Prior Episodes | 7960 (17 BBY) | Next Episodes
Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Confined (2024) [S3E1]
Imprisoned on Tantiss, Omega adjusts to a new life.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Paths Unknown (2024) [S3E2]
Following a lead, Hunter and Wrecker make a startling discovery..
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - Shadows of Tantiss (2024) [S3E3]
Omega and Crosshair hatch a daring plan.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch - A Different Approach (2024) [S3E4]
Stranded in dangerous territory, Omega and Crosshair must work together.




CONTINUITY
These four episodes are about the Batch whilst separated from each other.
The planets Setron and Lau are seen for the first time. Five worlds are seen in these episodes:

It has been 20 days since the end of the Season 2 finale during the events of 'Confined'. Some significant time passes
between 'Confined' and 'Paths Unknown'. The year is definitely now 7960 (17 BBY) by the time of 'Paths Unknown', and
quite possibly even by the time of 'Confined'. It has now been about a year and a half since the series and the Empire began.


An unidentified Imperial technician wearing an Army Captain insignia was seen in Season 2, taking orders from
a Lieutenant in keeping with Lucasfilm's tradition of nonsensical rank insignia usage. This animation template was
probably meant to represent technicians from disney-Lucasfilm's non-canonical 'Navy Operations' subdivision, which
explains why they chose to use a completely incorrect Army red-colored insignia, but still does not explain why
an Operations Captain would be taking orders from a Lieutenant. This template is reused for multiple technicians in this
season, apparently all these technicians are Captains. This animation template also features the radiation-proof helmets
first seen on the Death Stars in the original trilogy. It was strange enough to see a technician wearing one in a command
center in Season 2, but now seems even more absurd since they are now seen wearing them everywhere, including
two officers manning some Tantiss facility monitoring station including communications. It seems they were added
simply for aesthetics, and their practical purpose was not considered at all.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


- The Empire is testing all of its clones' blood, looking for compatible subjects for an artificial midi-chlorian transfer.
M-count is apparently their shorthand for an individual's midi-chlorian count.

- When Omega suggests that K9X-1 should treat the injured hound, he replies that it's not in his programming to do so, which seems
to be the end of the matter for him. His artificial intelligence is probably more than capable of learning how to give simple medical
treatment to a hound, but since it's not in his programming, he won't try to learn a new skill. This is typical of most droids, in that
they are neither inclined nor willing to learn new skills in most instances, being singly devoted to their designed purposes.
Main Article: Droid Intelligence

- Hemlock's project for the Emperor apparently achieved a successful transfer of midi-cholorians from a force-sensitive individual to
an individual with a common M-count, but the recipient apparently had a lower M-count than the donor.

- Omega has been at Tantiss for 20 rotations, which are days, during the events of 'Confined'. Hunter's conversation, the state of
the shuttle seen crashing in 'Confined', and other clues suggest that at least a couple of months passed between, 'Confined'
and 'Paths Unknown'.

- The Durand Syndicate is a a Devaronian criminal outfit led by the Durand crime family. They are apparently powerful enough to be
feared but also still wise enough not to want to anger the galaxy's more powerful criminal factions.

- Setron is a habitable, terrestrial planet located in the Noori Sector, in the Slice region of the Expansion Region. It is a wet planet
dominated by large landmasses, which are heavily forested. Rainforest and jungle dominates the equatorial and sub-polar
regions of the planet. A secret medical laboratory was created on the planet by Palpatine in the waning days of the Republic,
to begin exploring prohibited and morally objectionable bio-medical research. The base was subsequently destroyed to slow
down and cover up experiments which went out of control. As a result, the area near to that facility is host to a range of
terrifying species which are the abominable result of Imperial genetic experimentation.


- The Empire abandoned some young clones on this planet intentionally, and had brought them there presumably to be experimented
on. That is in keeping with the Emperor's villainy, and with the rest of this series, but is yet another example of this series' choices
regarding the fate of the clones. The Clone Army was created to perform three functions critical to Sidious' plans, first to provide
the Jedi with an army just in time to fight the Clone Wars so that the Republic can be preserved to become the Empire, second to
earn the Jedi's trust and faith so they can successfully surprise them when the kill switch was activated, and third to serve as mindless
and enthusiastically loyal enforcers of his ascension to galactic emperor. He needs all the soldiers he can get in the first years after
the end of the war, to occupy former Separatist worlds, to occupy traditionally independent-minded Republic worlds which had
remained loyal, and in campaigns against the many pockets of non-droid Separatist resistance in the Outer Rim. These holdouts
refused to accept the surrender, and the 'reconquest of the Rim' led to almost two years of Imperial campaigns to systematically
crush. This series has totally ignored this formative period, and in the course of just over one year of Imperial rule, has all but phased
the clones out of the military entirely. Beyond the logistics of this, it is unclear why Palpatine would waist highly-effective slave soldiers
who are legally property of the state so readily. He could have effective employed clones for years more, and the young clones in
particular. Any clone who had not graduated or reached adulthood by the end of the war is unlikely to feel enough strong kinship
with the Jedi to be upset about the turn against them. They would make ideal Imperial soldiers, which are needed in this period as
much as ever to ensure the successful transition of the galaxy. As this series has shown, his actions have not only deprived him of
forces, they have already led to an anti-Empire, clone underground. This choice lacks the usual elegance of Sidious' plans.
Main Article: Dooku, Sifo-Dyas, and the Clone Army

- The Empire used the Base Delta Zero initiative on their Setron base, after their genetically-engineered slither-vines got out of control.
Base Delta Zero was a Republic and now Empire code for the destruction of surface and sub-surface structures by orbital
bombardment. It was used as a last resort during the Clone Wars, and far more liberally by the Empire.

- Emperor Palpatine is using a Rho-class shuttle as his personal transport, rather than his Theta-class shuttle he was seen using
just over a year earlier in Episode III. His secretive trip to Mt. Tantiss prohibits him from arriving in a destroyer or
with a large escort, so he is escorted by only a squad of four V-wing starfighters.


- Palpatine has engaged Hemlock with a variety of his top secret projects. He mentions success with the 'exotic matter generator'
project will allow testing of "larger assets", suggesting use for any plans requiring high-energy physics, quite probably
including the Death Star. The Emperor is interested in everything that can extend his power, but is chiefly concerned
with his cloning project and the transfer of midi-chlorians, in keeping with his personal priorities.
Main Article: Darth Sidious and The Plan

- Project: Necromancer is Palpatine's secret project to combine Kaminoan cloning technology with Sith knowledge about midi-chlorians
to create a means to artificially create force-sensitive individuals, or to artificially increase anyone's force-sensitivity. This could have
any number of uses and benefits for Palpatine, but only if this power is strictly under his control.

- Hemlock's ambition is to become the Imperial Science Minister, such that he might gain direct political power along with the power
he already holds as an important Imperial. The Emperor knows this, and uses it as the carrot to keep Hemlock motivated.


For the third time, disney SW has a ship getting unexpectedly thrown out of hyperspace right next to a planet. This was
first shown in The Clone Wars 'Victory and Death' (S7E12), where the creators introduced this absurdity, which ignores
the vast emptiness of interstellar space and the nature of safe hyperspace travel established in Episode IV. The destroyer
in that story was way too close to a planet when it dropped out of hyperspace prematurely, just as the Marauder was in
'Replacements' (S1E3). It was nearly impossible for this to happen once, twice was beyond statistically impossible, and
now it is shown that somehow this has happened three times in the span of two years, and twice involving the same
person. This is simply beyond absurd. If a ship is inadvertently thrown out of any hyperspace journey, the chance of being
anywhere close to a planet is so incredibly remote that it is practically zero. In addition, safe hyperspace travel routes do
not run close to planets, they run between starsystems, and only veer close to approach planets as they are preparing to
exit hyperspace. Even if hyperspace routes did travel through the planetary disc of starsystems, which they absolutely
do not, if the hyperdrive were deactivated at a random point during flight, the chances of coming out of hyperspace
anywhere near this close to a planet would still be so astronomical it is probably statistically impossible.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel


- Lau is a stark but liveable terrestrial planet located in the Meerian Sector, in the New Territories region of the Outer Rim. It is
a cool world, but with temperatures usually above freezing in the equatorial and sub-polar regions. It is a notably windy
world with a limited ecosystem, possibly the result of transplantation or terraformation. Lau is inhabited by Humans
and other interstellar races, and there are small cities and some degree of planetary infrastructure.


- As suspected but not previously stated this early in the timeline, the Empire actively monitors long-range communications.
This is made easily possible because any transmission covering any serious amount of interstellar space requires using
the linking stations and relay satellites of the HyperCom network, which is maintained by the galactic state.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communications

- Passage on legally registered transport without a chain code is already restricted, even on a minor planet like Lau.

- Staff Captain Mann is the local Imperial slug in the unnamed little city on Lau. He flouts his Imperial authority, is openly corrupt,
and is using his position and resources to traffic in valuable animals. It seems Imperial policy was to distribute self-serving
and amoral individuals as widely as possible to oversee the middle-management of this transitional period.

- 35,000 credits is apparently worth two unauthorized tickets on a shuttle and a little extra, according to Omega. This seems
like highway robbery, even considering the illegality and risk involved. Two decades later, 10,000 Imperial credits is
almost enough to buy a starship, according to Luke. Taking into account even modest inflation, 20,000 credits in
this time period should allow them to buy a ship from someone on this planet. It is also possible all the starships
in this particular town are all Imperial or passenger ships, and the ticket taker knows they have no choice but to pay.

- The Empire is utilizing a previously unseen class of cargo freighter at the spaceport on Lau for Mann's animal trading.
Based on the design elements, this class of freighter is clearly a product of Gallofree Yards.


- The Empire tracks their stolen ships in a manner that cannot be easily circumvented. This probably means there is a secondary
tracking system beyond the ship's regular communications transponder, which can be deactivated. Omega sends coded signal
to Hunter via HyperCom. Coded messages can presumably be sent on regular hyperspace channels without fear of
interception, so long as the recipient is the only party who can understand the code.
Main Article: Hyperspace Communications

ANALYSIS
Palpatine warns Hemlock that "there are many, even within our own ranks, that would consider much of your work an abomination."
The Emperor is wise to hide his abominations for the sake of public relations, of course, but is also considering that his internal
support network has already to contend with some dark changes in the last year, and need to be sheltered from such developments
for political reasons. The political class on Coruscant and throughout the galaxy can be carefully pruned and ideologically retrained
as the Empire progresses, such that eventually the Emperor will not have to restrict his horrors from subordinates as much. At
the same time, even two decades into Imperial rule Palpatine still contends with public opinion and is forced to dance around
for the sake of the Senate. In this time period, it is all the more vital he not upset his new order with proof of his true nature.

The Empire succeeded in pressing its advantage over the galaxy in its first year of rule by adopting a generalized approach, pressing
identity paper requirements, and focusing on controlling interstellar transit. The broad application of these oppressive but politically
justifiable legal regimes laid the groundwork for the galaxy the Emperor wished to build, while also disrupting any attempt at large scale
resistance. The galaxy was forced to accept and acclimate to the chain code system, which also served to identify and monitor citizens,
along with travel restrictions, restrictions on unregistered private starships, and an increase in the expense of travel, all designed to
restrict mobility. The broad application of this system allowed problem areas, groups, and individuals to come to Imperial attention
such that more specified approaches could be applied. At the same time, the Empire's would-be opponents, such as the Batch, found that
the Empire's new restrictions hampered their attempts to move and organize at every turn, and spent much of their time just keeping their
heads above water. When they were forced to confront the Empire, there was little support and few places to fall back to. The disruption of
any initial resistance to the early Empire would ensure the Palpatine's first decade of rule was largely unchallenged by serious rebellion.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
Report Pending