The Shadow Troopers Come for their Fellow Clones

Star Wars: The Bad Batch, S3 Eps. 6 & 7 Review

During Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ initial run on Cartoon Network, there was a Season One episode about hunting a traitor amongst the Clone Army. While Rex and Cody catch the culprit, he uses his final moments onscreen to berate the Jedi for using his brothers as a slave army. At the time, I didn’t give it much thought, but in hindsight, that Clone had a point. Years later, Order 66 would see most of the Clones become the tools through which Sidious sent the Jedi into hiding and built his Empire. And now that they’ve served their purpose, the Clones are being discarded. It was bad enough knowing they may end up homeless or used as guinea pigs. However, as was hinted at and confirmed in this episode, some have undergone a fate that’s so similar to that traitor’s fears that it’s chilling. 

Seeds of Rebellion

The first episode, “Infiltration,” marks the first onscreen appearance of Captain Rex since the events on Coruscant, and the man has been busy. His efforts to save as many Clones as possible are bearing fruit. He now has enough brothers to operate a small cell in a monastery on Teth. Anyone who’s watched The Clone Wars since the original movie will recognize it as the same one Rex helped storm to help rescue Jabba’s son from the Separatists, so it’s a nice call-back. In the present day, though, Rex isn’t just working on saving his fellow Clones. He and Senator Chuchi are trying to sew the seeds of rebellion.

While the Rebel Alliance officially forms around 2 BBY, shows like Andor and Rebels show how rebel cells had been operating secretly for years. A deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith reveals its roots go back to the final days of the Republic. Working separately or together, people like Rex, Ahsoka, and Senators like Bail Organa and Chuchi are already laying the groundwork for the movement that will bring about the fall of the Empire. However, not all of them will live to see that happen, and how many are Clones is even more uncertain. Especially since a meeting between Chuchi and a former Separatist Senator ends with the capture of an Imperial assassin who’s revealed to be a Clone.

The Twisted Secret of the Shadow Troopers

Some fans have called these assassins Shadow Troopers, and the name seems appropriate. It doesn’t just represent the long shadow cast by the Empire but as a dark reflection of the Clones. As Rex puts together and Crosshair corroborates, the Shadow Troopers are Clones Dr. Hemlock has gotten his hands on. He tortured and broke them to the point where the identities they built before and during the Clone Wars were erased, with not even their number remaining. Crosshair didn’t become one because his defective nature protected him from this horrific fate. The fact that this could be the ultimate fate of the Clones imprisoned in Tantiss only heightens Rex and the Bad Batch’s need to free them, leading him to call the squad in to help get more information.

Once the Bad Batch arrives, Crosshair spends the majority of the two-parter getting chewed out by the other Clones. Especially Howzer, who lost his squad on Ryloth thanks to Crosshair. The events that follow make it clear that, while he’s made progress with his squad, it will take a long time for Crosshair to regain the other Clones trust. However, what happens on Teth also gives Crosshair the chance to verbally explain his decision to turn on the Empire. 

Clones Follow the Bro Code

Like most Clones, loyalty means a lot to Crosshair. That might as well be a foreign language for the Empire, though. As Crosshair puts it, the Empire demands utter loyalty from its minions and wants them to be cool with being expendable, but most people arent like that. The fact that Hemlock has to break Clones’ identities to turn them into Shadow Troopers drives the point home. The fact that Crosshair understands this suggests that things were never going to work for him in the Empire, and he’s trying to make things right. He doesn’t win himself many favors, though, by saying that Rex’s group should’ve killed the Shadow Trooper when they had the chance.

Crosshair turned out to be right, with another Shadow Trooper being activated to eliminate the captured one. As a result, it compromised Rex’s base and put Omega in danger when another squad of Clones comes to take them in. And the worst part is that we might know who this new Shadow Trooper is.

Is that the Clone that I think it is?

This isn’t confirmed yet, but in their reviews for these episodes, I’ve seen a few YouTubers speculate that this new enemy might be Tech. Despite his apparent death at the end of Season Two, it’s never confirmed if he died or not. It’s possible that Hemlock found him and used the chance to brainwash him and turn him into another agent of his. Given the fact that this Trooper continues to defy orders and can hold his own in a fight with Crosshair, this idea might not be far-fetched. 

Even if this Shadow Trooper isn’t Tech, the ending to “Extraction” clarifies that they’ll be a recurring enemy. Despite Crosshair doing his best to beat them, they survive. However, all is not lost. Before Rex and the others escape, they meet up with Wolfe. And much like the Bad Batch was told, they were told they were after insurgents. Given how he winds up joining Rex and Gregor in retirement, we know that Gregor will eventually defect. It’s only a matter of time.

At the end of all this, it looks like the Clones are now on the backfoot, but I hope it doesn’t remain this way forever. Tantiss must fall to slow down the plans of the Sith. And the Clones must be freed!

I Give “Infiltration” and “Extraction” a 3.5/5 and 4/5, Each