Since Star Wars began, fans have always been eager to know more about the unexplored corners of the galaxy far, far away. The first film offered a tantalizing tease of the Clone Wars, while the later revelation that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father would inspire all kinds of speculation about the story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. As the franchise has gone on, more and more narrative gaps have been filled in, but just as many new ones have emerged. Star Wars: The Bad Batch has been steadily exploring one of these previously untold stories.
The animated series The Bad Batch began at the very end of the Clone Wars, on the day Order 66 was carried out and Palpatine made himself Emperor. While the period between Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope has been explored by other series (such as Star Wars Rebels and Obi-Wan Kenobi), only The Bad Batch has shone a light on the very beginnings of the Empire. More specifically, the series focused on the phasing out of the Republic's Clone Troopers in favor of Imperial Stormtroopers. With Season 3 confirmed to be the end of The Bad Batch, this pivotal story in the Star Wars canon can find real closure.
The Bad Batch's Ending Can Pave the Way for the Age of the Empire
Over the course of the series' first two seasons, the Bad Batch themselves have found their place in the galaxy is starting to disappear. While some Clones -- namely Rex, Wolffe and Gregor -- would go on to aid the Rebellion, Clone Force 99 do not share these Clones' connection to the Rebel cause. Instead, they have found themselves simply trying to survive as they become paternal figures to their younger Clone sister, Omega. As the members of the Bad Batch do not factor into any Star Wars stories set later in the timeline, Season 3 has the opportunity to close their story with a satisfying and definitive conclusion.
Alongside Clone Force 99's struggle to find a new home in the changing galaxy, The Bad Batch has seen all Clones facing new difficulties as the Empire moves to decommission them to usher in the age of the Stormtrooper. The specifics of how and why the Empire replaced Clones with Stormtrooper recruits, as well as the story of what became of the Clones, have been central concerns for the series and a huge part of what has kept Star Wars fans tuning in. A commitment to concluding the series with Season 3 means this story can be properly resolved, with The Bad Batch showing the full transformation from the galaxy seen in the Star Wars prequels to the galaxy as it appears under the Empire in the original trilogy.
How The Bad Batch Differs From Other Star Wars Series
The Bad Batch's third season being named its final one has set it apart from other current Star Wars series. While Andor is also moving towards a definitive conclusion, fans already know how Cassian Andor's story ends, whereas it is not yet clear what might become of the members of the Bad Batch. Other series, such as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and even the upcoming Ahsoka, all seem to have the freedom to continue almost indefinitely, with decades of narrative to cover before they start running into the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
It would have been possible for The Bad Batch to continue its main characters' stories beyond the rise of the Imperial Stormtrooper and into the age of the Rebellion, setting them up as Rebel heroes or guns for hire once Clones had become a distant memory for the rest of the galaxy. However, by giving their story a conclusion, Star Wars is offering fans closure on this particular corner of its vast canon. Ending on Season 3 also sees the series emulate the trilogy-based storytelling of the Star Wars movies, and rightly so -- the ending of The Bad Batch will mark the end of an era. Finishing the series means closing the book on a time when Clones had any place in the galaxy, tying up the last loose ends of the prequel era.