Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 episode 7 review : “The Clone Conspiracy”
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 episode 7 “The Clone Conspiracy”
When several recent reviews and critiques have been calling for The Bad Batch to give us more details on how the Republic turns into the Galatic Empire, “The Clone Conspiracy” answers that call and turns the intensity up to a full ten. This episode builds off many characters that were built up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and uses them to display the internal turmoil that is happening as the emperor seeks to pass the bill that will create the infamous stormtroopers. Unfortunately, a few grisly details are known by the troopers that executed and now Slip wants to expose this genocidal act. Then enters the Pantoran Senator Chuchi to fight for justice.
The Return of Senator Chuchi
Senator Chuchi has worked with Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker, and Ashoka Tano during her time as one of the senate’s youngest. Their influence, combined with the influence of Padme and Bail, seems to have motivated her to look into what has happened to the clones after the end of the war. When she starts pushing back against Admiral Rampart’s bill she meets Slip, who is understandably paranoid after his friend, Cade, was killed by a mysterious attacker.
Despite his fear, he reaches out to Senator Chuchi and tells her the truth about what happened to Kamino. As she dives deeper into the truth she is contacted by Bail Organa who warns her that she may be in danger while supporting her quest. As Slip attempts to leave the planet, we see that they are attacked by the mysterious figure once again.
Captain Rex to the Rescue
As the senator’s guards fall around her, Captain Rex steps out of the shadows and saves her. That is where this episode really speeds up with the revelation that the attacker is a clone who calls himself “a believer” and proceeds to commit suicide. That level of devotion seems genuine (not created by the chips) and is distinct from what we have seen out of most of the clones thus far.
The appearance of Rex makes sense as he has contacts on Coruscant, and has a previous connection with Senator Chuchi. His and Senator Chuchi appearances also don’t feel like fanservice as they are uniquely situated to solve this problem with the new bill. The inclusion of an important ethical issue (that is, the fact that the clones ought to be citizens) alongside a compelling Star Wars storyline is positively reminiscent of Star Wars: The Clone Wars but takes advantage of the new setting that Bad Batch has to offer.
Final Thoughts
This episode checks all of the boxes that one could ask it to check. We get to see several character arcs continue on during the Imperial era, we see an issue that is both important to the real world and the Star Wars universe, plus a surprise bit of action. The fact that some clones are feverishly devoted to the Empire is not news that we may have wanted, but we can not expect all the clones to be as wise as the Bad Batch or Rex. This episode not only moves the plot along, but it is also a joy to watch that answers all the right questions while leaving the audience hungry for more.
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