Were The Effects Of Order 66 On Clones Only Temporary?
In a recent episode of The Bad Batch, we saw something that we have not seen yet from clone troopers. Rebellion. Yes. Clones rebelling against the Empire. Since the start of the series, the clone troopers who were once heroes of the Republic as well as the last animated series in the timeline The Clone Wars have become the villains. Order 66 has been activated and they are now loyal to the Empire and the new Emperor.
A few questions remain. Do the inhibitor chips last? Will all clones from now until the end of time be automatons stripped of their free will? Will they be bound to the chips forever?. However in "Rescue on Ryloth" we saw a clone named Howzer, who seemed to have much of his personality still intact. Were the inhibitor chips' influence over the clones starting to fade?
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Order 66 was really one big event that Palpatine had been sowing the seeds for a long time. He had all the pieces in place. The Jedi Masters were spread thin, surrounded by enemies on all sides. With one flip of a switch, he activated Order 66, and the clone troopers obeyed. After all that is what the Emperor wanted, an army bred to follow orders, and for the most part they did. Hardly ever did one ever find a clone who would go against their programming. There was only a few exceptions where a clone had become so independent that they would go rogue. However, for the most part, the clones were trained to follow orders.
The issue then arose when the clones spent a large amount of time with their Jedi generals. With the battles fought and adventures shared, the clones began to form a bond with their Jedi brothers in arms, taking on certain personality traits from them, and learning about their own individuality. Hence why an inhibitor chip was needed. No matter how individual they became, no matter how free they were, a chip would completely reverse it and insure the successful execution of Order 66. The Jedi they served would die. Palpatine was not one for leaving any loose ends when it came to anything really.
So now the question is, what happens when Order 66 ends? The Jedi are gone, the clones no longer need their chips. They are essentially going to be the enforcers of the Emperor’s will. However, while they will follow orders, their primary mission to kill the Jedi is now over. Do they still have the brainwashed personality? At the end of the day, the chips are meant to execute Order 66. Now that that’s done, what is the point of the chip?
In the Kanan comic series written by Greg Weisman, we saw clones beginning to wonder what they did after executing Order 66. In Charles Soule's Darth Vader, the clones were questioning what the Jedi did to get them all killed. This showed that despite their current allegiance to the Empire, the clone troopers still had some of their individuality to a degree. With Bad Batch, we could see the clones troopers beyond Order 66 questioning the very nature of the Empire and what they were doing. Perhaps they could foment rebellion against it as well.
Maybe the inhibitor chips began to fade with time. It would appear so when its main prerogative of Order 66 is over. Although it would seem that the clones were far more embracing of the Empire even afterwards, perhaps that was more or less basic programming of the clone troopers with the inhibitor chip being an extra measure for this particular order. However, with the diminishing effect of the brain inhibiting chip, clones still retained some form of individual free will. It had not been taken away completely. With that free will, perhaps thoughts of rebellion will begin to enter their minds.
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Source: Screen Rant