Another ‘Clone Wars’ fave surfaces in ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’

Crosshair and his brothers cross paths again in “Reunion.”
Crosshair and his brothers cross paths again in “Reunion.”
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Clone Force 99’s lost brother, Crosshair, gets sent to eliminate them in “Reunion,” the latest thrilling episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Last week, scavengers on the junk planet Bracca reported suspicious activity in the wreckage of an old Venator-class Star Destroyer. The clones, meanwhile, were using the cruiser’s medbay to have the inhibitor chips in their heads surgically removed. Not only is the Empire coming to put a stop to them; someone else is headed their way to carry out a different task for the schemers on Kamino.

Longtime Clone Wars fans won’t want to miss this episode. It’s an eventful one.

How can you watch ‘The Bad Batch’?

Conflicting agendas on Kamino influence events across the stars.
Conflicting agendas on Kamino influence events across the stars.

In order to watch The Bad Batch, you need to subscribe to Disney+, the platform that serves as the online home for all things Star Wars. You can watch Disney+ using streaming devices, desktop browsers, a wide range of mobile devices, smart TVs, and video-game consoles.

A subscription to Disney+ costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 for the full year, though you can save by signing up for the Disney Bundle with ESPN+ and Hulu, which gives you access to all three streaming services for just $13.99 a month.

Sign up for Disney+ starting at $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year

What happens in this episode of ‘The Bad Batch’?

The Empire no longer has any use for the troublesome Squad 99.
The Empire no longer has any use for the troublesome Squad 99.

While Wrecker’s teaching Omega how to diffuse a bomb and the rest of the Batch are figuring out how to make a quick buck from the Star Destroyer’s salvageable parts, danger approaches from across the stars.

A lens glimmers in the distance. “We’ve got eyes on us,” Echo points out.

“I see ’em,” says Wrecker. It’s a trio of scrappers. Two of them are easily stunned with a pair of blaster shots; Wrecker has to chase down the third on a hoverskiff. Once the scrapyard workers have been dealt with, the crew of clones heads back inside the starship to gather valuable salvage to sell off back at Ord Mantell. When Omega wanders onto the bridge to check on Tech, he’s celebrating their biggest score yet: the Jedi Cruiser’s “data imprint,” stored on a master drive.

Then the Empire shows up—a squad of elite troops led by Crosshair, along with a small platoon of clone troopers (“regs”) to reinforce them. Following a bit of cat and mouse, Tech hacks into the enemy’s comm channel, but Crosshair finds them before they can use it to their advantage.

“Crosshair, wake up,” Hunter says. “You’re being controlled by an inhibitor chip.” But their fallen brother won’t listen to reason; he has his orders.

Surreptitiously, Tech slices into a nearby artillery gun and fires it to create a distraction. The ensuing skirmish brings some of their surroundings crashing down on them, and the Batch makes a run for it while Crosshair lies trapped beneath a tangle of rusted metal. They make their way into the massive cylindrical tunnel of an ion engine—their best route off the ship.

Crosshair and his troopers catch on, however, and begin firing up the cruiser’s engine core. So Squad 99 lines the engine with mines to break free in a hurry and ride the collapsing wreckage down to the surface. When the charges go off, the engine tilts down in Crosshair’s direction, blasting him in the face with blue-hot energy.

But someone else still stands between the Batch and their shuttle: a gunslinger in a wide-brimmed hat. This blue-skinned, slow-talking Duros is none other than the legendary bounty hunter Cad Bane (Corey Burton), accompanied by his droid, Todo 360 (Seth Green).

With the exception of Marvel’s Darth Maul comic miniseries, Cad Bane hasn’t been seen since season four of The Clone Wars, all the way back in 2012. It’s a real treat to see him in this universe again. Bane was born out of creator George Lucas’s desire to pay homage to the great spaghetti Westerns—and Lee Van Cleef’s iconic villain “Angel Eyes” in particular. Here, Hunter and Bane have a classic Sergio Leone standoff—extreme close-ups and all—until Bane draws, blasts the older clone, and collects his target.

“He took Omega,” Hunter tells the others. “We have to find her.”

Watch ‘The Bad Batch’ on Disney+

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This article originally appeared on Reviewed: The Bad Batch episode eight recap: Reunion