Every Major Star Wars Retcon In The Bad Batch Seasons 1-3

Summary The Bad Batch made significant Star Wars retcons, impacting past and future storylines within the franchise.

The show delves into the aftermath of Order 66 and explores the effects of inhibitor chips on clone personalities.

The Bad Batch introduces new characters and challenges the notion that Omega is the only female clone.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is finishing up its third and final season, and throughout three seasons, the show has made some big Star Wars retcons. While retcons are to be expected in such a massive franchise like Star Wars, there were quite a few in The Bad Batch. Not only did the show impact past shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but also titles that take place fifty years later in-universe, like the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Overall, The Bad Batch has done a wonderful job providing audiences with a new and interesting story that furthers the stories of multiple fan-favorite characters. With only one more episode remaining in The Bad Batch, it’ll certainly be hard to say goodbye to Clone Force 99 and their story. However, with all the different retcons that have been made in The Bad Batch, there will certainly be lasting effects from this show and the characters that appeared in it.

Related Star Wars: The Bad Batch Voice Cast - What The Actors Look Like In Real Life Star Wars: The Bad Batch has quite an interesting cast of actors that features multiple Star Wars veterans, as well as a few newcomers.

8 How Kanan Jarrus Survived Order 66

The Bad Batch’s Series Premiere Started With A Major Retcon

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Kanan Jarrus A Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66 in large part thanks to his master's sacrifice, Kanan survived during the Dark Times of the Empire's reign and became an important member of the Lothal rebel cell. Kanan sacrificed much over the years, but gained much as well, falling in love with Hera Syndulla. Although he gave his life for his friends, he left a legacy behind in his own Padawan Ezra Bridger, as well as his son Jacen. Created By Dave Filoni Cast Freddie Prinze Jr. First Appearance Star Wars Rebels Died Star Wars Rebels Alias Caleb Dume TV Shows Star Wars Rebels , Star Wars: The Bad Batch

The opening sequence of The Bad Batch showed Clone Force 99 helping Jedi Master Depa Billaba and her Padawan, Caleb Dume, as Order 66 was being executed. Many Star Wars enthusiasts will know that Caleb Dume would later be known as Kanan Jarrus, one of the main protagonists of Star Wars Rebels. While Kanan’s origins and how he survived Order 66 weren’t disclosed in Rebels, it was part of a canonical comic run. In the comics, Caleb and Depa were on the planet Kaller, resting at a campfire when Palpatine ordered the decimation of the Jedi Order.

The comics showed that Depa held off the clone troopers long enough for Caleb to escape, though he was still pursued by the troopers who had killed his master. However, Caleb's Order 66 survival went differently in The Bad Batch. While the scene was still set on Kaller, it instead featured an active battle where Clone Force 99 came in as reinforcements. The Bad Batch showed that Caleb only survived Order 66 because the Batch’s inhibitor chips didn’t work, and Hunter claimed to have killed him despite allowing Caleb to escape.

7 Order 66 Affected Clone Personalities

Inhibitor Chips Changed the Clones For the Worst

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 6 explored what the clones’ inhibitor chips were designed for, and just how much agency Palpatine intended to steal from them. Initially, it was believed that Order 66 was essentially an override code to inhibit a clone’s judgment so that they would follow orders and kill the Jedi. However, The Bad Batch has taken this a step further, as the inhibitor chips have been seen to change and rewrite the clones’ entire personalities. They now blindly follow orders, even if those orders are sinister in nature.

The inhibitor chips have been seen to change and rewrite the clones’ entire personalities.

The clones working for the Empire in The Bad Batch don’t care about killing others, and they are exceptionally more aggressive, especially the ones seen working for Dr. Hemlock on Mount Tantiss. While this is a retcon, it has an important narrative purpose; the clones’ evil nature allows the Bad Batch to kill or harm any clone they encounter who is firmly on the Empire’s side. This can also be seen in The Bad Batch season 3, when Crosshair reveals that he was subjected to experimentation, but because he was a defective clone, the experimentation did not work on him.

6 Order 66 Appears To Have Worn Off Over Time

Some Clones Are Growing Beyond Their Inhibitor Chips

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While certain clones like the ones working on Mount Tantiss are fully indoctrinated and at the will of the people who command them, there are other clones who are actively resisting their inhibitor chips. This was seen as early as The Bad Batch season 1 with Clone Captain Howzer, who openly defied Vice Admiral Rampart over the arrests of many Twi’leks on Ryloth. Howzer was arrested but later freed by Captain Rex and Echo while being transported.

Audiences have seen different clones starting to disobey orders in different ways—or, at the very least, to think of themselves. In The Bad Batch season 3, Commander Wolffe even lets Rex and his men go because he knows the kind of man Rex is. While audiences still haven’t seen the ramifications of Wolffe’s decisions, it's known that he will eventually end up living with Rex and Gregor on Seelos during Rebels. It’s not clear how many clones remain loyal to the Empire, or how many are actively defying orders, though it may be revealed in The Bad Batch series finale.

Related Every Clone Who Disobeyed Order 66 In Star Wars Canon & Legends Star Wars' Clone Troopers were bred for absolute loyalty and secretly created to destroy the Jedi...but not every one obeyed the sinister Order 66.

5 Asajj Ventress Survived Her "Death" In Dark Disciple

Ventress Was Thought Dead Following The Star Wars Novel

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Asajj Ventress Hailing from the Nightsisters of Dathomir, Asajj Ventress became Count Dooku's apprentice during the Clone Wars. Betrayed by her master, she sought revenge - even forming a surprising alliance with Jedi Master Quinlan Vos at one point. Asajj has reinvented herself as a bounty hunter, and survived into the Dark Times of the Empire's reign. Created By George Lucas , Genndy Tartakovsky Cast Nika Futterman , grey delisle First Appearance Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003)

Asajj Ventress was originally going to be featured in a now-deleted The Clone Wars arc surrounding her and Jedi Master Quinlan Vos’ romance and attempt at assassinating Count Dooku. The arc was eventually scrapped and later made into a canon, adult Star Wars novel by Christie Golden called Dark Disciple. The end of the novel details how Ventress gave her life and was murdered by Count Dooku to save Quinlan. The final scene of the novel has Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos returning Ventress’ body to her home world of Dathomir.

It’s possible that Nightsister magick revived her while on Dathomir.

The novel describes a green smoke enveloping Ventress, and the voices of the Nightsisters of Dathomir can be heard. It’s implied that Ventress remains deceased; however, The Bad Batch season 3 sees the return of the former Sith apprentice. While Ventress makes a comment about having more lives to live, there’s no indication of how she was alive. It’s possible that Nightsister magick revived her while on Dathomir, but it's been said that the events of Dark Disciple are still canon, and shouldn’t change how audiences view Ventress’ appearance in The Bad Batch.

Purchase Christie Golden's Dark Disciple Here

4 Project Necromancer Began Much Earlier Than Anticipated

Palptatine’s Plan From The Sequels Started In the Early Days of the Empire

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When Palpatine returned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, audiences were shocked, mainly because the Emperor had been thought dead in-universe for close to 30 years. However, through shows like The Mandalorian, audiences have learned about Project Necromancer and its objective to clone Palpatine so that he can continue ruling the galaxy forever. The Bad Batch has dove into showing what actually went into Project Necromancer, and how these experiments were run.

The Bad Batch takes place around 18 BBY, or about one year into the Empire’s reign. It seems obvious that Dr. Hemlock has been working on some version of this project for a while, and is now shifting his focus to help Palpatine clone himself. Despite the understanding that Project Necromancer was operational during the Empire’s reign, there was no indication that the project was started in the early days of the Empire. However, The Bad Batch shows that this was one of Palpatine’s focuses from early on.

3 Saw Gerrera’s Backstory Has Changed

The Freedom Fighter’s Post-Clone Wars Story Looked Different

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Saw Gerrera has appeared in many different Star Wars projects, like The Clone Wars, Rebels, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Andor, and more recently, The Bad Batch. Originally, in James Luceno’s novel Catalyst, the end of the Clone Wars led Saw to become involved with the underworld and not really oppose the Empire. While he would eventually return to being a freedom fighter with questionable morals, The Bad Batch changed this story.

Saw Gerrera's character in The Bad Batch more closely resembles the brash and extremist version audiences got to see of him in Rogue One and Rebels.

The Bad Batch's early episodes showed that Saw almost immediately opposed the Empire, vowing to take them down. Because of this, Saw became a major target for the Empire. Saw Gerrera's character in The Bad Batch more closely resembles the brash and extremist version audiences got to see of him in Rogue One and Rebels. Saw was also one of the major reasons Tech died in The Bad Batch season 2, showing his ruthlessness. This move was likely to help audiences better connect the characters early and later years.

Saw Gerrera will be returning in Andor season 2, which is expected to release on Disney+ later in 2024.

2 Cut Lawquane’s Later Life Originally Looked Different

The Former Trooper’s Fate Has Been Altered

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The Bad Batch season 1 reintroduced audiences to former clone trooper Cut Lawquane. The clone was a deserter who went on to marry Suu Lawquane and have two children with her—Shaeeah and Jek. The family was living on the planet Saleucami both when they were introduced in The Clone Wars and when they returned in The Bad Batch. However, The Bad Batch sees the family flee their farm, with Hunter begging Cut to take Omega with him.

Chuck Wendig’s canon trilogy Aftermath implied that an elderly Cut was still living on Saleucami after the fall of the Empire. The book trilogy, which takes place shortly after Return of the Jedi, creates a small continuity problem. This retcon could simply be retconned again to show Cut and his family returning to Saleucami, sometime in the nearly 20 years after they originally left in The Bad Batch. Hopefully, audiences get the chance to see this clone’s story conclude.

1 Omega Isn’t The Only Female Clone

The Bad Batch Introduced Emerie Karr

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The Bad Batch season 1 established that Omega was a truly one-of-a-kind clone, as she was both an unaltered genetic clone of Jango Fett and also the only female clone. Omega’s reveal as a clone was supposed to be a big surprise in The Bad Batch season 1, and was the reason why she was so valuable to the Empire and Nala Se. This all changed in The Bad Batch season 2 finale, which revealed that Dr. Emerie Karr is also a female clone.

It's unclear if Emerie had been genetically modified with advanced aging like most of the other clones, but either way, Emerie’s existence raises a lot of questions, one of which is how many other female clones are out there. Emerie being a clone hurts the storyline of Omega being so sought after; however, The Bad Batch has recovered because of Omega having a high M-count. The Bad Batch series finale will likely show Emerie joining forces with Clone Force 99 and aiding Omega and the rest of the clones’ escape, though it’s unclear what Emerie Karr’s future holds.

The Bad Batch has been a wild ride that has shown a whole new side to Star Wars. Clone Force 99 is a true family, and it will be exciting to see how their story concludes. With so many retcons, The Bad Batch has established itself as a much-watch title in the Star Wars galaxy. Though The Bad Batch is ending, its legacy will continue through other titles.