‘Luminous Beings Are We’

So I’ve long been fixated on the symbolism of the clone’s appearance in Star Wars - it first began in The Clone Wars, with each clone discovering their own individuality and decorating both their bodies and their armor accordingly - think of the Republic crest which decorates both Jesse’s face and his helmet, and becomes a hard-hitting symbol of the end of the Republic which accompanies his death.

In The Bad Batch, clone armor has always been used to symbolize the character’s moral position- initially the main colors of the batch’s armor are black and red, showing both their power, and the element of mystery and otherness that they hold in comparison to standard clone groups. Crosshair’s turn to the empire is shown by him shedding his own armor, and donning a new, entirely black set, with no individuality at all.

In season two, the batch began removing certain sections of their armor and added pieces of a more civilian nature, such as Hunter’s scarf. The pieces of armor that remained were painted a lighter colour, showing that they were gradually leaving their lives as soldiers, or at least those of members of an elite squad, behind them.

In contrast, if you look at a character like Rex, he is still wearing the same armor from his service in the GAR, with only a few minor yet still currently unexplained modifications. He is the one holding onto the past and his service in the army, and it is his identity which drives him to save as many of his brothers as he can.

All of these ideas are particularly apparent in the new season three character posters which have just been released.

Now, while I have previously discussed the idea that the clone assassin is Tech, these posters have me equally convinced that it could actually be Cody.

I believe that Cody has the longest history of any clone in the franchise, being the only clone of any significance in the live-action films, and being prominent in both canon and legends material. As a standard clone, he would most likely have started his commission in the GAR with the general, all white trooper armor, and then decorated it himself as he gained individuality after leaving Kamino. In Brotherhood, the novel which takes place in 22BBY, Cody is described as wearing yellow armor, but, as we see in The Clone Wars, which takes place slightly later, his armor, along with that of the 212th, is more of an orange/gold. This small change could symbolize Cody’s own choice of armor paint being subtly darkened by his experience of war - he is still a loyal soldier of the GAR, but his experiences have changed him.

The orange armor quickly became synonymous with Cody, which is why it was such a shock to audiences to see him with grey armor in The Bad Batch season two. It is a sign that his individuality has been stripped away from him by the empire, but Cody himself still retains the capacity for individual thought and decision making, as shown by his actions in the episode. I also believe that clone armor colors not only symbolize the clones themselves, but also their Jedi generals - the 212th orange symbolized the positivity and energy which came alongside serving under General Kenobi, just as the 501st blue symbolized the freedom and fresh viewpoints of General Skywalker. Therefore, Cody’s grey armor also symbolizes his grief for what he did to Obi-Wan - the man who first provided him the space to discover his own individuality is now ‘dead’ at Cody’s own hand.

I have also long believed that there is a high chance that Cody did not end up escaping at the end of this episode, and was instead captured by the empire for use in experiments.

The release of these character posters seems very deliberate - Star Wars has always been about the battle between light and dark, but due to it’s association with the force, I don’t think we have ever seen clones portrayed in posters in such a manner. The cinematography staff of The Bad Batch have been very vocal recently on the importance of lighting in the show, and I believe that the posters are no exception.

If we look at these poster in order, it is interesting that Wolffe’s seems to be darker than the one featuring Hemlock and Emerie, especially considering how stable he appeared in the past episode.

I believe that this symbolizes that there will be consequences for Wolffe for his decision to let Rex and the others escape, and that he will be subjected to the same treatment which was used in an attempt to change Crosshair, which will leave him the unstable individual we first meet in Rebels.

This idea of placing the clones on a scale from light to dark has me concerned that this season will show the end of Cody’s arc, shifting from the bright white armor he first began with, ending with him wearing the dark armor of a clone assassin.

This idea is only furthered by Rex’s group referring to the clone assassins as ‘shadows’. The reason behind the name is obvious- the clones are shadows of their former selves, having been stripped of all identifying information and individuality.