Star Wars: The Clone Wars: 3 best moments from the Bad Batch arc

3. Anakin’s Dark Side

With these episodes taking place so close to the events of Revenge of the Sith, it only makes sense to have moments showing Anakin getting closer to fully turning to the dark side. His transformation in that film didn’t magically happen overnight, but was largely influenced by the events of the Clone Wars.

Episodes from past seasons touched on this before, such as when Anakin began Force-choking Rush Clovis.

The final episode of the Bad Batch arc shows Anakin giving in to the dark side when he confronts Admiral Trench. Feeling confident that the nobility of the Jedi would prevent Anakin from going to extreme measures, Trench initially refused to give Anakin the information he needed.

Trench grievously underestimated the situation as Anakin proceeded to sever three of Trench’s six arms. Shortly after relaying the information to Mace Windu, Anakin plunged his lightsaber through Trench’s chest and made a joke about it “being a pleasure” as he left the Separatist leader to die.

Anakin’s intentions are justified here, but the way he goes about the matter is more questionable. Unless he got the last number needed to deactivate the bomb on Anaxes, many lives would be lost and the loss of shipyards might even cause the Republic to lose the war. Also, Anakin only killed Trench after Trench tried to kill him.

It’s still fascinating to see Anakin losing patience and casting aside the norms of the Jedi. He hasn’t fully embraced the dark side yet, but he’s inching ever closer to becoming Darth Vader.