WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 7, "Battle Scars," streaming now on Disney+.

Wrecker's condition has steadily declined over the course of the first six episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch due to his inhibitor chip, but he never made the rest of his team aware of the worst of its effects. Although Tech was focused on creating a scanner in Episode 3, the looming problem of the chips was back-burnered as the fugitive Clone Force 99 attempted to find its way in this new Imperial Era. A false sense of security disintegrates in Episode 7, “Battle Scars,” when Captain Rex returns and immediately recognizes the danger. However, his call to action nearly arrives too late.

The reunion with Rex, listed as dead by the Empire, is a happy one, but the atmosphere swiftly turns tense when Wrecker complains about his recurring headaches. Tech assures a wary Rex that he and his teammates are immune to the influence of the inhibitor chips, because of their genetic modifications. However, that only alerts Rex that the members of Bad Batch never removed their chips in the aftermath of Order 66, to say nothing of Crosshair's betrayal. That revelation escalates the situation, and Rex reaches for his blaster, suspicious and haunted by his own actions. He only relents once Hunter asks for advice on how to remove the chips.

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 7

Rex sets up a plan for the team to travel to Bracca to use an old Jedi cruiser’s medical facilities to remove their chips. Although Wrecker's headaches continue to plague him en route to the junkyard planet, he displays the most resistance to the chips' removal. That reluctance could owe to a fear of surgery, but it could just as easily be a fail-safe program.

Wrecker's chip activates after Tech performs the brain scan aboard the wreckage of the cruiser. Wrecker angrily removes the scanner, and Omega immediately notes something is wrong. The activation of Wrecker's chip is accompanied by the same musical cue as Crosshair's arrival after his implant was enhanced.

Like Crosshair's transformation, once Wrecker's chip activates, his personality change is staggering, and highlights just how dangerous he can be. He easily tosses Tech aside, and insists his teammates are "in direct violation of Order 66 and must be terminated." The entire sequence, from the moment Wrecker grabs Tech's wrist to the when he knocks out Hunter, leaving Omega the last one standing, takes about 1 minute and 36 seconds. And that's with Rex and Clone Force 99 on full alert; if Wrecker's chip had been activated earlier, it seems unlikely anyone would have survived his wrath.

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Wrecker Star Wars The Bad Batch

After Wrecker knocks out the rest of the team, the episode becomes a chase sequence, and showdown between he and Omega. While the situation is dire, the confrontation shows that Wrecker actually is still in there, fighting. His main strength has always been brute force, and he uses it to brutal effect. Omega is just a child, and he could easily kill her with his bare hands. However, when Wrecker corners Omega, he notably aims a gun at her, even though she is right in front of him. While this move could be the result of the producers' reluctance to depict physical violence toward a child, it also could demonstrate that Wrecker is trying to resist. He says, "Good soldiers follow orders," but he nevertheless appears to struggle. His hesitation gives Rex enough time to stun Wrecker. However, the implication is that if Rex hadn't been there, Wrecker would have lost the battle... and killed Omega.

Thus, the team is able to complete the procedure on Wrecker. At first, it is touch-and-go, with Wrecker remaining unconscious longer than expected. Nevertheless, he pulls through. After the success with Wrecker, the others have their chips removed (with the exception of Omega, who doesn't have an implant). Afterward, Wrecker states, "I tried to control it. I tried as hard as I could. I just couldn't make it stop." Wrecker has been struggling with the chip for the majority of the series, and while it has been removed, he has new battle scars of the psychological variety that could have been prevented if the team had acted sooner.

Taking so long to deal with their inhibitor chips nearly led to the demise of Clone Force 99. It was only Captain Rex's interference that saved them from themselves. Wrecker’s transformation shows just how much the inhibitor chips affect clone personalities. Also, his transformation illustrates how little of a chance Crosshair had of fighting its influence once his activated, especially considering the Empire enhanced the implant's functions. While the team no longer has to worry about their own chips, the actions of other clones still following the Empire's orders remains a primary concern.

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+.

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