Rampart pushes for the passing of the Defense Recruitment Bill, a bill that would authorize the military recruitment of Imperial citizens, which would officially discard the Clones. A Clone by the name of Slip approaches Senator Riyo Chuchi for help, after his friend Cade is assassinated for threatening Rampart with telling the truth about what really happened to Kamino. Chuchi launches her own investigation, while an increasingly desperate Rampart tries to cover his tracks.
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The Clone assassin's name is Clone X, as revealed by the Databank.
- Armor-Piercing Question: The clones that Chuchi meets with are initially dismissive of her offer of pensions and retirement, wanting to go on fighting; Chuchi pointedly asks what they'll do when they grow too old to fight. The Clones have no answer as they know they were simply made to, and they become much more willing to hear Chuchi out.
- The Atoner: Cade (and, it's implied, many other Clones who took part) feels immense guilt and regret for following Rampart's orders to destroy Tipoca City and the rest of Kamino. Cade's attempt to make things right is what gets him killed and sets off the plot.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Cade is killed by a sniper who later reports to Rampart, implying that it's Crosshair, simply wearing a different outfit. Once Rex stuns and unmasks him, however, the assassin is revealed to be an unfamiliar Reg.
- When Slip puts out a distress signal to someone, asking them to come and retrieve him, it's easy to assume he's contacting the Bad Batch. It instead turns out to be Captain Rex, with the Bad Batch not appearing at all.
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: While desperately fleeing from the assassin in a steam-filled factory, Chuchi suddenly runs into an armored figure shrouded in the steam, seemingly the assassin. She can do nothing but cower as the figure raises its blaster and... stuns the assassin, who was standing behind her. The figure then steps out of the steam and reveals himself to be Captain Rex.
- Blatant Lies: Rampart is revealed to have blamed the destruction of Kamino on a particularly bad storm while he was away on a training exercise offworld. As Bail Organa points out, Tipoca City in particular was designed to be submersible and had endured thousands of past storms without a problem. Rampart also promises to provide supplies for the Clones, even though he secretly wants them all phased out with the new bill.
- Boring, but Practical: When Chuchi starts talking about retirement plans and pensions the clone are at first not interested. They have spent years fighting in epic battles with the fate of the galaxy on the line. It's not until Chuchi reminds them that they can't be soldiers forever and due to their accelerated aging they have less time than most. Though boring, issues like pension plans are a practical and important issue for soldiers.
- Both Sides Have a Point: The Senate fiercely debates about the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, which Admiral Rampart is trying to pass. The supportersnote saying that insurgents that hate the Empire's prosperity and the peace it brings to the Galaxy have grown in number lately and that the Clones will be too old to combat them properly, thus they need to be decommissioned and have their Stromtrooper successors do the fighting. The opposition, on the other handnote , say that with the Clone Wars brought to an end, they should focus on other pressing matters, such as giving a retirement plan for the Clones, rather than make a new army.
- Call-Back: Senator Chuchi returns and showcases her empathy for all life by being one of the few politicians in the Senate actively advocating for Clone rights.
- Call-Forward:
- Palpatine clearly doesn't care what the Senate does as long as they don't get in the way of projects he wants done such as the Stormtrooper program, since he's ultimately just an absolute tyrant. In A New Hope, he will disband the Senate once the Death Star is fully operational to remove the bureaucracy of the Senate with only his regional governors who report to him having any power in the galaxy besides his.
- Bail mentions how the Emperor is afraid of the reports of insurgents throughout the Mid and Outer Rim despite all the power he has. Karis Nemik's manifesto will later wax about how for all the Empire violently oppresses its people, it's from a place of fear of losing its power due to such tyranny simply not being the norm.
- On the same beat, Mas Amedda claims that Palpatine trusts the Senate to handle the governing of the legislative body. This and the following episode will show that it's all a farce as Palpatine is still absolutely in charge and can easily turn any Senate delays in his favor. Jayhold Beehaz will one day discuss how the Empire has managed to give many of its citizens the illusion of control in order to keep them in line, much like how Palpatine is content to let the Senate squabble among itself until it threatens to stymie his plans.
- The Clone Sniper uses a electronic cyanide pill to avoid giving up information to the enemy, which is what an Imperial Captain under Moff Gideon’s command will do years later to avoid giving Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians information on Gideon’s whereabouts.
- Senator Pamlo of Taris (the planet that got bombarded in Knights of the Old Republic), who will be one of the supporters of the Rebel Alliance seen in Rogue One, appears in the Imperial Senate.
- Continuity Nod:
- Cade and Slip's conversation takes place at 79's, the clone bar Fives retreated to after Palpatine framed him for attempted assassination.
- Captain Rex takes the assassin to the Martez sisters' garage for interrogation, explaining to Chuchi that the owners are "away for a little bit", reflecting how the last time we saw them, they were busy running errands for the nascent Rebel Alliance.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Dealing with the question of "And Then What?" for all Clone Troopers isn't too different from real life veterans struggling to find life and work if/when they return from war or overall duty.
- Dramatic Irony:
- The Commerce Guild Senator says that when the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill has been passed, the Imperial Army will be comprised of people who fight for the people. Of course, the new conscripted Stormtroopers would fight FOR the people who support the Empire, but would terrorize the people who oppose it.
- One of the Clones mentions to Senator Chuchi that he wants to keep fighting insurgents, which have been popping up more frequently lately than Separatist Battle Droids to destroy the very peace Palpatine’s Empire had achieved following the conclusion of the Clone Wars. Little does he realize said insurgents are secretly being led by Bail Organa, one of the very Senators in the Imperial Senate who is building a Rebellion to ruin Palpatine’s hard work of destroying the corrupt Old Republic and the Jedi.
- Faux Affably Evil: True to form, Rampart acts perfectly cordial and diplomatic in dealing with Senator Chuchi, even making concessions to her requests, all while trying to have Slip killed and ordering his assassin, Clone X, to kill Chuchi as well if she gets too close to the truth.
- He Knows Too Much: Rampart is silencing anyone who knows the truth about Kamino's destruction. Clone X kills Cade, Slip, and Chuchi's guards, and would have killed Chuchi had Captain Rex not intervened.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: The assassin responsible for the deaths of Cade and Slip turns out to be a Clone himself, one who has his numbers missing. The Clone cryptically calls himself "a believer" before taking his own life.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Rampart covered up his destruction of Tipoca City and the other cities on Kamino by claiming that it was actually a storm. Chuchi doesn't buy it.
- Meaningful Name: Slip survives by giving the assassin the slip (at first). His CT code is 0409; an HTTP code 409 is a conflict resulting in the current request not being fulfilled. Slip's (and Cade's) request that the truth be revealed about the destruction of Kamino cannot be fulfilled at this time.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Cade and other clones are starting to feel this way about their role in the destruction of the cities on Kamino. Sadly, his attempt to expose the truth gets him killed.
- Orcus on His Throne: Bail notes that Palpatine has not been regularly attending meetings of the Senate, with Mas Amedda sitting in for him. When pressed on what the Emperor's position is, Mas Amedda says that Palpatine trusts the Senate to conduct business for the good of the Empire — a lazy, rehearsed way of saying Palpatine doesn't really care. Other media set during the Empire shows that Palpatine is more interested in researching Sith secrets or has to contend with the training of Darth Vader.
- Out of Focus: Neither the titular Bad Batch nor Crosshair appear in this episode.
- Properly Paranoid: Slip warns Chuchi that if she and her guards found a way to track him, then the assailant who killed Cade will come for both of them, which is exactly what happens a moment after.
- Redemption Equals Death: Cade is driven by guilt for being involved in the Kamino attack and wants to expose the truth if Rampart doesn't confess. His need to do what's right leads to his death by a sniper, leading to Slip passing information to Senator Chuchi about the incident, or at least a location where to find it, before he is killed as well.
- Revealing Cover Up: Bail Organa notes how convenient it is that Tipoca City, which had been designed to be submersible and had weathered thousands of storms, just so happened to be destroyed in a storm at the same time that the Empire was trying to replace the Clone troopers anyway. He's not at all surprised when Senator Chuchi tells him what she's learned about Rampart's involvement.
- Rewatch Bonus: There are a few hints that the mystery sniper chasing Slip isn't Crosshair. His build is closer to a regular clone than Crosshair's skinnier proportions, and while his accuracy with the sniper rifle is good, it's nowhere near Crosshair's Improbable Aiming Skills, which means if it were Crosshair, Chuchi, Slip, and the last guard would've been dead upon first encounter. Thirdly, Rex easily subdued the assassin, which he wouldn't be able to do to Crosshair.
- In addition, the assassin uses a different sniper rifle than Crosshair’s usual 773 Firepuncher rifle: it’s a DC-17m blaster rifle in sniper mode with added scope and stock attachments
- Stranger Behind the Mask: After Rex subdues the assassin, he turns out to be...another Reg.
- Suicide Pill: Clone X chomps down on a device in his teeth to cause a fatal electric shock rather than submit to Rex's questioning.
- Too Dumb to Live: Cade seriously thought he could blackmail Rampart into coming clean about Kamino. Predictably, Rampart just has Cade murdered in the very first scene of the episode.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The debate of this occurs in the Senate: If a bill passes for newer troops throughout the galaxy to serve the Empire, what will become of the clones who have served the former Republic?
