By George & Josh Bate
Fans of Star Wars: The Bad Batch will know that Omega, a young clone whose kindness is equal to her bravery, is one of the franchise’s most endearing characters of all time. Much of this kindness and endearment comes from actress Michelle Ang, who voices Omega in the animated series. The HoloFiles, along with other Star Wars outlets, recently had the opportunity to speak with Michelle Ang about the upcoming final season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
The last fans saw of Omega was in the Season 2 finale, in which she was captured by the Empire and imprisoned by the insidious Doctor Hemlock to undergo extensive testing as part of Emperor Palpatine’s mysterious cloning mission. At the top secret facility on Mount Tantiss, Omega is joined by Crosshair, who left the Batch and was loyal to the Empire for a time, before turning on the new regime and redeeming himself. After previously not interacting with one another much, Ang stated that she’s “so excited” that Omega and Crosshair have been paired together for this final adventure, before going on to add that “Crosshair has something to learn from her in the season, and their roles are reversed in some ways.”
Despite her youthfulness, Ang teases here that Omega takes on a caretaker role in Season 3, particularly as Crosshair is “going through…trauma and PTSD and also the reintegration of relationships after a fracture, where the Bad Batch brings him back in.” Ang continued, “[Crosshair] learns what forgiveness is, and real love in the face in the face of a betrayal, and then reuniting together, and what that can look like.” It seems that Crosshair will face up to his former friends once again as these characters’ journeys head for a conclusion.
In The Bad Batch, Ang is performing alongside a well-known Star Wars legend Dee Bradley Baker, who has voiced the clone troopers and various other characters in animation (and other mediums, such as video games) for nearly 20 years. Ang described working with Baker as “just incredible”, going on to say that he is “such a vocal magician [who] brings so much color to it, which was really essential.” Baker voices every member of The Bad Batch (with the exception of Omega) and his technique is uniquely impressive as he opts to interchange between characters in a scene rather than recording lines one hero at a time.
Omega doesn’t just interact with the Bad Batch in the series, as Ang revealed a little bit about Asajj Ventress’ role in the series. “Ventress was really interesting to Omega,” Ang said, “She’s come across formidable female figures. But I think that one in particular really sort of took Omega a step back…There was a sort of fear and respect and, like, intrigue.”
The HoloFiles then asked Ang about her favorite moments of Omega so far which led to the New Zealander teasing the series finale, as well as some alternate endings that were considered. “[Audiences] haven’t seen the finale of Season 3 yet, and they were slightly different ways [of the show ending]. We weren’t set on exactly how it was going to end. There were sort of some exploration, but as an actor, an emotional moment was the ending we landed on. It was like the culmination of my journey as a performer and Omega’s journey as a character all consolidated into, two lines.”
Ang’s journey playing Omega began years ago as The Bad Batch was first developed, and has taken the actor all across the globe, from fan conventions in Anaheim, California to London, England. Because of this, Ang says that she read the finalized script for the last episode “with great trepidation,” adding that she “had to prepare [herself] emotionally before opening up the document.” Ang stated that the finale is “really sentimental. And I was sad, but I’m grateful for the journey. The fact that it had to end after three seasons was surprising, but also, I think that the writers have done a beautiful job.”
Ang then went on to tease Omega’s final moments in the show, saying that “the gravity of the final of moments made it easy to feel like that was the culmination of everything.” Interestingly, Ang also gave some specifics on an alternate ending, adding that “Omega was set up with the possibility of a very large future [in the Star Wars galaxy], and then it changed from there.” Ang described this “new [ending” as “bittersweet.”
Ang’s excitement for Omega and the concluding season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch was palpable as audiences highly anticipate the final mission of Clone Force 99. Listen to the full interview with Michelle Ang below:
Check out The HoloFiles’ initial reaction to the The Bad Batch season 3:
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 debuts on February 21 on Disney+ with a three episode premiere. Stay tuned to The HoloFiles for continued coverage of the series, including weekly reviews, episode analyses, and more!