Star Wars: The Bad Batch: Rescue on Ryloth

July 16, 2021 4:09 AM - Season 1, Episode 12

The Batch receive a call for help.
posted by EndsOfInvention (8 comments total)

I think Howser got off lightly, I was waiting for Crosshair to put a blaster bolt between his eyes. I wonder if the clones rebelling is a sign that Howser had a similar genetic mutation to the Bad Batch since he was able to question his orders. If this sort of thing disobedience was wide-spread amongst clones asked to hunt down their former allies I can see it being a catalyst for the Empire disposing of their clone army.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:18 AM on July 16, 2021

The minute I saw Chopper stun the clone troopers, I thought to myself, "Now THERE is the Chopper we've come to know!"

I, too, was worried about Howzer the minute he opened the door. Clones that know too much usually come to a bad end.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 6:34 AM on July 16, 2021 [3 favorites]

This was such a great episode. I loved the staredown between Howser and Crosshair. Crosshairless is so obviously jealous of that amazing haircut and who could blame him?

My guess is the inhibitor chips start wearing off once Order 66 has been triggered. One clone (Howser) not being affected is one thing, but he was able to convince a half-dozen other clones. Surely they can't all be malfunctioning.
posted by orrnyereg at 6:56 AM on July 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

I was sure Howser was dead, so that was a surprise. But what will they do with him? Reprogram him?

This is another example of the hazards of doing prequels. It makes me wonder where Omega is during the actual Rebellion years. Dead? Off wandering the Uncharted territories with Ezra and the pergills?
posted by suelac at 8:28 PM on July 16, 2021

That's interesting speculation about the chip, although it does make one wonder: is Crosshair that way because they renewed his program, or is it just because he's that way? What would happen if the BB took him to a robot surgeon like the one that they used to remove their chips, and pulled his?
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:30 PM on July 16, 2021

My guess is the inhibitor chips start wearing off once Order 66 has been triggered. One clone (Howser) not being affected is one thing, but he was able to convince a half-dozen other clones. Surely they can't all be malfunctioning.

I wonder if the chip is specifically keyed to the capital-O Orders from Palpatine - in the film they specifically show a hologram of Palpatine giving Order 66 to various clone commanders. Would a different commanding officer saying "OK men, time for Order 66" still work?
And is the chip keyed to his specific list of Orders 1 through 66(+)? I don't remember if it has a more general "follow orders" effect, it might be that it's only Orders that trigger automatic obedience, and clones can still object to orders in circumstances like this where they're asked to act against their former allies without an Order. I feel like at least some of this is answered in The Clone Wars which touches on some of the inhibitor chip details but I'm not far enough through my rewatch (following the excellent A More Civilized Age podcast) to have got to it.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:48 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

Well, part of their genetic modification is for increased obedience but clearly they didn’t have their consciences removed. The chips were there (this is my interpretation) to override their moral objection to fragging their commanding officers. Do we know whether there actually were Orders 1-65? Is it called that because “Order 66” just sounds cool? The whole chip business is really confusing.
posted by orrnyereg at 9:40 AM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

My suspension of disbelief is rattled whenever the stun setting is used on a blaster, which is often the case on this show. I used to marvel at the body count that piled up in Rebels. I wonder if this is a Filoni decision or coming down from above or what...
posted by emdeesee at 1:46 PM on July 19, 2021 [1 favorite]