What HAPPENED to the Zygerrian Empire? | Bad Batch Explained

#StarWars #BadBatch #Episode5 #Zygerria #Kadavos #ZygerrianEmpire #Explained

0:00-1:03 - Introduction
1:03-3:08 - Clone Wars Arc Recap
3:08-5:14 - What ACTUALLY Happened!

In episode 5 of the Bad Batch Rampage, our heroes are forced to do mercenary work in exchange for fennec shand’s identity. This brings them directly into conflict with a group of Zygerrian slavers. Tasked with rescuing the baby rancor Moochi, the plan goes horribly wrong and the entire team except for omega gets captured. As omega attempts to break the rest of the team out, we hear in the background the monologue of the lead zygerrian slaver. As the zygerrian is talking he briefly mentions returning to Kadavo now that the Republic is gone. He then talks about rebuilding now that the Empire has allowed slavery. But before we can find out more, a Zygerrian guard catches Omega.

So the question now is what happened on Kadavo and what happened to the Zygerrian Empire? To find out we have to take a look at the Clone Wars 3 episode arc to understand what caused the fall of this once powerful empire. I’ll first do a brief recap of the three episodes, so if you are already familiar skip ahead to the more detailed answer, use the timestamps down below as a guide.

In the clone wars arc we follow Anakin, Obi Wan, and Ahsoka as they investigate the sudden disappearance of Torgutan colonist on the planet Kiros. They then discover that these colonist have been kidnapped and forced into slavery by Zygerrian slavers. In the first epsiode it is revealed that the Zygerrian Queen intends to use these colonist at an auction in order to revive the slavery traditions of the Zygerrian Empire. The three then venture forward find and rescue the colonists.

Upon landing on Zygerria, Anakin and Ahsoka infiltrate the Zygerrian Empire, managing to secure an audience with the Queen. Posing as a slaver, Anakin prevents the assassination of the Queen by a rebellious slave and offers Ahsoka as a replacement. The Zygerrian Queen enchanted by Anakin offers him a seat by her side in the upcoming slave auction. Simultaneously, Obi Wan and Rex attempt to enter the Slave pits. However, unable to find the colonists, Obi Wan decides to help set the Togruta governor of Kiros, Gupat Roshti, free. But he is then interrupted as the guards manage to stop and capture Obi Wan with Rex still managing to escape.

During the slave auction, the Queen announces a special guest and introduces Obi Wan Kenobi. She then orders Anakin to whip his fellow jedi to prove his motivations. However with the help of Ahsoka, R2-D2, and Rex, Anakin attempts to improvise an escape. This fails miserably and the whole party gets captured. The Queen then forces Anakin to be her personal slave and bodyguard in exchange for the lives of his friends. Ahsoka is then kept in the palace while Rex and Obi Wan are transferred to a reprocessing center on Kadavo. The Queen then offers to free the rest of the group on the condition that Anakin joins her willingly, arguing that Anakin is after all already a slave to the republic.

Anakin eventually manages to break free, and reducing Ahsoka in the process. However, the Zygerrian Queen attempting to persuade Dooku that she could force the jedi to submit is force choked to death after disobeying the Sith Lord. Ahsoka and Anakin then race to the reprocessing center on Kadavo to set Obi Wan and Rex free. In the process of doing so, Plo Koon arrives with reinforcements, destroying the facility entirely.

The jedis during the clone wars effectively ended the Zygerrian Slave trade before it could be reborned. The destruction of the slave reprocessing centre and the death of the Zygerrian Queen essentially prevented the beginnings of a new slave empire. However, while the jedi may have stopped its rebirth during the clone wars era, the history between the jedi and Zygerria goes a long way back. In the clone wars we learn that the Zygerrian Empire is effectively built on top of slavery, however, before the clone wars the Jedi arrived and forced the Zygerrians to end the slave trade.

Following the Republic’s decision to outlaw slavery, the Jedi embarked on an anti-slavery campaign in the outer rim. Targeting Zygerrians specifically, the Jedis were able to crush the Empire and liberate its slaves. As a result the Zygerrian empire fractured, forcing Zygerrians to retreat to their homeworld. The Republic and the Jedi ended their pursuit believing the Zygerrians to be no longer a threat. However, Zygerrians continued to dream of the restoration of their empire. They would then run major slaver organisations in the year in between, eventually allying themselves with the separatists. So while we do see the Jedi fighting Zygerrian slavers during the Clone Wars, the Empire was already a shadow of its former self. In reality, the destruction of Kadavo only prevented the resurgence of the Zygerrian slave trade...