All is not well on Ryloth. Admiral Rampart has made his way to the Twi’lek world and has made it clear that the Empire is there to bring order to the world after so much struggle, a notion that the cowardly and corrupt Governor Taa agrees with wholeheartedly, while Cham Syndulla, the notorious Twi’lek freedom fighter, has his reservations. But in the interests of the people, Cham goes forward with the idea that the Empire is there to bring stability, though Gobi Glie isn’t so certain and continues to keep smuggling weapons to Ryloth so that their people have something to defend themselves with, as the Empire has demanded that the Ryloth natives hand over their weaponry. Those that have been around for a while know very well that this is how the Empire managed to weaken so many systems since those without weapons are easier to prey upon. But at certain points in the rise of the Empire, it was a little easier for the Imperials to convince the inhabitants of many planets that they meant to bring peace and stability to their worlds.
There isn’t much to see of the clones in this episode as the only time they show up is when they’re unloading a shipment of weaponry to Gobi. At that point, Cham’s daughter Hera, who shows up later in Rebels obviously, has a discussion with Omega about flying, and after that, the part of the clones is done in this episode as they’re not about to take part in an insurrection. It’s probably best they didn’t since Gobi and those with him were caught upon returning to Ryloth, as Admiral Rampart brought Crosshair with him, and the clone’s skills are just as sharp as ever as he not only made it impossible for Gobi to touch down with the weapons, but he also made it possible for the Imperial forces to counter the attacks of Cham and the few rebels with him that sought to hijack an armored transport to free their captured companions, which included Hera.
After all, is said and done though, the Empire does capture Cham and the others, while Hera escapes. Governor Taa is killed by Admiral Rampart after having ‘served his purpose’, and Cham and his people are taken into custody. Thus goes another story in the rise of the Empire, in which a group of characters finds that the Imperial grip is tighter and more deceptive than they realized. With the Separatists, it was different since most of the time people were fighting droids and their overlords, but in the current struggle, people don’t have a clear enemy unless they can see them coming from a mile off. In the Star Wars universe that’s kind of tough since it would appear that a lot of people are out to do for themselves. The general feeling in Star Wars is that during the rise of the Empire, things looked pretty bleak for a lot of people since the sudden imposition of an Empire that was set to take over every aspect of life wasn’t what a lot of people had been fighting for during the Clone Wars.
The Clone Wars lasted so long that one has to remember that a lot of worlds were torn apart as the in-fighting and the fights that went on against the Separatists were so draining that some planets couldn’t really keep up and their inhabitants were either wiped out, enslaved, or suffered worse fates. The Bad Batch is just one show that’s bound to deliver the aftermath of the Clone Wars since it’s been seen that the destruction that’s been caused by the problems that have arisen have touched upon many planets in a very big way. The fact that the clones didn’t help out this time around likely means that they didn’t know enough about what was happening on Ryloth or they didn’t figure that it was worth their sacrifice since taking on the Empire is a daunting process. This could have been a way to link this show to Rebels at some point, though how the continuity is going to work has yet to be seen fully since there are a lot of moving parts to be sorted as of yet.
What’s evident is that Admiral Rampart and Crosshair still have a pretty big part to play in the clones’ story since seeing them pop up again is evidence that they’re going to keep being a nuisance as the Empire continues to expand its influence, but one has to wonder when Crosshair will outlive his usefulness. At the present, it still doesn’t feel that Rampart has a lot of respect for the clones, and would gladly sacrifice most of them in order to create a new force of stormtroopers that are more to his liking.
Follow Us
