Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 4 Ending Explained
Contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" Episode 4
"Star Wars: The Bad Batch" is currently going strong through its freshman season, and has already done an excellent job separating itself from its predecessor, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." The rise of the Galactic Empire is at hand, and the transition from clone troopers to stormtroopers is currently underway (and accelerating with each passing episode). Meanwhile, the titular team of genetically altered clones is doing everything possible to both find its place under this new regime and understand the mystery and potential danger behind their inhibitor chips.
Last week's episode, "The Bad Batch" Episode 3, "Replacements," builds upon both of these storylines quite effectively. Clone Force 99 wind up on an abandoned moon somewhere in the vast expanse of space, having to contend with its native beasts, the constant threat of their chips, and their severely damaged ship. Simultaneously, Crosshair (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) has begun climbing the Imperial ranks and is the leader of a group known simply as Elite Squad Troopers — a handful of non-clone soldiers the Empire enlisted for extensive training. All the while, the Kaminoans are workshopping how exactly to keep their wallets padded by the new government that's not interested in traditional clones.
Things continue to heat up this week in Episode 4, titled "Cornered." Here's what went down, and where we're left ahead of Episode 5.
Time for a supply run
The action of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" Episode 4 centers around a long-overdue supply run for Clone Force 99, whose ship is rapidly running out of fuel and needs further repairs. Their rations are a distant memory. Without the direct resources of the now-defunct Galactic Republic to keep them afloat, Clone Force 99 now have to rely on their quick-thinking and resourcefulness to stay alive. Hunter (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) elects to make a pit stop on Pantora — home of frequent "Clone Wars" faces Riyo Chuchi (Jennifer Hale) and Chairman Papanoida (Corey Burton) — to sell off whatever they can to earn some credits and replenish their supplies.
While Hunter, Echo (Baker), and Omega (Michelle Ang) go off into town for some much-needed shopping, Tech (Baker) and Wrecker (Baker) stay back at the hangar on an equally important assignment. Since a bounty has been put out on their ship, the Havoc Marauder, the duo has to tear the inner workings of it apart in order to remove the signature key. This way, enemy scanners won't recognize them, and they can hopefully have an easier and safer time traveling the stars from here on out.
Come to find out, however, this couldn't be further from the case, as trouble is soon to follow.
Fennec Shand is on the hunt
Not long after the Bad Batch's ship arrives on Pantora, the supervisor of the hangar recognizes the Havoc Marauder. He makes contact with a mysterious individual known as Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), a character fans of the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian" will recognize immediately. However, in "The Bad Batch," Fennec isn't yet the reluctant hero we saw in "The Mandalorian," but rather a ruthless and greedy bounty hunter with credits on her mind. Looking to cash in on the price placed on Clone Force 99 and specifically Omega, Fennec takes her ship to Pantora in hopes of an easy payday.
Once Fennec arrives, it appears as though this job is going to be much easier than expected. Omega accidentally separates herself from Hunter and Echo, leading Fennec to intercept and pretend to befriend her. Thankfully, the former tracks them both down before anything bad can happen and a chase ensues, even pulling Wrecker into the fray. Though the bruiser of the Bad Batch fails to rescue Omega, Hunter does, and he fends off Fennec using an explosive device.
Given her contact with someone after the fact concerning her determination to hunt down the clone faction, it's highly unlikely "The Bad Batch" viewers have seen the last of Fennec Shand.
Undercover droid boss
To ensure the Imperial occupation on Pantora doesn't discover their whereabouts, Hunter and Echo have to go undercover for their supply run. Hunter simply puts on some plain civilian fatigues, but Echo has to go a bit more in-depth with his disguise. Considering his largely mechanical nature as a result of the experiments the Techno Union ran on him, Echo adopts the appearance of a modified protocol droid of some sort. At first, the disguise doesn't seem to attract much attention — that is, until a local merchant takes notice of Hunter's "droid" and offers him a hefty sum of credits for him.
In dire need of the funds, Hunter talks it over with Echo and "sells" him for 3,000 credits under the pretense that he'll be able to leave after a short while, unbeknownst to his new owner. As it turns out, this willingness to go along with the plan very much pays off once the search for Omega begins. With Wrecker leaving to fight Fennec, Tech is left all alone with a disassembled Havoc Marauder, needing nothing short of a droid repair crew to fix it. Echo, having befriended several droids in the shop owner's possession, brings the gang over to the hangar and gets the shuttle running in the blink of an eye.
A perilous future
If "Cornered" proves anything, it's that the Bad Batch are completely out of their element. From their inability to recognize cues for financial bribery to their penchant for causing mayhem and destruction wherever they go, it's beginning to settle in that the life they once knew is gone. Not to mention, in addition to transitioning from soldiers into fugitives, they also have to learn how to parent a child, since Omega can't handle the galaxy outside of Kamino entirely on her own. To make matters worse, they also now have bounty hunters on their tail.
There's still plenty more of "The Bad Batch" to go, so it's pretty much a given that the titular team will learn to live life away from the battlefield — and hopefully evade capture either by those seeking to cash in on their bounty, or the Empire itself. At the same time, knowing just how dire their situation is, it's entirely likely that things will get worse before they even begin to get better, but what form that will take in the coming weeks is something only time can answer.
We'll just have to see where "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" and the team itself go from here, how the Empire continues to come together, and what game-changing revelations will come to light as the story progresses.