Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode 15.

The penultimate episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch has begun to answer a mystery from The Mandalorian. When Din Djarin rescued the Force-sensitive infant named Grogu from the Empire's clutches, at first it was unclear just why the Empire wanted "Baby Yoda." The experiments upon the Child were being conducted by a mysterious scientist named Dr. Pershing, and little by little The Mandalorian revealed his secrets.

Dr. Pershing wore an Imperial logo that was similar to Kaminoan insignia from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, leading to speculation he was a cloner. Lucasfilm confirmed this in The Art of The Mandalorian. "The symbol Dr. Pershing has on the right shoulder of his Imperial scientist uniform was inspired by the emblem first seen on the Kamino-based clone soldiers in 2002's Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," the book noted. Finally, The Mandalorian season 2, episode 8 explicitly confirmed the connection between Dr. Pershing and Kamino; he was identified as an Imperial Clone Engineer. But why did Kaminoan logos become absorbed into the Empire?

Related: When Crosshair Removed His Inhibitor Chip & Why He Still Serves The Empire

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 1, episode 15 finally answered the question, with the Empire shutting down the clone project on Kamino. But, although the Empire was dissatisfied with the Kaminoans' clones, that didn't mean they wanted this science to be abandoned; instead, they took the scientists of Kamino and implicitly killed all those they didn't have a use for. The cloners of Kamino were thus folded into the Empire's nascent scientific structure. Presumably they taught the first generation of Imperial Clone Engineers, and some of their logos and insignias were permanently absorbed into this branch of Imperial science.

Star Wars Bad Batch Kamino

Rampart and Tarkin may not have been impressed by cloning, but it is likely the Emperor himself personally intervened to ensure the secrets of cloning were not forgotten. The Emperor longed to discover the secret of immortality, and he believed the power called "Essence Transfer" - by which a Sith spirit inhabited another host body - was the key. He would naturally have been interested in finding a way to create a clone bodies, as this would have allowed him to simply jump into a duplicate, or potentially a clone of the Chosen One. Tie-in comics have already confirmed the Emperor began sponsoring clone experiments shortly after establishing the Empire in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

The Star Wars timeline can often shift from project-to-project . While this can be confusing for casual viewers, it allows the franchise to weave complex narratives through the timeline; in this case, there seems to be a straightforward connection between Star Wars: The Bad BatchThe Mandalorian, and the Palpatine clones seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. When this interconnected universe works, it can result in a fascinating overarching narrative.

More: The Bad Batch Officially Ends Star Wars' Clone Era

Star Wars: The Bad Batch releases new episodes Fridays on Disney+.

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