Credit: LucasfilmStar Wars continues to surprise fans with a huge focus on darker topics, taking over what most fans believe to be a show meant for kids.
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While many fans grew up with Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels, Dave Filoni always make the effort to start each animated series more fun and light-hearted before aging the series with the audience as they grow older. Kids who watched the Clone Wars got to see how politics and how different planets handled the war and see that not all Separatists were evil and not all of the Republic was good.
Corruption existed everywhere, but Senators like Padme Amidala and Bail Organa were ideal examples of people who fought for the right thing. Sadly, people with the right intentions and the heroes in Star Wars don’t always win. Emperor Palpatine fooled everyone by taking over the Republic and creating the Galactic Empire.
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The Jedi were vanquished. The Senate was silenced. Imperials everywhere ruled with an iron fist, and in The Bad Batch, fans saw far darker things than an average fan would expect. The series debuted showing Order 66 and killing off Master Depa Bilaba after defeating the droid army. Clones acted more like machines as they hunted down any force user due to their orders.
The Bad Batch (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) was unfazed later, but Vice Admiral Rampart presented a new directive. Phasing out the clones for a new soldier. This directive started slowly, but the first season ended with the destruction of Tipoca City with a fleet of Venators. Clones were forced to destroy their home.
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After the shocking finale, fans didn’t know that Tipoca City wasn’t the only target. In Season 2 Episode 8, “Truth and Consequences,” it’s revealed by some clones who served Rampart on Kamino that they destroyed all of the Kaminoan facilities. Everything was destroyed and left most of the Kaminoans were killed or executed elsewhere.
With no way for clones to be created, this action started a tragic genocide for clones and Kaminoans. The Empire won’t help either group for much longer, as they both have served their purpose. While Star Wars has covered dark themes or moments in the past, including genocide and political commentary on rights for individuals was a great departure from what the series normally does.
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For a children’s series, fans weren’t expecting to see so much time spent focusing on issues as dark as this. While the clones tried to get their voice heard by senators like Riyo Chuchi, their actions were useless against Palpatine. Sadly, the Imperial Stormtrooper program will take over, and clones won’t serve in the Empire much longer.
This change shows the powerlessness some characters have and the sad reality that the clones weren’t let go but that their people and cloners faced a terrible fate. This is why in the later years of the Empire, no clones or Kaminoan can be found due to what the Empire did.
Do you think Disney should include darker themes like Genocide in a children’s series? Let us know what you think!