This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, episodes 1-3.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, episode 3 secretly contains a Darth Vader Easter egg that reveals what Palpatine really thought of his apprentice all along. Emperor Palpatine is undoubtedly the greatest villain of Star Wars history, and his evil dominates the entire Skywalker saga. Death itself wasn’t enough to stop the Emperor; Palpatine used cloning to resurrect himself, as seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Now, five years after the sequel trilogy came to an end, Star Wars is revealing how those cloning experiments began. The end of Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 saw Omega captured by the Empire; she found herself at a secret cloning facility run by the ruthless Dr. Hemlock, who was convinced his experiments were key to the Empire’s future. Hemlock, it seems, is trying to create Force-sensitive clones by injecting Midi-chlorians. In The Bad Batch season 3, episode 3, Palpatine himself arrives at the Mount Tantiss base to personally oversee the experiments – and he drops a Darth Vader Easter egg that many would miss.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Voice Cast – What The Actors Look Like In Real Life
Star Wars: The Bad Batch has quite an interesting cast of actors that features multiple Star Wars veterans, as well as a few newcomers.
Palpatine Is Secretly Referring To Darth Vader In Bad Batch Season 3, Episode 3
Speaking to Dr. Hemlock, Palpatine refers to those who would believe what they are doing to be an abomination. The word-choice is unusual, because Palpatine clearly seems to be referring to an article of faith; this is because Palpatine’s research would be heretical to the Sith. Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader series saw Palpatine’s apprentice discover some of the Emperor’s similar experiments, and he called them an abomination there too.
The Sith code seems to have forbidden blending science with the Force, and there’s a good reason for this. More recent comics have revealed the ancient Sith encountered Force cults who attempted to duplicate the Force through scientific means, a huge challenge to the power and authority of the Sith. Palpatine is disregarding the Sith code, pursuing immortality through a blend of science and dark side powers, and he clearly doesn’t care about the fact his fellow Sith would consider this an abomination.
Palpatine Never Intended To Be Replaced By Darth Vader
Palpatine’s experiments in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 are heretical. But they also reveal just what he really thought about Darth Vader and the Sith code itself; he viewed them as means to an end, and his supreme goal was simply to grant himself power. According to the Sith Rule of Two, Palpatine should have been amassing as much power as possible, while ensuring the longevity of the Sith by preparing his apprentice to one day surpass him. Such selflessness is, of course, the very antithesis of Palpatine’s character; he never had any intention of being succeeded by anyone, including the Chosen One.
It has often been theorized that Palpatine sought out the Chosen One as a future host, intending to transfer his essence into Anakin’s body and thus gain his power. But Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2 revealed even this isn’t the case, because Palpatine’s cloning experiments – which included a monstrous creature called the Zilo Beast – began before the Clone Wars had ended. Palpatine always hoped to be able to transfer himself into a clone body; at best, Anakin Skywalker’s body would be a contingency for if those plans failed.
Dr. Hemlock’s experiments in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 raise the chilling possibility Palpatine one day intended to steal Anakin’s power in a far more brutal way. Hemlock is attempting to extract Midi-chlorians from a “donor,” implanting them within a clone body to grant this clone access to the Force. Anakin Skywalker had a higher Midi-chlorian count than even Grandmaster Yoda, meaning he’d have been the perfect donor. It’s quite possible that Palpatine originally intended to use Darth Vader as a Midi-chlorian donor, nothing more.
Darth Vader Was Always A Tool To Palpatine, Nothing More
One thing is becoming abundantly clear; for all Palpatine claimed a degree of affection for Darth Vader, his apprentice was never anything more than a tool. Palpatine never had any intention of allowing his apprentice to one day surpass him; instead, the Emperor charged Dr. Hemlock with combing science and sorcery to grant him eternal life. The Emperor’s goal was to establish an Empire that would never die, because its Emperor lived forever.
The scale of Palpatine’s plan is absolutely breathtaking. What is shocking, though, is just how little the Emperor cared for the powerful beings he had gathered to his side. He had discarded his earlier apprentices, Maul and Dooku, without a second thought; and Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 subtly confirms he always planned to do the same with Darth Vader.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3, episodes 1-3 are available now on Disney+. Future episodes release Wednesdays at 12:00 AM PT, 3:00 AM ET, and 8:00 a.m. GMT.
