What really sets him apart from a lot of Imperials is how calm he remains even under pressure. Even as everything is falling apart, he's very much like "no matter, I'll just pivot to..." he only has the full villainous breakdown at the very end.
He really encapsulates the idea of pure science without concern for ethics and how dark and disturbing that can get.
This was my first thought too, there's something about the cold calculating villains that don't flinch when they don't succeed. That makes them all the more intimidating. That response of pivoting to the next plan and adapting to whatever new information they acquire from the failed one is so fun to watch as the battle of wits aligns with the physical battle(s) taking place.
But then he quickly regains his composure, truthfully it’s probably scary for Imperials to see him that way.
I loved when he did his quiet yelling voice at Governor Pryce after she destroyed Lothal’s fuel supply killing Kanan.
I like him but I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and I wish there had been more depth to his backstory. Like I felt like wearing a single glove was important somehow but we never found out why.
Vader wouldn't know about his projects. He clearly only answers to Palpatine. Vader is in it to one day follow in Palpatine's footsteps, if he learned that Palpatine was making himself a clone then he would not be pleased at all. This is why Cad Bane is asked to deliver high m-count babies rather than the in-house inquisitorious who are in Vader's command.
I'd take that 1 step further:
Cliches are cliche because they were so damn good that everyone thought "This is it!" and copied them the first time they did it.
There’s nothing wrong with clichés, it’s that sometimes people forget that the cliché (eg. Mad scientist) is not a personality, and forget to actually add depth to the character, or implement it poorly, or both.
I liked him because he followed his own greed and ego. It never felt like he was doing this because he believed in imperial ideology or anything. He’s an opportunist that would have done this for a separatist controlled galaxy or a more corrupt republic.
He doesn’t even care about capturing the bad batch, just getting Omega.
I liked the idea that he’s just immune to poison because he micro doses every day. (Something said to be possible with the actual hemlock plant of Ancient Greece)
he was a good villain; very strategic and a tad sadistic compared to rampart, which made the suspense much more intriguing. lol i hated that i liked his character but still glad he got offed!
I haven't finished the Bad Batch yet, but I agree, Hemlock is leagues and bounds better than Rampart. Rampart looked like a backgrond NPC. I don't know, maybe they did this on purpose to make up some sort of point, but the point ends up that Rampart was lame even when he stabbed his loyal people in the back.
Hemlock has unique design, a unique mannerisms AND he's a mad scientist, everything good for a memorable character.
Oh they definitely did it on purpose to make a point about his delusions of grandeur. He thinks he’s *so* important to the Empire and is willing to kill his own men to secure his perceived status, when in reality he’s like you said: an NPC. The Empire may have been headed by unique and talented individuals like Thrawn, Tarkin, or Hemlock that are memorable villains, but it was staffed by men like Rampart. Men who were deeply mediocre and looking for something that would give them power over others. I actually liked him better than Hemlock for that, he’s an interesting commentary on the banal nature of evil.
What I really loved is that they didn't do a begrudging redemption character arc for him. It almost seemed like they would in those last few episodes, but I'm so glad they made him an irredeemable, power-hungry prick all the way to the end. Especially since they had literally just done the resenting arc with Crosshair.
And the way he caused his own demise through his selfish actions? Fucking chef's kiss
I've actually decided to finish the season, and was surprised to see that they actually gave Rampart a more gruff redesign. I somehow was sure that we would never see him again.
I wouldn't even say he is a mad scientist. He is a sociopathic scientist.
A mad scientist takes perverse pleasure in their endeavors. Hemlock just gets the job done by any means necessary.
I really, *really* wish they would have explored more of the Hemlock vs Tarkin in the BB. I think it would have added more to the story and reinforce how Tarkin's main goal was to divert funding to *his* projects.
But Hemlock was creepy, mad scientist to a T.
They clashed because they were so similar. Had Tarkin not wanted his funding and didn't have a disdain for clones, he and Hemlock probably would've gotten along great
I really, really enjoyed The Bad Batch and Hemlock was a big reason why. Yeah, we’ve all seen the mad scientist schtick before but his voice actor really helped sell his character.
It really sold the whole idea that Stormtroopers and the early Empire could be a stand in for Nazi Germany. Experimenting on things they considered unusual or trying to find an answer for immortality Indiana Jones style.
That’s not really unique to Nazi Germany. Most governments in history have been willing and able to experiment on people for “the greater good”, while searching for stuff like immortality was just a Heinrich Himmler thing that the Nazi’s let him do.
Which still does make sense, the Empire originally was conceived as taking inspiration from multiple Empires in History, from the Nazi’s to the British to America. So it’s why sometimes they’ll be shown being fine living with alien’s, tolerate them as second class citizens, or wipe them out and other humans who may be resisting.
> It really sold the whole idea that Stormtroopers and the early Empire could be a stand in for Nazi Germany.
Yeah, man, I'd never considered that before.
He's so different from other Imperials because he doesn’t seem completely spineless or solely self-interested. Sure, he wants his research budget to pursue his goals, but that's not his only motivation. And when things go south (which happens often), he stays remarkably calm for an Imperial. Most other powerful figures or officers buckle under pressure in most Star Wars media.
This man carried so many Mengele Vibes, it’s hard not to get captivated, for a lack of a better word, to when he is on screen, the experiments he did, and the eerie calmness that is over him… it makes it so much more satisfying to finally see him lose his cool, when he stood in the stand-off with Hunter, Crosshair and Omega.
Part of me though, would have loved to see him survive it all, and then the Empire gets its hands on him, for failing, and wasting so many recourses, that Tarkin, would see him as nothing but a desperate and oblivious fool, who belonged in a working camp. Just to give it a nice ironic sense, in his ending.
I loved this guy, he reminded me a lot of Thrawn. His type of villain in general is one of my favorite archetypes, the other one being a completely unhinged psycho, and he kinda turns in to that at the end. He's just got the general air of "whelp, that didn't work. Time for backup plan 395726.
Hemlock was cool, but I really loved Rampart; he was more entertaining to watch and I hoped he would redeem himself.
I need more Rampart and Hemlock content, actually. Gimme Tales of the Empire S2!
Redemption would've made Rampart look like a knockoff Kallus. Having him die because he stubbornly believed he was the main character was a fitting end for him.
Part of what made him work so well as a villain was the cinematography, direction, and sound design of everything within that facility (which is his domain). Almost approaching Ghibli level world building.
The tone of the start of season 3 was something else.
Honestly having him be very soft spoken was what sold him for me. A lot of the other Star Wars animated antagonists, while great, were either frequently incompetent, were obvious Vader ripoffs, or leaned into Saturday morning cartoon villain by cackling while committing over the top atrocities. The only exceptions were usually established characters like Tarkin.
But the fact that Hemlock is so soft spoken and focused yet ruthless and effective made him a change of pace. He’s most similar to Thrawn but also different enough that he felt like a different kind of threat. Hemlock feels casually sadistic in a way that Thrawn never felt.
What I find fascinating is that Hemlock was actually competent and not a bumbling fuck, who did stuff for vainglorious reasons.
He was the evil side of science. The side that rejects ethics and morality in search for greater scientific knowledge.
Like, the guy is more scientifically minded and indifferent towards suffering than the Kaminoans, which is saying something.
That made him quite appealing, because Mando S3 kinda dumpstered the other "cold scientist" archetype with Pershing sorta just being a weak man, who simply follows.
The only person who was even more harrowing than Hemlock in the science department was the dude from Andor who tortured the chick by using the death wails of dying alien babies or some sick shit like that.
IMO, he isn't a med scientist: yes, he's a scientist, but he's rational and more an organizer and a bureaucrat, than a researcher who madly wants ti apply his theories.
Certain character archetypes don't get reused so often because they're boring to watch. Jimmi Simpson absolutely crushing it in the voice booth doesn't hurt either
He is just one of the things that amazes me of how they did the TCW thing all over again, by that I mean that The Bad Batch started so mid, and ended as such a great show.
Off-topic: I just finished it yesterday. I haven’t read anything yet, but since Project Necromancer is dead, how does anything relate to Palpatine’s clone?
Hemlock’s character could really shine in more gritty medium like Andor. It’s a shame that as an animated “for kids-ish” production TBB kinda limits how dark and cruel Hemlock can be on screen.
What really sets him apart from a lot of Imperials is how calm he remains even under pressure. Even as everything is falling apart, he's very much like "no matter, I'll just pivot to..." he only has the full villainous breakdown at the very end. He really encapsulates the idea of pure science without concern for ethics and how dark and disturbing that can get.
Props to the actor for really selling his freakout at the end
Jimmi Simpson was unrecognizable in that role.
I’m sad >!they killed him off, I would have loved to see Jimmi reprise the role in live action. !<
Depending on the setting and timeline they still can
It's a Disney movie. I'm not trusting that! Remember Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean!
Especially considering his whole thing was cloning! Wouldn’t be hard to say he had an emergency back up clone or something lol
Could you imagine Thrawn rolling up to the ruins of Tantis in the mando era, going into the vault, and finding a cloned body of Hemlock…. Oooo chills.
He’ll come back with an eyepatch
That would be cliché but I would give my left leg to see
Nah, knew it was him as soon as I heard his voice. It seemed to me that he plays Hemlock as a sort of evil version of his character in The Newsroom
Holy shit I had no idea it was him! He's such a slept on actor, I've never seen him give a bad performance
THAT WAS LIAM MCPOYLE????
Holy shit, I didn't even realize this.
As soon as I heard Hemlock speak for the first time I was like.... of course it's a McPoyle
**You will call HEEEERRR**
Bump it
👁️👁️🗨️
🥛
DEEEEEEEEEEEAD!
we heard you gave quite the performance Macwell
Kind of like Thrawn tbh, very calm no matter the situation
This was my first thought too, there's something about the cold calculating villains that don't flinch when they don't succeed. That makes them all the more intimidating. That response of pivoting to the next plan and adapting to whatever new information they acquire from the failed one is so fun to watch as the battle of wits aligns with the physical battle(s) taking place.
Expect that one scene in rebels where he gets absolutely pissed at that one imperial officer
But then he quickly regains his composure, truthfully it’s probably scary for Imperials to see him that way. I loved when he did his quiet yelling voice at Governor Pryce after she destroyed Lothal’s fuel supply killing Kanan.
Don't insult Thrawns art love man. One thing that truly sets him off.
Failure is just more data to improve the next set of plans
Yup. It’s the mad scientist trope that is quiet and methodical instead of loud and scatterbrained.
Literally Thrawn.
I like him but I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and I wish there had been more depth to his backstory. Like I felt like wearing a single glove was important somehow but we never found out why.
But we haven't seen him face Vader after a screw up, which he was prone to. I think everyone else was scared. He wasn't. Yet.
Vader wouldn't know about his projects. He clearly only answers to Palpatine. Vader is in it to one day follow in Palpatine's footsteps, if he learned that Palpatine was making himself a clone then he would not be pleased at all. This is why Cad Bane is asked to deliver high m-count babies rather than the in-house inquisitorious who are in Vader's command.
cliches are cliches because they work most of the time. i rather have a cliche that works than some new/unconventional thing that doest work.
I'd take that 1 step further: Cliches are cliche because they were so damn good that everyone thought "This is it!" and copied them the first time they did it.
There’s nothing wrong with clichés, it’s that sometimes people forget that the cliché (eg. Mad scientist) is not a personality, and forget to actually add depth to the character, or implement it poorly, or both.
He reminded me of William Stryker, the movie version, not the comic version. I liked him a lot more than Rampart
Cmon guys lm just here to talk about rampart
I liked him because he followed his own greed and ego. It never felt like he was doing this because he believed in imperial ideology or anything. He’s an opportunist that would have done this for a separatist controlled galaxy or a more corrupt republic. He doesn’t even care about capturing the bad batch, just getting Omega. I liked the idea that he’s just immune to poison because he micro doses every day. (Something said to be possible with the actual hemlock plant of Ancient Greece)
Jimmi Simpson is an underrated actor. Great in many respects.
I thought he was gonna blow up after Westworld
He should've. Dude had leading man energy with a dark twist. Plus he's a McPoyle. Now a villain in Star Wars. Heres hoping he gets more recognition.
He's a villain in Star Trek as well. Drednok in Prodigy.
hes the lead in a show called Perpetual Grace, Ltd which is very good
YOU WILL CALL HERRRRR
Jesus man, I'm sorry. Fine, I'll call her.
I had no idea he voiced Hemlock. No wonder I loved the performance!
He also got to be the bad guy on a Star Trek* show at the same time! I want nothing but the best for him. *Prodigy
He reminded me of thrawn in a way
Was going to say the same thing. He’s like the scientist version of Grand Admiral Thrawn 😅 Having said that, I agree with OP - fantastic villain!
Thrawn at home.
and his theme song/sound is so dark
I could listen to it all day.
he was a good villain; very strategic and a tad sadistic compared to rampart, which made the suspense much more intriguing. lol i hated that i liked his character but still glad he got offed!
I haven't finished the Bad Batch yet, but I agree, Hemlock is leagues and bounds better than Rampart. Rampart looked like a backgrond NPC. I don't know, maybe they did this on purpose to make up some sort of point, but the point ends up that Rampart was lame even when he stabbed his loyal people in the back. Hemlock has unique design, a unique mannerisms AND he's a mad scientist, everything good for a memorable character.
Oh they definitely did it on purpose to make a point about his delusions of grandeur. He thinks he’s *so* important to the Empire and is willing to kill his own men to secure his perceived status, when in reality he’s like you said: an NPC. The Empire may have been headed by unique and talented individuals like Thrawn, Tarkin, or Hemlock that are memorable villains, but it was staffed by men like Rampart. Men who were deeply mediocre and looking for something that would give them power over others. I actually liked him better than Hemlock for that, he’s an interesting commentary on the banal nature of evil.
Rampart has MC syndrome but he’s just an ordinary and normal asshole
What I really loved is that they didn't do a begrudging redemption character arc for him. It almost seemed like they would in those last few episodes, but I'm so glad they made him an irredeemable, power-hungry prick all the way to the end. Especially since they had literally just done the resenting arc with Crosshair. And the way he caused his own demise through his selfish actions? Fucking chef's kiss
I've actually decided to finish the season, and was surprised to see that they actually gave Rampart a more gruff redesign. I somehow was sure that we would never see him again.
I wouldn't even say he is a mad scientist. He is a sociopathic scientist. A mad scientist takes perverse pleasure in their endeavors. Hemlock just gets the job done by any means necessary.
Anyone else fully convinced he was voiced by Troy Baker? I was very surprised to see he was not. Either way it was a great performance.
I was thinking Sam Witwer
I really, *really* wish they would have explored more of the Hemlock vs Tarkin in the BB. I think it would have added more to the story and reinforce how Tarkin's main goal was to divert funding to *his* projects. But Hemlock was creepy, mad scientist to a T.
They clashed because they were so similar. Had Tarkin not wanted his funding and didn't have a disdain for clones, he and Hemlock probably would've gotten along great
I really, really enjoyed The Bad Batch and Hemlock was a big reason why. Yeah, we’ve all seen the mad scientist schtick before but his voice actor really helped sell his character.
The voice actor was perfect for him.
It really sold the whole idea that Stormtroopers and the early Empire could be a stand in for Nazi Germany. Experimenting on things they considered unusual or trying to find an answer for immortality Indiana Jones style.
That’s not really unique to Nazi Germany. Most governments in history have been willing and able to experiment on people for “the greater good”, while searching for stuff like immortality was just a Heinrich Himmler thing that the Nazi’s let him do. Which still does make sense, the Empire originally was conceived as taking inspiration from multiple Empires in History, from the Nazi’s to the British to America. So it’s why sometimes they’ll be shown being fine living with alien’s, tolerate them as second class citizens, or wipe them out and other humans who may be resisting.
> It really sold the whole idea that Stormtroopers and the early Empire could be a stand in for Nazi Germany. Yeah, man, I'd never considered that before.
He's so different from other Imperials because he doesn’t seem completely spineless or solely self-interested. Sure, he wants his research budget to pursue his goals, but that's not his only motivation. And when things go south (which happens often), he stays remarkably calm for an Imperial. Most other powerful figures or officers buckle under pressure in most Star Wars media.
we ever gonna find out what was up with his hand?
This man carried so many Mengele Vibes, it’s hard not to get captivated, for a lack of a better word, to when he is on screen, the experiments he did, and the eerie calmness that is over him… it makes it so much more satisfying to finally see him lose his cool, when he stood in the stand-off with Hunter, Crosshair and Omega. Part of me though, would have loved to see him survive it all, and then the Empire gets its hands on him, for failing, and wasting so many recourses, that Tarkin, would see him as nothing but a desperate and oblivious fool, who belonged in a working camp. Just to give it a nice ironic sense, in his ending.
The voice actor sold me on Hemlock.
I prefer the term archetype to cliche, the heartless/ambitious intellectual is a trope I'll never tire of
For me it was his voice, the cadence he uses is weirdly disarming. He sounds calm and almost friendly, but it has a real ominous edge to it.
Jimmi Simpson absolutely slaughtered that role. Dude really knows how to crank up the insanity without *sounding* insane, if that makes sense.
Hemlock may be a cliché but he so worked as a villain.
I loved this guy, he reminded me a lot of Thrawn. His type of villain in general is one of my favorite archetypes, the other one being a completely unhinged psycho, and he kinda turns in to that at the end. He's just got the general air of "whelp, that didn't work. Time for backup plan 395726.
Hemlock was cool, but I really loved Rampart; he was more entertaining to watch and I hoped he would redeem himself. I need more Rampart and Hemlock content, actually. Gimme Tales of the Empire S2!
Redemption would've made Rampart look like a knockoff Kallus. Having him die because he stubbornly believed he was the main character was a fitting end for him.
Part of what made him work so well as a villain was the cinematography, direction, and sound design of everything within that facility (which is his domain). Almost approaching Ghibli level world building. The tone of the start of season 3 was something else.
Honestly having him be very soft spoken was what sold him for me. A lot of the other Star Wars animated antagonists, while great, were either frequently incompetent, were obvious Vader ripoffs, or leaned into Saturday morning cartoon villain by cackling while committing over the top atrocities. The only exceptions were usually established characters like Tarkin. But the fact that Hemlock is so soft spoken and focused yet ruthless and effective made him a change of pace. He’s most similar to Thrawn but also different enough that he felt like a different kind of threat. Hemlock feels casually sadistic in a way that Thrawn never felt.
TIL the voice-actor for Hemlock is the same guy who told Dennis to "keep breaking bricks, wet nips."
What I find fascinating is that Hemlock was actually competent and not a bumbling fuck, who did stuff for vainglorious reasons. He was the evil side of science. The side that rejects ethics and morality in search for greater scientific knowledge. Like, the guy is more scientifically minded and indifferent towards suffering than the Kaminoans, which is saying something. That made him quite appealing, because Mando S3 kinda dumpstered the other "cold scientist" archetype with Pershing sorta just being a weak man, who simply follows. The only person who was even more harrowing than Hemlock in the science department was the dude from Andor who tortured the chick by using the death wails of dying alien babies or some sick shit like that.
My least favorite Pokemon professor.
Jimmi Simpson nailed it on this one!
IMO, he isn't a med scientist: yes, he's a scientist, but he's rational and more an organizer and a bureaucrat, than a researcher who madly wants ti apply his theories.
Certain character archetypes don't get reused so often because they're boring to watch. Jimmi Simpson absolutely crushing it in the voice booth doesn't hurt either
He is just one of the things that amazes me of how they did the TCW thing all over again, by that I mean that The Bad Batch started so mid, and ended as such a great show.
Clichès are clichès for a reason. They work well. Most importantly it's all about how you tell it.
Agree to disagree. He was bland, one-dimensional and how he talked was just over the top and a nuisance to listen to.
Off-topic: I just finished it yesterday. I haven’t read anything yet, but since Project Necromancer is dead, how does anything relate to Palpatine’s clone?
I find it very hard to believe that the Emperor would let Tarkin cancel a project so important to him without any approval.
He was ok…. I didn’t find him very interesting. He was certainly better than the generic officers we get sometimes.
Unpopular opinion: I didn't really care much for the character because I HATE whisper acting
Hemlock’s character could really shine in more gritty medium like Andor. It’s a shame that as an animated “for kids-ish” production TBB kinda limits how dark and cruel Hemlock can be on screen.
Well written villain! I just hated his voice. The cadence was the worst