#the bad batch s1e1

[thejedipost]

These two. 🥹

[sw-2020-1]

It’s funny that after season 2, you don’t see him flick the toothpicks. You still see him use them in season 3, but not flicking them.

Crosshair’s angry toothpick flick

[timetodiverge]

I'm not crying YOU'RE crying

The Bad Batch | How it started (S1E1):

How it's going (S3E4):

[apocalyp-tech-a]

Remember in Season 1, Episode 1 Aftermath, Tech says "I am merely stating a theoretical hypothesis based on factual data?" Well, that's what I did, I made a "logical conclusion." From Lama Su coming back when we thought he was dead to the infamous "domicile," it was all factual evidence that was meant to push us in a direction of hoping that Tech would return and that CX-2 could be the way he does it. I'm not stupid, and neither are you. There's an underlying reason that I love Tech not based on just his handsome looks. I don't claim to have an exceptional mind like him and I don't intend to convince anyone that CX-2 was Tech, but I do want to explain how it could be construed through the way that character was presented as well as the possibility of Tech's return in general, that he could have been and none of us were wrong or "losers" to think so.

45 70 Reasons and more well on the way, lol...

General reasons:

*Tech is never seen actually dying.

*Hemlock being untrustworthy source of death certificate.

*The return of many thought to be dead characters in past Star Wars from Darth Maul who was sliced in half to Lama Su - the door closed on him and we thought he was getting shot by troopers only to show up alive later and this happened in The Bad Batch itself.

*CX-2 is shown walking toward the 'light' after dropping off Omega, symbolically toward a future redemption. @astrovoidy

*Height change on starwars.com

*The word 'dead' danced around on official sites and by BB employees

*the similarities to Winter soldier @on-a-quest

*the cryptic tweets that showcased reborn characters like Gandalf

*The official poster of CX-2 shows him in 'good' light. @eriexplosion AND CX-2 is shown looking up and to the side the way the original CF99 members are positioned and facing in their poster as if CX-2 is also a CF99 member

*other people in professional settings like New Rock Stars on youtube thought the same exact thing as well as casual viewers

*the large focus on CX-2, over multiple episodes

*misleading title of last episode "The Cavalry Has Arrived"

*Tech being smart enough to find a solution

*If Season 2 could be compared to Empire Strikes Back, Tech was taken from us the way Han Solo was, but Han Solo was returned so surely Tech would be as well

*no one expected a main ensemble character permadeath

*the fight with Crosshair music had hints of "Plan 99" in it

*Tech’s whole big conversation with Romar was about culture and memory, and he helped Romar restoring a data repository. Between the implication that Tech would have lost his memories and Phee saying, “Tech’s brain was the databank, not mine,” you could easily see that as foreshadowing for Tech getting his memories back. @heyclickadee

*All the little one line reminders and goggles shots up through episode twelve only serve to make the audience want Tech back. They aren’t closure, they’re reminders of his absence. [Tech never being quite mourned.] @heyclickadee

*The goggles are lit, or look like they’re lit, in every scene they’re in except the last one, which sure makes all those earlier shots deliberate. @heyclickadee *CX-2 could have killed all of them at different moments, but chose not to (shooting pilot instead of Hunter for example)

Physical and character similarities:

*the shrimp posture

*the kick in the fight similar to droid kick in S1E1

*the similar hand to hand combat style

*the shooting accuracy- ipsium cave/ plan 99

*the elegant deliberate movement especially of hands and fingers

*the animated head and body when speaking

*the helmet – even has his hairline @jorolle

*the viewfinder similar to Tech's and utilized just as often

*the pouches(!!!)

*the limberness and agility

*the confident capability

*the crouching/getting on one knee - Tech is an infamous croucher!

*the deviant nature – ignoring orders

*the technology know how

*the flying – some say the turn on Teth was a Tech Turn

*the extraness of tool/weapon twirl

*armpad like Tech's datapad @wolveria

*CX-2's ship has similarities to the Marauder @wolveria

*Tech CC-9902 / CX-2 - both end in 2 @wolveria

*We are reminded this season that Tech was especially good at decryption. What do we see CX-2 doing on Phee’s ship? Yeah. @heyclickadee

*Season two went out of its way to establish that Tech has a high pain tolerance, is a good close range fighter (he won a life-or-death fight with a guy when he had that broken femur), quick processing speed, and is an excellent shot. All skills we see CX-2 exhibit. @heyclickadee

The 'British' accent, speech inflection, pronunciation. and vocabulary (this alone is enough to convince anyone...):

'You better get back HERE." - "I know the girl is HERE."

"The fifth IS Omega." - "The girl IS alive."

"Who are you?" - "Who are you?"

"Naveecomputah." - "Neveecomputah."

"DOMICILE." - "DOMICLE."

Cinematic framing similarities:

*the limping

*the coming out of the water @lilacjunimo

*hooking the rappel hook rappelling down was like dangling off the rail car

*the boulder moving

*helmet viewpoint from CX-2 in finale, only BB members ever had that

Conjectural situations of suspicion:

*the beef with Crosshair

*the constant surviving

*the pausing when choking Crosshair

*the pausing to look at Phee

*The implications that Crosshair seems to know something about CX-2 (he wants to get out of dodge when he knows CX-2 is coming), and the intense lingering guilt Crosshair feels—and which is never dealt with! It’s still there through the finale—implying he knows or suspects it’s Tech. @heyclickadee

*“Whatever they did to you, whatever you’ve done, you’re still one of us,” offered by Rex towards the CXs @heyclickadee

*Crosshair’s character arc this season being partly about realizing that anyone can change and that no one is really beyond saving, which would have continued going somewhere if he thought CX-2 was Tech and considered him beyond saving, but then changed his mind and realized he needed to try. Notice that he does not engage CX-2 in 11 like he did in 7, and that this comes after his revelation about giving people a chance in 9. @heyclickadee

*CX-2 is even more Tech like in 11 than he was in 6 and 7. This implies that he could be starting to wake up, and that almost killing Crosshair triggered that. He doesn’t kill anyone except one of his own guys on Pabu (or Phee) even though it would make his job much easier. He even has Hunter and Wrecker in his sights and moves his aim to not shoot them directly. @heyclickadee

*Crosshair has no way to know that the CX’d clones come out different and that their identities are erased unless it happened to someone we know. In fact, there’s not reason for the CX plot to exist unless that horrific thing happens to someone we know. @heyclickadee

*The first episode of the show starts out with Hunter covering for someone who supposedly died in a fall. In fact, there are direct parallels in the lines: “Where’s the Jedi?” “I stunned him when he jumped. He didn’t make it.” vs “Where’s Tech?” “Omega…Tech didn’t make it.” I’m not saying Hunter was covering for Tech; I am saying that is the only place in the script where we see those phrases matched up. @heyclickadee

*Tech being CX-2 would have fit in perfectly with each member of the batch experiencing a traumatic loss (and regaining) of agency that correlated directly to who and how they are as people. @heyclickadee

Foreshadowing lines:

*More machine than man, percentage wise at least.

*Better late than dead.

*See you around, Brown Eyes.

*Tech's not gone.

*The operative's gone rogue.

*Romar saying he's a survivor and Tech's look at him.

*Don't go running off with any pirates or smugglers. @heyclickadee

Abandoned storyline reasons:

*The romance with Phee, surely it wouldn't be abandoned!? 🙄😡

*CX-2's death being anticlimactic

*The finale seeming rushed and incomplete

*Actors saying there were script changes

*CX-2's accent in the finale was not only not like Tech's as it was in previous episodes, it wasn't even a clone accent (wtf was that) signaling a script change

@wolveria made a great analysis here with her Tech-Genda !

@heyclickadee gave a great analysis here and also great evidence, more in comments!

@vivaislenska has a list as well with some of these points!

@eriexplosion has a great analysis here!

Having said that, here are some reasons it may not have been him:

*Too many characters coming back from the dead.

*The way he says 'clones' in Infiltration was more reg accent.

*Tech's line in the cave to Omega which "was a big one to me” in retrospect: "I am aware that you miss him, but we have to adapt and move on."

As for the intentions of the writers to either have been forced to change the script, but can't admit it due to NDAs or if they truly meant for CX-2 to be Crosshair's foil which to me was unclear, especially with all of the evidence above, I don't know. At least they could have made CX-2 talk and move like a reg. Making him talk and walk like Tech was kind of cruel on top of a cruel we already experienced in Plan 99. I am not personally attacking the writers, I still love Season 1 and 2 and most of Season 3, but I wish I knew what happened behind the scenes with this and I know I'm not the only one. I think this is the last time I'll personally address Season 3 or the finale unless to support other commentators/creators and for my own fix-it and art and writing. And I look forward to seeing everyone else's works as well and hope no one gives up this beautiful Batch or fandom as I almost did. Canon seems done with him, he belongs to us now. 💜

And if anyone has anything I missed (I'm sure I'll think of more myself), feel free to comment or reblog with that addition or a link to your own post and/or I can edit the OP to include it and tag you. Also, don't feel like you can't make your own post about this subject! But I do hope this maybe helped anyone still dealing with the 'aftermath' like me, to know you're not alone, and you did not read too much into it.

(In retrospect, I can't believe they killed him though, lol. What the kriff were they thinking!?! #too handsome to die #too awesome to die)

[milling-around]

The Bad Batch Finale and Joel Aron’s cryptic tweet

Okay so Joel Aron, Director of Cinematography Lighting & VFX at Lucasfilm, tweeted this:

Initially, I thought that this was going to be the runtime of S3E15 The Cavalry Has Arrived. This episode being longer would make sense as it’s the finale of the show and it’s close in length to S1E1 Aftermath. However, I saw a screenshot floating around the other day that says the runtime of the final episode “spans 24 to 25 minutes”.

If this episode is the typical length then this timestamp must be referring to a different piece of media. The question is, what media? In an effort to determine what could happen in the finale, I went to that point in the films to see what I would find. None of them strike as much fear in me as what’s happening in A New Hope.

The Phantom Menace - Anakin has just won the pod race and they are celebrating his victory.

Attack of the Clones - Jango Fett and Boba Fett have just attacked Obi-Wan with seismic charges.

Revenge of the Sith - Anakin is looking out over Coruscant from the Jedi Council room. He has just revealed to Mace Windu that Palpatine is a Sith.

A New Hope - Before leaving to disable the tractor beam on the Death Star, Obi-Wan delivers a line which may foreshadow what’s to come in The Bad Batch.

Empire Strikes Back - Luke is trying to lift the ship out of the swamp on Dagobah.

Return of the Jedi - Luke, Han, and Chewbacca, along with the droids, are captured by the Ewoks.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Anakin and Ahsoka are heading towards Tatooine to deliver Jabba’s son back to him.

At 01:09:56:01 in A New Hope, or as close to it as I could get (Disney+ sucks) this is what we see:

Sorry it’s a photo of my computer, I don’t know how y’all take screenshots of Disney+.

“Your destiny lies along a different path from mine.”

Many people have been theorising that the show could end with the Batch and Omega surviving but being separated, either by choice or by circumstance. This line from A New Hope, as well as the fact that Omega’s voice actor, Michelle Ang, has described the ending as “bittersweet”, definitely make that a solid theory.

Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree though. There’s also speculation about whether Omega is force sensitive, so maybe Luke using the force in Empire Strikes Back is the real clue. Despite Ventress not believing Omega to have a high m-count, and her not being one of Hemlock’s designated m-count specimens, we have seen characters with a low m-count who were capable of wielding the force. Sabine Wren, for example.

Still, Omega being force sensitive doesn’t prevent the theory that she gets separated from the Batch from being true. It could actually be a reason for that separation because she may pursue training or decide that her proximity to the Batch endangers them.

But wait, there’s more!

At this timestamp in S1E1 Aftermath, Omega is on the Marauder with the Bad Batch (minus Crosshair) and they’re setting off on what will be her first big adventure. Omega’s Theme is playing and she’s gazing out at space with child-like wonder. While they’ve just parted ways with Crosshair, the overall feeling in this scene is hopeful.

If the tweet is referring to this episode, it could mean that we get a wholesome Bad Batch family moment. Whether Tech is there or not may rely on CX-2 being unmasked. Perhaps it’s bittersweet because Tech truly is dead or because he’s alive but they cannot save him from the Empire. Or maybe it’s bittersweet for a whole host of other reasons.

Honourable mention

@kiffobaby also looked into what is happening at this timestamp if you combine the runtimes (including credits) of all episodes in clone relevant story arcs and didn’t really find anything of note. If credits were removed then it would put at us a different point in the arc, however it’s unlikely that we’d be looking for a timestamp in an arcs combined duration anyway.

If you’ve read this far, I love you and don’t worry, we’re almost done.

Secret 16th episode?

Seasons 1 and 2 each had 16 episodes which leads me to speculate that this timestamp could actually be the runtime of the final episode, a secret 16th episode.

Is it likely? No. Can I dream? Yes.

[ve-ti-ver]

Mmm I gotta do some scene re-draws I think…

Hunter in The Bad Batch 1x01

[erin8411]

That One Annoying Sibling

@summer-of-bad-batch

Main Prompt: "Stop touching me!" // "I’m not touching you!" (Week 13)

Alt. Prompt: Lula (Week 8)

Crosshair: Stop touching me, Wrecker!

Wrecker: I‘m not touching you, Lula is!

In TBB S1E1 Wrecker whacked Lula several times in Crosshair‘s face and I‘m sure it wasn’t for the first time. So here is cadet Wrecker, grating Crosshair by touching him with stuffie Lula. The latter tells his older brother to stop -- not a chance! And technically, it’s only Lula who touches Cross.

It‘s been such a long time since I’ve last drawn something. And when I looked at Summer of Bad Batch prompts, I was internally debating, if I should try it.

Me: Hey, look at all those entries! So many awesome ideas. Why not draw something too? It looks fun.

Also me: Maybe later. I‘m not feeling up to it.

And it only took me the whole summer and early September to finally grab my pencil and become active for a turn. Played with a filter afterwards so that the colors appear more washed out like on one of those old instant photos.

It’s simple and I like it. And it feels good to draw something without pressuring myself to make an outstanding creation. Self-pressure often kills that little motivation I have.

(Funny fact, this is the first time I created some fanart for TBB series.)

Inspiration

I got inspired by @locitapurplepink's

and the last two seconds from High Ground Animation‘s "CLONES - The Clone Wars Fan Animation Compilation". That eye-roll is so good.

(Seriously, when I first watched the clip, I didn’t realized it was fan-made. I thought, I can‘t remember that particular cutout, where in the TCW series is it?)

Aaand that wraps it up. Thank you for dropping by.

[raointean]

My new year's resolution this year is to watch Star Wars in chronological order...

And DAMN it's all over the place. It took me a couple hours to actually sort through, so I'm going to share the list with you so no one else has to do it again. It's out there on the internet.

EDUK stands for Exact Date UnKnown

• Visions (S1E7) - EDUK

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 2) - ~60-50BBY

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 3) - 44BBY

• Visions (S1E4) - EDUK

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 1) - 36BBY

• Phantom Menace - 32BBY

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 4) - 32BBY (Simultaneous with Phantom Menace, but continues after)

• Attack of the Clones - 22BBY

• TCW (S2E16) - 22BBY

• TCW (S1E16) - 22BBY

• Clone Wars (Movie) - 22BBY

• TCW (S3E1) - 22BBY

• TCW (S3E3) - 22BBY

• TCW (S1E1-15) - 22BBY

• TCW (S1E17-21-S2E3) - 21BBY

• TCW (S2E17-19) - 21BBY

• TCW (S2E4-14) - 21BBY

• TCW (S2E20-22) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E5-7) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E2) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E4) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E8) - 21BBY

• TCW (S1E22) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E9-11) - 21BBY

• TCW (S2E15) - 21BBY

• TCW (S3E12-22) - 20BBY

• TCW (S4) - 20BBY

• TCW (S5E2-13) - 20BBY

• TCW (S5E1) - 19BBY

• TCW (S5E14-20) - 19BBY

• TCW (S6) - 19BBY

• TCW (S7E5-8) - 19BBY

• TCW (S7E1-4) - 19BBY

• TCW (S7E9-12) - 19BBY

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 5) - 22-19BBY

• Revenge of the Sith - 19BBY

• Bad Batch - 19-18BBY

• Tales of the Jedi (Episode 6) - 18BBY

• Visions (S1E2) - ~18BBY

• Visions (S1E8) - EDUK

• Solo - 13-10BBY

• Visions (S2E8) - EDUK

• Visions (S2E3) - EDUK

• Visions (S1E6) - EDUK

• Kenobi - 9BBY

• Visions (S2E7) - EDUK

• Andor - 5BBY (Simultaneous with first season of rebels)

• Rebels - 5-1BBY

• Rogue One - 0BBY

• A New Hope - 0BBY (Starts 5 minutes after the end of Rogue One)

• Visions (S1E9) - EDUK

• Visions (S2E6) - EDUK

• The Empire Strikes Back - 3ABY

• Return of the Jedi - 4ABY

• Visions (S1E1) - EDUK

• The Mandalorian (Seasons 1 and 2) - 9-10ABY

• Book of Boba Fett - 10ABY

• Visions (S2 Episode 4) - EDUK

• The Mandalorian (Season 3) - 11ABY

• Ahsoka - 11ABY (Simultaneous with season 3 of The Mandalorian)

I didn't include any of the Visions episodes that are clearly before 100BBY simply because they would be next to impossible to date. While the other Visions episodes, for the most part, cannot be CLEARLY dated, they're pretty easy to ballpark with outfits, ship styles, comments made by the characters, and the presence or absence of the Empire.

[reylosaurus]

the bad batch spoilers

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ok but S1E1 having TBB run thru the simulation course and them winning then in the season finale having yet another training room scene like idk there’s just something about it 🫶🏼

[prowlingthunder]

PT watches The Bad Batch

Yes, I should probably really hold off watching this until I finish Clone Wars, but here I am.

S1E1:

I need a fic where Hunter leaves with Caleb.

I also need a fic where they dial Crosshair DOWN instead of UP. Or where they shoot the probe droid upon arrival. You know. Options.

[hanasnx]

jsyk you get a glimpse of s7 anakin’s back in the intro of s1e1 of the bad batch

[gars-weaponeer]

From all the Bad Batch Crosshair and Echo are the cleanest, it was proven in S1E1.

men i would hold by the scruff of the neck & wash with dawn dish soap in the kitchen sink

[kellygreeny]

So there is a badbatchweek going around, again.

First day: favorite scene.

I just love the beginning, where everything was kind of fine and Echo falling face first into the water.

I still cannot draw backgrounds...

[darthyourmomgay]

Not Tech almost getting Nemik-ed in the first episode-

[a-batcher-a-day]

Bonus:

[sw-2020-1]

It can't hurt to put some from through The Bad Batch seasons.

Crosshair and his crossed arms

The Clone Wars 7.01 The Bad Batch | The Bad Batch 1.01 Aftermath