By George & Josh Bate
Feelings of great anticipation and trepidation seem to be consuming many Star Wars fans ahead of the upcoming series finale of The Bad Batch. The 47th and final episode of the series premieres May 1 on Disney+ and will round out what has been an emotional, enthralling, and intriguing installment in the Star Wars universe. Ahead of the finale, we wanted to make several predictions of how we think The Bad Batch will come to an end.
Read below for our 10 predictions for the series finale of The Bad Batch.…
Prediction 1. Crosshair will die
The last season finale of The Bad Batch saw a beloved member of the team fall to his death, and we think this next season finale will feature a similarly heartbreaking loss. The emotional crux of Season 3 has been the relationship between Crosshair and Omega. After betraying his brothers and aligning with the Empire, Crosshair was a villainous figure for Season 1 and most of Season 2. That was until the brilliant episode “The Outpost” in which Crosshair finally turned his back on the Empire upon realizing their true nature.
In Season 3, Crosshair has become one of the most interesting and unique Star Wars characters in recent years. His relationship to Omega is different than that of Hunter’s relationship with the young clone, with Season 3 spending plenty of time showing the growing bond between Omega and Crosshair. In an interesting turn, it is now Omega who is integrated a member into the Batch as opposed to earlier seasons, which were about the other members integrating Omega into the team.
The stakes are high heading in the finale and it seems inevitable that at least one member of the team will die. Our prediction is that it will be Crosshair who dies, likely sacrificing himself to save Omega and his brothers, thus in turn redeeming himself for his prior bad decisions.
Prediction 2. No other members of the Bad Batch will die
Avengers: Endgame, the culminating event of the MCU released in 2019, generated immense speculation from fans about who was going to come out of the film alive. Ultimately, it was just Iron Man and Black Widow who died in a film featuring a seemingly endless number of heroes. This was the correct approach to Endgame as having too many characters die would likely have dampened on the emotional impact of the two losses we did experience.
In a similar vein, we believe the finale of The Bad Batch will not conclude with the deaths of more members than Crosshair. Although Star Wars storytellers have been unafraid to kill off masses of lead characters (i.e., Rogue One), we think it’s unlikely that the team will lose anyone, besides Crosshair.
Prediction 3: Project Necromancer will endure
Project Necromancer was first mentioned in The Mandalorian Season 3, indicating that Palpatine’s plan to ensure longevity remained in development for years after what we see in The Bad Batch.
Our guess is that the Tantiss facility will be destroyed, but there will be a concluding note suggesting that Project Necromancer persists.
Prediction 4: The Zillo Beast will return
In the last episode, Omega stated that her escape plan involves the Zillo Beast she saw trapped within the Tantiss facility. In turn, it appears inevitable that Omega will break the beast out of imprisonment and that it will proceed to cause chaos for the Empire.
Prediction 5: Rampart will get his revenge
The last episode, “Flash Strike,” saw Imperial forces capture Rampart. Rampart’s inclusion this season came as a surprise after the character was seemingly written off in Season 2 when he was blamed for the destruction of the cloning facilities on Kamino.
Rampart has a grudge against the Empire given how they used him as a scapegoat and we think the finale will see him get his revenge in one or another.
Prediction 6: Force-sensitive Omega
This one is a bit of a stretch, but we think it’s possible that the finale will more explicitly reveal Omega’s Force-sensitivity. The show has already shown Omega to have a high M-count and experienced Force wielder Asajj Ventress clearly noticed the potential in the young clone.
While we don’t think this is going to be as glaring as Rey using the Force to grab the Skywalker lightsaber in The Force Awakens, we think it’s possible that Omega taps into the Force before The Bad Batch wraps up.
Prediction 7: A new animated show will be teased
When one door closes, another door opens. That may be the case with The Bad Batch finale leading into a successor animated show. A few years ago, this was exactly what happened as The Clone Wars Season 7 featured an arc that served as a backdoor pilot for what eventually became The Bad Batch.
Some have speculated a show about a clone rebellion featuring Rex and Echo will follow The Bad Batch.
Meanwhile, Omega voice actress Michelle Ang stated, regarding the finale, “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 the ending the team arrived on as “bittersweet.” We interpret these quotes as indicating that the show originally was to end on setting Omega up as the lead in another show, but the ending they arrived upon is less explicit than this.
Prediction 8: Resolution for Pabu
Pabu became the Batch’s home in Season 2 and into Season 3. Unfortunately, C-X2 and the Empire eventually located the idyllic island and raided it in their pursuit for Omega.
When we last saw Pabu, the once safe haven was inundated with Imperial forces. Given the emotional importance of Pabu to the Bad Batch, we think it’s unlikely the show will end without offering some resolution for the people of Pabu.
Prediction 9: One last appearance from Palpatine
“Somehow Palpatine returned…” Again.
Palpatine has had a looming presence over The Bad Batch, as he does over most Star Wars projects. We think the Emperor could make a small appearance in the series finale, possibly having to do with the continuation of Project Necromancer.
Prediction 10: Star Wars fans will come away from the finale heartbroken yet satisfied
Jennifer Corbett, Brad Rau, and the rest of the team behind The Bad Batch have excelled in crafting an emotionally impactful show from the very beginning. The writing is so strong and packs so much heart into the character of Omega and her relationships with the other members of the Bad Batch. We think the team will continue to exhibit this strong writing by closing out the series on a resounding and satisfying note. This doesn’t mean there won’t be tears (Dee Bradley Baker said as much in a roundtable interview we participated in). But, we believe the finale is in extremely capable hands.
The series finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch premieres May 1, 2024 on Disney+. Stay tuned to The HoloFiles and Star Wars Holocron for a spoiler review/analysis and easter eggs breakdown for the final episode.