The Bad Batch flee to Ord Mantell after the failure of their plan, but that isn't the end of their troubles.
Tropes:
- Acting Unnatural: Cid is shifty and keeps staring at the door, which Wrecker notices. It's because she's sold them out to the Empire.
- Bad Boss: Tarkin stays true to form and orders Lieutenant Maylur to send V-Wings to fire on the train-cars, not caring if Imperial troops are slain in the crossfire.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Season 2 concludes with Tech seemingly dead, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo on the run, and Omega and Crosshair in the hands of Dr. Hemlock at Mount Tantiss.
- Big "NO!": Wrecker belts one out when Tech shoots the connection cable, laying down his own life to save his brothers.
- Blaming the Victim:
- Cid accuses the Bad Batch of drawing too much heat from the Empire, forcing her to betray them to Dr. Hemlock to save herself.
- While Emerie does express some sympathy for the unconscious Crosshair's state, she attributes it to Crosshair not cooperating with Hemlock rather than putting any blame on Hemlock himself.
- Blatant Lies: Cid claims she “tried to look out for” the Bad Batch. As anyone who’s watched the show knows, she’s done anything but.
- Breaking the Bonds: Wrecker easily snaps his cuffs off when he and Hunter decide to overpower their captors.
- Call-Back: Hunter tries to send Omega through the escape catch in Cid's office that passes through the underground mines, which was shown last season in "Infested".
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Having just seen Omega captured, once Wrecker and Hunter break free of their restraints, they unleash all their rage on the Clone Commandos holding them hostage. The Imperial clones barely stand a chance.
- Darkest Hour: The episode ends with the lowest point for the protagonists yet; Omega is in Imperial custody and Tech is apparently dead, leaving the Bad Batch down two of their members. Cid sold them out to the Empire, meaning they can no longer hide safely on Ord Mantell. And to make matters even worse, they have no immediate clues to find Crosshair or Omega, leaving them even worse off than when they started. All they can do at the end is go on the run again and swear to track down their brother and sister by any means necessary.
- Dead Hat Shot: Hemlock tosses Tech's broken goggles to Hunter at the bar, claiming it was all they could recover of him.
- A Death in the Limelight: Tech had gotten the most characterization and focus out of anyone in the crew the entire season, and he ends up being the Sacrificial Lion of the finale.
- Diabolus ex Machina: When Omega has her energy bow trained on Hemlock, demanding the latter free Hunter and Wrecker, Scorch drops in behind her, appearing for the first time in five episodes to stun and capture her.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Hemlock offering to take Omega back to Nala Se with Hunter objecting is similar to a stranger offering a kid candy or other things against their parents' wishes.
- Downer Ending: The season ends with Tech dead and Cid having betrayed the Batch to the Empire, resulting in Omega's capture by Dr. Hemlock while Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo are forced to flee. Although Hunter vows to find Omega, the remaining heroes have no idea where to begin looking.
- Dwindling Party: After losing Tech to a Heroic Sacrifice early in the episode, the Bad Batch loses Omega as well when she's captured by Hemlock.
- Due to the Dead: Hunter declares his intent to honor Tech's sacrifice by leaving the life of a soldier and giving Omega a good life on Pabu.
- Et Tu, Brute?: He doesn't say anything out loud, but the Death Glare Hunter gives to Cid as she takes her payment from Dr. Hemlock says exactly this.
- Face Death with Dignity: Tech faces his Heroic Sacrifice with the same stoic resolve he's shown in every other situation, replying to Wrecker's pleading with a cool-headed, "When have we ever followed orders?"
- Face–Heel Turn: While Cid had never been completely good (making it clear that she was only keeping the Batch's secrets so they'd work for her), she'd always had their backs before, and there had even been some sweet moments between her and the Batch (especially Omega). Here, when the Batch comes to Ord Mantell with Tech dead and more than half of them injured, she calls the Empire in exchange for money, though she regrets doing so.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Despite the Bad Batch having saved Cid from Millegi in "Faster", she still sells them out to the Empire, just like Millegi warned them.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Emerie Karr uses a familiar pronunciation of "Omega" (emphasis on the 'e') before she reveals her true nature.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Tech falls to his death after shooting the link connecting the damaged tram car to the one the rest of the Batch is trapped in, allowing it to reconnect to the rail so they can escape.
- Honor Before Reason: Unwilling to risk losing anyone else after Tech's death, Omega tries to rescue Hunter and Wrecker from Hemlock instead of fleeing to find Echo as Hunter ordered. This decision gets her captured by Hemlock, giving him what he wanted all along.
- Hope Spot: Downplayed; after Tech's death, Hunter seems to settle on the idea of retiring on Pabu. The situation is hardly hopeful, as they've lost one of their team and now have no hope of rescuing Crosshair, but it nevertheless seems like a peaceful, if imperfect, solution to their woes. Even this vague hope is dashed when Hemlock arrives, with the Batch having been betrayed by Cid.
- Humongous Mecha: The Empire sends 2 All Terrain Armored Cannons to help capture Omega, as well as pacify Ord Mantell for future Imperial control, though one of them gets hijacked by Echo and AZI.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Cid frames her betrayal this way, insisting the Batch have become too high-profile to keep protecting from the Empire. She's not really that thrilled about it, but explains it's necessary to deflect the heat off her.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Subverted; Cid assumes this to be the case for Wrecker after Tech's death, pouring him a free drink in a moment of condolence. Wrecker, however, refuses it, saying that the alcohol won't help.
- I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: Once he has Omega in custody, Dr. Hemlock orders Nala Se to begin work on the Emperor's "special project" (implied to be the strandcast project from The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker) immediately, noting that if she fails or doesn't deliver results, Omega will be the one to suffer.
- Impossible Task: Now that Omega is in custody, Hemlock assumes Nala Se's cooperation in a project the Emperor is personally investing in is guaranteed; the Kaminoan simply states that what he wants cannot be done. Hemlock responds that for both Omega's sake and hers, she had better find a way to make it possible.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Hunter takes down a V-Wing with a handgun. Later, Tech severs the hinge connecting two railcars by fairing through a window and the wreckage of the rear car while dangling from a line.
- Irony: Crosshair's warning message to the Bad Batch was meant to keep them, Omega in particular, out of danger. After they received the message, they set out on a mission to rescue Crosshair, the failure of which led to Tech's death, Hunter and Wrecker's injuries, and Omega being captured by the Empire; in trying to protect his former teammates, Crosshair accidentally set them on a path that led to exactly what he was trying to prevent.
- It's Personal: Before they escape, Hemlock is preparing to send Hunter and Wrecker to Tarkin on Eriadu, as the Governor and future Grand Moff wants to interrogate them personally after they helped trash his headquarters.
- Kick the Dog: While he frames it as a gesture of goodwill, Hemlock tossing Tech's broken goggles to Hunter comes off more as a nasty reminder of Tech's recent death, and no doubt was done precisely to emphasize the point that Tech won't be the only loss if Hunter doesn't submit.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: With Tech dead and any hope of rescuing Crosshair lost, Hunter decides it would be best if they just cut their losses and permanently settle down. Sadly, Cid's betrayal and Hemlock's intervention puts a halt to those plans.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Saw's plan to blow up the Imperial facility from the previous episode thoroughly screwed over the Batch. The bombs he managed to set fail to completely demolish the structure but succeed in destroying the docking bay, taking Hemlock's shuttle and the tracking device with it. It also damaged the rail system, leaving the Batch stranded mid-transit and ultimately resulting in Tech being forced to perform a Heroic Sacrifice to ensure that the rest of the squad can escape, rendering their entire mission to the facility a pointless, tragic failure. Worse still, the fact that his infiltration was much less subtle than their own — disabling specific cameras in a blatantly suspicious manner that alerted security — is what led to both of their plans failing.
- Tech's Heroic Sacrifice saved his teammates' lives, but the damage he caused to the tram car by doing so caused a number of injuries, forcing the Batch to flee to Ord Mantell so AZI can treat their injuries, leaving them vulnerable to Cid's betrayal.
- No-Sell: It takes multiple shots from stunners to slow Wrecker down. He barely even notices the first. When Hunter finds him in bonds, he's conscious, which isn't something other people can claim after even a single stun shot.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The show's premise has been upended by the events of this episode. Tech is dead, and with him, the Batch loses his technical expertise and the first member of their family (as opposed to Crosshair who only defected). Cid betrays the group to the Empire, removing her seemingly for good from the crew's radar while putting Ord Mantell in the Empire's grip, and Hemlock has Omega in his clutches. What's worse, Hemlock now has Nala Se under his leash due to threatening harm to Omega, meaning whatever project the Emperor is interested in, it's back on track thanks to Nala Se's forced cooperation.
- Nothing Personal: Cid didn't sell the Bad Batch out because she had it out for them, she did it to deescalate a fragile situation with the Empire.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Up to this point, the Batch have been careful to use stun rounds on their fellow clones, only ever killing recruited stormtroopers. During their escape from Ord Mantell, they’ve lost so much that they no longer caring about being humane, especially since Hemlock really wants them dead.
- Papa Wolf: Hunter absolutely refuses to hand Omega over to Dr. Hemlock, even with a squad of Clone Commandos pointing blasters at him and Wrecker. After she's taken, he calmly but furiously tells Echo and Wrecker:Hunter: We are going to get her back. And we don't stop searching until we do!
- Pet the Dog: Despite her soon-to-be-revealed treachery, Cid offers Wrecker a free drink and sincere condolences about Tech's death, saying she liked him. Even after her betrayal is revealed, she looks quite disheartened about it.
- P.O.V. Shot: After Omega collapses due to her injuries following the crash, the following scenes show her lapsing in & out of consciousness while the Batch evacuate from Eriadu.
- Reference Overdosed: The whole climax is a big sad letter to The Empire Strikes Back, namely being betrayed by a person the heroes trusted and the heroes having to go on the run again.
- Rule of Symbolism: The presence of the new All Terrain Armored Cannons on Ord Mantell show that the Empire is moving quickly to abandon all the relics of the Clone Wars in favor of new vehicles and starfighters.
- Sacrificial Lion: Tech is the first major character death of the series, and with him goes a significant asset to the crew, as well as a key member of their family. His death and the consequences of it put the crew on the backfoot and leads to their betrayal by Cid, and Omega's capture.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Cid’s regulars, Bolo and Ketch, aren’t present in her bar, a prelude to her forthcoming betrayal and an omen of how Ord Mantell is no longer a safe haven for the Batch.
- Shout-Out: Cid offering Wrecker a drink after the team lost Tech though he rejects it is similar to Lefou offering Gaston more beer to help him get over Belle rejecting him.
- The Sixth Ranger: AZI officially joins the Bad Batch to help search for Omega.
- There Is Another: It turns out Omega isn't the only female Jango clone, though she obviously is the only one that ages naturally.
- Title Drop: "Plan 99" is Tech declaring his intent to sacrifice himself.
- Tragic Keepsake: Tech's broken goggles, which Hemlock retrieved and tosses to Hunter to rub in his face the loss of a teammate.
- Villain Has a Point: Hemlock correctly points out that not all the Kaminoians were killed, since those with scientific expertise were recruited to help with the Empire's cloning projects.
- Wham Episode: Tech is dead, Cid has betrayed the Batch to the Empire, and Omega has been taken by Hemlock.
- Wham Shot: Emerie Karr removes her glasses, revealing herself to be Omega’s sister.Emerie Karr: We're sisters, Omega.
- Worf Had the Flu: Hunter and Wrecker are in no condition to fend off a prolonged assault after their injuries on Eriadu, and the latter is easily captured. He at least doesn't go down after one stun, but the crew are lucky Hemlock was looking for hostages.
- Would Hurt a Child: In addition to having Omega stunned and abducted, Hemlock makes it clear to Nala Se that if the scientist resists or fails in her work for the Empire, it's Omega who will suffer the consequences.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: While accepting her payment from Hemlock, Cid looks deeply conflicted and downbeat, clearly regretting her treachery, even if she does accept the money.
