Bad Batch 3x09 "The Harbinger" reaction & review
Added 2024-05-23 12:44:06 +0000 UTCGoogle Drive Link posted below description!
Hey everyone! Here it is - my reaction to Bad Batch, season 3 episode 9! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH you're kidding me!!! No freakin way!!!!!!!!!! VENTRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!! I always always ALWAYS hoped they'd bring her back!!! And what a way to do it too - it actually makes total sense that she'd be one of the few people around who could fill us in on Midichlorians and the Force. I'm digging her new look as well! I love that she's so in character here - she clearly has standards, but she's not really good or bad. Meanwhile poor Omega's training is caught in the middle of the tug of war between Ventress and our crew lol. I wonder if we'll see her again?! Great ep! Enjoy! ~ MH
Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rpCjBUY4KOQmgGLED7YLYVbtTVS8tLn/view?usp=sharing
Comments
I love that they brought Ventress back, but it sucks I got spoiled. They’d released the trailer for the season, I was gonna avoid it cause I didn’t want to know anything, and then all of a sudden there’s an inescapable flood of Ventress on Twitter. And I hadn’t muted her name or anything cause even though I haven’t read Dark Disciple I knew she died in it, so how could I have expected her to come back? lol Regardless, really excited to see what they do with her after this.
Cody
2025-05-30 14:53:31 +0000 UTCI'm so glad I managed not to get spoiled too! I agree that it's great to have her back and it would be a shame for her to get killed off screen! I'd totally forgotten she had hair as a teen lol, but that's a nice nod, and also a nod to Dark Disciple which is cool! OMG, that's such an obscure but awesome callback about the connection to Boba! I didn't think about why they wouldn't recognize her, that's a good point, but your explanation makes sense. Yeah I was thinking the same thing about her facing the Clones, like even as strong and skilled as they are, this is a force-trained individual we're talking about here! The animation is incredible, I can tell there's been an upgrade! LOL yes we've come a long way from the Clone Wars movie for sure! I'm excited for Tales of the Empire too! The lightsaber ignition is a goosebump-worthy scene for sure!! It feels so great to have her back, right? You're so right about the parallels to the scene with Luke and Yoda. And that's a great point that her accidental summoning of the angry beastie shows that she isn't totally rid of the dark side within her. I loved seeing Crosshair's acceptance of Ventress, it really does show that he sees her as another friend to Omega, as well as the similarities between them like you said. Ooooh I'm very curious about what that line from Ventress about m-count meant!!! Can't wait for more!!!
Melissa Moore
2024-05-26 19:02:28 +0000 UTCI don't know how it didn't even cross my mind that it could be Ventress! I was shocked! Lol yeah I get it, I was going back and forth at first too! Exactly, trust is the major theme. That's the thing, our crew has been through/seen enough to know that things aren't that simple. Trust in fragile, particularly at this exact moment in Star Wars too! OOOOOHHH now there's a thought, maybe an Ahsoka tie-in?! XD
Melissa Moore
2024-05-26 13:11:48 +0000 UTCYES!!! Hahah not so bald but still a baddie! Ohhh ok I knew there were books mentioned, thanks! Oh wow, no kidding about Dark Disciple, I suppose that would cause a little controversy/confusion. Ohhhh that's why the "few lives left" line was in there! Actually I don't really mind either, there's a million ways you could explain that away. Exactly, like she probably has magicks just for that purpose! That's ok! I might read it someday but since I'm probably not reacting to/reviewing it it's no big deal. Her hair is so awesome!!!! XD
Melissa Moore
2024-05-26 13:09:32 +0000 UTCOMG I know!!! That's the thing, like if you can align your goals with what she's after, the trust is actually probably pretty solid lol. I know, Omega just sees the best in everyone!!!!
Melissa Moore
2024-05-26 13:07:07 +0000 UTCYES!!! Oh that's awesome about the crystals! I really hope we do too. There's a lot you could do with that, right?!
Melissa Moore
2024-05-26 13:06:28 +0000 UTCGreat seeing Ventress! She was whipping their butts majorly. I agree trusting can go south but same time someone who tends to look out for themselves is more trustworthy than anything else at times. I love the way Omega saw the similarities between her and the clones.
Manny
2024-05-24 11:18:49 +0000 UTCYes! In the wise words of M'baku. The bald headed DeMon has come back! Even tho she's not so bald anymore 😂. Also, just to clue you in if you didn't know. Yes, she was in at least 3 canon books. The most prominent one being "Dark Desciple". Where she was confirmed to be dead for every piece of content after the clone wars. This was also probably one of the most controversial episodes in the Bad Batch among Star Wars fans. Mostly due to the fact that she did die in the Dark Desciple book during the Clone Wars. As well as the fact that the producers and writers or whoever said that they would stay true to the canon outcome of Asajj. But that appears not true since she is obviously still alive in present time. Anyway! I myself am not too bothered by this. I loved Asajj's development in the Clone Wars. I'm glad she is still alive ngl. I also love the hint she gave by the end of the episode - "But, I got a few lives left". Huge hint towards the Dark Desciple book where she died. It would also make sense that she is somehow still alive after that book. Since she is a Dathomir witch. She probably had some witch craft spell or sum that kept her alive even tho she died. Or she just learned some new force ability to keep her alive. I am also sorry if I spoiled you on this book. Idk if you planned on reading the canon star wars book. Edit: Forgot to mention this but I love her new hair. Especially when she came out of the water. I love that style of hair, it looks so cute and suits her very well.
Aleksei
2024-05-24 07:04:32 +0000 UTCI teased you a little bit last week when I said a player is about to re-enter the game… but you know I’d never spoil something like this, especially since I knew how much you’d go nuts when you saw her again. 😁 As for me it was more of a slow burn because I don’t inhale every frame of Star Wars all the time, lol - it took me a couple minutes and then I started to think… wait, that voice is sounding a bit TOO familiar to be random… I did figure it out before the show told me though. The emphasis on this episode is trust. First, the clones had to trust Fennec to put them in touch with the contact. By the way, the reason Omega entered the cage the first time is she’s been in there loads of times, she said so. Only Batcher’s actions sent out the signal. Second, the clones had to trust that Ventress actually had actionable intel and be willing to accept it. Third, Omega has to accept that everyone involved is acting on her behalf, even if it’s not their primary motive. It’s a little harder to look in the mirror, but you’d be hard pressed someone more neutral in this situation than her. If the Batch experienced that many events that changed their mind, if they can’t accept that in others, then they’re hypocrites. That being said, doing that in principle is one thing, but it’s harder in execution. Trust is a pretty fragile thing… One thing’s for sure though, the Empire isn’t going to give up on finding this girl that easily. Ezra’s probably still in his nursing phase at this point, I don’t think he can help yet. That being said… hmmm the Ahsoka series also has a Nightsister element. If you get what I’m thinking… 👀
Tyler Stobbe
2024-05-24 04:04:44 +0000 UTCReturn of the Queen! I'm so happy she's back. Love that she still has her yellow lightsaber crystal from Dark Deciple. It's interesting that the hilts are more like her original lightsabers than how it looked in the concept art for Dark Deciple. I really hope we get more of her in future things. I feel like there's so much you can do with a redeemed Ventress helping out Force Sensitives in the galaxy.
Brandon Dodge
2024-05-23 20:21:33 +0000 UTCI'm so glad you weren't spoiled on Ventress Mel, and your reaction was great on clocking her! I remember telling you I was spoiled for last season when I watched the trailer, so knew Gungi was going to be in it, so I didn't make the same mistake this time, but the noise was too strong from the community that Ventress was going to be in this series as she was in the official trailer. The novel (and what was going to be the clone wars arc finishing her story) Dark Disciple, supposedly killed her off - though some are saying thats up for debate; so some aren't too happy she has returned here. I never liked the idea of that story though, unless it can get modified in some way. Filoni was the one who pushed to bring her back in, and her VA Nika Futterman said there is a plan for her going forward; so I'm loving seeing our goddess return here, as she's too big a character to be killed off screen. Its been too long since TCW season 5 (Ahsoka's Trial arc) since we last saw her! Her look is taken from the Dark Disciple version of her as well, where she had that haircut (she also sported it when she was trained as a Jedi when she was a teenager), and she also had a yellow lightsabre in the novel too. There is a nice link here during Omega's first test, when Ventress grabs her mouth. She did the same thing to Boba Fett in her first bounty hunter episode; and of course Omega is more closely related to Boba than the other clones left. On first viewing I wondered how the adults of CF99 (and Omega at that) didn't recognise Ventress, as she attacked Kamino with Grievous. However they may have been off-world at the time and had never needed to have run-ins with her before. She was a pretty well known separatist asset though in the war, so thats perhaps how Hunter got Crosshair to check Tech's files. Omega would have been hidden still on Kamino at the time during the attack I think, so wouldn't have seen her before either. That's my take on it anyway. I love the fight scenes with CF99 and Ventress. These boys are the best of the best clone soldiers and are formidable, even with Crosshair not firing on all cylinders at this time. However going up against one of the strongest people in the galaxy, it shows how out of their depth they are. Ventress was trained by Dooku to be a Sith Assassin, who regularly held her own when duelling Obi-Wan and Anakin simultaneously. She won't break a sweat in dealing with clones. It shows the difference a trained force-user can have against elite soldiers. Yes the animation on the hand-to-hand stuff is phenomenal. As I said to you in the last reaction when talking about the lighting, this season had another clear upgrade on the animation engine, and its superb. We also see this on full display with some great fight scenes in Tales Of The Empire, which seemed to use this version of the engine. We are a long way from the Clone Wars Movie with it! :D The bit where the clones open fire on her and she dodges the blaster fire efforlessly and ignires her lightsabre, gives me goosebumps every time! God its good to have her back!!! The bit on the boat with Ventress teaching Omega about the force is done wonderfully. That and the following scene with the turtle beastie, is almost the same scene as in Empire Strikes Back with Yoda training Luke and the latter not believing it, which Omega is doing here. Never thought I'd see Ventress being as reflective on the force as Yoda, but she has moved on from her past. Like Crosshair, that doesn't excuse it, but it also shows that both can have a different life if given the chance to - and want to. Her summioning the fish shows that she is a different person than the assassin she was, but her unintentionally summoning the beastie shows that the darkness within her isn't all gone yet. The moment Ventress opens her eyes and calms the beastie through the force, shows she has achieved some sort of balance within her. It gets my eyes a bit weepy seeing where she is now, after the path she could have remained on. Also its a link back to infant Ahsoka calming the massive tiger with the force in her Tales Of The Jedi episode - love that link! Crosshair kind of accepting Ventress by giving her a hand on-board the ship, after he sees her rescue Omega, shows him as a kindred spirit to Ventress also, but solidifies his protective link to Omega too. The character development of Omega and Crosshair in this series, is fantastic. More about Omega and her blood later, as there is still more to come, so I won't comment on what Ventress said about her M-count yet. The reason I think the showrunners did it this way though, leaving things inconclusive, as it doesn't set potential paths in stone yet for the likes of Omega and her brothers; which will add tension as we go into the remaining episodes. However Ventress recognises all about being abandoned and torn from her family, and she is showing Hunter and co a kindness in her own way, as she sees the bond Omega has with her brothers. There is also a warning for them to get out of Dodge if they want to remain safe and warns them about the threat of the Empire (in her being the Harbinger of the episode). Fantastic episode. Things are stepping up now too...
Saltire
2024-05-23 14:06:35 +0000 UTC
