'The Bad Batch': Who Exactly Is Omega?
The latest Star Wars show dropped its first episode earlier this week, and the world feels a bit brighter. We first meet the Bad Batch in The Clone Wars animated series. Their name is derived from the fact that they are an experimental batch of clones, Clone Force 99. The Kaminoans experimented on their DNA, which augmented various aspects of their capabilities and appearance.
Members of this batch of clones do not look like the rest of the troopers. While Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Tech, and Echo are stars of the show, fans are buzzing about newcomer Omega.
Omega, voiced by 37-year-old New Zealand actress, Michelle Ang, is a new character for the Star Wars franchise. The Walking Dead fans may recognize Ang’s name from the web series Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 and the show Fear the Walking Dead. Ang is the perfect fit for this role. She is an excellent complement to fellow New Zealander and Star Wars clone star Temuera Morrison.
Welcome to The Defect Squad
We meet Omega alongside the rest of the Bad Batch unit after they return to Kamino. The team is confused about Order 66. Unlike the rest of their clone brethren, most of the Batch do not feel the urge to comply with it. Other clone troopers view them as outsiders. This lack of compliance further alienates them.
Spritely Omega is drawn to the Batch immediately. Like them, she is unique. She is the only female human clone on Kamino. Kaminoan Chief Scientist Nala Se introduces Omega as her Medical Assistant, signified by the identical headbands they wear.
Her name, Omega, means final, the end, or the ultimate. It is an apt name considering we learn that Admiral Tarkin is ready to terminate the contract for more clones, thus ushering in the era of conscripted troopers of questionable aim. She may be the last clone the Kaminoans ever develop.
As the first episode progresses, it becomes clearer that Omega is from the same genetic stock as the rest of the clones. Though it takes them a bit longer to reach that conclusion, she is the genetic sister to the Bad Batch. Omega was trained or perhaps programmed to be a medic. Though during the final battle scene of the first episode, she unmistakably has heightened physical abilities as well. What else did the Kaminoans have in mind when they created her? Why was she programmed to handle combat?
Predictions for The Sad Batch
Omega is not an accident but a product of research and development. It seems only a natural progression to create a female clone. Like any enterprise, one can assume the Kaminoans want to diversify their clone offerings. Since they have complete genetic control of these clones, they can give Omega any ability needed for the customer at hand. They may even be able to manipulate her midi-chlorian count, making her the ultimate soldier in the galaxy.
If she is a Force-sensitive clone, it is because she was made this way. As the first episode ends, Omega escapes Kamino with the rest of the Batch. The team’s leader, Hunter, shows little resistance to the idea of her joining them. He seems to understand who she is finally.
Clones have an accelerated growth rate. By the end of the season, we may see a full-grown Omega, if she grows faster than the others. Even if she is not Force-sensitive, Omega’s abilities may outstrip her Bad Batch brothers.
Omega’s escape from Kamino was easy. Too easy. Since we know so little about her programming, she could also be a great double agent for the Empire. She may be a spy, and that ceremonial headdress may double as a communicator.
To quote Tech, “I am merely stating a scientific hypothesis based on factual data.” The character of Omega injects much-needed tension, mystery, and heart into The Bad Batch series. I cannot wait to find out what her true nature and abilities are.