The final season of The Bad Batch is off and running, with a more muted but impactful episode focused on Omega navigating her current life while remaining steadfast in keeping ties to her old life. 

“Confined” takes place at Dr. Hemlock’s compound on Mount Tantiss, and the striking animation makes itself known early when Imperial Troopers, NOT Clone Troopers, crash outside the safe zone in sector 4.

It’s a quick scene that establishes the threats beyond the perimeter, which are genuine but also used as a control tactic for Omega and the other Clones.

A Day In the Life of Omega

The episode then transitions from the unfortunate fate of the Stormtroopers to Omega’s current fate as a prisoner. Her room is sterile with no personal effects or traces of individuality as Emerie (the robotic Clone sister) comes in to collect her for the day’s tasks, which include walking past other Clones and Crosshair (whom Omega tries unsuccessfully to make eye contact with) before Emerie taking her blood sample.

And everyone and everything is much colder than the camaraderie and closeness she felt with her brothers. Nala Se calmly and quietly destroys Omega’s blood sample before telling her that the blood is being used for more nefarious purposes involving M-counts. She cannot go into further detail before Hemlock arrives to take Nala to “the vault.” The sound of the med scanner analyzing the blood never sounded so creepy.

Omega feeds the guard creatures, Loca hounds, and secretly provides one, Batcher, a more favorable food.

She visits Crosshair, who has all but given up trying to escape, and promises him she’ll find a way out while admonishing him for not trusting enough. At night, she works on making a replica Tooka doll, some semblance of normalcy and individuality defying her new surroundings. All the while, those blood samples keep being analyzed and looking for something.

Time passes, A LOT of time per Omega’s counting on her cell wall, her finished Tooka doll, and the length of her hair (an excellent example of showing, not telling). Her daily routine is repeated with slight variations— no eye contact is made with Crosshair. Still, Omega talks Crosshairs through her day, and the former Bad Batch member breaks, telling her to focus on escaping and leave him behind because he does not deserve to be rescued. Omega also heals a wounded Lurca hound to prevent the creature from being euthanized.

But the Empire is always watching. When Emerie takes her handmade doll and a droid tells Omega that Batcher will still be terminated despite her healed wounds, she decides she has had enough. 

“Confined” has beats similar to “The Solitary Clone” from season two, in which we first check in with Crosshair during his routine within the new Empire. The latter has more action and occurs in several locations, but the same sense of isolation looms over Omega as Crosshair. However, Omega knows better and tells Crosshair that “none of them (the Clones) deserve to be here.”

Omega’s sense of self-worth has always made her character so special and unique in the context of the Clones. She always had that from the beginning, when she was brought up under the care of Nala Se and not in the field like her brothers, but her individuality has thrived under the tutelage of the Bad Batch. Omega says she will find a way out and has earned that credibility.

Domestication and the Probability of Outcomes

“Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the way we imagine.”

Dr. Hemlock, The Bad Batch: Confined

Omega is also crucial to Hemlock’s plans, so the doctor has to find a way to control her. When Omega frees Batcher, Hemlock tells her she has done more harm than good for the creature. By continuously feeding her special food and healing her wounds, Omega has domesticated Batcher; thus, the Lurca hound will not survive on her own in the wilds of Tantiss. He then brings his point home with a threat, informing Omega that her continued disobedience will have consequences for Crosshair.

It is a poignant scene that sums up her (and the Clones situation). They have been entirely reliant on the resources of the Republic and then the Empire to survive. Now that the Republic is gone and the Empire is moving on to conscripted soldiers, their only value is as medical guinea pigs, kept in line by the fear of what lies beyond the perimeter. Emerie is the vessel for this, telling Omega it is much safer here than it is out there. Emerie does not realize that she, too, is a prisoner.

But Omega’s speech to Hemlock indeed has an unintended consequence— Emerie returns Omega’s doll later that evening, a turning point that likely will have its consequences further into the season. And we hear and see Batcher howling in the distance, exploring her newfound freedom.

As for Doctor Hemlock, there is a surety in Dr. Hemlock’s scientific reasoning that proves to be a weakness. Despite the evidence, he treats the Clones as domesticated animals and property and incapable of autonomy. 

In the grand scheme of things, Hemlock himself is likely considered property to the Emperor, who sees Hemlock’s research as a means to an end.

Hemlock is a progression of Star Wars villainy from Admiral Rampart in the first two seasons, and the show is better for introducing him early last season. He is just as unique to the Star Wars universe as Omega, even though we now have similar science villains in The High Republic novels. 

Hopefully, this season will reveal the payoff of his research sooner rather than later this season.

The M Count

In the background of the mundane day-to-day, a vault holds the subject of all the experimentation. The M-count discussed are midi-chlorians (which have sneaked back into Star Wars for better or worse).

Even though we ultimately know that these experiments lead to events from The Rise of Skywalker, there is still a mystery behind the subjects. They may be specific Clones of a certain Emperor…

There is plenty of time to keep that secret as I imagine Omega and potentially Crosshair will find a way off Tantiss. But, the episode did well in weaving in that future plot point without taking away from Omega’s journey.

Music and Sound Design Reign Supreme

A moment of appreciation is needed for the music of Kevin Kiner and the sound department for carrying a lot of weight in this episode. Everything from the drip of the faucet in Omega’s quarters to the rotating medical device analyzing the Clones’ blood builds the sense of urgency Omega feels to escape. 

The synthesizer, paired with a constant drip sound, whether it is blood added to the vials or from that damn faucet in Omega’s room, makes an impression.

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It looks like the next episode will be back with Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker, but the tone for Omega and Crosshair’s storyline has been established in a somber episode that still managed to end with hope. Small victories.