‘The Bad Batch’s Final Season Completely Fumbled the Cloning Plotline

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the series finale of ‘The Bad Batch’.

The Big Picture

• Emperor Palpatine’s cloning experiments and Project Necromancer are explored in
  The Bad Batch
  Season 3.
• The sacrifice of characters in
  The Bad Batch
  ultimately doesn’t prevent Palpatine’s plans from moving forward.
• The show raises more questions about Palpatine’s cloning technology and fails to provide a concrete explanation for his resurrection.

One of the greatest strengths of the Star Wars animated series has been their ability to fill in thematic and narrative gaps within the live-action film saga, enriching the franchise as a whole. Star Wars: The Clone Wars was able to fully realize the devastation that consumed the galaxy in between the last two installments of the prequel trilogy, and Star Wars Rebels shows how the brave leaders of the original trilogy first began striking out against the Galactic Empire. While its primary goal was fleshing out the perspective of the clone soldiers after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Bad Batch offered some background on the “Project Necromancer” storyline from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The Rise of Skywalker made the controversial decision to reveal that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) had survived his presumed death on the second Death Star by transferring his consciousness to a series of cloned bodies. Beyond the inherently uncreative premise, the notion of Palpatine’s resurrection presented many logical gaps within the Star Wars continuity that subsequent shows have attempted to explain. Although the cloning storyline took precedence within the final season, The Bad Batch did not offer any conclusive explanation as to how Palpatine returned.

How Does ‘The Bad Batch’ Connect to ‘The Rise of Skywalker?’

McDiarmid himself made only a few vocal cameos throughout the series, but Palpatine’s actions had a considerable impact on the events of The Bad Batch. It’s only shortly after the clones are ordered to execute their Jedi leaders that the “Bad Batch” members, Echo, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech, become aware that their fellow brother-in-arms are inhibited by chips placed within their heads. The more shocking revelation isn’t that the clones have been made Palpatine’s personal execution squad, but that his interest in cloning doesn’t involve them at all. Palpatine plans to use a new program that enlists and brainwashes recruits from across the galaxy to become stormtroopers; however, the advent of cloning technology may allow him to prolong his lifespan so that he can live long past his mortal body’s limits.

Palpatine conducts research on the mysterious fortress of Mount Tantiss, where the ruthless Imperial scientist Doctor Hemlock (Jimmi Simpson) performs experiments on force-sensitive children in order to advance “Project Necromancer.” The facility draws the attention of the Bad Batch when their young ally Omega (Michelle Ang) is kidnapped because she is the first force-sensitive clone. While the series was heading towards a resolution that showed Palpatine’s years of foresight, all research conducted on Mount Tantiss is lost when the facility is destroyed. The Bad Batch escape with Omega after shooting and killing Hemlock. Although the former Imperial officer Rampart (Noshir Dalal) briefly tries to steal the research for himself in order to profit, he is killed when the Kaminoan scientist Nala Se (Gwendoline Yeo) chooses to activate a thermal detonator to ensure her species’ technology doesn’t fall into the hands of the Empire.

Given that the Bad Batch themselves end up taking a break from galactic conflict at the end of the series, it makes sense that they were largely ignorant as to why Omega was really of value to the Empire. However, the destruction of Mount Tantiss suggests that Palpatine’s research was stalled. When Governor Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) analyzes the wreckage, he decides to divert all further Imperial funding to the development of “Project Stardust,” which Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had revealed as the codename of the Death Star plans named for Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones). It appears that, despite his high rank within the Imperial leadership, Tarkin has no knowledge of Palpatine’s true intentions.

‘The Bad Batch’ Negates Its Characters’ Sacrifice

The Bad Batch was able to finally give the clones the story that they deserved because, for the first time, they weren’t following orders dictated to them by the Republic or Empire. The final storyline of The Bad Batch allowed Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair to inspire the clones held captive on Mount Tantiss to rise against their Imperial captors and ensure that Palpatine’s experiments were brought to a halt. Unfortunately, the clones’ sacrifice didn’t end up dissuading Palpatine from experimenting on test subjects. While the destruction of Mount Tantiss may have put a slight hurdle within his plans, he clearly found a way to access the technology by the time that he returned in The Rise of Skywalker.

Tragic ironies may be intrinsic to the clones’ stories, but The Bad Batch also negates the sacrifice made by Nala Se. The Kaminoan leader first introduced in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones had one of the most surprising heroic arcs; she became a mentor to Omega, and realized that her people needed to take responsibility for their cloning technology. Nala Se may have lost her life by destroying the Kaminoan research, but it apparently didn’t stop Palpatine from developing a different sort of cloning program. This makes Nala Se’s sacrifice less emotional, as in the grand scheme of the franchise, it doesn’t change anything.

‘The Bad Batch’ Only Raises More Questions About Project Necromancer

The Bad Batch did suggest that Palpatine’s resurrection in The Rise of Skywalker was the result of years of planning ahead, but it still doesn’t offer any clues as to where Palpatine’s cloning technology came from. The destruction of Mount Tantiss suggests that Palpatine had to use a different means of finding a way to transfer his consciousness, but if this is the case, it remains odd as to why it was ever a storyline in The Bad Batch to begin with. Considering that The Bad Batch concluded by teasing Omega’s role in the future Rebel Alliance, the efforts made to explain “Project Necromancer” only felt like a distraction.

In the years since The Rise of Skywalker’s release, Star Wars shows have tried and failed to justify Palpatine’s return by foreshadowing the development of the First Order. The origins of “Project Necromancer” were teased within the third season of The Mandalorian, but a concrete explanation for the franchise’s most absurd resurrection has yet to be revealed.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

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