The Bad Batch Sees the Return of The Clone Wars' Rafa & Trace Martez

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 6, "Decommissioned," streaming now on Disney+.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Martez sisters' arc, which focuses on Ahsoka meeting Rafa and Trace Martez, two sisters who own a repair shop and are trying to make ends meet in the wake of their parents' death, received a lot of hate and was accused of being filler. However, the arc actually served a meaningful purpose to The Clone War's finale, and "Decommissioned," the most recent episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, shows that the Martez sisters are an important part of the fight against the Empire.

Despite the hate that the arc received, its episodes actually serve an important place in Ahsoka's development and in setting up the final arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. After Ahsoka leaves the Jedi, she is directionless, but after her speeder breaks down, she meets Trace Martez, who allows her to work in their repair shop. While working there, Ahsoka gets pulled into one of Rafa's get-rich-quick schemes, which quickly goes haywire. Rafa makes a deal to transport spice to the Pyke Syndicate, but Trace dumps the cargo when Ahsoka reveals how dangerous spice can be in the wrong hands. Through a series of captures and quick thinking, Ahsoka and the Martez sisters escape the Pykes, and Ashoka learns that Darth Maul is building a criminal empire on Mandalore.

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While the arc serves a critical part in bringing Ahsoka to Mandalore for the finale, the Martez sisters also serve an important role in showing why many people in the galaxy don't view the Jedi as heroes, a viewpoint completely foreign to Ahsoka. Rafa and Trace eventually open up to Ahsoka about how their parents died. During "Hostage Crisis," the final episode of the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, their parents were killed as collateral damage when a Jedi, presumably Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, redirected a destroyed transport away from a crowded platform during Cad Bane's escape with Ziro the Hutt. The Jedi's seemingly cold response when telling the sisters' about her reasons for diverting the transport show that the Jedi, while looking out for the needs of the many over the needs of the few, often lost sight of the importance of the sorrow and grief of the individuals impacted by their actions.

Now, with "Decommissioned," the Martez sisters' future role in the franchise becomes more apparent. Like Clone Force 99, they have been hired to steal a decommissioned tactical droid that is set to be destroyed. While their particular client remains unseen to the audience, the Martez sisters know exactly who hired them, and both Rafa and Trace make it clear that they have taken this mission for reasons beyond just credits. Instead, they know that the tactical droid's information, which mainly focuses on specifically analyzing Clone soldiers' tactics, can help people fight against the Empire in the future. They also stand in contrast to Cid, who clearly falls into a more gray morality and gives Clone Force 99 the mission with little information on the client.

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At the end of the episode, Hunter gives Rafa an information rod with the information from the tactical droid, recognizing that the sisters' motivation for their mission is more important. After leaving the team, Rafa and Trace contact their employer and inform them about Clone Force 99's resistance to the Empire and their possible value as allies.

So, while many people will still spew hate towards the Martez sisters, "Decommissioned" proves that their The Clone Wars arc was important to The Bad Batch and that they will serve an important role in the growing rebellion and in Clone Force 99's understanding of the world in the wake of the new Empire.

Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. The new episodes air Fridays on Disney+.

KEEP READING: The Bad Batch Guide: News, Easter Eggs, Reviews, Recaps, Theories and Rumors


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