The Batch head back somewhere they never thought to see again to rescue Hunter, but a former ally is awaiting them.

With Hunter in the clutches of the Empire, Omega and the rest of the gang are determined to rescue him as quickly as possible, and speed to make the necessary repairs to their ship to get going. A signal from Hunter’s comm suggests he’s no longer on Daro, but where could he be, and is it safe for them to go after him?

There’s a fair amount high drama to this episode. Crosshair is determined to get the whole of his former team in one place, and it’s all very cat and mouse, Crosshair being able to predict exactly what his old comrades will do, and also knowing that they will know how he is thinking in return. Against this backdrop, Crosshair’s new masters aren’t above a little deviousness themselves, and it’s ironic that even as Crosshair rages about his abandonment by Hunter and his team, his own subordinates in the Empire don’t exactly have his back.

There’s also some quiet moments of revelation for the team, as they discover whole new elements to the one place in the galaxy that they might justifiably have imagined they knew better than any other. But those unexpected parts of their past are as nothing compared to some of the other things revealed here.

There’s one surprise which genuinely is a bit of a biggie. We and the Batch have made a certain assumption for many weeks now, and here that assumption is turned abruptly on its head. What that may mean going forwards is unclear, but I wouldn’t be expecting too much of a happy ending for all concerned as we head into next week’s final episode.

This is a show which is really revelling in digging into some of the darker elements of the period in which the Empire rises from the ashes of the former Republic, and this episode really nails that feeling in spades. It’s also pure Star Wars – betrayal, redemption, the difficulty of former comrades becoming sworn enemies and the constant, bone-deep need to see the best in those enemies – it’s all here and all works brilliantly. News of the show’s renewal for a second season couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

Verdict: Tense, dramatic and genuinely surprising in places. Sets things up nicely for the final episode next week. 9/10

Greg D. Smith

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