WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the series premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, “Aftermath,” now streaming on Disney+.
In the premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Wrecker has a stuffed toy, Lula, that he is very attached to. When the team escapes Kamino, he frantically searches for the toy, which Omega finds and returns to him. However, while this toy might be in the episode to emphasize Wrecker’s childlike nature, it also raises questions about Clone Force 99’s upbringing.
In past appearances, the Kaminoans have seemed to be overly pragmatic in their treatment of the Clones, even as children, but Wrecker’s possession of a beloved toy to go against that narrative. In “Clone Cadets,” the Season 3 premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, viewers see inside the barracks of young Clones. The cadets sleep in bunk pods, and they have lockers below the bunks to store gear. In fact, when cadet Hevy almost defects, the audience sees that his locker only contains his gear. This could indicate that Hevy just doesn’t really have any personal effects, but his lack of possessions could be true for most cadets on Kamino.
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In contrast, Clone Force 99’s quarters are far more lived in. Instead of pods, the team has larger, open bunks in a room with a large window and a common area in the middle. Clone Force 99’s room is drastically different than the sterile environment of the rest of the cloning facility, and their possessions may reveal that they have received some special treatment over the years that allowed them to accumulate these possessions.
Lula, in particular, indicates that the team may have had someone looking out for them who showed them a bit more affection than Clones usually receive from their creators. Lula is a stuffed toy that resembles a tooka cat, and it looks like it could be handmade. Notably, Lula is Clone Force 99’s signature colors of black, red and white, and its features seem to be painted on rather than being an intrinsic part of the toys’ design.
The importance of Lula to Wrecker becomes apparent throughout “Aftermath.” When the team returns to their quarters, Wrecker first marks tallies on the wall to represent the team’s successful missions, and then he immediately goes to his bunk and picks up Lula. Later, after the team’s gear is moved to the hanger, Wrecker frantically searches for something. But while the audience knows he is looking for Lula, he does not actually state what he is looking for.
Fortunately, earlier in the episode, when Omega went on a “research assignment” to Clone Force 99’s quarters, she examines the toy. That leads to a moment where Wrecker is frantically searching for something, only for Omega to give him Lula without being told exactly what he is searching for. While Omega, like the audience, may simply have deduced the toy’s importance to Wrecker, it also may be another indication that she has strong insight that could be connected to her abilities or to the Force.
Overall, Wrecker’s possession of Lula raises many questions. And while these mysteries are yet to be solved, the focus on the toy in the first episode hints at its importance, and future episodes may use it as a tool to reveal more about Clone Force 99’s origins.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. The second episode airs Friday on Disney+.
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