The Bad Batch Is Repeating Mandalorian's Best Din Djarin & Grogu Trick
Disney+’s Star Wars: The Bad Batch repeats a trope previously featured within The Mandalorian by establishing Hunter (Dee Bradley Baker), the leader of Clone Force 99, as a father figure to Omega (Michelle Ang) in a way that mirrors the relationship between Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu. In a franchise where the traditional family structure is often dismantled due to in-universe complications, many of Dave Filoni's Star Wars series have alternatively explored the concept of “found family,” with the prime examples being Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano’s brother-sister relationship within Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Din and Grogu’s father-son dynamic in The Mandalorian.
Despite the fact that The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian are set during different era’s on the Star Wars timeline, the main characters from the two respective series share a similar background, growing up without a traditional family unit. After Din's parents were killed by Separatist droids during the Clone Wars, Djarin is taken in by the Mandalorian group the Children of the Watch. As a former apprentice at Coruscant's Jedi Temple, Grogu was separated from his biological family early on because of the Jedi's restrictions on forming attachments and eventually lost his community of Jedi after the execution of Order 66. Instead of being naturally born, both Hunter and Omega are clones who were grown by the Kaminoans. Given the main characters’ similar origins, The Bad Batch appears to borrow the same “found family” trope that made The Mandalorian so beloved by Star Wars fans: the familial bond between the two main characters, which becomes the emotional core of the series.
In The Bad Batch, Hunter takes on a paternal role with Omega that is similar to Din's bond with Grogu in The Mandalorian. Din becomes a father figure to Grogu by consistently protecting him from dangerous people, such as bounty hunters and Moff Gideon, who wish to exploit Grogu for self-gain. Din also saves Grogu from trouble caused by his own curiosity by preventing Grogu from eating the Frog Lady’s eggs or from playing with the levers onboard the Razor Crest. Similarly, Hunter protects Omega from the immediate dangers of bounty hunters and the Nexu on Saleucami, but he also protects her from herself as well. While Omega’s curious nature often leads her into trouble, Hunter is always there to save her from the repercussions of her adventures, such as when Omega’s interest in a dog-like creature in episode 4 puts her in Fennec Shand's crosshairs.
Similar to how a parent puts their child’s needs above their own, both Hunter and Din attempt to attain a better future for Omega and Grogu despite their attachment to them. After The Armorer tells Din in The Mandalorian season 1 to care for Grogu as if he were his own child until he's of age or is reunited with his own kind, Din attempts to find a Jedi in season 2 to train Grogu. After Grogu makes contact with Luke Skywalker on Tython, Din reluctantly lets Grogu leave with Luke Skywalker during the season 2 finale because Din believes Grogu will have a brighter future if he can strengthen his connection to the Force. Similarly, in episode 2 of The Bad Batch, Hunter also tries to arrange for Omega to live with Cut so that Omega could have a chance at a real family and a more stable childhood.
Using Grogu and Din’s relationship within The Mandalorian as a template, it’s possible that Hunter and Omega’s father-daughter dynamic has the likelihood of surviving throughout Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Unlike Grogu - who needed to leave Din behind in The Mandalorian season 2 finale to be with another Jedi - Omega is already in the one place where she appears to belong, since she's a defective clone similar to the Bad Batch and doesn’t have a traditional family apart from her “brother” Boba Fett. While Grogu’s attachment to Din made him vulnerable to his fears as a Jedi, Omega and Hunter’s relationship doesn’t appear to have such a threatening drawback apart from a point made by Omega within episode 9: the Kaminoans will continue to send bounty hunters after her, which puts her protectors at risk.