In Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Omega's encounter with a creature from the prequels shows her more dangers than she predicted when leaving Kamino.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the second episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, "Cut and Run," now streaming on Disney+.
In "Cut and Run," the second episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Omega is almost attacked by a nexu, a large feline creature with an extremely large head and oversized mouth filled with teeth. While various nexu have appeared in both canon and Legends continuities, their main appearance prior to this episode is Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, which establishes the nexu as violent and deadly. Omega's encounter with the nexu shows her that the world outside Kamino holds many dangers that she is unprepared for, but she ultimately rallies and chooses to remain with Clone Force 99 despite the hazards she may face along their journey.
In Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, a nexu along with a reek and an acklay are chosen to execute Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala after the Geonosians arrest them for espionage. When the creatures are brought into the arena, their handlers shock the creatures if they are not going in the direction they want, an act of animal cruelty that makes the creatures even more volatile. This tactic backfires when the nexu immediately kills and eats their handler, establishing the nexu as the most vicious and uncontrollable creature chosen for the execution. Because Padmé is resourceful, she has a lockpick and breaks free of her shackles and climbs to the top of a column. The nexu focuses on Padmé, possibly because she poses the greatest challenge. Padmé holds her own until Anakin attacks the nexu with the reek, taking the nexu out of the fight. Thus, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones shows that the nexu is violent but not invincible despite its unpredictability.
In The Bad Batch's "Cut and Run," the audience meets a nexu out in the wild for the first time. After escaping from Kamino, Clone Force 99 take refuge with Cut Lawquane, a Clone Trooper deserter, and his family. As Clone Force 99 lands on Saleucami, a nexu is terrorizing the Lawquane family's farm animals, but the creature scampers off when the team's ship lands. This moment foreshadows the actual nexu attack later in the episode and the more metaphorical monster of the Empire encroaching on the citizens of Saleucami.
For Omega, Saleucami is the first world she has visited other than Kamino. As she exits the ship, she seems in awe of this new environment. She is amazed by everything, including the dirt. Omega also befriends Shaeeah and Jek Lawquane, Cut and Suu Lawquane's children. With them, Omega can act like a child and play, a concept that she seems confused by at first. Despite the seemingly idyllic setting, unbeknownst to Omega, the nexu lies in wait.
Omega's idyllic view of the world outside of Kamino is shattered when she crosses the Lawquane's fence to retrieve the ball she and her new friends have been playing with. The nexu almost attacks Omega once she crosses the border, but Suu and Hunter frighten the nexu off. Omega is deeply shaken by the ordeal, and she retreats to the ship. The encounter also causes Hunter to question the team's ability to teach and take care of Omega, and he tries to convince her to leave with the Lawquane family for her own safety.
Despite Omega's fear, she still proves she is capable of learning and adapting to the new dangers she faces off of Kamino. Due to the Empire's tightening grip on Saleucami, the Lawquanes choose to leave to find a safer place to live. Clone Force 99 helps the Lawquanes obtain the chain codes they need to get off-world, and Omega is essential to their success. At the end of The Bad Batch episode, Omega affirms that she wants to remain with the team, and Hunter decides she can for as long as she wants.
Overall, the nexu shows Omega that there are many dangers she may not be prepared for. The near-miss with the nexu forces the team, and Hunter, in particular, to confront questions about how they will take care of Omega while they are on the run. Even though the nexu encounter briefly puts Omega's place with Clone Force 99 into question, the experience ultimately strengthens her bonds with her new family and solidifies her place with the team.
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