WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1, Episode 2, “Cut and Run,” streaming now on Disney+.
For anyone that forgot The Bad Batch is a direct sequel to The Clone Wars, let Episode 2 serve as a reminder. “Cut and Run” sees Clone Force 99 meet up with an old friend, who reveals a major Star Wars character’s first move after the fall of the Republic.
The premiere episode of The Bad Batch, “Aftermath,” concluded with the titular group escaping their homeworld of Kamino after Tarkin and the Imperials turned their brother, Crosshair, against them. Without anywhere else to turn, Clone Force 99 decides to seek out an ally that can help them get off the grid in Episode 2. They end up on the planet Saleucami, where Cut, a Clone who deserted the Republic during the Clone Wars, lives with his wife and two children.
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Cut made his Star Wars debut in The Clone Wars Season 2 episode, “Deserter.” In that entry, Obi-Wan, Commander Cody and Captain Rex are in pursuit of General Grevious, who takes them on a wild goose chase that ends on Saleucami. However, while on patrol with some of his troops, Rex is separated from his group after being shot by a commando droid, and he ends up in Cut’s home. At first, Rex can’t understand why a Clone would desert his post, but after a few tough conversations, he begins to understand why Cut chose to live a normal life.
“Deserter” was Cut’s only appearance in The Clone Wars, but his friendship with Rex never faded. In “Cut and Run,” the Bad Batch find their way to Cut, who they met on one of their previous missions. They quickly give him a rundown of what’s happened to the Republic and the Clone Army, but, much to their surprise, the former soldier has some information of his own.
Cut tells the Bad Batch that a day before they arrived on Saleucami, Rex passed through and was going on about inhibitor chips. Now, while that dialogue was mostly a throwaway line to get the group talking about the Clone Army’s programming, it also reveals what Rex did directly after the events of Order 66. The finale of The Clone Wars saw Rex and Ahsoka Tano fight for their lives on a Republic Cruiser after the 501st was given the horrific order. Rex and Ahsoka were both able to survive, but the rest of the captain’s battalion lost their lives, leaving Rex and Ahsoka to bury the bodies.
That somber moment in The Clone Wars was Rex’s last appearance before his eventual return in Star Wars Rebels. In that series, Rex is living out his days on the planet Seelos alongside fellow Clones Gregor and Wolfe. How Rex got to Seelos and found Gregor and Wolfe has remained a mystery for years, but, after its latest episode, The Bad Batch looks primed to solve it. While there’s a lot of ground to cover in Rex’s story, with the Clone set to return once again in The Bad Batch, it’s only a matter of time before his journey from captain to member of the Rebellion becomes crystal clear.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. New episodes premiere every Friday on Disney+.
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