This week not one but two very important episodes of The Bad Batch dropped on Disney+. Ever since the clone army was introduced in Episode II: Attack of the Clones, a mystery has persisted for years over how the Empire finally got rid of the clones all together. By the original trilogy, they had mostly been replaced by Imperial Stormtroopers. The clone army was engineered on Kamino, and their DNA originally came from Jango Fett. Jango had one exact clone of himself, Boba, whom he raised as a son until he was killed by Mace Windu.
The clones fought valiantly for The Republic alongside the Jedi during the clone wars. The Clone Wars series did wonders to help humanize the clones. While fighting under Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi, the clones were given respect instead of being treated as expendables. They all took pride in being able to take decisions instead of following orders blindly.
Unfortunately, the clones all had a chip implanted into their brains under the orders of Palpatine which activated during Order 66 and led to the destruction of the Jedi. They ended up turning against the very people they fought to protect. The surviving clones have gone through shock, denial and regrets over the events of Order 66.
Now in The Bad Batch’s two most recent episodes, writers have cleverly revealed how Palpatine made the case to swiftly do away with the clones. Admiral Rampart did his part by destroying Kamino, under orders, of course. The Bad Batch’s efforts to expose Rampart seemingly backfired, and Palpatine, as usual, being several steps ahead of everyone else, manipulated the situation in front of the Senate. Palpatine made the case on the basis of the clones following orders blindly to help Rampart destroy Kamino, and argued that it’s the right time the Empire builds an army of stormtroopers who have sworn loyalty to them. The “Defense Recruitment Bill” became the final nail in the coffin for the clones, leaving them all without a purpose and with almost no means of survival.
Clone Force 99 ends up feeling responsible for the fate of their own brothers. Senator Chuchi is now the only hope the clones have left of getting some kind of compensation for years of serving in the military. However, it seems unlikely that she will be able to make much headway, given how things unfold as we move forward in the Star Wars timeline. It doesn’t seem like the clones receive any monetary or even medical benefits for their service. Surviving clones in Star Wars Rebels are obviously struggling to make ends meet. In Obi Wan Kenobi, a clone is shown begging on the streets of Daiyu.
Thanks to the exceptional writing and emotional story telling in this week’s episodes of The Bad Batch, we now have a thoroughly satisfying explanation for the events that led to the end of the clone trooper and the ushering in of the era of the Imperial Stormtroopers.