The Bad Batch Archetypes Analysis

Omega's Archetypes

This is the first instalment of my Bad Batch analysis. I am starting off with Omega because this analysis will introduce the concept of animus and anima by Carl Jung, which will be important for the analysis on the other Bad Batchers. I will be referring to "Goddesses in Everywoman" and "Gods in Everyman" by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Omega's innate archetype is Persephone, or more specifically, Persephone the Kore. Persephone, or the Romans called her 'Proserpina' or 'Cora', has two aspects - Kore and Queen of the Underworld. Kore means "nameless maiden". As the Kore, Omega is a young girl who does not know "who she is" yet she is unaware of her desires or strengths. Although she works as a medical assistant to Nala Se, she is not entirely committed to her role. Nala Se even describes her to "have a curious mind that causes her to wander". Her attitude resembles that of an eternal adolescent, indecisive about who or what she wants to be when she "grows up" and waiting for someone or something to transform her life. The rise of the Empire and her meeting with the Bad Batch are the ones that transform her life.

In Greek mythology, Persephone goes hand in hand with her mother Demeter, mainly in the Homeric "Hymn to Demeter". Persephone and Demeter represent a common mother-daughter relationship in which the daughter is too attached to her mother to develop an independent self. The Persephone daughter is "a good girl" that wants to please her mother - obedient, compliant, cautious and often sheltered. The relationship between Omega and Nala Se is that of the Persephone and Demeter pattern. Nala Se appears strong and independent, but this appearance is deceptive. She fosters Omega's dependence to keep her close and she makes Omega an extension of herself. This is evident in "Aftermath" when Nala Se tells Omega to come along and remind her to stay close, and Omega wears the same outfit and amulet like her. Furthermore, in "Cut and Run", Omega is amazed to find dirt as her homeworld Kamino does not have it, where she spends her entire life there. This relationship fosters a passive, dependent behaviour on Omega, and it can cause other aspects of her personality to be undeveloped.

The Persephone archetype is an "anima woman". Carl Jung describes the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man. A Persephone woman is like "a crystal with many sides as she receives the projection of a man's unconscious image of woman (his anima) and unconsciously conforms to the image". Her innate receptivity makes her easily influenced, docile and adaptable. She is like a chameleon, "trying on" whatever others expect of her. This chameleonlike trait is seen in Omega, specifically in "Truth and Consequences" when she blends in with Senator Riyo Chuchi to get into the Imperial Senate, and in "Retrieval" when she follows Benni to the control room because she can blend in with other adolescent miners.

Although the receptivity of the Persephone archetype can cause a person to be easily exploited and taken advantage of, it is a good quality to be cultivated. In times of uncertainty, the Persephone's receptivity allows a person to wait for the situation to change or for their feelings to be clear. This receptivity also makes a person open-minded and flexible, which can help them to leave behind harmful expectations and admit that they do not always know best. This receptivity is what makes Persephone the symbol of spring, which helps a person to be open to change and stay young in spirit.

For Omega, her receptivity is her desirable mutation as an enhanced clone. Her ability to copy other people's actions and mannerisms (mostly Hunter) enables her to adapt quickly in any situation. For example, in "Aftermath", she uses a blaster to knock the blaster out of Crosshair's grasp and force him to dodge her blaster fire, and when Hunter questions where she learns to shoot, she admits that she has never fired a blaster before. Omega is the wild card in the Bad Batch as her receptivity makes her unpredictable to their enemies and sometimes to the team, like in "Rescue on Ryloth" when she and Hera fly an Imperial shuttle and their uncontrolled manoeuvring confuses both Tech and the Imperials. Fortunately, her receptivity, and the fact that most of their enemies underestimate her because she is a child, usually gives the Bad Batch a greater advantage in battle.