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Warning: SPOILERS for the Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode “Battle Scars” are ahead!
Star Wars: The Bad Batch has featured quite a few familiar faces from the Star Wars universe during its run so far. In the last few weeks alone, we briefly reunited with Jabba the Hutt’s majordomo Bib Fortuna in “Rampage,” while “Decommissioned” brought back sisters Trace and Rafa Martez following their introduction in The Clone Wars Season 7. And speaking of that series, this week’s Bad Batch episode, “Battle Scars,” brought fellow clone Captain Rex, one of the The Clone Wars’ primary characters, back into the picture to help Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Echo with getting rid of their Order 66 programming.
After completing another mission for Cid at the start of “Battle Scars,” the Bad Batch were surprised to see Rex at the Trandoshan’s establishment. It turns out that Rex was the mysterious individual who Trace and Rafa contacted at the end of “Decommissioned,” and while Rex was initially glad to reunite with some of his fellow clones who hadn’t succumbed to their inhibitor chips, he immediately became cautious upon learning that they still had the chips in their heads. Having seen firsthand how the inhibitor chips can overwrite a clone’s personality and force them to carry out Order 66, Rex recommended that the Batch remove the chips from their bodies as soon as possible.
Agreeing to Rex’s recommendation, the Bad Batch traveled to Bracca, a starship graveyard planet, to find a Venator-class Star Destroyer to find the proper medical bay to remove their inhibitor chips the same way Rex had his removed by Ahsoka Tano. It was a journey fraught with peril, from avoiding Scrapper Guild patrols to Wrecker nearly being killed by some tentacled monstrosity, but eventually they reached their destination, and Wrecker was the first to undergo the procedure. A wise decision, as weeks after hitting his head and suffering recurring headaches, “Decommissioned” showed Wrecker unconsciously muttering “Good soldiers follow orders” before waking up.
However, right before the procedure began, Wrecker’s agitation resulted in his Order 66 programming fully activating, and he subsequently attacked his teammates and Omega. If it wasn’t for a well-timed stun blast from Rex, Wrecker would have killed the young female clone, but thankfully that didn’t happen. “Battle Scars” ended with Wrecker, Hunter, Tech and Echo finally being freed from their chips, and Rex bid the squad adieu to the squad to continue his heroic journey (we know where he ultimately ends up thanks to Star Wars Rebels) while they still figure out their place in the universe. Unfortunately, the Batch’s location has now been passed along to the Empire after they were spotted by the Scrapper Guild, but that’s a story for next week.
Unfortunately, there’s still one member of the original Bad Batch whose inhibitor chip is still intact. Unlike the squad’s other members, Crosshair was partially affected by Order 66 when it was activated by Palpatine, resulting in him nearly killing Caleb Dume, a.k.a. the future Kanan Jarrus. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Admiral Tarkin had Crosshair’s chip enhanced, so now he’s carrying out the will of the Empire and has no problem with capturing or killing his former teammates. Whether Crosshair’s Order 66 programming will eventually be wiped away or if he’s permanently on Team Empire remains to be seen, but at least the Batch knows there’s a way to remove his chip should they find a way to subdue him when their paths cross again.
New episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch premiere Fridays on Disney+, so make sure you’re subscribed to the streaming service to follow along. And as always, keep visiting CinemaBlend for the latest and greatest news concerning Star Wars movies and TV shows.
