In Season 3, Episode 9 of the Disney Plus series The Bad Batch, titled “The Harbinger,” the narrative unfolds as the Bad Batch (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) and Omega (voiced by Michelle Ang) return to Pabu. In a mountain, they encounter Fennec’s bounty hunter contact Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman). However, the Bad Batch has yet to learn the contact’s full name until later.
Ventress inquires with the Bad Batch about why they seek information regarding the M-Count, as such knowledge attracts the wrong people, especially the Empire. Omega lies, claiming that a friend of theirs is being hunted by the Empire for their M-Count experiment. The lie is intended to divert attention from Omega, the Empire’s real target for her M-Count. Somewhat satisfied with the answer, Ventress explains that the M-Count (Midi-Chlorians) is discovered in one’s own blood and acts as receptors for one’s affinity with the Force, a power wielded by the Jedi.
Omega accidentally blows her cover with some excitement, believing she could become a Jedi due to her M-Count. Ventress disagrees, explaining that the Jedi Order is a faction, and being born Force-Sensitive does not automatically make one a Jedi. Ventress continues by expressing some level of confusion about how a Clone, like Omega, has a high M-Count, but she senses that the Bad Batch are not normal Clones due to their desirable “mutations.”
Ventress is about to leave after providing the information, but Omega asks the bounty hunter to help test her midi-chlorian levels. Ventress agrees, with the first test involving Omega finding balance within herself. The test is interrupted when the Bad Batch discovers the bounty hunter’s identity as Asajj Ventress, a former Separatist assassin. Omega fails the first test and is given a second test: to quickly retrieve a white blossom from a weeping maya tree atop the colonnade on Pabu’s Island before sunset. This task is designed to test Omega’s speed and intuition.
While Omega undergoes her second test, Ventress warns the Bad Batch that delving too deeply into midi-chlorians is dangerous. The Bad Batch acknowledge the warning but ask Ventress to leave because they don’t trust her due to her past affiliation with the Separatists. Asajj refuses, as she wants to continue testing Omega’s potential, leading to a brief skirmish until Omega returns with the white blossom, successfully completing the second test. The defeated Hunter continues to express distrust of Ventress as a Separatist war criminal. Ventress reminds the Clone that they were all pawns in a war beyond their control and that the Empire is more dangerous than they realize, hinting at the Sith’s leadership over the Empire, and considering she was once part of the Sith’s grand plan to conquer the Galaxy until Sidious ordered Dooku to discard her.
Later, Omega talks with her brothers and argues that they should give Ventress another chance, using Crosshair’s redemption to support her claim. With this in mind, the Bad Batch allow their sister to meet with Ventress to undergo her final test. The final test takes place at sea on a boat to avoid further distractions. Another reason for the test’s location is that many Force wielders have an affinity for nature and connect with things that respond to their energy. Therefore, Omega must close her eyes and reach out to everything in nature. It turns out Omega fails the third test, but Ventress has not lost hope for the girl. She demonstrates using the Force by connecting to the sea and its sea life. The demonstration ends when Ventress’ connection with the sea via the Force accidentally attracts a giant sea monster, but she is able to use the Force to calm the creature down effortlessly.
Back at the mountain, Ventress concludes that Omega has a low M-Count due to failing two of the three tests, which should have been simple for a Force user with a high M-Count. When Omega leaves with Wrecker, Hunter and Crosshair confront Ventress, accusing her of lying about Omega’s M-Count. Asajj tells the two that Omega can only access her high M-Count potential if she undergoes training, but that would mean leaving her brothers behind. Ventress bids them farewell but warns that the Empire will never stop hunting Omega and recommends they leave Pabu. Hunter asks if Ventress is worried about the Empire hunting her, but she assures him that she has a couple of lives left to spare. The statement about her having a couple of lives left indicates that Ventress did die during the events of the novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple, but was somehow resurrected due to being imbued with Nightsister Magic in the past, allowing her to have multiple lives, similar to a mythological cat. In other words, Ventress lost one of her lives and has a couple left before being permanently killed by a foe or from natural causes.
Asajj Ventress uses the Force
In Season 3, Episode 9 of The Bad Batch, titled “Harbinger,” the narrative delves deep into the lore of the Star Wars universe, particularly exploring the concept of midi-chlorians and the potential of Force-sensitive individuals. Directed by Steward Lee and written by Jennifer Corbett, the episode provides a significant expansion of Asajj Ventress’s character, tying her past as a Separatist assassin with her present role as a bounty hunter.
The episode opens with the Bad Batch and Omega encountering Ventress, who becomes a pivotal figure in Omega’s journey of self-discovery. Ventress’s knowledge of the Force and midi-chlorians adds layers to the ongoing narrative, shedding light on Omega’s unique abilities and the Empire’s interest in her.
Throughout the episode, Omega undergoes a series of tests administered by Ventress, revealing not only her potential, but also the complexities of her relationship with her brothers. As Omega grapples with the implications of her Force sensitivity, the Bad Batch must confront their own biases and suspicions regarding Ventress’s past allegiances.
Additionally, the episode reveals that Ventress survived her first death in the events of the novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple. It is unknown how Ventress survived, but it could have been due to Nightsister magic, which grants the former Separatist assassin some level of immortality or mortal endurance by giving her some lives like what a mythological cat would have with its nine-lives. Since Ventress formed somewhat of a romantic friendship with the Jedi Quinlan Vos, who turns out to be an Order 66 survivor as revealed in the Obi-Wan Kenobi tv series, it is likely the two will reunite and continue to help protect Force-Sensitives from the Empire, similar to what Ventress tried to do for Omega by advising the Bad Batch to hide better.
Overall, “Harbinger” serves as a pivotal episode in The Bad Batch, offering a compelling exploration of themes such as identity, family, and destiny within the Star Wars universe. Through the character of Asajj Ventress, the episode bridges the gap between past and present, weaving together threads of continuity from previous stories while paving the way for future developments in Omega’s journey as a potential Force-Sensitive. Despite this, Omega’s storyline as a potential Force-Sensitive should be looked at with caution since Ahsoka’s revelation of Sabine as a powerful Force-Sensitive came out of nowhere: Sabine being able to make a powerful Force push of Ezra onto Thrawn’s Star Destroyer seemed implausible considering how a strong Force push like that is not possible on one’s first try.
Rating: 9/10