WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 10, "Common Ground," streaming now on Disney+.
The latest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch shows that the Empire's rise may make former enemies allies against a common enemy. In “Common Ground,” Clone Force 99 is hired to help Separatist Senator Avi Singh escape from Imperial imprisonment in the Raxus system. Most of the team is uneasy about the job because they spent years fighting the Separatist armies for the Republic, but Echo, in particular, is unhappy with the assignment, and he makes his displeasure clear. While the episode doesn't really delve into Echo’s reasons for objecting, his reasons are far more personal: the last time he went on a mission to break someone out of prison was the Citadel, it ended in him becoming a prisoner of war and a Separatist weapon.
Ever since the team escaped from Kamino, they have had to reckon with the descent of the Republic into the Empire. At the beginning of the episode, the team returns to Ord Mantell from a particularly harrowing few days in which they removed their inhibitor chips and were almost killed by Crosshair, who is still under his inhibitor chip's influence. Cad Bane also kidnapped Omega, and the team had to pick her up after she escaped from him. All of these events have made it clear that the Empire and those who serve it are their enemies. However, they have not had to consider how the Separatist worlds are affected by Imperial rule, or how the Empire now is a common enemy for both sides of the former war.
On the way to Raxus Secondus, the former Separatist capitol, Echo makes his objections with the Separatists clear. When the team has to use the codes given to them by GS-8, he worries that the mission may be a trap, and the successful use of said codes is not enough to convince him. Echo isn't the only one to object, either. Hunter refuses to take the mission until Cid reminds him of the team's debt. Wrecker also backs Echo up later when he questions GS-8, but it's not clear if Wrecker does so out of distrust of the Separatists or in the name of simply supporting Echo. Tech voices no objections to the mission, probably because he is taking the most logical approach, and he also has been the team member paying the most attention to the Empire's actions. Overall, Echo's objections are the strongest, and they also are the most rooted in personal experience.
Echo's last prison break mission was the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Citadel arc, which focused on rescuing Jedi Master Even Piell because he had vital information on the Nexus Route, a hyperspace route that could turn the tide of the battle. While attempting to escape with Piell, Echo was blown up, and everyone believed that he was killed in action. However, under Wat Tambor's supervision, the Separatists actually turned Echo into a cyborg and used his tactical expertise to make him into an unwilling weapon against the Republic's forces. The timeline isn't clear on exactly how long Echo's time as a prisoner of war was, but he was likely a Separatist pawn for over a year. Clone Force 99's first introduction to Echo was a mission to rescue him from captivity. But even after Echo was freed, he no longer believed he would fit in with the 501st, so he joined the Bad Batch instead.
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As Star Wars: The Bad Batch's series’ premiere showed, Echo is still dealing with the trauma of his time as a prisoner of war. After he is knocked out during the food fight on Kamino, he awakens in the infirmary and panics. Omega calms him down, but the response is clearly triggered by the medical equipment that reminds him of the experiments performed on him by Wat Tambor and his minions.
By the end of "Common Ground," Echo does seem to recognize that not all Separatists are like his captors, even if the episode misses some opportunities to delve deeper into his reasoning. Senator Avi Singh also plays a large role in Echo's change of heart. During the escape, Singh saves Echo and Tech from approaching Stormtroopers by attacking them with a vase. And later, Singh provides the team with an escape route when they seem cornered, which leads the team to safety. When they reach the Havoc Marauder, Singh hesitates because he feels like he is abandoning his people. Echo tells Singh to "Live to fight another day," which convinces Singh to leave with the team and continue to fight against the Empire.
So, by the end of the episode, Echo seems willing to recognize that some former Separatists might not be his enemy. However, his reasons for being wary are completely understandable given his history, and his trust still might not include other Separatists. Echo, like the rest of the team, is still on a journey of understanding the fact that the Clone Wars are over and the whole galaxy is facing a common enemy: the Empire.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. The new episodes air Fridays on Disney+.
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