Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Bad Batch’s three-episode premiere are ahead!
Although Crosshair was a member of Clone Force 99 when the team was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7, it didn’t take long for him to turn his back on Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Echo, and declare his allegiance to the Empire, once the Bad Batch spinoff show started airing to Disney+ subscribers alongside the Star Wars movies in order. By Season 2’s “The Outpost” though, the sharpshooting clone grew sick of the disrespect his clone “brothers” endured from the Imperials and killed an officer in response. Naturally this resulted in his incarceration, which set the stage for him and his “sister” Omega to finally flesh out their relationship, something that actress Michelle Ang told CinemaBlend she’s been eagerly awaiting.
In the Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 finale “Plan 99,” Omega surrendered herself to Dr. Royce Hemlock and was taken to his Mount Tantiss facility (a holdover from the Expanded Universe days), which is where Crosshair is also being kept and where we learned that scientist Emerie Karr is another female Jango Fett clone. With The Bad Batch’s third and final season now upon us (i.e. off the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows slate), we’re finally seeing Crosshair and Omega on the same side, and when I asked Ang, who voices the latter character, what was like for her to explore to explore this new dynamic, she answered:
Oh my God, it’s so much fun. I’ve been waiting for this. Crosshair, for all his grumpy, prickly self, was always so fun to play against way back in Season 1. His portrayal was pretty dark, but I don’t think Omega ever really gave up hope. So to have them reunite and have her not miss a step and go straight back into that, ‘Ok, you’re my brother, let’s get you out’ just felt so true to who she is. And then there’s this delicious role reversal. She’s become this big sister. She’s learned a lot since they’ve been separated. She’s got ideas, she’s done missions, and Crosshair’s a little bit like, ‘Wow, ok, you’re really gung-ho.’ And then she gets to prove to him that she’s capable, but she’s also concerned because Crosshair is, for better or worse, he’s gone through some things. So she becomes the caretaker of him in some ways.
In the time that’s passed from Crosshair becoming a “good soldier” for the Empire to rebelling against his new superiors, Omega has thrived under the watchful eye of the rest of Clone Force 99, as well as characters like Captain Rex and Phee Genoa, becoming a capable fighter and well-rounded individual. As Michelle Ang also pointed out, Omega also hasn’t given up on Crosshair being redeemable. Now that they’re imprisoned in the same facility, and Crosshair has clearly seen better days, the time has come for Omega to take charge, put her acquired skills to good work by not just breaking out with her estranged brother, but also looking after him.
While Crosshair initially wasn’t receptive to Omega breaking him out during the first three episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3, eventually he didn’t have any other choice but to accompany her on her jailbreak. By the end of “Shadows of Tantiss,” the two clone siblings were able to steal a ship and hightail it off the planet Weyland, though they’re not in the clear just yet, as the Empire is tracking them and it’s been ordered that Omega be taken back alive because it turns out she holds the key to Hemlock’s M-count experiments. Still, even if Omega and Crosshair manage to give the Empire the slip, as Michelle Ang noted, the latter has gone through a lot, so it’ll be up to the former to help him through his various traumas.
New episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiere Wednesdays on Disney+, with the 15-episode run ending on May 1. As shown in the Season 3 trailer, other big things to look forward to this season include the return of characters like Fennec Shand, Cad Bane and the previously thought-dead Asajj Ventress.
