Star Wars: The Bad Batch bridges many of the Star Wars television shows with recurring characters from other series. For example, we’ve seen the likes of Fennec Shand, Captain Rex and (most recently), even Hera Syndulla in the series.
But The Bad Batch is also creating many new, original characters along the way. There’s new Bad Batcher Omega, who is the only known female clone in the Star Wars canon. Then, there’s Rampart, the Imperial admiral who serves under Tarkin. And in episode 11 “Devil’s Deal,” we were introduced to clone Captain Howzer.
Like most clones, it’s safe to say he was created on the planet Kamino and was brought up to serve the Grand Army of the Republic. And in episode 11, we see that he now serves under the Empire, as almost all clones do. But there’s something more to this clone compared to all the others…
The Bad Batch’s Captain Howzer
The interesting thing about Howzer is that he seems a little more friendly than most of the clones at this time. As we know, when the call for Order 66 was made, the clones became obedient, as their inhibitor chips were activated. This is what caused the clones to turn on the Jedi, who fought alongside them. And despite most of the clones’ best intentions to do what’s right before they were mind-controlled, they now follow and serve the Empire without question.
We know the likes of the Bad Batch and Rex no longer have this problem because their chips are removed. (And Omega never had one.) But what about Howzer? When speaking to General Cham Syndulla (father of Hera), Howzer seems a little too polite. He returns Hera home after finding her sneaking about, but he says he won’t report the incident to his Imperial superiors.
Then, something even more suspicious happens. At the end of episode 11, Rampart has Hera’s parents arrested, and Hera herself escapes in a ship. But when Rampart tells Howzer and his men to find Hera and capture her, Howzer seems hesitant to do it.
Is it possible that Captain Howzer is responsible for Hera surviving long after this incident? It just may be, and that all indicates that something must be up with Howzer himself, never fully being affected by his inhibitor chip. It seems like he’s done a good job so far of playing it cool (as he’s expressed that things are now different with the clones), but we hope his skepticism to serve the Empire won’t end up getting him in trouble.
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