Prior Episodes | 7959 (18 BBY) | Next Episodes
Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - The Crossing (2023) [S2E9]
The team tackles a risky mission on a hostile world.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Retrieval (2023) [S2E10]
Attempting to recover a lost asset, the Batch must learn to trust a thief.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Metamorphosis (2023) [S2E11]
The Batch finds a mysterious missing vessel.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - The Outpost (2023) [S2E12]
A new friend is made on a harsh and unforgiving outpost planet.




CONTINUITY
'The Crossing' and 'Retrieval' from a single storyline about a mission to the planet Ipsidon. 'Metamorphosis' and 'The Outpost'
are stand-alone episodes developing larger storyarcs. The planets Ipsidon, Silla, and Barton 4 are seen for the first time.
Six worlds are seen in these episodes:

These episodes take place in the last quarter of 7959 (18 BBY), with 'The Outpost' set in the last month of that year.

- Ipsidon is a terrestrial planet located at an unspecified location in the galaxy. It is habitable despite its irregular weather patterns and violent storms.
The presence of clouds and large underground rivers and reservoirs indicate a stable water cycle exists on the planet, which sustains its native
ecosystem which includes large herds of hoofed animals. This indicates the presence of sufficient food sources to sustain large animals in large
numbers, and also suggests that many parts of the planet are far more hospitable than the arid desert region seen in these episodes. Large
animals cannot evolve to survive in deserts such as this without developing in forests and grasslands with a complex ecosystem, and deserts
are not capable of supporting life without the organic resources which intrude on them from more habitable areas of a planet. Such regions
must logically exist on this planet, however since it has not been seen from space it is uncertain if this is the case or if this is another absurd
disney SW planet with a single, planet-wide climate and terrain. Ipsidon is sparsely populated, with isolated islands of civilization found in
in the arid region where mining activity has drawn settlement. The planet is rich in ipsium, a valuable mineral which is also a potent energy
source. This strange mineral may be unique to this planet for which it was named, unless the planet was named after the mineral due to
its abundance here. There is at least one larger settlement on the opposing hemisphere of the planet to the area of mining activity.


- Ipsium is a mineral which is "tremendously valuable when refined" but which in its raw state is "highly combustible, like a primed thermal detonator."
It is unknown if ipsium can be found in nature on any planet besides Ipsidon.


Ipsium is so unstable that "even the slightest friction around it can cause a destructive chain reaction." Do parts of this
planet routinely explode from minor seismic events, or from the trampling of herds of animals, or the boring of water
through the ground? The implication of what is shown seems to be that the material forms encased in some crystalline
material which is supposed to suggest how it is cushioned from any potential friction, and while this is highly dubious,
it cannot be definitively demonstrated as insufficient to prevent explosions given the stated properties of ipsium.
This does not mean this makes any sense, as a material this volatile should not arise in a stable natural formation for
a number of reasons. Most volatile elements and minerals are explosive in a reaction with specific other chemicals, even
sometimes gases in the air, while substances which explode from friction are unlikely to survive long in a planet's crust.
Main Article: Planetology


- Echo is said to be "too long-range" for Omega's wrist communicator to work. This statement seems strangely worded, since without a link to their ship's
communication system or a local planetary transmitter, anyone who isn't on the same planet is out of range. She could theoretically receive a call
but could not make one off world. They are subsequently unable to track their ship because its transponder isn't relaying a signal, having been
disabled by the thief who stole it, suggesting they could ordinarily find their ship by its unique transponder code. They are only able to send out
a transmission off world after locating a broadcast array at the abandoned spaceport.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communications


Why is Ipsidon an empty planet, and how large is it? The energy cells on the speeder the Batch finds "have just enough
power to get us to the town on the other half of the hemisphere." If the nearest town is on the same side of the planet
but still half-a-world away, this planet is once again ridiculously underpopulated. In this instance, this might make some
sense as this world appears to be of little interest to anyone but miners, nevertheless this world should be the exception
rather than the rule for planets which have been bothered to be named. There is no discussion of how many days it will
take them to drive to the other side of the planet, or how absurd it is that there seems to be nothing on this planet but
a small collection of abandoned mines, a small abandoned spaceport, and a town or cluster of towns half a world away.
Perhaps the other hemisphere is more interesting, and makes some logical sense. They do find a populated, working
mine only 100 km from the abandoned spaceport, so it is possible they are simply unaware of many small settlements
on this planet. The usual disney SW refrain is that many of the planets in their stories are smaller than Earth, which is
fine, but only to a point. Planets which are significantly smaller than Earth are unlikely to have an atmosphere that is
thick enough for Humans to breathe. If this planet is the size of Mars, for example, it could possibly have a breathable
atmosphere, but travel to the other side of a hemisphere by land would still require days of travel.
Main Articles: Planetology & Galactic Population


- Techno Union ran at least one mine on Ipsidon until the end of the Clone Wars, when that organization was dissolved. The language used suggests that
they may have been driven off by Republic forces. It was taken over by Mokko, who is member of an unknown species and who has cyborg
appendages. Makko was eventually overthrown about a year later by a worker revolt, after which the mine became a commune.

- Silla is an inhabited planet located at an unidentified location in some region of the galaxy. The planet has a single moon, an agreeable climate, ample
water and rainfall, and is host to a native ecosystem including areas of dense forest. It has a civilization which seems to be post-colonial, as its
population is made up of Humans and other races from the interstellar society, and advanced infrastructure. The one settlement shown was
built into the side of a mountain, overlooking a forested region. Nothing about the larger society on the planet or its internal politics is yet known.


- Dr. Royce Hemlock takes over operations at the Imperial Mt. Tantiss facility at this time. He is accompanied by Dr. Emerie Karr, who is an adult female
clone of Jango Fett with the standard growth acceleration applied to most of the clones, except for Boba Fett and Omega. This potentially
makes her as much as 14-years-old at this point. Hemlock is creepy and amoral, and thus probably a favorite of the Emperor or other top
Imperials privy to the Empire's totalitarian goals, which is probably why he was given this assignment.

- The Marauder's sensors are able to quickly ascertain that the "crashed vessel appears mostly intact." This could be purely from a visual appraisal which
was possible because the sensors can magnify an image easily enough, however SW scanners are advanced enough to compare the shape of
a particular ship to a design schematic to make a general determination about this. It is mentioned that the ship design is unfamiliar, as they
are specially designed mobile zillo beast laboratories, so in this instance the computer was probably not involved in this analysis.
Main Article: Scanners, Sensors, and Cloaking Devices

- A zillo beast was last seen 3 and a half years earlier in The Clone Wars 'The Zillo Beast Strikes Back' (S2E19), during events in which the only known
live zillo beast was killed after being recklessly transported to Coruscant. Palpatine instituted a project at that time to have the Kaminoans
clone that zillo beast, with the aim of developing an "impenetrable armor" for his soldiers, which continues under the Empire. A young zillo
beast is seen for the first time, where it is seen that they directly absorb energy to fuel their growth to an adult size.


Where is the Empire taking the people of the town on Silla, and what do they plan to do with them? The Empire rounds
up the townspeople and takes them into custody to determine if any saw the zillo beast. After learning that several did
see the beast, it is obvious that the Empire intends to prevent any leak of this story by either killing the people in question
or by sending them to a forced-labor camp. Any who did not see the beast will probably be sent to forced labor anyway,
to prevent rumors of an unspecified cover-up, however the Empire might just kill all the townspeople to be safe.


- Captain Bragg was last seen more than half a year earlier in 'Common Ground' (S1E10), where she was part of the Imperial force instituting the occupation
of Raxus. It is possible she was negatively affected by her ineffectiveness during those events, as she is now decommissioning clones at headquarters.
This may not indicate she fell into disfavor, as it is likely she was simply reused as her animation template was already created, and because Lucasfilm
always reuses the same few hundred known characters who continually run into each other in a galaxy with a population in the many trillions.
Main Article: Galactic Population

- The Empire is thanking clones for their service and kicking them out the door to enjoy their forced retirement. Clones are being instructed to "direct all
questions and concerns to the Imperial Information Bureau", which will likely give them access to whatever limited provisions Rampart had agreed
to with Senator Chuchi to make the Defense Recruitment Bill more palatable to those in the Senate concerned about veterans affairs. Other clones
who have not exceeded their expiration date seem to be weary of the tedious assignments they have been given, and are eager for any field duty.

- Lieutenant Nolan is the Imperial officer in charge of the important mission to pickup crates of armor. His cold weather gear features both of the possible
Imperial insignia for a Lieutenant, which is the first ever example of this shown, This is probably not correct, and at least it is unnecessarily redundant,
however since both insignia a proper, this should be chalked up in the win column for Lucasfilm, which is absolutely terrible at rank insignia continuity.
His regular Lieutenant insignia bar for the Army, with two red tiles and one blue, is displayed in a vertical alignment, a feature of some cold weather
Imperial Army gear as seen in Episode V. As his uniform already says he is a Lieutenant, the second block insignia worn on his breast is not needed,
but is present nonetheless. This is the block insignia for a Section Commander, a position which can only be held by an officer of one of the top
Lieutenant ranks, specifically a 1st or 2nd Lieutenant, in any branch of the military. His bar insignia indicates that he is a 1st Lieutenant, and he is
the mission's commander, so this is the correct block insignia and its usage is proper. This is one of a many examples of the block insignia being used
prior to Episode V, which indicates that the block insignia were used alongside the bar insignia from the beginning of the Empire, and are not part of
a later system which replaced the bar insignia, as Lucasfilm's continuity 'experts' continue to maintain despite being contradicted by their own shows.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- Barton 4 is a cold, wet, and terrestrial planet located in some unspecified location in the galaxy. This world has what appears to be the remains of
a once complex ecosystem, as there are native "ice vultures" and at least a few other species somewhere in the food chain which sustains
them. Barton 4's rocky surface is perpetually covered in ice and snow, and its temperatures are dangerous for Humans, however not so
cold as to make outdoor activity impossible with the proper attire. The Republic established a small military depot on the planet at some
point late in the Clone Wars, which the Empire used to store relatively unimportant equipment it wished to keep secret. A small community
of "locals" lived near the base, but must be assumed to be on the planet only to raid from the base, as the planet is otherwise resourceless.



What do the ice vultures normally eat, and what other organisms are on this planet to provide the prerequisite food
chain that sustains their existence. Despite the near impossibility of birds like the ice vultures evolving on such a world
as Barton 4, they apparently have along with whatever they are consuming for food, and all the parts of the food
chain which provide food for those creatures. The only possibility is that the ice vultures and perhaps a few other
species are the last remains of an ecosystem which once prevailed over millennia when the world was much warmer.
Although this might explain how carnivorous birds and whatever small meat creatures they eat exist on this world in
isolation, there seems to be no plant-like creatures to form the basis of a food chain, so what do the small creatures
eat? All energy in food ultimately comes from a planet's star which is gathered by plants or similar analogs in some
alien evolution, which are consumed by microorganisms, animals, and fungi. In rare instances the heat of a planet's
core feeds creatures around deep undersea fissures or near volcanic places, however it would be difficult to imagine
extremophiles existing in sufficient quantity on an icy world like this to provide the basis for the food chain. None of
this matters to disney-Lucasfilm, who loves to place large creatures in situations where they could not possibly be
sustaining themselves with food, and where it is unlikely or impossible they could have evolved there in the first place.
Main Article: Planetology


- Non-clone Imperial officers of any rank outrank any clone officer, regardless of their rank. Even a clone Commander must take orders from a non-clone
Lieutenant, despite the fact that Lieutenant is one of the lowest ranking officers in the Imperial military, and that Commander is a significantly
higher rank in the clone army than Lieutenant. This regulation codifies the Empire's leaders' disdainful and dismissive attitudes towards
the clones, and treats them like organic battle droids who are property of the state, which is exactly what they always had been.

- Commander Mayday and his unit have "been stationed on this rock for over a year watching that cargo." Most supplementary material seems to suggest
this is where he was sent immediately after the end of the war, however it is possible this was near the end of the war but still during the Republic's
rule, considering that the base must have already been built, that project War-Mantle was already secretly in operation, and Palpatine and his allies
were already moving forward with military reform prior to Republic's end. Likewise, this armor must have been produced under the late Republic,
so the exact timing of his arrival is in question. Nevertheless, his having been there for a year, assumed to be an approximate figure but relatively
accurate, means that it must now be the last month of 7959 (18 BBY), or at least late in the second to last month, around a year after Episode III.

ANALYSIS
The mine on Ipsidon is a microcosm of Human history and society, which demonstrates the essence of the human condition from a material standpoint.
This mining settlement was established by a feudal trading company, in this case the Techno Union, whose state charter and titular wealth provided them
with the authority and ability to build it and secure workers for the facility. These 'lords' are inevitably chased off from their high perches by the tides of
history and the imbalance caused by remote entities controlling the majority of galactic wealth. As is the case across their former feudal domains, this
mine is taken over by a petty, local version of their former lordship, only without the 'noble' standing provided by law and instead styling himself as
an 'entrepreneur.' This new boss keeps the majority of the profits, while maintaining his workforce by paying them a little as possible and telling them he has
no choice but to lower wages just to keep the mine up and running. The workers are told to be grateful they have a job at all, that they should be grateful
that the boss was around to keep jobs around in the first place, and that low wages are essentially their fault for not working hard enough. The boss keeps
his workers from seeing the bigger picture by encouraging competition amongst his workers, allowing a small group to live an easier life than mining by
serving as patrol scroungers and thieves, but only if they meet quotas. Only the top worker if given a 'full' salary, and even that is a mere pittance next to
the mountain of wealth kept by the boss. The boss becomes wasteful and hordes food while keeping his workers hungry and thirsty, belittles them and their
successes, and is openly disdainful of them. This serves to keep his workers grateful for token rewards, psychologically abused, and at each other's throats,
while at the same time preventing them from making the obvious observation that they could remove him at any time as they are in fact far more powerful.
The boss comes to feel that his position as owner is rightfully his, while the workers look up to the boss, and are desperate to impress him to earn his favor.
The position of the boss is also protected by a security force, in this case droids, who serve to protect his property and position while policing the workers.
The workers eventually become better educated, specifically about the degree to which they are being exploited, and unite to overthrow him. The mine
subsequently becomes a commune, and is owned by the workers who each receive an equal share of the profits. If the boss were smart, he would have
used a small part of his profits to provide his workers with a better standard of living, as it would have satisfied many of them and provided evidence of
the 'benefits' of being exploited by him, however the boss' overconfidence and greed predictably led him to maximize his profits at the workers' expense.
Tech calls leveraging power over workers "a similar tactic used by the Empire", as exploitation is indeed at the core of imperialism, capitalism, and fascism.

The Empire's move against Kamino was part of the Clone Wars cover up, but even more urgent to the Empire was their interest in gaining direct and sole
control over the Kaminoans' advanced cloning technology and methods. This would almost certainly make the Imperial cloners the most advanced cloning
operation in the galaxy, and ensures that no potential anti-Imperial forces will be able to enlist the Kaminoans help in developing military clones of their
own. The Emperor is not interested in new military clones, considering their disadvantages to enlisted soldiers in the new galactic situation, but has more
inventive ideas about how to use the Kaminoan's advanced science. This includes the zillo beast armor project he had the Kaminoans begin for him during
the Clone Wars, which could give his forces an exceptional advantage. The Empire was perhaps too overzealous in its elimination of Kamino Engineering's
scientists, for although they have kept Nala Se, she is uncooperative and is only one scientist. The Kaminoan cloning operation was more than just their
advanced technology and methods, it was also the brilliance and intuitive skill of their scientists, most of which is now lost and cannot be easily replicated.
The Empire's scientists, on the other hand, are chosen for competence but also for ideological commitment to the Empire, limiting their pool of talent.

The clones were dismissed as second-class citizens and property of the state by the Kaminoans, by members of the Senate and leading politicians, and
by segments of society under the Republic, however the Jedi and other military leaders had usually shown them great respect, and insisted that others
do the same. They have been replaced by an Empire which is led and staffed largely by ambitious and self-serving individuals, who take pleasure in lording
over others or have inferiority complexes which drive them to desire power over others. The clones are treated with contempt, they are derided as old
and useless despite their combat experience and skill, and are constantly belittled by non-clone officers who have themselves seen no combat or sacrificed
anything to protect the political order. Much of the widespread racism which grows in the Empire towards certain non-Human races originates from these
same kinds of mindsets, as it is not specifically racism or anti-clone sentiment which drives these reactions but the insatiable need to dominate, and to be
regarded as in command and superior. The clones or non-Human races make easy targets for these small people who find themselves wearing big pants.
The Empire's fascist philosophies about superiority and competition encourage such behavior, while their leaders actively recruit people into their ranks
who display such base desires for power and personal insecurity. These people are easy to manipulate, predictable, and will bully anyone they can for
the sake of their own ego, thus serving one of the Empire's primary purposes. Some Imperial officers, like Lt. Nolan, are especially disdainful of the clones,
not only seeking to remind them that they are little more than "used equipment" in his mind but also "expendable" and that giving them medical aid
would be "a waste of the Empire's resources." He obviously recognizes the clones are far greater men than he is or will ever be, and responds to his own
sense of inferiority by belittling and bullying the clones at every opportunity. The second-class status of the clones is certainly not unique in the Empire,
especially over time, but they are amongst the first victims of this treatment, in large part because they were really already slaves under the Republic.
The Empire will only continue to employ the remaining clone troopers as long as they are "useful", and then will eagerly discard them.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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