The Bad Batch on Disney+ is a series about a Clone Trooper force who have special skills. They were first introduced in The Clone Wars season 7 and spun off into their own series. The show takes place right after Order 66 as seen in Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith, but before Star Wars: A New Hope. As with any prequels, the show has to deal with why no one had heard of this group of Clones prior to the existence of the series. The Bad Batch secret is something that I’m hoping creator Dave Filoni will address before the series ends for good. But it looks like The Bad Batch season 2 may have addressed it already.
Disclaimer: The following will contain spoilers for The Bad Batch season 2 episode 2, titled ‘Ruins Of War’.
What Is The Bad Batch Secret?
While not really a secret, any and all prequels face a similar challenge. When doing a prequel in The Eternals, Marvel Studios had to answer where these Gods were during all the other world-ending events of the other stories set in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Similarly, if there was a special group of clones, separate from the Empire, running around before the events of the original and sequel trilogy, why have we never heard of them?
The obvious answer may be that at some point before the events of those movies, before the rebellion or the Skywalker Saga, they all die. While this could be the easiest explanation, it’s one that feels too clean. Having a bunch of characters have adventures and influence the future, only to kill them off, so as to avoid explaining their absence in the rest of the franchise.
This secret about The Bad Batch is something that presumably the show would deal with at some point. But it looks like might already have in the second episode of season 2.
How An Imperial Officer Kept The Bad Batch A Secret. For Now.
After trying to steal Count Dooku’s war chest in the season 2 premiere episode, the second episode of the season is about the Batch dealing with the consequences of those actions. By the end of the episode, our crew escapes, with nothing to show for their trouble, except coming together even closer as a team. However, their attempts to steal from the Empire put them on their radar. At least, for a little while.
In The Bad Batch season 1 finale, Clone Force 99 was presumed dead, as victims of the destruction of Kamino. However, the events of the second episode of season 2, proved to the Empire that they weren’t. At the end of the episode, the Clone Commander, _ in charge relayed this information to the Imperial Office in command, Vice-Admiral Rampart (Noshir Dalal). Who then demanded that the Commander file a false report, omitting any mention of Clone Force 99. When the Commander refused, Rampart shot him dead.
What This Means For The Bad Batch Series
At the end of The Bad Batch season 2 episode 2, Clone Force 99 is still presumed dead in the eyes of the Empire. With only Rampart knowing the truth. And if Rampart takes this Bad Batch secret to his grave, or something happens to him, that could explain why we haven’t heard of them anywhere else.
It’s possible that by the time we get to the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, they’re not even known as Clone Force 99, but something else entirely. Maybe they are just individuals who aren’t even on the same team. All of this would explain why we’d never heard of the Bad Batch characters, prior to their own series on Disney+. We’ll have to watch the rest of season 2 to see where things go from here.
Episodes 1 and 2 of The Bad Batch season 2 are now on Disney+.
Do you think there could be another reason why we don’t hear of The Bad Batch in the rest of the franchise? Let me know your theories in the comments below.
