#tbb post-season 2

[fritoley]

Febuwhump 2024 - Day 23: Presumed Dead

Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars) Characters: Phee Genoa, Echo, Wrecker, Hunter Word Count: 576 Content Warning: None Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

Summary: Hunter informs Phee of Tech's fate.

Phee smiled as the Marauder soared across the pink and orange skies of Pabu. The Batch left for their “secret mission” four rotations ago, and to be completely honest, it was real quiet without them around. Wrecker’s boisterous laughing, Omega’s cheerful personality, and even Tech’s constant rambling were things Phee got used to during their time on the island. In fact, she looked forward to her morning walks to the colonnade, for when she got to the top, the Batch was always there to greet her.

Phee got to the weeping maya tree just as the Marauder’s ramp lowered, revealing three figures: Echo, Wrecker, then Hunter. She approached them, raising her hand in greeting.

“Hey,” Phee started. “How was the mission—”

That was when Phee noticed a very different air about them. Echo avoided eye contact, turning toward the ship and disappearing under the ramp. Wrecker’s face was written with anguish as he rubbed the back of his neck, holding what looked like a cast. He spoke a quiet “Hullo” before lumbering off. Phee’s brows furrowed in confusion. What’s going on?

Finally, she turned to Hunter. “You guys alright?” Phee asked. “Why the long faces?”

Hunter looked up from the spot on the ground he was staring at. He looked tired, worn down by whatever happened while they were away. He gazed long and hard at Phee, and for a split second, she watched the Sergeant lose his composure. His shoulders dropped, his jaw clenched, his brows knitting together. His eyes held a despair Phee had never seen before, but then she blinked, and it was all gone.

“Phee…” Hunter rasped. “We need to talk.”

“About what? What happened?” Phee asked. She looked past him, into the Marauder. “Where’re Tech and Omega? Are they still in the—”

“Phee.” Hunter crossed his arms and let his head hang. He took a deep breath, then looked back up at Phee. “Omega… was taken by the Empire.” Hunter opened his mouth to continue, but no words came out. He hesitated. Hunter never hesitated.

“...And Tech?” Phee asked. Her voice shook more than intended. It surprised her. Hunter steeled himself, and his eyes met hers.

“Tech sacrificed himself to save us. He’s gone.”

Phee’s vision grew dim as she stared at the clone before her. Tech? Gone? What does he mean, gone? As in—

“He’s—” Phee put a hand to her chest to steady herself. Her chest was burning, the world was spinning, and Hunter was still staring at her with that look of hopelessness that did nothing to quell her spiraling. She screwed her eyes shut, forcing her lungs to take in air, then craned her neck to look back up at Hunter.

“I’m— I’m so sorry,” Phee stammered. She wanted to say more, she had to say more. But what?

Hunter beat her to it. “We’re going out to find Omega, but I thought it’d be best to let you know…”

“...Thank you.”

Say something!

Hunter nodded, turned his attention to Wrecker, who was standing off to the side groaning in pain. Hunter excused himself and approached Wrecker, leaving Phee to her thoughts. She shuffled away from the Marauder, the world still spinning, her mind spiraling. Somehow, she made it to a bench a little ways over and slumped into it. Hunter said it; Tech was gone.

“Oh, Brown-Eyes…” Phee muttered, looking up to see the last rays of sunlight beaming over the horizon.

“I told you not to go running off.”

Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist Ultimate Masterlist

[lilacjunimo]

don’t mind me I’m just gonna be staring so hard at these for a while

[boggsart]

Okay???? 😭😭😭😭 does that mean cx-2 is not tech????? does that mean he really is dead????? what does that meannnnn? 😭😭😭😭

[mimi-noelle]

I’m rewatching The Bad Batch and I love how Tech saying “this is not ideal” is his way of saying “we are absolutely fucked”

[artfulacrostic]

HERE WE GO YALL WE'RE SO FUCKING BACK!! i had no time to sit down and post last week so i've been sitting on these bad boys. i'm so EXCITED!

memes for The Bad Batch 3x01, "Confined"

*SPOILERS*

[lightwise]

WHY MAYDAY IS A MIRROR OF REX (AND ALL OF CROSSHAIR’S BROTHERS)

AKA How Crosshair predicted his own redemption arc.

There have been many comparisons made between Mayday and Rex/The Bad Batch, but I have kept myself from ranting about The Outpost for too long and I figured I should get this out there before this week’s new episode hits. 

Crosshair is cynical and snarky when we meet him in The Clone Wars (as is the norm for his personality, but there’s a special edge to it in S7 E1). The first words out of his mouth are “we don’t usually work with regs.”

(I am not sure who first posted this image set, so if you know who to credit please reach out).

Now in TBB E12, the episode opens with Crosshair watching regular clones being told about the retirement bill by an imperial officer. His helmet is off and they have no armor on. He’s face to face with them. He seems interested in their conversation but is still removed, separate. He still thinks this doesn't affect him.

Once he ships out to Barton 4, we meet Mayday by hearing his voice before he rounds the corner into our view. The immediate thought that flew into my mind was, “that’s Rex’s voice.” Other than Rex himself, we as the audience and especially Crosshair as a character have not heard that warm, snarky, calm tone that signifies that commanding officer’s “regular clone voice” much this season. Mayday’s voice is a little deeper than Rex’s, but he has the same commanding yet casual tone and demeanor. As weary and frustrated as he is at the lack of support from the Empire, Mayday chooses to express it with a level of snarkiness that would have made Tech, Echo, or Rex himself proud. 

Or as Rex once said, "It's Captain, sir."

"Experience outranks everything."

Mayday and his squad are wrapped in mummified cloth strips, and he states that his men are all “dead. We’re all that’s left.” Three of them, to mimic the three troopers being forced into retirement that Crosshair had seen before arriving. They are dead men walking. And so are the rest of the clones. 

Mayday brings the light to Crosshair. And starts talking to him, man to man, like a friend. Like a brother. He asks him his name. Crosshair’s first encounters with Rex were Rex going after Echo, pulling him free from mindless programming and reminding him what his name really was. 

“What brought you here.” “Just lucky, I guess.” Luck isn’t a word that Crosshair typically uses to describe his experiences. He usually relies on and points out his superiority, his skills, his uniqueness. He knows he hasn’t engineered this meeting, and yet Mayday’s mannerisms are already starting to find the chinks in his metaphorical armor. 

“I’ll give you the lay of the land.” Like Hunter would. “Conditions have degraded our equipment.” Like Tech could have helped with. “I’m not an explosives expert.” Wrecker is. 

Mayday lays out the helmets of his fallen squad in a memorial, the same way Rex and Ahsoka do after order 66. Reverence and respect for the dead, even when it seems meaningless. Crosshair has let himself be deadened by the Empire, yet Mayday treats him with interest and respect, drawing him back out of himself. Mayday even shows the same respect for the raider who had been attacking his base, saying that he was bothered that his men had left him there to die. 

Crosshair is still throwing up his shields, like he did at the end of season 1 when he tried to convince his brothers to join him. “We’re not like the regs, we never have been. We’re superior.” 

And all of a sudden, Crosshair will die if Mayday doesn’t save him. If he doesn’t fully trust him to disarm the pressure mine he has gotten himself into. He has continued to choose to step in places that are a pressure mine waiting to go off, waiting to swallow him whole. And until now he has made enemies of anyone who has tried to help him.

Mayday saves his life, and now they’re working as a team, silently and in unison. They realize that all this effort and loss of life has been for mere equipment (that’s for their replacements, no less). Their lives really are worth even less than the epithet "used equipment" that Nolan spits in Crosshair’s face when they first meet. 

Hunter had tried to tell him on Kamino: “Can’t you see they’re using you? We’re loyal to each other, not some empire.”

Crosshair: “YOU weren’t loyal to me. I was one of you. You may have forgotten, but I haven’t. I’m going to give you what you never gave me–a chance.” Only now, after Mayday gave him that chance, is he willing to admit that Hunter was right.

How many times have those words haunted Crosshair’s thoughts?

Now this was interesting to me. Crosshair incidentally causes an avalanche by targeting a group of explosives in order to end their shootout, cracks fissuring up the mountainside. Once before he was maneuvered into a situation not of his own free will (when his chip is enhanced on Kamino), yet he stubbornly pursued that scenario when he chose to stay on the platform at the end of season 1. Once again, he is put into a situation against his will by being brought to Barton 4, but this time, he ends up creating a scenario where his choices from this moment will now have the opposite effect.

Mayday shoves Crosshair out of the way, saving his life once again. A pile of snow rips Crosshair’s helmet off of his face, and as Mayday is buried, Crosshair re-emerges his true self. 

“We have to move.” Rex’s words throughout almost all of their Clone Wars arc. Rex is selfless, telling Echo to go with the Batch if that was the best place for him. Letting Echo leave him behind, essentially. Mayday begs Crosshair to leave him behind and save himself. They both want what’s best for others. And their examples rub off on the men they save. Echo constantly does what he can to help his brothers escape the Empire. Crosshair’s sheer stubbornness that up until now has kept him tethered to the Empire, refuses to leave Mayday behind. He can’t watch another brother die in front of him. Not anymore. 

"You're still their brother, Crosshair. You're my brother too." Omega's plea to him.

So Crosshair risks his life to carry Mayday back. A REG. He refuses to let go of him the whole journey. He lets him use his sniper rifle as a crutch. All of his defenses are finally down, and he not only cares, but is willing to show he cares, BEGS ON HIS KNEES to his commanding officer for help, to show that he DOES CARE.

Finally, this struck me. We almost never see Crosshair using a hand blaster. He’s a sniper. Yet both in his encounter with his brothers on Kamino in season 1, and his confrontation with Nolan here, Crosshair picks up a regular blaster. He’s not being the sniper, distant and removed, making a kill from afar with his own rifle. This is up close, personal, a messy choice. With a hand blaster, a regular clone’s weapon. 

Crosshair’s conversation with Hunter on Kamino reads back as though he is pleading with himself to not make the same mistake twice, to stop running from his fears, to finally embrace who he is–a clone. To embrace his real purpose–protecting his brothers.  He’s made his choice. He doesn’t expect to survive. The vultures are circling both of them. In season 1 Hunter stuns him and he falls to his knees and then to the floor, passing out. Here, he snarls “Lieutenant,” in a sarcastic tribute to how Mayday had first addressed Nolan, and becomes an Angel of Death. He avenges Mayday and redeems himself, and once again falls forward and passes out with the last of his strength gone.

[starqueensthings]

Plan 99: The Sacrifice

[foursidecity]

Thinking about them... designs... silly..

[adh-d2]

It's not so much that I needed Tech to be alive.

I wanted Tech to live, but I grieved his character when he died.

Then the hints started coming. The narrative focus shifted to this mysterious new character and signaled that he was important somehow. The theories started spreading. Week after week the 'camera' lingered on long, slow shots of a helmet that wouldn't come off.

So yeah, I stopped grieving. The longer it went on the more convinced I became that this must be Tech, because clearly it was someone important. Otherwise it would just be poor writing. This show isn't written poorly.

Case-in-point, what a beautiful finale. My heart was in my throat the entire time. I cried. I loved it. Taken on its own, I'd go so far as to say it was perfect.

-

Except for the fact that the CX plotline came to nothing. Seriously. We've followed it all season, and it came to nothing? I'm not even clear on what happened. There were more of them. They were kind of an anti-Bad-Batch? Except not really? There was a big one that pulled Wrecker's signature move. There was one with knives. They were regs? I think? One lost its helmet in a background shot so I guess we can conclude they were all regs. With different builds. And different accents. I suppose it doesn't matter, since they all died after a few minutes of screentime having meant nothing to the protagonists. They were a boss fight. The plot marches on.

-

It's entirely possible I got too caught up in the speculation. Maybe when I look back on all the posts I wrote and liked and reblogged it will be obvious that we were reaching. But right now from here in the thick of it, I swear there's so much to see! Do you mean to tell me they really didn't notice it in the writers room? That it was all a complete coincidence?

Would it have been better if someone on the creative team had just come out and confirmed that Tech wasn't coming back? I don't know. I don't think they were obligated to. But when a good 50% of the discourse about your show ending is speculation on this particular CX character, and the answer isn't even a different plot twist, but that the character means nothing at all...well, you can see how the team could have avoided some disappointment.

Maybe this is a bad take. I don't know how I feel. I wish I could have enjoyed the finale without having to grieve again for a character we'd already lost.

For now I'll end by saying that I loved this show and I can't wait to rewatch it someday on its own merit, without the spectre of 'is-it-could-it-be-no-please-let-it-be' clouding my judgement.

[squidsponge]

Analyzing the Clone Assassin, part 2: YES, HE HAS ORGANIC LEGS

This is a PSA that CX-2 does not have prosthetic legs, but does have a bunch of accessories and very fancy gadgets the other don't that, and he will not stop playing with them.

The Bad Batch is not a Christopher Nolan film requiring intense scrutiny I'm giving it, but I needed art references and then twitter and reddit started posting nonsense screenshots, so pull out your little red strings and pin boards, because we're going full Pepe Silva here. :readmore:

The other assassins must be taking public transit, because neither of them sported an extravagantly modified comm they can't stop fiddling with, programmed to spin their chair around with as much drama as Obi-wan dropping his cloak.

Unlike the other assassins, who are both snipers, CX-2 is using a rangefinder along with his scope when studying Omega and collecting data intelligence, but not in battle with Crosshair.

These scenes are very darkly lit, so here's a better look at CX-2's very unique yet familiar glass-looking rangefinder.

In contrast, CX-1 from season three, a proper minimalist after Cody's heart does not use a rangefinder despite the distance, nor did his predecessor on Coruscant.

And then our mystery clone who can't leave any of the gadgets at home because he ends up using all of them:

If the idea of bringing Tech back bothers you or sounds like nonsense, I beg you to remember that this is Star Wars, a franchise that brought us "somehow Palpatine returned."

Consider Emerie's big reveal in season two. She spent multiple episodes speaking with a New Zealand accent, wearing a clone insignia patch, and has the same nose, brows, and mouth region that is signature to the clones, and they were hiding it behind a pair of glasses.

Our boy Rex is eating sad chili in a cave instead of having amassed significant numbers or a real plan in the last year and soon he'll be eating sad chili in a motorhome because this show really isn't that complicated.

Which brings us back to our very resourceful and well-funded assassin.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, and you're watching Star Wars, it's probably a duck.

And whether or not it's good writing, this authority-averse little duck is wearing his pre-reprogramming personality on his sleeve.

Cody is out there somewhere shuddering over what he did to give anybody the impression that any amount of brainwashing could turn him into this while the other assassins still have good manners and posture. Check out Part 1 for a comparison of CX from season 2's voice and attitude vs. CX-2.

[fritoley]

Febuwhump 2024 - Day 19: “Please Don’t”

Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars) Characters: Jaye N'Cante, Hunter Word Count: 761 Content Warning: None Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

Summary: Jaye tries to start anew, much to Hunter’s opposition.

Jaye brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing deeply. It had been twelve days since the events of Eriadu, twelve days since Tech and Omega had gone. The Marauder was a complete mess. She had joined Hunter and Wrecker in tearing apart the galaxy trying to find Omega, but now she was more concerned about tearing herself apart in the process. As the two clones sat in the cockpit, Jaye stood in the cargo hold cleaning the ship from top to bottom. She had cleared out the cargo racks that doubled as bunks, completed an inventory, and organized ammunitions before finally sitting down and taking a break. 

She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing again. Her eyes drifted across the room to the gunner’s mount where Lula lay limp. A light layer of dust began to gather on the plush, an ear falling to the side. Omega… Jaye sighed, turning to the goggles on the racks.

Tech.

The frame was broken and bent, the audio device sitting on the right side marred and useless. Orange-tinted shards clung to the frame, dirt and grime smudging the lens. Jaye stared at the goggles, grief welling up in her chest. Those goggles were a constant reminder of the hell she and the Batch had endured, of the fate the Empire had condemned them to; Tech’s death, Omega’s kidnapping, and Hunter and Wrecker’s despair.

Damn it, Ashla…

Jaye pinched her wrist, repenting for her curse. Now wasn’t the time to be angry at ancestors, or the Empire for that matter. It was time to act. Jaye stood and took the goggles, opening the nearest crate. She looked down at the lens once more, her face twisted in anguish before moving to lay the goggles out of sight.

“What are you doing?!”

Jaye whipped around to see Hunter in the doorway. His eyes darted between her and the goggles in her hand, a mortified look written on his face. Jaye glanced down at the goggles, saying, “I was just — I didn’t want us to spend all day ruminating over the past. Not when we still have to find Omega.”

Hunter started forward, staring at Jaye. “Are — Are you kidding me?” He reached out, trying to snatch the goggles out of Jaye’s hand. “You just want to move on? You wanna just — just forget about Tech?!”

“Of course not!” Jaye exclaimed, pulling away. “But if we keep sitting around doing nothing we’ll never find Omega!”

Hunter grabbed Jaye’s wrist and pulled her toward him, grabbing the goggles and wrenching them out of her hand. “What makes you think you have the right to take his things and act like he was never here?” Hunter shouted, waving the goggles in front of Jaye. “He left because he didn’t have a choice, unlike you, who left without a word!”

Jaye stopped struggling against Hunter’s grip and glared at him. “Excuse me?” she scoffed.

“You heard me. It took you months to come back to us after ‘grieving’ for your own squad, and now you’re telling us we have to put Tech behind us not two weeks after we lost him?!”

Hunter thrust Jaye’s wrist away to emphasize his point. She stared at Hunter, watched his hands ball into fists around the goggles. Anger and grief clawed at her chest. “Believe me, Hunter,” she choked out, her hand resting on her chest. “I loved Tech as much as you did. He was like a brother to me, too! He was the closest thing I had to having Colell back—”

“Please, don’t compare my brother to yours,” Hunter spat, his body shaking with rage. “You never saw Tech; you only saw Colell.”

Something snapped within Jaye. She stared at Hunter as his brows furrowed, his words registering for the both of them. Tears streamed down Jaye’s face as she whispered, “You don’t mean that.”

Hunter said nothing. His eyes flickered, averting his gaze for a fraction of a second, but he met her gaze once more, too prideful and angry to apologize. Jaye gritted her teeth and stormed past Hunter, slamming the controls to lower the ramp as she raced out of the ship. Hunter stared at the opposite side of the room for a moment, sighing deeply. Why did he say that? He turned toward the cockpit to see the ramp open and Wrecker gazing out the window. He turned and looked at Hunter with confusion written all over his face. Hunter closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Why did he say that?

Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist Ultimate Masterlist

[lilacjunimo]

the way she looks at him she’s just like me fr

[sleepingsun501]

TBB SPOILERS 02:13 / Tech appreciation post

Seriously why is he so cute?? 🥰🥰 I love all of his little smiles so much!! He deserves to smile more. I love how he’s opened up emotionally through this season. So much growth and I’m so proud of him.

(The middle ones damn near killed me)

[classicanalyzer]

Identity Crisis and Point of No Return Thoughts

Emerie Karr is beginning to grow a heart and conscious.

I like how Nala Se’s priority is Omega first but leaves the others as best as she can. There’s a bit of her old self from the Clone Wars there.

Scorch as a villain is terrifying and I love this change in personality.

I also love how Hemlock is really starting to feel the pleasure and the seeds of a mental breakdown is clear. I cannot wait to see him get his just deserts.

CX-2 has to be building up to a reveal of some kind at this point. I’m still betting on Cody or a new Clone with Crosshair’s defects. He continues to be the deadliest Clone villain we’ve seen after Imperial Crosshair and alongside Scorch.

I wish we got to see more of Shep and Lysna this season because this episode reminds me how much I wanted to see more of them even if as background roles on Pabu.

Omega letting herself be captured is a great way to show her growth and desire to finish the mission through.

Crosshair failing is the most devastating thing I’ve seen and it seems to set up his eventual recovery of his sniping skills.

Otherwise, today was truly angst.

Motifs I’ve noticed:

A possible Karr theme that I thought was a change in Omega’s theme, Hemlock’s theme, CX’s theme, Omega theme, BB theme (a similar theme to when Omega was taken in S2 finale), and the Commando theme/Deployment motif (ARC Trooper track)

[mooshrems]

the brothers ever

[starqueensthings]

“This is not the first time she has required our assistance due to her dealings with individuals of questionable integrity. It is a… problematic pattern.”

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