We’re talking about the giant Zillo beast, who slaughtered an entire starship crew in the best “alien” way before the start of the last episode of “The Bad Batch”. In the episode itself, the remnants of the eponymous Bad Batch encounter the gigantic, electricity-feeding, growing cattle. After briefly reminding us that we’ve seen such a creature in an attack on Coruscant before (a reference to events in the Clone Wars series), a key power of the monster is also revealed to a new audience: the has armor, so blaster fire can hardly harm him.
While a giant crocodile monster probably only prompted an action scene in the third season of “The Mandalorian” (and there’s a reunion with hyperspace whales, which we’ll elaborate on here), the Zillo beast has greater significance for the ” Star Wars universe. Because the monster is about cloning. This is a theme that also plays a prominent role in The Mandalorian. Both series seem to form the great basis for the already completed return of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in “Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker” deliver.
“The Bad Batch” and “The Mandalorian” provide clone background
Cloning technology plays a particularly important role in “The Bad Batch”. After all, the main characters are all clones. In the new episode, they find out that the Emperor didn’t destroy their house of Kamino to end the cloning, but to control it himself. The Zillo Beast is also a clone – probably from the Empire’s factory. We also meet Imperial scientist Dr. Ken Hemlock – who eventually learns that Omega is a particularly interesting clone out there.
The fact that the Emperor is so interested in cloning technology should, as I said, be a reference to his return in “Star Wars 9”., which he probably prepared during his lifetime. Finally, we know that the emperor was obsessed with the desire to be immortal. Cloning yourself over and over is very close to immortality.
The episode of Bad Batch also ends with Hemlock hunting down Omega, while the Bad Batch tries to learn more about the cloning program. This makes it clear that cloning will continue to be an important topic in the coming episodes.
And not only in “The Bad Batch” that plays a role. As The Mandalorian now focuses on Din Djarin’s (Pedro Pascal) penance for removing helmets in the mines below Mandalore, let’s not forget why Post-Imperials were after Grogu. The scientific management of the hunt had with Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) a clone engineer. His experiments, for which he wanted Grogu, also seem to refer directly to the Emperor’s return in “Star Wars 9”. And it’s already been revealed that Pershing will return in season three, so his research will continue to play a role.
Does the Disney Plus series “Star Wars 9” explain after the fact?
The return of Palpatine in “Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalker”, conceived without much preparation, was repeatedly criticized by fans. There is currently much to suggest that “The Mandalorian” and “The Bad Batch” together will now yield this substructure. In fact, both series are set at very different times – in “The Bad Batch” the empire was just established shortly after the events of “Episode III”, in “The Mandalorian” it collapsed shortly after the events of “Episode VI” . . Nevertheless, both Disney Plus series now seem to have some connection.
It is therefore perhaps no coincidence that the last episodes of the second season of “The bad party‘ and the first episodes of the third season of ‘The Mandalorian“ will now run parallel on Disney+ throughout March 2023 and always appear together on a Wednesday. Perhaps there are even overlaps despite the time difference? Many fans hope that an adult Omega suddenly appears in “The Mandalorian”. It’s not really likely at the moment, but one can hope…
In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the current episode of “The Mandalorian,” we recommend the following video. Our YouTube editor Sebastian takes a closer look at the start of the third season. There’s a lot in this: