After the climactic “Empire Strikes Back” gut punch that was the “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Season 2 finale in which Tech died and Omega (Michelle Ang) was captured by the villainous Dr. Royce Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson), we start Season 3 on a very low note. Months have passed, with Omega assisting Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo) in her research to eventually allow Emperor Palpatine to transfer his consciousness to a clone body (yes, this is finally confirmed).

As expected, Omega plans her escape slowly. She befriends an alien hound named Batcher that has familiarity with the world outside of the fortress on Mount Tantiss where she is being held, and gradually warms up to Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker), who is also being held prisoner, as well as Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes), her clone sister and the chief scientist on the base. With her Season 2 finale capture on her mind, she bides her time, waiting for the perfect opening to escape.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Wrecker (both voiced by Baker) look for leads on Omega, but only manage to find Hemlock’s previous base. In Episode 3, a surprise visit by Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) puts Omega in danger, forcing her to make her escape attempt short notice.

These episodes are a great start to the show’s final season. Crosshair I think is finally ready to rejoin Hunter and Wrecker, but I’m not sure if they’ll trust him. Likewise, I’m not sure what the showrunners’ plans for Omega will be going forward, given how important her genetic makeup is to the Empire.

I’ve loved this show and have no doubt that I will continue to enjoy it. It’s a shame that it has to dedicate so much of its time to developing J.J. Abrams’ lazy and awful resurrections of Palpatine in “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker” (or rather, the fall of “Star Wars”). It simply did not warrant this much time and thought and should have been explained away in a throwaway line in that film (i.e. Palpatine did a force essence transfer to an acolyte). The least Abrams could have done is not leave his chores to other people.

Still, “The Bad Batch” hasn’t lost a step and again proves it’s one of the franchise’s best shows.

“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Season 3: Episodes 1-3 get an 8.5/10