The Bad Batch's Finale Mirrored Clone Wars & Rebels In The Best Way

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for the Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 finale.

Summary Star Wars: The Bad Batch's finale mirrors The Clone Wars and Rebels, offering a satisfying conclusion and connecting to previous shows.

The series finale ends with a time skip, showing an older Hunter and Omega, leaving room for speculation on Omega's journey.

The possibility of future Star Wars shows ending with a time skip is raised, potentially linking to previous series for continuity.

After three seasons of top-notch Star Wars storytelling, Star Wars: The Bad Batch has aired its final episode, and the finale surprised viewers by mirroring Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. This was a fitting way to end the show, as The Bad Batch serves as a direct continuation of The Clone Wars while incorporating characters and plotlines from Star Wars Rebels. It allowed Dave Filoni and the creative team to bring the show to a satisfying conclusion, connect its story to the previous shows, and tease where the Bad Batch may appear next in Star Wars.

This parallel between each series illustrates how The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and Rebels have become a trilogy of shows that perfectly complement each other. They stand well on their own and have endings that provide closure to the main story, but they're also pieces of a much larger narrative, creating an animated saga that runs alongside the live-action Star Wars movies and TV shows. The final scene of The Bad Batch's series finale demonstrates this exceptionally well and creates a beautiful moment that reflects similar execution in The Clone Wars and Rebels.

The Bad Batch Series Finale Ends With A Time Skip

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While the final shot of Clone Force 99 sitting together would have been a perfect way to conclude the series, The Bad Batch's finale goes a step further by showing an older Hunter and Omega. This is a popular plot device for the final episode of a TV series, especially for Dave Filoni's animated Star Wars shows, and the creative team behind The Bad Batch was wise to implement it in the show's final moments. It offers greater closure to the story by showing Omega's fate, while keeping the universe in motion for the characters long after the credits role.

The time skip is also short enough that it leaves room for viewers to speculate on Omega's journey and how The Bad Batch's final scene fits into the Star Wars timeline. It could take place around the time the rebel cells came together in Star Wars Rebels, approximately 15 years after The Bad Batch, giving Omega the chance to fight alongside the Ghost crew. However, Omega may also be joining the Rebellion during the Galactic Civil War against the Empire in the original trilogy, which would place the time skip approximately 20 years after The Bad Batch.

Omega may also have joined a rebel cell before the Rebel Alliance was formed, maybe even fighting alongside Rex and Echo.

The Clone Wars And Rebels Also Ended With A Time Skip

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The Bad Batch is the third time a Star Wars series finale concluded with a time jump, as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have epilogues set years after the end of the series. Star Wars Rebels ends by showing what happened to the Ghost Crew after Return of the Jedi, particularly Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano, who set off to find their missing friend Ezra Bridger. Because the Rebellion's victory had to happen in the original trilogy, Star Wars Rebels' time skip helped the show feel complete within itself while teasing the next adventure.

The Clone Wars' time skip is short compared to Star Wars Rebels or even The Bad Batch, yet it made for an unforgettable ending when the show returned for a final season. The final four episodes already crossed over with Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, so showing Darth Vader brought closure to The Clone Wars, just as Star Wars Rebels time skip did. It now foreshadows Vader and Ahsoka's tragic duel on Malachor in the Star Wars Rebels season 2 finale, creating more connective tissue across Star Wars animation.

Related The Bad Batch's Finale Completes A 15-Year-Old Clone Wars Story The Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 finale was the perfect conclusion for Clone Force 99, but it offered closure for all clone troopers as well.

Is The Bad Batch's Ending Setting Up The Next Star Wars Show?

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Since previous time skips set up future storylines, it's reasonable to wonder if The Bad Batch's finale is already setting up the next Star Wars show. Star Wars Rebels' epilogue eventually set up Ahsoka season 1, and Sabine and Ahsoka's final scene on Lothol was recreated in live-action. Before that, The Mandalorian built off what had been established about Mandalorians in The Clone Wars and Rebels, with later seasons directly picking up where the animated shows left off. Even the Bad Batch themselves became the main characters of their own spinoff after one arc in The Clone Wars season 7.

Given the very real possibility, there are many ways Omega and Clone Force 99 could return. While another full-length series set during the Rebellion era is unlikely, the Bad Batch could appear in an existing show, including a cameo in Star Wars: Tales of the Empire or a live-action debut in Andor season 2. However, The Bad Batch's time skip doesn't limit the characters to that era, meaning they could return in any of the Mandoverse TV shows or be revealed as one of the many ships present at the Battle of Exegol in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Will Future Star Wars Shows End With A Time Skip?

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The Bad Batch also demonstrates how more Star Wars TV shows could continue this time-skip trend, even in live-action. Andor season 2 will lead into the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but the finale could show how Cassian Andor's friends and family responded to the Battle of Scarif. Even The Acolyte, set 100 years before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, could benefit from jumping ahead in the timeline. Showing Palpatine and Darth Maul just before the Invasion of Naboo would show the culmination of the Sith's plans with new context from The Acolyte.

As for the end of the Skywalker Saga, there were thousands of ships at the Battle of Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker, so Mandoverse characters not killed off in their respective shows could be shown taking part in the final victory over the Sith. This would be especially beneficial for Ahsoka since season 1 ended with Ahsoka and Sabine trapped on Peridea in another galaxy. Not every Star Wars TV show ends with a time skip, but after the finale of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, it's fun to consider how future projects will use it to their advantage.