WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1, Episode 9, "Bounty Lost," now streaming on Disney+.
The last few episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch have been full of bounty hunters, and this week’s episode is no exception. “Bounty Lost” shows that two Kaminoan officials hired bounty hunters to go after Omega, but for vastly different reasons. Prime Minister Lama Sue hired Cad Bane to acquire Omega, while Nala Se hired Fennec Shand to keep the unique clone away from the Kaminoan labs.
After Order 66, the rules that the Republic held were no more, and the Empire didn’t care to hold bounty hunters in contempt, so the business began to flourish. There is, however, one bounty hunter that has yet to make an appearance in The Bad Batch, even though he definitely has a stake in everything that’s happening. It's Boba Fett, and since he has a connection to all of the major players in this episode, it seems likely that the series is setting up an appearance for him.
As the son of Jango Fett, Boba received an early introduction to the world of bounty hunting. When his father died on Geonosis, Boba entered the family business for himself. He led his own bounty hunting syndicate as a child, and was quite good at it. He was so successful, that Cad Bane, one of the best bounty hunters in Star Wars, took him on as a protégé and became his mentor. Even though Bane was partial to Boba after knowing his father, things eventually became dicey between the two.
An unfinished clip from a cancelled season of The Clone Wars shows that their relationship was going to end in a stand-off. Both drew, fired their blasters and hit the other in the head. Boba’s helmet received its iconic dent and Bane’s fate was left unknown. While the duel between Bane and Hunter in “Reunion” reused this concept, that doesn’t mean that the duel between Bane and Boba didn’t happen. Bane has a new metal plate on his head, which could be there after fighting Boba. If so, Boba Fett could come back to officially confirm their duel and maybe finish the job.
“Bounty Lost” also set up a connection between Boba and Omega. As it turns out, Boba’s given name is Alpha. Together, they are the only two unaltered clones from the Jango Fett line. That has to set up some kind of a bond between them, and bringing Boba onto The Bad Batch could be the only way to really explore such a connection. It would be a letdown to set something up so well, then pass on connecting the dots.
Their connection could also have a major impact on the plot. Obviously, the Kaminoans contingency plan, whatever it is, fails because there is nothing about it in the original Star Wars trilogy. So, someone has to stop them. It could be the Empire, but it would be more climactic to see the clones do it. Perhaps Boba Fett will find out how the Kaminoans want to exploit Omega, and decide to work with her and Clone Force 99 to thwart the opportunistic cloners.
In this episode, Fennec Shand really proves her skill while fighting against Cad Bane, and she only builds from there. By the fall of the Empire, she is a notorious and deadly bounty hunter, but during The Mandalorian, she is shot and left for dead by Toro Calican. Shand is then rescued by none other than Boba Fett. The two become partners and help save Grogu from Moff Gideon.
“Bounty Lost” similarly shows that Shand is working to keep Omega safe, albeit for profit. If Boba and Omega start working together against the Kaminoans, it sets up the perfect opportunity for Boba to meet Shand and foreshadow their eventual partnership. All of these things seem like bread crumbs on a tail leading to Boba Fett, and with the coming Book of Boba Fett series, it seems likely that his backstory will be explored during the second half of The Bad Batch’s first season.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. New episodes premiere Fridays on Disney+.
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