By George & Josh Bate
The latest two-part release of The Bad Batch episodes propelled the story forward, but they also feature a number of neat easter eggs and references. Check out all of the hidden details we noticed in The Bad Batch – Season 3, Episodes 10-11: “Identity Crisis” and “Point of No Return.”
Identity Crisis
The planet that “Identity Crisis” begins on looks a bit like Zeffo, one of the planets featured in prominently in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. However, StarWars.com confirmed it is a new location called Caraad.
Mother and daughter duo Ailish and Bayrn are both voiced by Shelby Young. Young has voiced numerous characters in the Star Wars galaxy, including Princess Leia in various projects and Captain Bragg in The Bad Batch. Ailish and Bayrn are of the species Tarlafars, an obscure species that first appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story. They appear to be designed like cats (and they have four ears!)
Bayrn has plush toys of a Tarlafar, a Gran, and a Talz.
After making Emerie Karr chief scientist of Tantiss, Dr. Hemlock gives his colleague access to the Vault. Within the Vault are various imprisoned children, notable for their high M-count. This is reminiscent of various times in the X-Men franchise in which young mutants were imprisoned in a similar facility for experimentation.
Eva, one of the children imprisoned as part of Project Necromancer, is an Iktotchi, the same species as Jedi Master Saesee Tiin from the prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars.
Jax, another of the imprisoned children, appears to be a Mirialan, which is the same species as Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee from the prequels and The Clone Wars.
One of the games played by the kids in the vault was called “Impossible Stack” during production. This is like a Star Wars, holographic version of Jenga.
Hemlock details more about Project Necromancer to Emerie Karr, which aligns with revelations about Doctor Pershing’s experimentations in The Mandalorian Season 3. Hemlock is hoping to create a clone with a high M-count, but, so far, has had trouble replicating and sustaining M-count in a clone body. With Omega, however, there is evidence that a clone can have a high M-count, making her vital to Hemlock’s experiments. In The Mandalorian Season 3, Doctor Pershing gives a speech on Coruscant about his research under Moff Gideon, which includes an explanation of trying to create Force sensitive (a.k.a. High M-count) clones. We’ve theorized that the ultimate aim of these experiments is to create a clone body with a high enough M-count to sustain Palpatine’s powers. That is, we believe Palpatine wishes to ensure longevity / immortality by transferring his consciousness into a clone body that hasa high enough M-count to sustain his immense Force sensitivity.
The Class 1 bounty hunter contacted to retrieve the Force-sensitive child is none other than Cad Bane himself. Before appearing, you can hear the spurs on Bane’s boots, which is the same sound Boba Fett makes in The Empire Strike Back. Bane is once again voiced by the legendary Corey Burton. Bane was last seen in animation in The Bad Batch Season 1, when he was hired to capture Omega. More recently, Bane featured as an antagonist in The Book of Boba Fett in which he (probably) met his demise.
This isn’t the first time Cad Bane has been hired by Darth Sidious to capture Force sensitive kids, as this was the plot of “Children of the Force,” an episode of The Clone Wars. It appears Palpatine has had his sights on using Force sensitive children for insidious ends for quite some time.
Cad Bane’s trusted companion droid Todo 360 also makes an appearance in “Identity Crisis.” Todo 360 is voiced by Seth Green. Known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Austin Powers, Green has a history with Star Wars, including voicing Ion Papanoida in The Clone Wars and parodying Star Wars in his comedy series Robot Chicken.
Tarkin makes an appearance, discussing funding for Project Necromancer with Dr. Hemlock. Tarkin is voiced by Stephen Stanton, who has voiced a range of other Star Wars characters, including Mas Amedda, Griff Halloran, and AP-5. Tarkin’s appearance mirrors an interaction he has with Director Krennic in Rogue One when he was similarly disgruntled about the usage of Imperial funds.
C-X2 reports that he “tracked down the Trandoshian and pulled some intel out of her.” The Transdoshian he is referring to is Cid (also known as Ciddarin Scaleback, the character played by Rhea Perlman in Seasons 1 and 2 of The Bad Batch. Cid betrayed the Bad Batch last season and seems to be, once again, helping their enemies. As Kylo Ren would say, “Traitor!”
Cad Bane delivers the Force sensitive child Bayrn to Emerie Karr at a space station orbiting above Coruscant, which is the capital of the Empire.
Emerie Karr gifts young Eva a homemade straw doll. This doll was made by Omega and was seen earlier this season as a comfort to her while she was imprisoned on Tantiss. Kelly Knox for StarWars.com has a guide to help you make your own straw tooka doll here.
Finally, “Identity Crisis” is notable as it is the only episode of The Bad Batch to not feature any current or former members of the Bad Batch.
Point Of No Return
Daniel Logan returns to voice Mox after previously playing the character earlier this season. Logan is known for playing young Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones.
Omega leaves Tech’s goggles on Pabu. Tech’s goggles were previously seen aboard the Marauder this season and represent a memento to the team’s fallen member. If you’re like us, the loss of Tech still hurts and moments like this just emphasize this loss even more.
The Bad Batch’s ship The Marauder is destroyed in this episode. This is reminiscent of a moment in The Mandalorian in which Din Djarin’s ship the Razor Crest was similarly destroyed.
In a touching detail, Wrecker shields Gonky from the blast, ensuring his safety.
The visual of the massive Imperial ship hovering over the island of Pabu parallels similar shots from Rogue One in which a Star Destroyer hovered over Jedha and from Rebels in which Imperial ships hovered over Lothal.
Matt Lanter, known for voicing Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars, voices the droid attendant Olly and a stormtrooper in this episode.
Michelle Ang, who voices Omega in the series, voices a villager in this episode.
Stay tuned to The HoloFiles and Star Wars Holocron for continued coverage of The Bad Batch’s final season!