Review: ‘The Bad Batch’ Episodes 7 and 8 – ‘The Clone Conspiracy’ and ‘Truth & Consequences’ Are a Tense Political Thriller
The Bad Batch uses its mid-season double bill to take a break from the last few “mission of the week” stories and to return the season’s central narrative — the clone army getting phased out by the Empire.
Returning to this storyline gives the writers an opportunity to do something a little bit different, but certainly still within Star Wars‘ wheelhouse. As a result, the two-parter is written as a political thriller with the Empire gearing up for a vote to pass their Defense Recruitment Bill.
The bill is threatened when certain senators start getting word that the destruction of Kamino’s Tipoca City was a deliberate act, and the arc gets more tense as the mystery unfolds. The more senators learn, the more danger they are in as Admiral Rampart seeks to keep word of what happened quiet by any means necessary. As they are not proficient in combat, any attempt on their lives feels tenfold more dangerous than when we’re watching the Bad Batch themselves.
Speaking of the Bad Batch, they don’t actually get involved in this storyline until quite a way through it, similar to their role in the Ryloth arc from the first season. That makes sense in context of this story, but what surprised me is that Crosshair is completely absent. I was certain that he would show up here in a story that concerns the future of all clones in the Empire, but he’s nowhere to be found. It’s a bizarre decision, as there’s a clear opportunity to insert him into the story that isn’t taken.
I can only hope that means showrunner Jennifer Corbett has a plan and we’ll find out Crosshair has been busy doing something particularly fascinating. It’s been nearly a month since we last saw him now, and I’m eager to see what he’s up to.
Either way, The Clone Conspiracy and Truth & Consequences are fascinating episodes with a surprisingly satisfying payoff. They are unskippable episodes of The Bad Batch — I was thrilled from beginning to end.
Spoilers ahead…
The Clone Conspiracy saw the return of a notable Clone Wars character in Pantoran Senator Riyo Chuchi, once again voiced by veteran voice actress Jennifer Hale (who Knights of the Old Republic fans may also recognize as the voice of Bastila Shan). While I was happy to see her return for her first appearance since Ahsoka Tano’s trial in season 5 of The Clone Wars, I had her marked down for death as soon as she got wind of the Kamino conspiracy.
It was a smart move bringing her back over a senator more important to Star Wars lore like Mon Mothma. Riyo is a likeable character who’s not too central to the main plot, so could easily be sacrificed as the Empire work to cover up the truth. This meant I was pretty easily surprised by the end of these episodes. I absolutely did not expect her to survive, let alone get to uncover the conspiracy in the senate for everyone to see!
Still, I did think Senator Chuchi came across as hopelessly naïve at times. Until Rex announced his arrival by saving her life, it seemed clear as day that she was out of her depth. She had deluded herself into believing that democracy still thrived in the Empire, underestimating the danger she was in. Perhaps her youth allows her to keep that hopeful optimism, but I expected a bright young senator like her to be smarter than that.
The episode hit all the right notes of a political thriller, with a mysterious assassin taking out anyone threatening to expose the conspiracy and an increasingly frenzied witness terrified for his life. It seemed clear that Crosshair would be the assassin eliminating the traitorous clones on Rampart’s orders, wearing new armor so he wouldn’t be identified, so I was surprised that the assassin was revealed to just be a regular clone — apparently called “Sniper X” according to Lucasfilm — who still believed that good soldiers follow orders.
It seemed so obvious that Crosshair was the assassin that I’m a little confused as to why they didn’t use him. Of course if they did, they wouldn’t have had him bite down on that electrocution capsule in his teeth (another staple of a political thriller/detective story). But it would have been easy to have him simply escape captivity in the Martez sisters’ garage. There must be another plan for Crosshair.
Admittedly, once Riyo was running from the assassin by herself I realized she would survive; it was clear at that point that she was the main player in the story and there was no way she’d get snuffed out before someone else got involved in the investigation. It did betray some of the dramatic tension that the episode had so meticulously crafted until that point.
Thankfully, that’s where Rex came in. He was teased over the comm speaking to the clone Slip, which prevented him from being introduced as a deus ex machina and his reveal immediately spiked my excitement, papering over any loss of dramatic tension regarding Riyo. It was a great ending to the episode and set up the Bad Batch’s involvement in Truth & Consequences.
Hunter had some understandable concerns about returning to Coruscant, but the team quickly accepted Rex’s mission. It’s always great to see Coruscant again — watching the senate in session was particularly fascinating as someone desperate for more insight on how the senate functioned in the early days of the Empire — and journeying there at this point in the timeline always carries great risk, especially for rogue clones.
The decision to split Omega off from the group to accompany Senator Chuchi was a strange one, as I doubt she’d be able to protect her if Rampart decided to send another assassin after her, but admittedly it did give Omega an important opportunity to see more of the galaxy and learn how it works (she didn’t even know what Coruscant was before this mission). It was also important for her to represent the clones during Riyo’s conversation with the shady Halle Burtoni, who previously represented Kamino’s interests in the Republic Senate.
While Burtoni was a villainous character in The Clone Wars, seeking to prolong the war at any cost, she did appear convinced by Omega’s plea to act as a witness in the interest of the clones. Considering that she no longer claimed to care about the remaining Kaminoans scattered to the winds, I’m surprised that she agreed to help. But then, Omega’s plea was very passionate, so maybe that emotion convinced her. That, or the opportunity to make the Empire pay for destroying her home and livelihood.
The decision to have Omega freely walk the halls of the Senate building threatened to backfire when she came into direct contact with Admiral Rampart. I thought Rampart might recognize her considering her alliance with the Bad Batch, but apparently not. His arrogance meant that he’d already forgotten about her, but it made for a tense conversation nevertheless.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team joined Rex on a mission to recover Admiral Rampart’s navigational data from his Venator, currently being retrofitted in the Imperial shipping yards. This was more of the standard action we’ve come to expect from The Bad Batch, though I really enjoyed the initial stealthy approach. Having them cling on to a loading speeder to get close to the Venator was a great idea, reminding us about Wrecker’s fear of heights. There was an element of tension at every turn in these episodes.
However, the team were inevitably discovered and had to fight their way out the vessel with the data. It was never acknowledged if any of the troopers recognized them, but considering they only stunned their enemies, I figure it’s only a matter of time before news of their survival leaks out to the rest of the Empire.
The data reaches Senator Chuchi just in time (via a helping hand from Bail Organa) for her to show a full recording of Admiral Rampart’s ships bombarding Kamino. I never expected this to happen, as it’s a pretty massive scandal to lay at the feet of the Empire so early into Palpatine’s reign. Honestly, I had always assumed the Empire would cover it up so this was a thrilling moment. I had no idea what would happen next.
However, Palpatine was immediately on hand to twist the situation into his favor. Kevin Kiner’s music was fantastic, setting an ominous tone as the Emperor’s podium rose up into the centre of the Senate Arena. The Sith Lord with back-up plans for his back-up plans was masterful in spinning the situation to his advantage, quickly throwing Admiral Rampart under the bus by accusing him of acting on his own. He suggests that the clones’ programming to follow orders no matter what helped lead to this disaster, and that perhaps having troopers that think for themselves would prevent this from happening again.
It’s a convenient excuse that we all know is hogwash; thinking for themselves is not a quality that stormtroopers are known for. Ian McDiarmid gives a wonderful delivery though, managing to sound just barely reasonable even while using his full Darth Sidious voice. It’s also delightful to see Admiral Rampart finally get his just rewards, spectacularly falling from grace on a galactic stage.
Of course, it’s revealed in The Clone Conspiracy that the plan to phase out all the clones was not necessarily Rampart’s idea. His talks with Mas Amedda suggest that both he and Palpatine really want this to happen. It’s not a stretch to imagine that this idea came from the top, but Rampart is the one being sacrificed so it can happen.
The final story development comes right at the end, as Echo announces that he is leaving the Bad Batch! It was seeded in the season premiere that Echo is desperate to join the fight and help his former brothers. The rest of the team aren’t as attached to the “regs”, but we know Tech would also like to be more active against the Empire. After Omega’s passionate defence of the clones this week, I can’t imagine it will be long before she starts pressuring Hunter to do more as well.
I don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Echo; he’ll almost certainly be back for the season finale, when the whole team should be reunited and on the same page. Who knows, now that there’s a free space on the team, perhaps we’ll see the return of Crosshair for a bit…
Even though the original Bad Batch team doesn’t play a major role in the two episodes, The Clone Conspiracy and Truth & Consequences are a vital part of Star Wars lore, showing us how stormtroopers officially began to replace clone troopers in the Galactic Empire. The story was skillfully told as a tense political thriller full of excitement and drama, the latest installment in a strong season of The Bad Batch.
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
