Editor’s Note: The below contains spoilers for ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ Season 3.
Plot holes are common, especially in long franchises, andStar Warsis not immune. Sure,they made an entire film to explain the fragility of the Death Star, resolving a 39-year-old plot hole, butRogue One: A Star Wars Storyactually created a new (if minor) issue in the form of hyperspace tracking. Throughout the franchise, there are many narrow escapes where characters reach freedom by jumping to hyperspace, preventing their enemies from following them, but the development of hyperspace tracking ends that. This technology plays an important role inStar Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi,when the First Order surprises the Resistance with their new ability. Developing new technology is not a plot hole in itself, butthe timeline raises questions, to say the least.
The possibility was hinted at inRogue One, decades before the First Order surprises the Resistance, and more recently, the animated seriesStar Wars: The Bad Batchhas brought up hyperspace tracking again, exacerbating the plot hole. Chronologically,The Bad BatchprecedesRogue Oneby roughly 20 years, marking the first mention of the tech in the timeline now nearly 50 years before it’s used. Sure, something this complex takes time to develop, but with the idea existing for so long, how is the Resistance caught off guard? Would there not have been rumors? Spies? A defector who carried the information? These small connections to the sequel trilogy early in the Star Wars timeline may be intended to tie the franchise together, but they actually create issues that demand answers.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
The ‘Bad Batch’ of elite and experimental clones make their way through an ever-changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars.
Hyperspace Tracking Is Crucial to the Plot of ‘The Last Jedi’
The ability to track a ship through hyperspace is an important part ofThe Last Jedi. Though previously, jumping to hyperspace disrupted any tracking, the First Order’s new technology sped up their calculations, allowing them to predict the ship’s path and follow within minutes.They first used hyperspace tracking against the Resistance in the Battle of Oetchi.After sustaining heavy losses and damage to their ship in a confrontation with the First Order, the Resistance fled to Oetchi but quickly realized they were followed. Despite Finn’s (John Boyega) insistence that hyperspace tracking is impossible, the First Order accomplishes it, preventing the Resistance from fleeing again. With limited fuel left and no safety in hyperspace, the Resistance stays to fight, and the Battle of Oetchi commences. The new technology drives this battle, taking away the Resistance’s options and sendingFinn and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) on a separate missionto find someone to disable the tracking.
Meanwhile,Poe Dameron’s (Oscar Isaac)story focuses on hyperspace tracking as well, as he is aboard the Resistance ship that cannot escape. Disapproving of her plan in the wake of the First Order’s new ability, Poe leads a mutiny against Vice-Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern). In the end, Holdo sacrifices herself to allow her allies to escape without being tracked. Though a lot is going on during the Battle of Oetchi,the whole thing results from hyperspace tracking and the fact that the Resistance must scramble to react because of its newness. Yet,Rogue Oneand nowThe Bad Batchprove this tech is not as new as it seems.
Where Else Is Hyperspace Tracking Seen in ‘Star Wars’?
‘The Bad Batch’ Season 3: Who Is Commander Wolffe?
‘The Bad Batch’ brings back another familiar clone trooper to suffer at the hands of the Empire.
Rogue One’s reference to hyperspace tracking is not enough to constitute a plot hole in and of itself, butThe Bad Batchmakes it more dicey. When Crosshair (Dee Bradley Baker) and Omega (Michelle Ang) escape theEmpire’s Tantiss facilityon a stolen ship in Season 3,Episode 4, Crosshair raises the issue of being tracked despite their trip through hyperspace. Since the characters stole the ship from the Empire, they could easily track it out of hyperspace, which has long been possible after the ship lands. ButCrosshair doesn’t allow any travel time, fearing the Empire would be upon them at any second, which should not be possible…yet.However,Crosshair has just spent time as a prisonerin a facility that worked on such projects, so he could easily have overheard the possibility. WithThe Bad Batchset 19 years beforeRogue Oneand at the beginning of the Empire’s reign, his fear of being tracked instantly turns hyperspace tracking into a plot hole.
How Does the Resistance Not Know About Hyperspace Tracking in ‘The Last Jedi’?
The problem is not that hyperspace tracking exists. New technological developments are natural, especially in a technologically advanced world like the Star Wars galaxy. Nor is it strange that the First Order is the one to perfect the invention. Though the Empire pioneered the project, the First Order is directly connected to the Empire, and it’s not the only project that was carried over.The Bad BatchSeason 3 exploresProject Necromancer, another Imperial initiative completed by the First Order inStar Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. Buthow was the Resistance oblivious to the technology that had been around for almost 50 years?
Just as the First Order connects to the Empire, the Resistance is tied to the Rebels, most notably through Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), a Rebel leader who becomes a general in the Resistance, so shouldn’t they know about the project? If this was a focus before the fight with the Empire ended, the victorious Rebels should have looked into the Empire’s actions, especially with the continued threat of Imperial loyalists. Regardless of politics, 50 years is a long time for something to remain a secret. The franchise shows several characters go from Imperial supporters to Rebels, some even high-ranking officials, likeStar Wars Rebels' Kallus (David Oyelowo), who could have shared this development. Soon after Crosshair returns, he works with Rex, who is a Rebel himself, giving him the chance to pass on anything he knows about the technology, butthe Resistance is totally surprised by it decades later.
Even assuming the Empire and First Order manage to keep hyperspace tracking a secret against all odds, why did they never use it before? For Crosshair to fear it so many years earlier, it had to be well underway byRogue One.Throughout the entire original trilogy,as the conflict turned against the Empire, they never once tested hyperspace tracking against their enemies.Certainly, it could have improved significantly over this time, but even so, would they not have desperately used their every advantage as the Rebels pulled ahead? While the mentions of hyperspace tracking may seem like a clever little Easter egg to connect the franchise more closely, they really just raise more questions.
Star Wars: The Bad Batchis available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S. with new episodes on Wednesdays.
