Get ready for spoilers if you haven’t seen the first part of the finale for The Bad Batch, since things have heated up in a way that was kind of expected but at the same time ended in one of the only ways that it could have. During the end of the last episode, we saw that Hunter had been taken captive and was being taunted by Crosshair, who had been hunting his fellow clones and was still intent on getting all of them. But we also saw that the Empire was in the process of closing down Kamino and slowly but surely wiping away any proof that the clones had ever existed, which included replacing the regulars (the clones) with their own stormtroopers, highly-trained humans that did not come from vats and were from all over the galaxy, recruits that believed in and would follow the Empire. It’s an odd decision to make over the type of loyalty that was gained with an inhibitor chip, but the Empire was adamant about phasing out the clones for their own reasons, and they were no doubt counting on fear of their wrath and the conveniently short memories of so many to eradicate the clones’ existence.
It doesn’t take Hunter long to realize that the clones have been replaced and that the absence of the Kaminoans means that they’re heading for an endgame that the Empire has been devising for a while. The only thing is, Hunter knows that Crosshair will be eliminated as well since the Empire takes no chances when it comes to eliminating anyone who could be a threat to them. Crosshair is so convinced that being a good soldier will keep him relevant and useful that he appears to have missed the idea that Vice Admiral Rampart would gladly shoot him where he stood, or have someone else do it, once Crosshair’s usefulness was no longer apparent.
This kind of helps to define the difference between a warrior and a soldier, since many people tend to think that they’re one and the same. In a number of ways they are, but the warrior seeks to fulfill a purpose, and that is to pit themselves against the odds time and again in the glorious purpose that is war. The soldier is there to pray for peace and prepare for war. While the clones were once the spear that was meant to bring peace, they were forced to become the soldiers that fought for a cause and a life that wasn’t really their own. In The Bad Batch, the soldiers have been forced to evolve once again into something that’s not fully warrior but also not entirely soldier. If there’s anyone that has embraced the soldier’s way of life, it’s Crosshair, as he’s devoted to the Empire, while his former companions have swung in the other direction, becoming mercenaries with a code of honor but no firm ties to anyone but themselves. In other words, where once all five clones were warriors and soldiers by design, Crosshair remained a soldier, while Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Echo became wandering warriors that continuously toss the dice so to speak as they test their luck in an uncaring galaxy that will eat them alive if they’re not vigilant.
But near the end of the episode, it does feel likely that there will be hope for Crosshair, and that perhaps in the next season he’ll be given another chance. With his inhibitor chip already out of the picture, it’s become evident that Crosshair believes that serving the Empire is the best move, but considering his actions in the training simulator it does appear that he’s conflicted. With one more episode to go for the season, there are already plenty of people drawing their own conclusions and making predictions for the next season, which will happen apparently since this show was never meant to be the one-and-done type. Where it will head off to next and whether the Empire will continue to hunt down the clones is difficult to say, especially with the way this episode ended. This season has been such a rollercoaster in terms of the things that the clones have had to do to stay alive, the jobs they’ve had to take on in order to help Cid, and the stress that’s come from evading the Empire, that one might think they would want to disappear for a while.
That’s not bound to happen in season 2 though, since the clones are more likely to find a reason to ally with Rex at some point in order to do something that might actually make a difference in the galaxy. And since their time on Ryloth, it’s evident that they still have the skills to get into and out of a place while making a very impressive exit.
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