Commentary: ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Had It Right For Omega To Free Herself
by Frank Martin
It’s no surprise that stories sometimes fall into a familiar pattern, so it’s also no surprise that audiences like to have their expectations subverted. The “rescue” is one of these patterns. A good guy gets captured by the bad guys and more good guys have to find a way to rescue them. This is a core plot point from the original Star Wars film as Luke and Han rescued Leia. But Star Wars: The Bad Batch decided to go in a different route in regards to Omega (Michelle Ang), and it was a very notable decision that took the story exactly in the direction it was supposed to go.
Omega was captured in season two and her imprisonment carried over into season three. Initially, she was used as leverage in order to get Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo) to work on the Empire’s cloning project. But things changed when Nala Se was unable to shield Omega’s unique blood from the Empire. It became even more urgent for her to escape. Meanwhile, the other members of the Bad Batch were in search of Omega to rescue her, but they were met with dead ends every step of the way. Instead, Omega was able free Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker) and escape with him on her own, completely independent of any help from the other clones who were looking for her.
Right from the start of the series, it was always questioned just how much Omega can carry her own weight. She was a little girl stuck in a war and the other Bad Batch members were unsure if she was going to hold them back or be a valuable team member. The show worked very hard to prove the latter. Omega is completely capable of taking care of herself and thriving in a dangerous environment. So it was a very smart move for the show not to treat her as a damsel in distress, but to be somebody who can escape on her own. She did get help from Crosshair, but first had to help him escape and show him it was worthwhile to do so. She rehabilitated him (as she continues to do in subsequent episodes), and this all stems from the right storytelling choice to keep the other Bad Batch members away as she proved her worth yet again.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch streams Wednesdays on Disney+.