Episode 3 of Star Wars: the Bad Batch packs more of a punch than the first two. Even though most of the actual Bad Batch do not appear in the episode, there was enough action to keep me entertained, and the ending left me asking several questions.
All about Crosshair
The episode title, “The Solitary Clone,” refers to Crosshair. We learn that Crosshair was stranded on Kamino for 32 days following the events of the season 1 finale. He returned to the Empire and is continuing to blindly carry out missions for them. Without his brothers or the shock troopers he commanded in season 1, it appears the other clones still look at him as an outsider; they make him eat alone in the mess hall.
Crosshair is called into a meeting with Admiral Rampart, who tasks him with neutralizing a group of Separatist holdouts on a planet called Desix. Instead of giving him command of a squad, Admiral Rampart assigns him to Commander Cody.
Commander Cody’s Return
For the first time since he shot Obi-Wan Kenobi off a mountain on Utapau, we see Commander Cody in the flesh. He and Crosshair have an interesting conversation about loyalty. Cody reveals that he specifically requested Crosshair when he became available; it seems he’s trying to get an idea what Crosshair thinks about Order 66.
Cody brings up the fact that the rest of the Bad Batch went AWOL after the order to kill the Jedi. Crosshair refers to them as traitors, which seems to perplex Cody. Cody then gives the robotic response of “good soldiers follow orders” and leaves the conversation to start the mission.
The Separatist Holdout
Cody and Crosshai take a shuttle to Desix where they are shot down by battle droids controlled by Tawni Ames, a former Separatist diplomat and colleague of Mina Bonteri. Bonteri was a senator from Onderon and friend of Padme Amidala. In The Clone Wars, Padme convinced Bonteri to try and end the war with a peace treaty, which the Separatist senate proposed to the Republic. As Ames says in this episode, Chancellor Palpatine rejected this treaty and escalated the war.
When the Empire tried to install an Imperial governor on Desix, Tawni Ames took him captive and used reprogrammed battle droids to keep control of her planet. Ames is refusing to bow to the Empire and wants to keep Desix independent.
The mission
After getting shot down, Cody and Crosshair lead their team of clones to Ames’ compound. They fight legions of battle droids on their way there, taking out a tank, droidekas and assassin droids. Cody and Crosshair work well as a team, as when they use mirror pucks in a stairwell to take out several droids at once.
When they reach Ames, she is holding the Imperial governor at gunpoint and explains that she will not bend to the Empire. All she wants is the Empire to acknowledge that Desix is an independent system, and she will let her imperial prisoners go. Cody says that the Empire is trying to establish peace, but Ames cites the peace treaty that the Empire rejected.
Putting his weapon down, Cody passionately talks down Ames. He points out that both of them lived through the Clone Wars and that he wants to resolve the conflict without bloodshed. He gets through to her, and Ames releases the imperial hostage. Once he is free, the Imperial governor immediately orders Cody to execute Ames. Cody hesitates, but Crosshair shoots and kills Ames. Desix is then occupied by Imperial troops.
Aftermath
By the climax of the episode, it is clear that Cody is rethinking his allegiance to the Empire, especially after seeing Crosshair gun down Tawni Ames. Cody and Crosshair speak one more time; Cody asks Crosshair if he thinks the Empire is truly making the galaxy better. Crosshair says that they are just soldiers, and are there only to follow orders. But Cody points out that unlike battle droids, the clones have to make their own decisions and live with them.
In the next scene, Rampart gives Crosshair another mission, but assigns him to a different Commander. When Crosshair asks about Cody, Rampart says that he went AWOL.
Verdict
This episode was good. In addition to great action and cool feats of marksmanship by Crosshair, we got to learn more about how the clones feel about Order 66. We know that more and more clones are questioning the order to kill the Jedi, as we saw in the first season with Howser, and now with Commander Cody. I was left with a lot of questions that we will hopefully get answers to: where did Cody go? Has he removed his chip yet? Is he working with Rex? Cody was clearly trying to gauge whether Crosshair was still loyal to the Empire didn’t get the answer he was probably hoping for.
We also see how isolated Crosshair is within the Empire. The other clones still refuse to talk to him, something we saw happen even when the Bad Batch was together on Kamino, except he is alone this time. Admiral Rampart doesn’t seem to respect Crosshair, and he will not let him command other troops. He seemed to be forming a bond with Cody, but now he is gone as well. We will see where this goes, but it seems like the seeds of a redemption or sacrifice arc for Crosshair may have been planted in this episode.
Episode Grade: B+
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels