#that's legends and is never mentioned anywhere in tcw at all

[stairset]

Maybe it's just because of where I live, but the whole "Satine didn't like that her people were a bunch of warmongering imperialist assholes and told them to knock it off and implemented gun control and made the Jedi Torture Boxes illegal so that her people could rebuild and move on from their violent history of civil wars that reduced their planet into a nearly uninhabitable wasteland in favor of focusing on more productive things like art and education and this is literally cultural genocide and she's erasing history and she should've been a villain blah blah blah" take has always been so weird to me. Like I have absolutely seen people say things like that in real life all the time and about 90% of them have confederate flags on the back of their pickup trucks so. Yeah.

[yukipri]

The Bad Batch Ep S2 Ep 11 - Thoughts & Spoilers

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

Spoilers,

So everything's beneath the cut!

I know with the Mando S3 premiere, this episode may have gotten even less attention than the rest of the show. BUT this episode had some incredible things, so here are *some* of my thoughts.

FIRST:

HIM!!!!! and he was NAMED and had LINES!!!!

This is super exciting, because while we glimpsed Scorch in Season 1 while they were rescuing Gregor, I don't think he was mentioned anywhere by name, meaning it could have just been a random other RC with similar paint.

Delta Squad (from Legends) was technically canonized when they cameo'd in the Clone Wars, but it's so nice to see them again! It makes me pray that the other 3 members have escaped and are with Rex, because Scorch is *definitely* still super chipped....

Next, the MAIN thing I was super excited about:

So many things in this episode made me absolutely SCREAM, but the main one was probably FINALLY some movement on the connection between Nala Se and Omega. That's something I've been dying for more elaboration on since S1.

Omega is clearly a kid created for a specific reason, raised under specific circumstances, who has a unique bond with Nala Se, the primary creator of all clones. I was sure this would be part of the central storyline of TBB so I'm SO GLAD we're finally getting to it.

The thing is, Omega clearly has very complex feelings towards Nala Se, and Nala Se also considers Omega "special." SUPER curious to see where they go with this, especially since Nala Se seems to be reluctant to help the Empire. Understandable, given the destruction of Tipoca City, but she also never struck me as the sentimental type. I'm personally very wary of the "care" Nala Se seems to be showing Omega, and based on what we currently know, doubt that she means it sincerely—Omega (or her DNA) is likely valuable in some way.

Not sure how I'll react if they paint Nala Se as a sympathetic character, because I doubt I'll ever forgive her for what she did to Fives. Her treatment of Fives, which is also indicative of her treatment of all other clones. Her being kind(?) to Omega doesn't erase that.

I am absolutely confident that this lab and Nala Se/Omega is part of a plot that will connect to the experiments done to Grogu, which in turn will connect to Snoke + the return of Sidious in the ST. That's the running thread, to provide explanation/justification for that "twist."

While I think TBB is fun, THIS is what I personally was waiting for—Omega's true identity and why she's of value to Nala Se, how she therefore fits into the greater plan Nala Se had, and how that in turn affects not just Fett clones, but all the cloning that runs throughout SW.

I also LOVED that Omega showed her skills here—yes, she DOES know her way around Kaminoan tech!! The only time we've really seen it before is when Cad Bane kidnapped her + the S1 finale. She was Nala Se's personal MEDICAL ASSISTANT. She is older than the Batch! She KNOWS things!!

I was genuinely expecting (hoping) to learn more about Omega throughout the entire show, and we do see her being skilled + confident around various tools, but that's around it. I hope her past that she doesn't want to talk about is dragged out into the open in these last few eps.

I have a LOT of theories about Omega's past and her connection to the Batch and their origins (pst it's all in my fic), some of which will likely no longer be canon compliant, but ah well!

Other things that really made me happy:

-The Batch showing some growth due to the last episode, and growing a spine to stand up against Cid. Both pointing out that she didn't help them like they've helped her, and demanding a higher cut, though she did get the final say in the end. It was still a massive improvement!

-The ZILLO BEAST. First of all, it was definitely one of the coolest creatures in TCW, so it was super exciting to see it brought back! Its physiology is fascinating, and I loved how we got to see it visibly grow due to it feeding on electricity. This is actually the second creature we've encountered in TBB that seems to like electricity as an energy source, the first being in S1. It's neat to see this pattern, perhaps they're distantly related species?

I also LOVED that it tied into more experiments. I need to rewatch the eps, but i think it was implied in TCW that Palps was interested in the Zillo beast's armor, so I loved seeing that actually followed up on!

In general, I'm just a huge fan when world building plot points connect or are followed up on to build continuity and a greater view of the SW universe, and this episode definitely connected a bunch of points, so that was awesome!

Anyway, only 5 eps left of S2, excited to see where it goes!

[padawanlost]

There's this thing that I always thought was in the eu because with few exceptions, it's in every fanfic, but now I'm starting to think is fanon. You know the whole thing about Masters and Padawans sharing living quarters? I like that, but is it actually mentioned anywhere or is it a fan idea? I don't think it we saw Anakin &/or Ahsoka's quarters in tcw and I don't remember it being in JA (well I didn't finish those so it might be in the later books?) Do you happen to know anything about it?

(Not that it’s not good or valid if it’s not officially published; I’m just curious) Also, unrelated, but I totally imagine you looking like Ahsoka as well 😁🙌   

Yes! The whole“padawans and Masters living together” thing is fanon. In both canon and the EUit’s established that Jedi have their own separate rooms and that they eattogether.

In TheClone Wars we see that Anakin and Ahsoka each have their own rooms. And in LegendsObi-wan and Anakin also have separate rooms.

It slowlyfaded as he realized that Anakin wasn’t there. With a sigh, Obi-Wan turnedaway. He hurried to the nearest turbolift. He knew where Anakin was. The boysometimes retreated to his own quarters. Obi-Wan exited at Anakin’s floor andquickly made his way to the boy’s quarters. As he reached them, the lower halfof a protocol droid rotated out the door on its own. It was followed a momentlater by a battered astromech droid, which tottered and then smashed into thewall. JudeWatson. Deceptions

As fortheir meals:

Afterdumping his borrowed clunker with the droid transport chief, abruptly awarethat his belly was achingly empty, Anakin made his way to the nearest dininghall and filled a plate with hot stew and thickly buttered fresh bread. [Star Wars:Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth]

In theTemple’s communal dining hall, the two Jedi shared a meal of thrantcill pâtéand hawk-bat eggs. [Steven Barnes’s The Cestus Deception]

Fortyplaces set for dinner in a hall made to hold a hundred. The west block of thekitchen gardens left fallow. The rhythms of Temple life cut away for lack oftime; no time for gardening now, or mending robes by hand, or games. Now it washand-to-hand combat, small-unit tactical training, military infiltration exercises.Food made in a hurry from ingredients bought in the city, and grave-eyedchildren of twelve and fourteen suddenly monitoring comm transmissions, runningcourier routes, or researching battle plans. [Sean Stewart. Star Wars: Yoda:Dark Rendezvous]

The JediTemple had several dining rooms that were always ready to serve. ConsideringJedi would come and go at all times it was the easiest choice.

The Jediwere free to eat at other places, of course, but I never found any evidencethat that Masters and Padawans shared small, fully equipped apartments. Whichis understandable, considering the Jedi were all about community.

[padawanlost]

in what ways are anakin and obi ooc in tcw?

My problemwith some aspects of the characterization of Anakin and Obi-wan in TCW is howsome character traits are exaggerated and others are downplayed. I don’t thinkthey ever went full OOC but there was some moments that made me roll my eyes,especially some Anakin moments.

Overall,how they turned Anakin, an awkward AF, emotionally unstable, traumatized,abused and grieving teenager into a smooth action hero is the most obviousproblem. Anakin was never supposed to be THAT type of hero. Not only it doesn’tmatch what was previously established about him, chronologically, it doesn’tmake much sense:

Shmi’s death

The Clone Warsis set only a couple of weeks after Shmi’s death. Considering all of Anakin’semotional issues, how attached he was to his mother and how he reacted to herdeath, we should have seen more grief there. A bit more grieving and a littleless joking around would’ve made Anakin more realistic.

“Smooth” Anakin

I’ve saidthis before and I’ll say this again: Anakin Skywalker is awkward. He had few healthysocial interactions in his life and this idea that he can charm his way intoanywhere, that he always know exactly what to say and how to say it goesagainst everything we know about Anakin. Look at this awkward nugget ofself-doubt before TCW:

And afterTCW:

It doesn’tadd up. I’m not saying tcw!Anakin should have been awkward and uncomfortableall the time but the character would have been more in line with the movies ifwe had been a little less “macho”.

Again, theclone wars is set weeks after AOTC and NO ONE changes that much that fast. It’strue that awkward teens don’t necessarily remain that way but it’s usually theresult of a process. You don’t wake up one day and decide you’re to be “cool”.I mean, you can decide but you don’t actually change (permanently) overnight. It’sa process that involves the person’s social environment and it’s something thatwe never saw Anakin go through.

Slaves of the Republic

IMO, thisarc is by far the biggest offender.  Fromthe moment they landed in Zygerria everything about Anakin felt off. I had readthe comics it was based on before I watched the episode and maybe thatinfluenced me a little but imo, the way they had Anakin handled the Queen andthe entire situation went against everything I knew about Anakin.

AnakinSkywalker, former slave, does not joke about slavery. In the comics, he makessure Ahsoka understands the seriousness of their situation, he doesn’t let heranywhere near a slave market (until he feels absolutely needs to) and he certainlydoesn’t crack jokes about it.  You can feelhis barely concealed anger and how hard it is for him to be nice to the Queen.

He grew upin Tatooine and knows exactly what happens to beautiful young slaves. And he isdeeply attached to his padawan. It makes no sense for him to volunteer Ahsokaso easily to play the role of merchandise. It goes against his protectivenature. He’s “okay” with Ashoka going into a war zone because it’s somethingshe’s ready for and he knows she understands what’s at stake there. But Ashokabeing sold into slavery is a risk he wouldn’t take lightly.

In thecomics never flirts quite so openly with the queen, because let’s face it,Anakin Skywalker can’t flirt. It’s why people mock him in AOTC. Turning Anakininto a smooth lover who can easily charm a powerful queen with a few whisperersdoesn’t make sense. His “flirting” only “worked” on Padmé because she wasalready interested and because she knew he was genuine (like any queen, she wasused to empty flattery and could spot from miles away).

 Obi-wanKenobi

With Obi-wan,my biggest issue is how much emotion he demonstrated and how easy it was forhim to break the rules. Obi-wan cares about his friends but what separates himfrom Anakin is that he doesn’t allow himself to show it.

Obi-wan is the guy wholoves Anakin more than anything but can’t actually say it until Anakin is dyingat his feet. Like a true Jedi,  he is emotionallyconstipated. So turning Obi-wan into a externally compassionate person doesn’tfit. And it’s the same with him breaking the rules. Obi-wan drank the kool-aid.He honestly believed that the Jedi way is the best (only) way. That’s why I don’tbuy Obi-wan going against the rules to rescue Satine. he’s the man who tried tokill his best friend, even though he didn’t really want to, because his Mastertold him to.

That’sObi-wan’s tragedy. He wanted to help, he wanted to save Anakin and his friends.but he was held back by his upbringing. Everything he thought would help endedup making things worse.

It’s why I havetrouble accepting an Obi-wan that can put his entire belief system asidewithout any major personal consequences. I guess the real problem is not thatbroke the rules but how easy it was for him to break them.

 Conclusion

And to bereally honest here, I’ll say that the one thing that still bothers me about TCWcharacterization of Anakin is why it was made that way. But this is long enoughas it is so i won’t into that right now.

All thoselittle details I mentioned above about Anakin and Obi-wan are solved in thebooks. Once I started to into Legends most of the OOC moments didn’t bother meas much. Like Shmi’s death. She’s not a big part of TCW but in the novelizationof TCW movie Anakin thinks about her a lot so now when I watch I know she’sthere even though she’s not mentioned. It only made me love TCW even more.

I think itis interesting to pick apart these little discrepancies we find for the sake ofdiscussion but in no way it diminishes the importance of the show as a whole.