Star Wars Finally Makes Kamino’s Destruction Really Matter

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 continues to explore the repercussions of the destruction of Kamino, finally showing the importance of such.

This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2, episodes 7 & 8.Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 explores the repercussions of the Empire’s destruction of Kamino in the season 1 finale, finally making the plot point majorly important to the wider Star Wars galaxy. Introduced in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Kamino was of crucial importance to the cloning program during the Clone Wars. Palpatine sought to abandon this approach after founding the Empire, however, and Kamino was destroyed by Admiral Rampart in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 1 – under the order of Tarkin, a member of Palpatine’s inner circle. The destruction of Kamino, an act of genocide in that it slaughtered the Kaminoans, has been of surprisingly little overall importance to the story of Star Wars.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2’s mid-season two-parter sees Captain Rex and the Bad Batch drawn into a political conspiracy as they seek to help an Imperial senator, Chuchi, uncovered the truth about Rampart’s crimes on Kamino. Rampart planned to replace the clones with a conscripted Imperial military composed of stormtroopers, and Chuchi believed the Kaminoan conspiracy could undermine him. This finally gives Kamino’s fate the importance it deserves.

Related: Why Kamino Wasn’t In The Jedi Archives Confirmed In Star Wars Canon

Kamino’s Destruction Became A Major Political Problem For The Empire

Star Wars: The Bad Batch initially explored the impact of Kamino’s destruction on Clone Force 99, meaning the story lacked scale. The Bad Batch season 2, episodes 7 and 8 reintroduce this as a major political controversy in the Empire, with Rampart pretending the planet had been caught in a catastrophic natural disaster. Many senators believed his word (or pretended to do so), and were thus placated. Others, including Senator Chuchi, did not believe the Empire’s lies.

Admiral Rampart is a disturbing new Star Wars villain, one who has already been willing to commit murder to cover up his crimes; during the course of the two-parter, he even sends clone assassins to silence anyone who questions the story of Kamino’s destruction. Chuchi finally managed to expose Rampart, resulting in a massive political scandal. The Emperor’s plans to establish the Stormtrooper Corps were suddenly thrown into doubt.

Palpatine Used The Clone Conspiracy To His Own Ends

The so-called “Clone Conspiracy” may have been exposed, but Palpatine turned it to his own advantage by intervening personally – showing the same manipulative approach showcased in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Palpatine feigned ignorance of Rampart’s actions on Kamino and arrested him in order to keep the loyalty of the Senate, before shifting the blame for Kamino’s destruction in The Bad Batch season 1 to the clones. The Emperor pointed out the clones followed orders with no hesitation, something he claimed he did not see as desirable – ironic given he had himself issued Order 66, leaving the clones no choice but to follow orders. The effects of Order 66 were lessening with time, however, meaning Palpatine preferred an army he could indoctrinate. He thus gave a personal push for the conscription of stormtroopers, twisting the political scandal to his advantage.

All this explains the title of Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2, episode 7 – “The Clone Conspiracy.” It’s likely this is what the Kaminoan scandal became known as in the Star Wars universe, a result of Palpatine’s manipulation. Sith excel at the worst kind of politics, and Palpatine’s skill at misdirection led the Senate to approve Rampart’s stormtrooper program even as Rampart himself was sent to jail. The destruction of Kamino had an even darker legacy in the Star Wars franchise.

New episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch release every Wednesday on Disney+.

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