Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 Ending Explained (& What Happened To Clone Force 99)

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s ending.

Summary

• All members of Clone Force 99 survived the epic conclusion of The Bad Batch season 3 in a surprising turn of events.
• Omega’s epilogue in the final episode connects The Clone Wars to the Rebellion, setting the stage for future potential adventures in the Star Wars universe.
• Governor Tarkin’s decision to shut down Project Necromancer in favor of Project Stardust delays the former’s sinister plans until the New Republic era.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s ending brought the show to a satisfying, emotional, action-packed conclusion. Since the ending of The Bad Batch season 2, it has been common knowledge that the third season would be the show’s last. As such, Star Wars audiences were preparing for a potentially heartbreaking finale that would see the final adventures of The Bad Batch’s brave members.

The finale of The Bad Batch season 3 was finely poised; Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair were heading into Mount Tantiss, while Echo and Omega planned their own escape plans. This meant that season 3’s ending had a breakneck pace, as The Bad Batch‘s characters faced one last fight against the Empire. From character conclusions, fantastic battle sequences, stellar animation, and implications on the wider Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s ending brought the show to an epic culmination.

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All Of Clone Force 99 Survive The Bad Batch Season 3’s Ending

Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, and Echo all make it out of The Bad Batch season 3’s ending.

Undoubtedly the most pressing question about The Bad Batch season 3’s ending was whether the titular Clone Force 99 would survive. After Tech’s tragic death a season before, it became clear that the members of the Batch could fall at any given moment. However, The Bad Batch season 3’s ending somewhat subverted expectations by ensuring that all five remaining members of the squad survived.

Echo promptly departed Pabu after this, leaving the potential for future stories…

Omega, Echo, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Hunter all found they way to Tantiss in The Bad Batch season 3’s ending, fighting various battles against Hemlock’s forces. Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair fought the CX clones before being captured and imprisoned by Hemlock. Meanwhile, Echo and Omega reunited, helped Emerie escape with the Force-sensitive children, and freed the clone prisoners on Tantiss. With the clones’ help, Echo and Omega free Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair, enabling the latter two to defeat Hemlock, save Omega, and escape with their brothers in tow.

As of The Bad Batch season 3’s final scenes, four members of Clone Force 99 settled down on Pabu. Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Omega were shown relaxing on the peaceful planet, though Echo’s fate was left interestingly open-ended. Echo was shown speaking to Emerie, with the two deciding to help the freed clone prisoners get settled with Rex while providing Senator Chuchi with information on Hemlock’s experiments. Echo promptly departed Pabu after this, leaving the potential for future stories involving the former member of Domino Squad.

The Bad Batch Season 3 Epilogue Gives The Clone Wars A Legacy In The Rebellion

Omega’s epilogue in The Bad Batch ties the Clone Wars to the Rebel Alliance.

The Bad Batch season 3’s ending has an epilogue that ties to Star Wars’ original trilogy, the formation of the Rebel Alliance, and the fate of the show’s central character.

After Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s explosive battle at Mount Tantiss, the five remaining members of the squad return to Pabu. The series’ seemingly final shot is of the crew – minus Echo – sitting in the sun, free of the Empire’s grasp now that Hemlock has been defeated. Although this would be a fitting final shot, The Bad Batch season 3’s ending has an epilogue that ties to Star Wars’ original trilogy, the formation of the Rebel Alliance, and the fate of the show’s central character.

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This epilogue takes place around two decades after The Bad Batch season 3 and sees an older Omega sneaking onto a shuttle in the caves of Pabu. Awaiting her is an elderly Hunter, who states she cannot just sneak off without him realizing. Omega tells Hunter that she needs to do more and that the Rebellion is looking for more pilots. Omega leaves with Tech’s goggles on her dashboard, giving the Clone Wars a lasting legacy as one of the unaltered strands of Jango Fett sets off to join the Rebel Alliance.

Governor Tarkin’s Power Play Shutters Project Necromancer… For Decades?

Tarkin’s management of the Empire’s power delays Project Necromancer, but not indefinitely.

After Hemlock’s defeat in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s ending, Tarkin is shown perusing the destroyed base at Mount Tantiss. Tarkin mentions that Hemlock’s work has set the Empire back long enough, despite the former not knowing exactly what the latter was trying to accomplish. Regardless of being left in the dark about Hemlock’s experiments, Tarkin declares that all funding for Project Necromancer will be redistributed to Project Stardust, the codename for the Death Star’s production.

Not only does Tarkin put an end to Project Necromancer, but it also explains why the Death Star’s construction only began picking up speed in the latter span of the Dark Times.

Tarkin’s involvement in The Bad Batch season 3’s finale ties together several elements of the Star Wars timeline. Not only does Tarkin put an end to Project Necromancer, but it also explains why the Death Star’s construction only began picking up speed in the latter span of the Dark Times. This also explains how Star Wars’ Project Necromancer ties to the New Republic timeline. The Mandalorian season 3 confirms that Necromancer eventually resumed, but it would not do so until after Tarkin’s death and the Emperor’s demise. Necromancer would eventually bring Palpatine back ahead of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Hemlock’s Death Means Palpatine Never Knew How Important Omega Could Be

Hemlock’s defeat at Clone Force 99’s hands means Palpatine did not know the value of Omega’s blood.

In Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3’s ending, Crosshair and Hunter corner Hemlock and a captive Omega on a bridge outside Tantiss. Omega stabs Hemlock in the leg, giving Crosshair the chance to shoot the cuffs binding the Imperial to his sister. Hunter repeatedly shoots Hemlock in the aftermath, sending the villain to his death far below in the jungles of Tantiss. With Hemlock’s death and the destruction of his lab by Nala Se, Palpatine never becomes aware of how important Omega was to Project Necromancer.

This helps to fill in the blanks of Project Necromancer as a whole. As was made clear by The Mandalorian season 3’s Shadow Council, Project Necromancer only resumed in the New Republic era. It makes sense that the Imperial Remnants would seek out people like Grogu to continue their work, not knowing that Omega was vital to Hemlock’s proposed success. With Hemlock dead and his data destroyed, no one in the Empire was aware of how vital Omega could be to resurrecting Palpatine, explaining why it was unsuccessful for decades beyond The Bad Batch season 3’s ending.

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The Bad Batch Finale Delivers A Small-Scale Clone Uprising

A common theory of The Bad Batch season 3’s ending came true, though on a notably smaller scale than first thought.

One commong theory about Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 was that it would feature a clone rebellion against the Empire. Many even thought this story would be set up as an upcoming Star Wars TV show, potentially centering around Echo and Rex. While this could still be the case, Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 only featured a small-scale clone uprising. After being freed by Echo and Omega, the clone captives on Tantiss were instrumental in fighting off Hemlock’s forces, leading to Clone Force 99’s victory.

Echo’s open-ended story in The Bad Batch season 3’s ending could still lead to a bigger story about clones during the Dark Times.

All Star Wars Fans’ CX Theories Were Wrong – & Now That Project’s Over Too

A major theory about The Bad Batch season 3’s CX clones was proven wrong.

Custom Image by Yailin Chacon

The CX clones – elite operatives brainwashed into obedience by Hemlock – have been recurring antagonists in The Bad Batch season 3. The CX clones appeared again in The Bad Batch season 3’s ending, with a handful of the assassins appearing with a wide array of weaponry to fight off the Batch. Despite the CX clones’ presence in season 3’s ending, each of them is killed unceremoniously, without the reveal that one is secretly a revived Tech after The Bad Batch season 2.

Since the CX clone was spotted in the trailer for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, a closely held theory was that Tech’s body was recovered by the Empire. Many thought that Tech could have been brainwashed into working as an agent for the Empire, setting up a tragic brother-against-brother storyline for The Bad Batch season 3. However, the finale revealed that the CX clones were simply regular clones whom Hemlock deemed strong enough to become elite operatives, removing both the Tech theory and the CX project from Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 after the latter’s destruction.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.

Cast

Dee Bradley Baker
, Michelle Ang
, Noshir Dalal
, Liam O’Brien
, Rhea Perlman
, Sam Riegel
, Bob Bergen
, Gwendoline Yeo

Writers

Jennifer Corbett
, Dave Filoni
, Matt Michnovetz
, Tamara Becher
, Amanda Rose Munoz
, Gursimran Sandhu
, Christian Taylor
, Damani Johnson

Directors

Brad Rau
, Steward Lee
, Nathaniel Villanueva
, Saul Ruiz

Showrunner

Dave Filoni

Creator(s)

Dave Filoni
, Jennifer Corbett