Every now and then, it’s good to remind people who don’t follow Star Wars animated shows that they’re missing some of the very best Star Wars storytelling that’s out there.
The final season of The Bad Batch is not only bringing this story to a conclusion, but the entire story of The Clone Wars as well. It’s the journey of the clones, an army bred for combat, having to wrestle with their purpose in a changing galaxy. This week’s double-feature episodes, “Infiltration” and “Extraction”, picked up on threads from both shows and continued to explore the fate and state of the clones. These episodes were my favorites of the season so far, continuing what has been a terrific first half of the final season.
Let’s dive in to the episode, but remember that full spoilers are ahead.
In these episodes we join up with Rex and his band of clones. At the start, we see Rex escort Avi Singh to a secret meeting with Riyo Chuchi to discuss seeds of rebellion against the Empire. Chuchi, a Senator from Pantora, was shown in season two to be an advocate for the clones, while Singh was formerly a Separatist Senator representing Raxus in the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. These two represent different sides of the Clone Wars, brought together due to their dislike of the Empire. It’s a fitting way to begin an episode about the clones’ place in the galaxy, because it underscores how neither side really won the war; Palpatine did. And already this early there are seeds of rebellion being planted, even though Chuchi knows that there’s no centralized leadership. That wouldn’t come for years, as Andor is showing us, until Mon Mothma is eventually able to rally the rebel cells together into organized, open warfare.
What is also notable, though, is that the Empire is aware of these rebelling Senators. They send a CX assassin to try to kill Chuchi, but Rex and the others foil the plot and capture him. This leads them to discover that the assassin is a clone, seemingly brainwashed and conditioned by the Empire. They also discover that Omega is atop the Empire’s most wanted list, so they send for Echo to bring the Bad Batch to their base on Teth, wanting both to interrogate Crosshair about what’s really happening on Tantiss and also warn Hunter about Omega. But unbeknownst to them, another CX assassin tracked them to Teth and infiltrates the base. His mission is to eliminate the other assassin, but in the process he discovers Omega is there and contacts the Empire. The reinforcements arrive on Teth, led by Commander Wolffe, and the rebel clones are pushed back and on the run as they try to escape.
The episode is full of tense moments, and it’s made all the more so because we know the fates of so few of these clones. We know that Rex and Wolffe survive, obviously, but beyond that? It’s anyone’s guess. There are some great action moments and plenty of intrigue as the clones try to discover more about the mysterious “m count” and these clone assassins. Crosshair continues to shine, and his relationship with Omega is one of the real highlights of the season. Omega trusts him, but the other clones don’t – which is perfectly understandable, given his history. But Captain Howzer (by the way, it was awesome to see him again) notes that Crosshair is different than when they had met previously. He sacrificially draws the attention of the CX assassin to help the others, even though his hand tremor is still evident and plaguing him. He almost dies in the process, but he’s saved by his brothers. It’s a fitting contrast in that Crosshair notes he was all alone and abandoned by the Empire, as they just used him. The CX assassin is also all alone, viewed as expendable. But Crosshair? The other clones look out for him.
That’s the theme of the episode, really. Rex is leading a clone rebellion attempting to help their brothers across the galaxy, especially those imprisoned on Tantiss. This is what he pleads with Wolffe about at the end of the episode, in an emotional moment. We know that Wolffe eventually joins Rex, but seems still somewhat sympathetic to the Empire in Rebels. It’s awesome to see him here after seeing him in The Clone Wars as the clone commander serving under Jedi General Plo Koon. He relents from the Empire’s assault, letting the others go to safety. The clones are banding together, and it seems to be leading toward a bigger clone rebellion to come in this season.
Of course, there are still plenty of questions. The clones are trying to find out more about m counts, and we still don’t know much about these CX assassins. But it’s curious that they specifically showed the latter assassin surviving the fall over the waterfall, leading many to wonder whether there’s a significance to who he is. If there is, my money’s on it being Cody, which would be extremely interesting. But we’ll have to see if there’s any added meaning or not. The larger point is that the Empire views the clones as nothing more than expendable soldiers, nameless numbers bred for combat. Rex, Echo, Howzer, Omega and the Bad Batch, and their allies all view the clones as their brothers, and they’re fighting for them. It’s a compelling story tying together so many threads from all throughout Lucasfilm animation, amounting to a truly great story evolving this season. These episodes were my favorites yet, and I can’t wait to see more.
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