truly dangerous to the people in power.
This is why Darth Vader never stopped hunting down Jedi, if they were given any chance to retaliate the Emperor’s plans would be severely delayed or even ruined. Clone Troopers might not be as scary as Jedi but they’re still more experienced and lethal than most of the new Imperial forces.
Hopefully, Rex and Echo are able to rescue more clones before the Empire targets them directly. Fireball, Gregor, Nemec, and Howzer are very good soldiers but their numbers are still too small to pose a real threat.
Building a resistance
As I mentioned above, Senator Riyo Chuchi has played a key role in helping Rex and Echo rescue their brothers. We know that there are other Senators doing what they can to help more people; Bail Organa and Mon Mothma are some of the Senators that are also trying to undermine the Empire’s efforts.
It’s really cool to see how different people from all over the galaxy organize and oppose the Empire in their own way. Not everyone can simply grab a blaster and start shooting the first Imperial that they see.
There are many ways to rebel; creating a weakness in an important installation like Galen Erso, protecting the future Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi, fighting for the rights of the oppressed like Mon Mothma, sabotaging Imperial operations like the Ghost crew, infiltrating their ranks like Cassian Andor, the list could go on and on.
To build a force that can even consider doing something meaningful against the Galactic Empire you need more than soldiers. Fighters are the core of it, yes, but you also need technicians, people with funds and political connections, good leaders, and people with expertise in different fields.
What Chuchi, Echo, and Rex are creating might not become the Rebel Alliance that we know but I think it’s building the foundations of the coalition that eventually defeats the Empire.
Imperial questioning
Imperials aren’t known for being subtle when “questioning”. Chemicals, psychological torture, machines capable of inflicting enormous amounts of pain, blackmail, or whatever it takes to obtain the answer that they’re after.
Luckily, Crosshair is an elite soldier and his training has prepared him to resist many of these methods. If we also consider that his brothers are now compromised it’s even harder for the scientists of Mount Tantis to make him speak.
From what I saw, Crosshair still cares about his former squad. They’ve always tried to help him even when he turned his back on them. Now that he’s finally realized that the Empire would discard him as thrash it’s only normal that his allegiance returns to the only people that mean something to him.
He managed to briefly escape and send a message to his old squad but Hemlock recaptured him and I’m pretty worried about what’s going to happen.
We saw Hemlock talking with Grand Moff Tarkin about giving “better use” to Clone Troopers. The assassin that almost killed Senator Chuchi was a Clone Trooper, his behavior was very strange and with the identification number erased, it was impossible to know the name of this assassin.
Hemlock is probably responsible for this, brainwashing a clone’s mind shouldn’t be hard for someone like him. This could explain why Clone Commandos (and more specifically Scorch) act like they’re battle droids. Turning rogue clones into mindless soldiers and then sending them after their own brothers is very aligned with the Empire’s methods.
If the same happens to Crosshair I fear what the consequences might be. It doesn’t matter if he succeeds or not, someone is going to get hurt. This is the first time when watching the series that I’ve genuinely thought that someone from Clone Force 99 could end up dying. I really hope that it’s not the case.
Plan 88
Tech, Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Omega heard the message sent by Crosshair. Hunter is not sure about it being genuine but at least they know that, trap or not, someone is targeting them. It took more episodes than I would’ve wanted but finally, the Bad Batch is getting some real action, whether they like it or not.
There are many things that come to my mind. Mount Tantis is extremely well guarded, if they are going to even consider infiltrating a base that’s guarded by Clone Commandos they’re going to need all the help they can get. Maybe this is when Rex and the other clones make their move.
But if they decide not to do an aggressive movement then they need to move. Pabu would be compromised if they stay there for an extended period of time. I have no doubt that everyone would love to help them but the villagers are not armed or trained to fight against anyone.
Going to a safe location and trying to lure the Empire would probably be the safest choice. It would need to be a place that’s far from any system with a strong Imperial presence but one that they could use to their advantage.
Other than the already rescued clones I don’t think of anyone that could help them. Cid is not of the forgetting type, so it’s probably a bad idea to even consider her. Senator Chuchi and Bail Organa can’t help directly, they must maintain the facade for as long as possible, and with the Empire always watching they must be extremely careful.
It looks like this is a battle that only clone troopers can fight.
Improving Omega’s skills
It took long enough but Omega’s wishes to learn how to fly are being granted. After watching the racing episode I have no doubt that Tech is the best pilot and instructor Omega could have. His ability with technology, quick thinking, and accurate calculations make him a very good pilot.
Omega is slowly but surely improving her abilities. She’s more familiar with Imperial technology, her aim is very good and she has learned to be resourceful even when the situation doesn’t provide her with much. Her kind and relaxed personality often make me forget that she’s an enhanced clone of Jango Fett, one of the best bounty hunters of his time.
Evidently, she hasn’t reached her full potential. There’s a lot to learn, train and understand but once she does all of this I have no doubt that Omega will match and maybe even surpass every one of her brothers.
In the first season, Omega was just a girl that didn’t understand anything and could barely defend herself. She has been able to overcome insecurities and obstacles to grow into a more mature and secure person. There’s still a long way to go but her journey is slowly becoming something very interesting to me.
I can’t wait to see how her character continues to grow and develop in future seasons, assuming there are going to be more seasons.
Easter Eggs in The Bad Batch S2 E14 “Tipping point”
The easter eggs found in this episode are related to a creepy scene of A New Hope, one of the best Star Wars RPGs and the Empire’s most famous ship
Tie Fighters predecessors
I consider the V-Wings to be the “spiritual predecessors” of the Tie Fighters. This is emphasized in this episode as every sound that they produce is now the same as a Tie Fighter.
Balmorra
Balmorra is a heavily industrialized world where many ships and weapons are manufactured. It was a key system during The Old Republic era when both the Republic and Sith Empire fought to control the galaxy.
IT-O Interrogator
The interrogation droid that injects Crosshair is the same type of droid that Vader uses to interrogate Leia Organa in A New Hope.
If you have missed them, read our reviews and breakdowns of every single episode of The Bad Batch’s season 2.
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