SPOILERS ARE HIDING UNDER THE ICE
“The Return,” could, by all rights, be called “The Returns.” We return to Pabu, the oasis planet that the Batch has used as a sanctuary; Omega has returned to her family; Crosshair has returned to the Squad; and, finally, Crosshair returns to the setting of “The Outpost,” one of Season 2s most wrenching episodes.
This episode dramatizes Hunter’s reconciliation with Crosshair through the language of adventure, and not, I don’t know, by sitting everyone down to talk out their issues with a Droid Therapist. (Does Star Wars have therapists? It should. Someone who reads the books bring me receipts!)
But Omega’s kindhearted and plucky insistence on reconciliation was a little hard for me to watch. Not because there’s anything wrong with how she’s presented: it’s very in line with her character as written. Omega is undaunted by evidence of human frailty and betrayal, she sees the good in everyone. She believes that if Crosshair and Hunter can talk it out, stop arguing, all will be well. It’s a totally appropriate place for the story to go, and entirely in line with Omega’s character.
But as someone whose childhood was defined by his parents’ divorce, and is now in his late 40s? Watching Echo’s assertion “they always work it out” didn’t strike me as reassuring. It was a little bit painful.