The Bad Batch Season 3 Just Delivered A Star Wars Rebels Clone Trooper Reunion
This article contains spoilers for "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" season 3, episode 6 and episode 7, "Infiltration" and "Extraction."
This week brought two brand new episodes of "The Bad Batch," a larger story in the context of the season's overarching narrative. Though the Bad Batch features prominently in these two episodes, dozens of other Clones take center stage as we learn that Captain Rex has been building an entire cadre of Clones to fight the Empire. Rex has even managed to catch one of the mysterious Clone sleeper agents created by the Empire alive. Unable to get any information out of him, however, Rex and his crew have no idea there's a homing beacon inside the Clone, leading the Empire right to them.
Meanwhile, the Bad Batch answers Rex's call, unaware they're being hunted as well. As more and more Clones on both sides of the conflict arrive at Rex's secret hideout, the stakes increase, and the outcome becomes less and less clear.
But as the various Clones assemble, there are three names in particular that should be instantly recognizable to fans as those who played a prominent role in "Star Wars Rebels," giving us a brand new reunion.
Star Wars Rebels
The second season of "Star Wars Rebels" found Ahsoka Tano calling on old allies to aid in the renewed effort against the Empire. Ahsoka sent a mission led by Kanan Jarrus — who had his own hangups about Clones as a survivor of Order 66 (as seen in the "Bad Batch" series premiere) — to bring them back into the fight. The three Clones, all of whom feature in these episodes, were Captain Rex, Clone Commando Gregor, and Commander Wolffe.
Though they are on different sides in this particular episode of "The Bad Batch," a lot's changed in the time between now and "Rebels." When we caught up with them in the episode "The Lost Commanders," the three of them were retired together on the planet of Seelos and hunting big game like old fishermen in an Ernest Hemingway novel (Rex even has the beard to match).
Together, the three of them joined back up with the Rebellion and aided Ahsoka, Kanan, and the rest of the Ghost Crew in their fight against the Imperials. They made for a bizarre trio of conflicting personalities but quickly became fan favorites, even when they made mistakes.
Their beginnings
Captain Rex has been a central character in "Star Wars" since the original theatrical release of the "Clone Wars" feature film. Attached to Anakin Skywalker as the head of the 501st, Captain Rex galavanted across the galaxy with Anakin and his then-young padawan, Ahsoka. He was also with Ashoka at the end of the Clone Wars, when Order 66 was issued, and as dramatized in the final episodes of the "Clone Wars" TV series, she had to cut the inhibitor chip out of his head. They subsequently went their separate ways, although "The Bad Batch" has shown us what Rex has been up to after the beginning of the Empire.
Meanwhile, Gregor and Wolffe were both introduced in the "Clone Wars" TV show, with Gregor making his debut in the D-Squad arc. Found on a distant planet with amnesia, Gregor had no idea that he was really an elite Clone Commando of the Republic until Col. Meebur Gascon reminded him of such. Then, he tried sacrificing his life so Gascon and his team of droid infiltrators (including R2-D2) could get away with vital information that would help save the Republic from a terrorist bombing.
As for Wolffe, his first appearance came in the early episodes of "The Clone Wars" centering on General Grievous's new experimental weapon, the Malevolence. Wolffe was attached to the Jedi Plo Koon, which makes sense if you're familiar with showrunner Dave Filoni's love of the character. Filoni also has a penchant for including wolves and other wolf-like imagery, as evidenced in the Loth-Wolves on Lothal and the incorporation of Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati in "Ahsoka" (both were named for mythological wolves).
The fates of these clones
We know the final fates of two of these Clones, although the final one's destiny still remains something of a mystery.
For those who watched the "Rebels" finale, it will come as no surprise that Wolffe and Gregor gave their lives fighting against the Empire on Lothal and defending it from Grand Admiral Thrawn as part of Ezra Bridger's grand plan. Their deaths were emotional and seeing them in their younger days on "The Bad Batch," one step closer to that, is heartbreaking.
As for Captain Rex, his legacy goes on a little longer. Indeed, he survived the Battle of Lothal (unlike his other two compatriots) and served throughout the Galactic Civil War, ultimately going on to fight on the ground at the Battle of Endor — and no, he's not that guy with a beard you see in "Return of the Jedi." That's someone else. You'll recognize Rex for having his trademark Clone armored arms underneath his poncho, which was first revealed in a "Galaxy of Adventures" short produced by Lucasfilm for its YouTube channel. And that's the last we've seen of Rex so far. Whether he'll pop up again in the post-"Return of the Jedi" era of "Star Wars" remains a mystery, but with Dave Filoni developing both "Ahsoka" season 2 and a movie set in the age of the New Republic, it feels like a foregone conclusion.
Episodes of the final season of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" premiere on Wednesdays on Disney+.