Ever since The Bad Batch was first announced, fans have been expecting the show to feature a variety of familiar characters. Taking place in the earliest days of the Empire, there are many familiar characters who can be meaningfully and seamlessly incorporated into the story. Beyond the members of the Bad Batch, the premiere did this with appearances from Wilhuff Tarkin, Saw Gerrera, and even a young Caleb Dume.
While the show’s second episode “Cut and Run” told a smaller-scale story, it did feature the return of a memorable character, one that fans haven’t seen since the second season of The Clone Wars. The character in question is Cut Lawquane, who was first introduced in The Clone Wars episode “The Deserter.”
Like all the clone troopers, Cut Lawquane was created and trained on Kamino with the purpose of serving in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He was a loyal soldier who believed in his purpose.
His worldview and identity were forever altered when Separatist gunships shot down a transport he was on with his fellow clones. The Separatist droids then boarded the crashed transport and murdered all the surviving clones. Cut knew there was no hope if he stayed on the transport. He fled so he could survive.
Having lost everyone he cared about and feeling like his life had no meaning and that he was nothing more than an expendable soldier, he deserted the Grand Army of the Republic. He made a new, peaceful life for himself on the planet Saleucami where he married a Twi’lek named Suu and became the father to two children named Jek and Shaeeah.
When the Clone Wars came to Saleucami, Cut and his family helped the injured Captain Rex. When Rex first encountered his fellow clone, Rex thought Cut was a coward. As Rex got to know him better and as they fought side-by-side to defend Cut’s family from Separatist droids, Rex realized that Cut wasn’t a coward — he was an individual living the life he wanted and standing up for what he believed in. Cut and Rex came to understand and respect each other. Cut even offered Rex a place in their home. Rex declined this, but he did choose not to report Cut’s desertion.
At some point, Cut and his family met the Bad Batch and became friendly with them. In “Cut and Run,” Hunter comments on how he forgot what a good shot Suu was, and Jek and Shaeeah are overjoyed to see their “Uncle Wrecker.”
With their life purpose upended and on the run, the Bad Batch turning to Cut for help makes a lot of sense. While Cut’s circumstances were different, his life purpose was also upended, and he had to find a way to start over and make a new life for himself.
Cut’s personal growth shows the Bad Batch that it is possible to start over and forge a new, meaningful path. He and Suu also provide some invaluable insight into what it means to be a parent. Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch will benefit greatly from this wisdom as they move forward with taking care of the young Omega.