In the fourth episode “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,”our heroic misfits are still on the run from the newly Galactic Empire. Low on credits, fuel and food, the Batch decides to go to the planet Pantora. In addition, Tech comes up with a brilliant idea to scramble their ship’s flight signature so that they could go to any planet undetected from the eyes of the Empire. However, little do the rogue clones know, bounty hunter Fennec Shand is right on their tail.
Since this article is going to be focused on who might have hired Fennec Shand to go after Omega, I have three possible suspects. Some with similar motives. Some for different purposes.
Warning: (Possible) spoilers ahead
When the Batch lands on Pantora, Hunter decides to go into the local town to sell their supplies for credits. As Hunter, Omega and Echo head over to town, Tech and Wrecker pay the dockmaster money to avoid having him take their ship’s identification signature. However, the dockmaster alerts a bounty hunter that the Batch is on his docking bay. The bounty hunter is none other than Fennec Shand, who first appeared in “The Mandalorian.” And Fennec has a hologram of Omega which begs the question: who hired Fennec Shand and why?
One person who definitely comes to mind is the Kaminoan Nala Se. As I mentioned in the article on the second episode “Cut and Run,” Nala and Omega seem to have a mother and daughter relationship. Up until meeting the Bad Batch, Kamino has been the only home that Omega has known. And there are plenty of additional good reasons as to why Nala may have hired Fennec to go after Omega. As YouTuber Star Wars Theory postulated in a video, Omega could be a force-sensitive clone which explains why the Kaminoans have been testing her and why Nala always has her around. And let’s not forget that since the Jango Fett DNA is starting to degrade, the Kaminoans need newer and younger blood to help secure their partnership with the Galactic Empire before they turn to conscription. But there is one thing that could refute the theory that Nala had placed the bounty of Omega. In the first episode, it was shown that Nala overrode the bay doors from closing which helped Omega and the Bad Batch escape the rain-soaked planet.
Another person that comes to mind in Kaminoan Prime Minister Lama Su. As Prime Minister, he would have the purse to hire a bounty hunter. In addition, he seems more hell bent with securing the contract with the Galactic Empire, probably much more so than Nala Se. Lama has no personal connection with Omega and if he does have one, it’s only for financial or political reasons. If Su does get his hands on Omega and presents his case to Admiral Tarkin and Rampart, just imagine the possibilities. If Star Wars Theory’s postulation on Omega being a Force-Sensitive clone proves to be true, this could curry favor to the eyes of the Galactic Empire, especially Emperor Palpatine. At this point, they would have no use for Jango’s DNA, the clones, or even replacements. To quote Indiana Jones’ father, Henry Jones, if the Empire gets their hands on Omega’s (possibly) Force-Sensitive DNA, “the armies of darkness will march all over the face” of the galaxy. Credits would not mean squat to the Emperor when it comes to somehow manipulating the Force by creating Force sensitive super soldiers.
Here’s another character I would throw out there: Crosshair. Here’s my reasoning. Crosshair probably doesn’t care if Fennec catches Omega. It would be enough for the clone to get enough information for him to track down his former comrades and grab Omega to give to the Imperials.Or maybe, he would need Omega to help him take down the Empire from within and spark the clone rebellion. Think about it: Crosshair is feeling the pressure from the Imperial brass as they plan on replacing his clone brethren with non-clone recruits in the Imperial Army. If Crosshair were to find out the purpose as to why Omega was created, why else would he send a bounty to go after her? And would Hunter and the Bad Batch be on board with this plan?
This episode was to introduce Fennec Shand into the story of “The Bad Batch.” We also see that she is as friendly to Omega as she is to the Bad Batch. An example of this is when she bumps into the young defective clone and offers her a piece of fruit she stole after purposely bumping into a passerby carrying some. Shand’s ruthless side that fans have seen in “The Mandalorian” is shown when she is chasing Omega across town and holding her own against the likes of Hunter and Wrecker.
To me, Fennec Shand is not a villain nor a hero as seen in the Mandalorian. She is just a bounty hunter making her way in the galaxy just like Jango and Boba Fett. And she also shares many traits with the Batch including not following the rules. She mentions to Omega that sometimes rules may need to be broken which I feel is going to cost Kaminoans or whoever it is (possibly the Empire) who hired her a whole lot. When Omega suggested that the bounty hunter come and join the Batch, it would not surprise me if this materializes in a future episode. This would probably be the reason why in the Season Two Mandalorian episode “The Believer,” Fennec mentions to Djinn Djarrin that she is wanted by the ISB which is the Imperial Security Bureau (Think of it as the Galactic Empire’s Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI).
As of now, Fennec’s goal is to capture Omega and bring her to whoever wants her. Will she succeed? Something tells me that we cannot count out this bounty hunter. After all, she would survive death thanks to a certain Mandalorian armor wearing bounty hunter. But will this also lead to Omega using her charm to convince determined Shand to join the Batch and somehow turn against the Empire? But the real question still remains, who hired Fennec Shand to go after Omega? In the words of Jedi Master Yoda, “Who and why?”
“Star Wars :The Bad Batch” can be watched on Disney+.
Rating: 4 Daily Planet Globes out of 5
