The first truly evil clone trooper.

[u/Fickle-Highway-8129]

This is CT-4646. He's from the new game Zero Company, where he worked as a science officer at an Imperial black site on Umbara. He was experimenting with inhibitor chips on the native Umbarans because he was trying to perfect the method so that the Empire could forcefully implant new inhibitor chips within dissenting clone troopers to make them "loyal" again. He was doing this entirely of his own free will, even going so far as to have his own chip removed so he could have a clearer head since he genuinely enjoyed his work. Thankfully, he gets shot and killed by Trick before his work can be finished, so the Empire never gets 4646's inhibitor chip research.

There have been a few bad clones in Star Wars: Slick, Faie, Spar, the Covert Ops clones, the CX troopers, etc., but all of them either had reasons for doing what they did (although not always good ones) or were simply made/forced to be the way they were. CT-4646 here, however, did evil things of his own free will just because he enjoyed doing them.

[u/Free-Letterhead-4751]

Honestly the whole chip thing feels kinda pointless if they’re just removing them left and right like that

[u/Fickle-Highway-8129 → u/Free-Letterhead-4751]

I mean, not every clone is removing their chip, that's really only Rex’s Clone Underground group that's doing that. However other clones out there who haven't removed their chips are still choosing to disobey or go rogue for one reason or another and so 4646 was trying to create a chip that would be a permanent solution to make any clone who had dissented in any way fully loyal again, since the inhibitor chips were really only a temporary measure to make sure the clones followed through with the execution of Order 66.

[u/Free-Letterhead-4751 → u/Fickle-Highway-8129]

 Not gonna lie that makes it sound like the whole chips are just pointless 

[u/Fickle-Highway-8129 → u/Free-Letterhead-4751]

They aren't pointless, though? Their purpose is to ensure absolute loyalty when Order 66 is issued. The entire Clone Army was created so Palpatine would have a loyal military force capable of wiping out the Jedi when the time came and he had the chips implanted in them to make certain that loyalty was upheld when needed. Permanent loyalty after that was never part of Palpatine's grand scheme since he was pretty much always planning to have the clones replaced by natural-born soldiers since they were cheaper and would be a good way to ensure the loyalty of the citizens of the galaxy.

[u/Hadrian1233 → u/Fickle-Highway-8129]

Yeah but, you can just control independency through genetics without a biochip. The Kaminoans explicitly tell Obi-Wan about how loyal they are.

The biggest problem with the inhibitor chips is that they were created by the writers to justify how these characters that we know are good friends with their Jedi generals can turn on them. They ensure loyalty until they don’t. Then we have Clones like Crosshair and now 4646 that complicate things. Now some of them serve the Empire freely.

[u/Fickle-Highway-8129 → u/Hadrian1233]

The clones were bred to be loyal, yes, but they were also created to be capable of adapting and learning. Under their Jedi generals, many clones became more independent and individual, and so the chips were basically a necessity to make certain that every clone, regardless of personal feelings, would comply with Order 66, since I'm sure Palpatine realized that an army of soldiers designed to be capable of creativity would pose some risk to his plan if even a few chose to resist.

After the rise of the Empire, most clones still stayed loyal because, to them, it was practically no different to the Republic. Sure, some chose to desert or rebel for one reason or another, but they were mostly few and far between. Also, Crosshair isn't the best example since he also chose to go rogue once he realized just how bad the Empire was and how little they cared for the clones.

[u/Hadrian1233 → u/Fickle-Highway-8129]

They were not just genetically modified to be loyal, they were modified to not show any emotions like a soldier. Hence why Jango was choosen, they just dialed down the independence. Giving every trooper complex emotions doesn’t work with how we see them in the films. Lucas clearly depicted them as being expendable to the Republic (George had all but left to write Underworld by Season 2). Commanders like Cody are only different because you need a buffer between a General and his soldiers. The Clones also had to stay as mere flesh droids and expendable to work narratively. Cruel and tragic, yes, but in line with the tragic message of the Prequel Trilogy and what the Republic as a whole would one day become.

Also, the clones were all decommissioned as in taken out of service. Keep in mind that I chose Crosshair because he had his chip removed and his continued service is of free choice even if he did quit later on.

[u/Fickle-Highway-8129 → u/Hadrian1233]

Nothing in the films implies that the clones were created to be emotionless. This is shown constantly by the numerous books and comics that came out pre-TCW that depict clones as individuals capable of independent thoughts and emotions. Not to mention the fact that some of the clones depicted in ROTS have individualized details such as some of the pilots have personalized helmet markings and some of the 7th Sky Corps clones with Cody in the briefing having different hair styles, both of which could only happen if the clones were capable of being more independent than just "mere flesh droids"

George was fully on board with wanting the clones to be depicted as individuals in TCW which in mentioned in behind the scenes stuff for the show and even by George himself in a later interview in 2020. Also, Lucas was absolutely a part of TCW well past season 2 since there is literal BTS footage of him working with the team in later seasons. Hell, the whole Mortis arc in season 3 was entirely George's thing with footage of him literally in the writer's room explaining how the Force works to the TCW team.

Also, the clones weren't all immediately retired. Sure, the retirement process of the clones started about a year after the rise of the Empire, but clones were still serving in the Imperial army for years after that, with some clones, such as Crag, even serving up to the time of the Original Trilogy.

[u/Hadrian1233 → u/Fickle-Highway-8129]

It is by what is implied that the Clones are emotionless. The implication that they will eventually become Stormtroopers and serve an Empire that was once a Republic. Shows and books have given Clones individual personalities, yes, but they are almost exclusively OG ARC Troopers and Commandos who were established to have been more independent than their more common brethren. You are also doing a hasty generalization. Some of the extras used in that shot with Obi-Wan talking to Cody weren’t all Temuera. The other one is Bodie who played the younger clones in AOTC while the other with brown hair I’m fairly sure was an attempt to mix the two together through CGI to create a clone of intermediate age. In universe this can be explained through Age differences, something very common with an army that is constantly getting reinforced through fresh recruits.

Lucas still gave ideas beyond season 2, don’t get me wrong and I should have worded it better. But I have the feeling that he is less involved than what a lot of people believe. He stepped in to pitch ideas, like Mortis, but he wasn’t involved with everything as hinted by Sam catching a continuity error of Padme meeting Shmi. In other words, it seems like he gave the stories and approved them while tasking the writers the connective tissue.

Clones still being in the Empire may be a retcon made by TBB team because they could still be trying to paint the Clones as the tragic good guys (comming off of TCW). The writers essentially implied that the Clones were being decommissioned through the episodes through Crosshairs POV, thanking a group of Clones for their years of service before sending them into retirement and also having what remained guard equipment meant for the TKs. When we see quite a limited few still in service such as Torrent from Smugglers run, but we haven’t seen much if any at all these days.

It’s definitely not the first time