Warning - This article contains spoilers for Part 1 of the Season 1 finale of The Bad Batch.
Much of the appeal of Star Wars: The Bad Batch — Lucasfilm Animation's latest animated series — is where it belongs on the Star Wars timeline.
Star Wars content through the decades has shown the end of the Republic, the fall of the Empire, and even beyond. However, that critical period between Order 66 and the Galactic Empire at its peak has remained unexplored until The Bad Batch.
To date, The Bad Batch has served as a bridge between two eras; but in the first half of its Season 1 finale, the series destroyed the location responsible for the Clone Wars which was first shown in 2002's Attack of the Clones.
CLONE WARS KAMINO DESTROYED IN THE BAD BATCH
In the latest episode titled "Return to Kamino," Clone Force 99 journeys to Kamino to rescue their leader, Hunter. The situation is further complicated by the fact Crosshair — the former member of the squad — is anticipating their every move.
Audiences are shown corners of Kamino never before seen on screen thanks to Omega's knowledge of the facilities and its secrets; but still, the city is but a shell of its former self.
There are no clones or Kaminoans, only new TK Stormtroopers and, of course, Crosshair. Still, the clones revisit locations on Kamino featured prominently in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the early episodes of The Bad Batch.
In fact, much of the action between Clone Force 99 and Crosshair occurs in the Kaminoan training room. This is where audiences saw clones train for combat in The Clone Wars, including Fives who first revealed the existence of the inhibitor chip as well as Clone Force 99's own member, Echo.
The training room is also where Clone Force 99 demonstrated their skills to Grand Moff Tarkin at the start of the season.
It's only fitting that this is where Hunter and Crosshair truly confront their opposing ideologies and the freedom of choice, and it's also where they learn three Venators have been ordered to destroy the city.
The final moments of the episode show three Imperial Venator-class Star Destroyers slowly approaching through the heavy rain and lightning; and after a few quick shots of the now-abandoned Kamino's interior, the destroyers rain down fire on the city as it explodes and crumbles beneath the waves.
THE CLONE WARS ARE TRULY OVER
Fans have known that Kamino and the clones themselves were on borrowed time from the moment they were first introduced in Attack of the Clones.
However, the ending of this episode finally reveals how it happened and marks the end of an era for not just the fans but also the clones that remain like Clone Force 99 and Captain Rex.
Still, the end of Kamino doesn't mean the end of cloning within the Star Wars Universe.
The previous episode titled "War-Mantle" showed Kamino's chief scientist, Nala Se, being taken by the Empire, and "Return to Kamino" supported this in communicating that "cloning technology is now firmly under Imperial control."
It seems that Kamino's cloning and Nale Se's new servitude to the Empire will connect to the cloning facilities seen in The Mandalorian's Season 2 and possibly the cloning of Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
Perhaps this connection will be further explained in Part 2 of The Bad Batch's Season 1 finale streaming on Friday, August 13 on Disney+.
