The Bad Batch: “The Clone Conspiracy” & “Truth and Consequences”

Welcome to my weekly review of The Bad Batch, where I will be walking us through each episode and giving my thoughts on the show. My reviews will follow my usual format: an overview of the plot (so be aware, there will be spoilers!), my review of the show, then a few “Moments in canon” – references that link to other media and the galaxy as a whole. Today, we’ll be looking at season 2’s second dual-feature, episodes 7 & 8: “The Clone Conspiracy” & “Truth and Consequences”.

Plot Summary

In the cantina 79’s on Coruscant, the clones Cade and Slip are discussing how uneasy they feel about Rampart’s lies about what happened to Kamino, as they were part of the crew on his Venator so were witnesses to the truth and even played their own part by following the orders they were given. Cade tells Slip that he has contacted Rampart, threatening to tell the Imperial Senate the truth unless Rampart will do so himself. As the pair leave the cantina, they are attacked by a sniper. Cade is killed, but Slip escapes.

During a meeting of the Imperial Senate, the destruction of Kamino’s cloning facilities sees a number of senators pushing for the passing of Rampart’s Defense Recruitment Bill, while Senators Pamlo and Organa argue against them. Riyo Chuchi asks why the Clone troopers are not included within the Defense Recruitment Bill and is told that they are being gradually decommissioned. Chuchi argues that the Empire has not sought to arrange care for the clones, or even consulted them about their future, and a vote on the bill is arranged for the coming days.

Senator Chuchi goes to 79’s during the day to meet with a group of clones and work out how Rampart’s bill can be adapted to help the clones. Slip is present and waits for everyone to leave before warning her that Rampart can’t be trusted, telling her that he had Kamino destroyed and is making sure that anyone who tries to tell the truth disappears or worse. As proof of what he is saying, he gives her his CT-number so that she can see his service record, which will confirm he was stationed on Rampart’s sar destroyer at the time the cities were destroyed.

Later that night, while hiding among the back alleys, Slip uses a comlink to request assistance from someone he has heard of. 

Chuchi goes to Rampart and suggests the addition of a pension plan for the clones, which he eventually agrees to. During the meeting, Chuchi asks how he survived the storm on Kamino, and he explains that he was off-planet on a training exercise. Responding to a mysterious communication, Chuchi later goes to a back alley, where the droid R2-C4 leads her to Bail Organa. The pair discuss the stir she is causing, her meeting with Rampart and his apparent lies, as Organa is suspicious about the cause of the destruction on Kamino. Chuchi tells him about Slip’s revelation, and that having confirmed his service record was as he said, she now has her guards searching for him as she wants him to testify before the senate. Organa warns that given his knowledge, others may also be searching for him.

Rampart contacts the assassin, telling him to follow Chuchi and her guards and giving him permission to kill Chuchi if she gets in the way, as long as nothing can be traced back to him.

Chuchi and her guards find Slip, and she begins trying to to convince him to testify, however the assassin has followed them and kills Slip. Both of Chuchi’s guards are killed as they help her try to escape, and the assassin continues to chase her through a deserted building, only to be stunned by a cloaked figure, who reveals himself to be Rex. Rex explains that he had come looking for Slip, and Chuchi explains everything that had happened. Rex goes to the stunned assassin and realises that they are a clone.

“You’re fighting the wrong battle, brother. You’re limited.”

“So what does that make you?”

“A believer.”

Rex takes Chuchi and the clone to a safe location and tries to interrogate the clone, however they refuse to give any information and activate an electronic suicide capsule in their mouth, killing them.

The Bad Batch are on Malastare and receive a message from Rex requesting their help on Coruscant. Making their way to the capital, they meet up with Rex and Chuchi, who bring them up to speed and show them the body of the assassin, who has no traceable markings. With Slip dead, Echo volunteers to testify to the senate about Kamino, however his status as a defector would lead to him not being believed. Rex explains that Slip made a copy of the data recorder on Rampart’s Venator and hid it on the star destroyer’s backup drives; Rex wants the team to help him retrieve this data from the Venator, which is currently being refitted at a dockyard on the planet. Chuchi arranges to attempt to garner more support within the senate while they get the evidence, and Omega decides to go with her to provide extra security.

While Omega accompanies Chuchi, the senator teaches her about the Imperial Senate and her role as a senator. They are distracted by the arrival of R2-C4. Trusting Omega, Chuchi takes her to a meeting with Bail Organa, where she updates him on her plan. Bail suggests that she also talk to the former Senator of Kamino, Halle Burtoni, and also tells her to follow the trail of money.

Meeting with Burtoni, Chuchi explains that she has looked into the finances and realised that funding for the cloning facilities had been siphoned off for a year. Burtoni initially refuses to talk, but an emotional speech from Omega convinces her to open up, though she notes that as she was previously disgraced, Chuchi will need more proof than just her word.

“I was there. I saw the Empire destroy everything and I’m angry.”

Rex and the Bad Batch successfully sneak into the dockyard and onto the bridge of Rampart’s Venator. They successfully get the evidence they need, however in order to do so, they have to power up the bridge, which leads to troopers being alerted and he team having to fight their way out. With Chuchi having made her way to the senate hearing that has already started, the team pass the evidence to Omega and one of Chuchi’s guards, who have access to the Senate Building.

In the Senate Room, Chuchi and Burtoni reveal the information that Rampart was siphoning off the funds due for the cloning system, before announcing to the Senate that the Kaminoan facilities were deliberately eliminated on Rampart’s orders, however with no evidence, Rampart pushes for the vote. Omega gets the evidence to Senator Organa’s pod, and he comes forward. The evidence is revealed to the senate, including footage of the destruction of Tipoca City.

As the senators take in the revelations, the Emperor and Mas Amedda appear. Rampart is arrested for his actions, and Palpatine notes to the Senate how the clones’ unquestioning following of his orders presents a risk to the Empire of other rogue officers using their clones in a similar way and uses the situation to push through the bill, leading to the rise of the Imperial stormtrooper.

Back at the Martez sisters’ hangar later, the Bad Batch, Rex and Chuchi discuss how Palpatine was steps ahead of them once again, using those opposing the bill to help push it through. Chuchi vows to keep fighting for the clones’ rights. The Bad Batch bid farewell to Chuchi, Rex and Echo, who has chosen to go with Rex and help him with the clones who are trying to get away from the Empire.

Review

Yes! This is the kind of content that I’ve been waiting for. Now stick at this, writers!

While “Tribe” was a step in the right direction, it was still very much a standalone episode. However this was throwing us right back into the main story (can we really call it the main story when it’s been all-but ignored so far this season?), and boy did they do it in a great way, using a similar format to the Ryloth episodes of season 1, letting the story focus on new characters to the series who we know from other shows to draw us into their situation, then bringing in the Bad Batch to help rectify the situation. It’s a great way to do it for those of us who have grown up on these shows, as it brings back some characters we are familiar with but wouldn’t have expected, allowing us to see more of their story—I always really enjoyed Riyo Chuchi so was thrilled to see her return—and giving us a whole episode to get invested in these characters and their story (and by extension the stakes!!) before bringing in the Bad Batch to do their stuff. I’m not saying the whole series should be like this, but I definitely prefer a story that can grow with each episode rather than the episodic adventure of the week that, in the case of The Bad Batch especially, has led to much of the show being a disappointment to me.

This was a great story, seamlessly bringing in a number of familiar characters in a way that benefitted the story and felt completely natural rather than cheap fan service. And all while bringing in a new clone character who we were able to immediately sympathise with. I always felt that Chuchi would be the kind of character who would side with the Rebellion, and while we don’t know that this will be the case, it was very clear that she was not going to just stand by and let the Empire have their evil way. In fact, having spent time with people like Padmé, it very much felt like she had taken up her mantle, becoming the senator who challenge those in charge and will put herself in harm’s way for those who don’t have a voice, and this felt even more the case when we saw her teaching Omega about politics, much like how Padmé had taught a young Ahsoka. I really hope that this isn’t the last we see of her, though as we have not seen her as part of the Rebel Alliance in the future, I worry what a return could involve…

The last thing I want to talk about here is Echo’s decision to leave with Rex, and while I like it, I wish we’d had a bit more of a build to it. While I loved the scene of Echo and Omega talking about meditating, it was one of the few real moments that we have had for Echo over the whole of the 2 series, and while there has been the occasional moment of Echo wanting to fight back or find somewhere to help, I can’t help feel that one extra scene that saw Echo either getting more info from Rex about what he does or discussing with the team how he wanted to do more would have just set this up a little better. As it was, while his goodbye to Omega was still emotional, it just all felt a little flat that the rest of the team just said farewell without any build-up.

“Not bad.”

“I was off by 6.4 metres. Not my best.”

A few final thoughts from the episode:

• Mas Amedda’s staff being topped with a small figure of Palpatine robed was a nice touch that amused me
• Palpatine’s quick adaptation to the latest setback (or plan for this to happen/in case this happened) was brilliant, and a great reminder that good doesn’t always win
• This better not be the end of the mysterious troopers. They appeared to get a little forgotten as the episode switched its attention to Rampart’s Venator, but there is a clear story to tell here, otherwise they could have had Crosshair return as the sniper and instead be forced to retreat rather than captured. The show needs to continue with this tone and take on more of a serial approach now rather than the episodic way it has been running. Sadly I doubt very much that will be the case from the way the Bad Batch chose not to stay and fight

Moments in Canon

“You spent years fighting for us. Let me fight for you.”

• Senator Tynnra Pamlo is seen as one of the senators arguing against Rapart’s bill. She can also be seen as a member of the Rebel Council in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• These episodes mark the first appearances of Senators Chuchi and Burtoni since The Clone Wars
• The cantina featured is 79’s, a clone cantina, where Fives escaped to and found Kix when framed for attempting to murder Chancellor Palpatine
• Though he doesn’t refer to her by name, Bail Organa mentions a contact of his, which is clearly meant to be Ahsoka Tano
• The hangar Rex takes Riyo Chuchi to belongs to Trace and Rafa Martez, who met the Bad Batch and told Rex about them in season 1
• The Empire is blaming the destruction of the Kaminoan cities on a deadly storm. They will later blame the destruction of Jedha City on a mining accident and the Tantive IV was allegedly destroyed in a meteor collision rather than captured by the Empire

What did you think of the episode?

Thanks for reading. Rebellions are built on hope….

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