#I’m excited for TBB S3

[sam4lmk]

I guess I’ll introduce myself.

My name is Sam.

I’m 15 and turning 16 on 30 July.

I go by she/they

For more art you can go follow me on twitter. @/Sam4lmk

I like to draw, in lots of fandoms and loves a lot of series and games so I will try to draw more.

Fandoms I know:

CRK / CROB

HSR / HI3rd / ZZZ / GI

LOL

CSM

MHA (I am not affiliated with the fandom)

Dislyte

Pokémon

JJK

Star Wars

Characters I love:

Elysia (HI3rd)

Cyno (GI)

Yone (LOL)

Echo (TBB)

Ruan Mei (HSR)

Columbina (GI)

Tang Xuan (Dislyte)

Intisar (Dislyte)

Ezra (Rebels)

Power (CSM)

Lady Nagant (MHA)

Hawks (MHA)

Pure Vanilla Cookie (CRK)

Millennial Tree Cookie (CROB)

Yuki Tsukumo (JJK)

[the-names-kam]

in honor of me finally watching season 2 of the bad batch (and once again losing my mind over these two) i decided to redraw this old comic of mine!

(originally based off of this post by @simplysummers!)

[mcd217]

WOLFFE??? REX!!!

Omg sad Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Echo!

VENTRESS???? YELLOW SABERS LETS GO!!

I’m so excited bro omg

[noeasyisnoisy]

‼️TBB S3 E8 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT‼️

js more of my thoughts as i was watching 🤗

FENNEC RAHHHH

SHES TALKING ABT VENTRESS AHHDJJSKSODKJEBD

THANK GOD OMEGAS GONNA TRY AND GET CROSSHAIRS HAND LOOKED AT

crosshair :((

“i’m not gonna like it, am i” “you.. don’t like anything!” “..true” BYE 💀💀

“money’s not everything” “that’s cause you don’t have any” IM DEAD

the guy they’re after 🤢

IM SORRY he’s js very bug-like and i don’t like bugs

my face that entire fight: 😨

MEDITATING AWWW

GOD THIS SERIES IS SO BEAUTIFUL (the shot w the sunset and cross + omega meditating)

ventress is gonna be in the next episode i’m calling it now and IM SO EXCITED

[skekzombie]

SPOILERS AHEAD so thread carefully

Ok, so I was finally able to watch the first 4 episodes of TBB S3 and here are my thoughts so far:

— I do not, and I repeat, I do NOT like the M-count thing on Omega. Is just lazy writing, I now know why Asajj is here, ugh, she was special enough as she was, she was a female, pure genetic replication clone, and that was enough, I don’t like Omega being Force sensitive, it is not necessary, not everything has to do with the Jedi and such. I have my theories but I need more info and I hope I’m wrong

— I love the change in Crosshair during the 1st episode, he changed from, “we’re all doomed” to “at least I’m gonna help her escape”

— I don’t know about you all but I counted the days on Omega’s window and the last count was 5 months and 14 days until the Emperor arrives. I feel bad for all 4 of them.

— Project Necromancer, obvious reference to Snoke and episode IX and not something we’ll like to remember tbh

— I also enjoyed very much that Omega showed traits of all of Crosshair’s brothers to him, a bit of Tech, Hunter, Wrecker and even Echo reflecting on that little girl would certainly warm his heart

— In my opinion the escape and reunion of the clones seems a bit rushed for me, I thought it was going to take at least 2 more episodes, perhaps see a little bit more of Hunter and Wrecker, I’m not complaining, it just makes me anxious for the rest of the season

— Broke my heart seeing how worn out Hunter and Wrecker’s armors are

— In the matter that is currently diving the fandom on the reaction of Hunter and Wrecker seeing Crosshair, I say, leave them alone, they’re still raw and hurt because they lost Tech and were running like madmen, crossing the galaxy (5 times) for 5 MONTHS in search for their little girl, they have a lot of mix feelings and we should let them be, let them work it out, it’ll get better later anyway

— Wrecker is going to love Batcher

— I’m keeping my eye on that suspicious black helmet soldier, I read somewhere that he might be the a spy clone but who knows

This is all I have for now, I’m just waiting with excitement and terror the next episode tomorrow.

Bye everyone!

[zoeykallus]

Just a few more weeks until Star wars: The Bad Batch season III! I’m so excited! Are you?

Um, yeah, just a couple more weeks. Honestly, I think it's more anxiety than excitement, at least for me. I'm still heartbroken about Tech and part of me hopes we find out he's still alive, another part thinks they shouldn't bring him back, but be consistent and consequential for once. (I could talk for days about what I mean right here but don't worry, I won't)

In fact, I have far too many negative thoughts about TBB S3. More like fears, not thoughts. TBB is never mentioned again in any series or movie that takes place later in the timeline, also not in any books I've been reading (But there are way too many to read all of them I guess, and I'm not always sure which is canon or not). So I guess they didn't live too long. And, of course, there is the thought in the back of my mind, the question of how the upcoming season will end.

If and who dies? How? It's just a show, and yet the thought of the negative things that could happen is surprisingly painful. But I'll watch it anyway, and in the end, as a fan fiction writer, I write what I want anyway.

It's just, I started to "love" these characters at some point (The Batch) and there is this feeling that I'm gonna lose them all soon.

However, I am very excited about some loose ends that may now be tied up, including in regards to Cody, Rex, Wolfe, Gregor, etc.

[lornaka]

Thoughts on TBB s2 finale

Spoilers under the cut. Most of this is a compilation of thoughts I’ve previously expressed on twitter and discord so nothing new to some of you perhaps! Disclaimer: I still love the show with my whole heart and greatly respect the hard work of everyone who worked on it, so please don’t hate on the show in replies and comments to this post. Either keep it to relevant constructive criticism of the narrative and thoughtful analysis/discussion, or make your own posts, thanks

Idk I was just left.. hollow after s2 finale of tbb, like, there were no upsides/positive stimulating moments? It didn't leave me with an excited feeling for what's to come, more like "this is very bleak and miserable, I want s3 purely in the hope of it getting better somehow". I really was expecting some sort of catharsis from tbb s2 finale but got the complete opposite. It's a tell that something didn't work for me when I got no inspiration to draw anything tbh. S1 finale was confusing and not all that happy too but it left.. idk, something to be hopeful about, something affirming to it, amidst all destruction and separation.  I wonder what s3 will look like with this sort of a cliffhanger. Unless they somehow resolve it in the first few episodes of the next season, the whole format would have to be changed, no more one-off adventures between the main plot heavy episodes etc. Regarding Hunter and his complete lack of emotionality and motivation outside of his relationship with Omega, at this point I seriously can’t tell if the writers are purposefully writing Hunter in a way that makes him come off as, well, failing as a brother and a leader. All I know is that after each finale, s1 and s2, I’m left with a desire for him to own up to his mistakes to grow. I love Hunter a lot and I enjoy flawed characters with good hearts. But when they mess up, I want the narrative to frame it such, and for them to grow from there. Otherwise it’s just inconsistent writing. At this moment, I feel like Hunter needs a “redemption” arc as much as Crosshair, as far as family drama and letting each other down goes. This is why I was so happy when it seemed like they’d finally go to rescue Crosshair specifically (welp.) They needed to do that imo, Hunter most of all, he needs to own up to leaving his brother behind once and for all and actually *do* smth about it. Was it understandable when they had to flee and couldn’t come back for Cross before they knew about the chips and arguably after? Absolutely. Doesn’t change the fact that Cross was left behind and got hurt, doesn’t make it better. So even if Hunter’s decision is justified, his lack of regret over his brother getting hurt in the process is not. I can see him repressing it all bc that’s Hunter, he is the king of repressing his emotions for the sake of moving forward, but his issues do not excuse him, and I want him to gain awareness and grow past these issues.  And speaking of Crosshair. It’s so weird, structurally if nothing else, how the previous few episodes built up all these emotional stakes over Crosshair, specifically his withstanding intense torture from Hemlock meant to break him just to protect his siblings, only for the finale to completely drop the ball on it. Tech sacrifices himself on a mission he specifically urged Hunter to go on because “Crosshair is still our brother” and then Hunter is like “yeah let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice and forget all about Crosshair, okay?”. It made no freaking sense.  S1 finale left me confused & unsatisfied with the way characters reactions didn’t fit some of their previously stablished experiences and narrative arcs. S2 put things in perspective for me somewhat, so my best hope is that s3 does the same to resolve my confusion over s2 finale.  When it comes down to basic story break down, the core theme of TBB gotta be either about a family coming together, or it is about a family separating, one way or another. Until s2 finale I was convinced it was about coming together but now.. “We don’t leave our own behind” seemed like a clear set up for the coming together theme. Now it feels almost like a misdirection, an ironic twist to subvert our expectations or mb to explore how old convictions/priorities of these characters crashed against new realities of life.  And now that they’ll never truly be able to be a whole family again (allegedly), my hope for the main theme to circle back to a family coming together in a satisfying way has been critically diminished tbh. I think it could still work with someone dying, but def not like this. Even if everyone else survives and sticks together and Cross comes back, he’ll never have closure over Tech’s absence, for example. There will be no satisfaction for us as the audience in his brother’s sacrifice on a mission to save him, no pay-off. Then what is the point?  A character death is a very powerful tool within the story, so when it happens, it needs to be done extremely right to hit the right emotional chords and not just cause frustration. What frustrates me, personally, is not the factual death of a character in the canon version of the events, but when the presentation and use of it makes no sense to me in the story but the writers are trying to sell it to me as if it should. Then I feel like I’m being emotionally manipulated and nothing makes me feel more betrayed tbh. I can come up with an infinite number of explanations for Tech’s survival. It’s incredibly easy to suspend my disbelief and just say “somehow he survived”. But if the creators themselves actively try to beat me over the head with their insistence that no, it happened and I should be sad over it, nope. That’s telling, not showing. If you want me to feel strong emotion, make me, don’t tell me that I’m supposed to be sad over a character dying just because you decided to kill them to make me sad. As for Tech’s status, the whole Schrodinger Tech situation is exactly the same as Cross’s chip in s1 finale. Everything in the narrative (Hemlock bringing his goggles is sus as hell, 100% reads as hints at him recovering Tech and then lying to Hunter to manipulate him) points to it being one way (Cross’s chip still affecting him, Tech surviving) but knowing the writers, my gut tells me it’s exactly what they say on the surface with their words and he’s gone. I hope I’m wrong because the way this death was handled is meaningless and closes so many possibilities, like I mentioned above with the family coming together in a satisfying way etc. It just doesn’t work for the story beyond cheap emotional shock value imo.  So here we are. I decided to chill until s3 and hope things will make sense as the story progresses and the intentions of the writers become clear. Right now they sure as hell aren’t. 

[arlothia]

You had a CAREER CHANGE because of the bad batch? I am intrigued to know more (if you are comfortable sharing)!!

Haha, yup! And thank you for the question! I do indeed feel comfortable sharing!

Buckle, up, though, ‘cause I’m going to give you the WHOLE story!

So currently I work in a library and I honestly love it very much and would love to keep working there as long as I can. Right now it’s only part time and my initial plans were to try for full time jobs (though hiring in this library system is a nightmare). 

But once I watched TBB (I started on February 22, 2022 and finished it in two days, so the start of S3 is almost exactly my anniversary which is awesome!) I instantly fell in love it and one thing I just could not get out of my head was the amazingness that is Dee Bradley Baker, who IS the Bad Batch! His ability to voice all these different characters (not to mention aaaaaaaaaaaall the other characters and creatures he’s voiced over the years) was absolutely mind boggling!

Following this, I was NOT able to get the idea of voice acting out of my head and so many things around me kept pointing to it (#VoiceActing trending on twitter, reddit suggesting the VA subreddit, a freaking display at my library having a book on voice acting!!!), and the decision to become a voice actor just felt right. It felt like it was what I was supposed to do. And I was SO excited....and daunted!!!

Now, I’ve always loved doing accents, making funny voices, reading out loud (especially reading out loud - I’d had the fun little daydream of being an audiobook reader years and years ago but it wasn’t serious....then! Later that summer I started listening to Marc Thompson reading the canon ‘Thrawn’ books and ooooh baby yeah!!!), and acting was something fun to think about, but I knew I didn’t want to get into that field, at least not the physical part of it because it’s so very, very demanding. But voice acting....voice acting can be done with the right equipment and a properly set up closet, right at your own home! 

So because I’m me and I’m very indecisive and take FOREVER to actually start a project (especially a huge, daunting one like this), it wasn’t until last summer when I got a coach and have been doing a lesson every week since then. I’m now (finally) also getting started on actually getting the equipment and materials I will need to set up my recording studio in my closet (and by “getting started” I mean I’m pretty sure what I want but have yet to buy it, haha).

I fully intend to make voice acting (and audiobook reading) my career (while also hoping to keep my part time job at the library if at all possible) and it’s all because of ‘The Bad Batch’. 

So I can honestly say that it changed my life and I will forever be thankful for it and all the amazing people that work on it!

[the-bi-space-ace]

Quick update!

First! I’m gonna start tagging posts with spoilers here on out with tbb spoilers and tbb s3 spoilers and tbb season 3. Covers all the bases, ya know?

I didn’t avoid spoilers at all for season 2 until the finale but this time I want to go into each episode with zero indication about the content. It’ll make the episodes more fun for me to watch and I want to soak up as much fun as possible.

I’m also going to speed run S1 & S2 and I have some ideas on a few posts about themes etc that I’d like to talk about! (Probably heavily focusing on Echo & Crosshair bc of course I would.) I might even throw in some hopes for S3 because ohhhhh boy am I excited.

I’m also going to really buckle down and get The World Tumbles Down ready so I can start posting it the first week of March. I’m already done with the first four chapters, which I know doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s over 30k words already and there’s still a lot left to write! It’s super plot heavy and I’m really proud of my progress so far so I hope the wait is worth it 🩵

I have quite a few fics planned for 2024 and I’m going to spend as much of this next month as I can writing which means I probably won’t post fic in February even though I was planning to - that could change but as of rn this is the plan. A lot got put on the back burner bc I started a new job in January and with the stress of moving to a new city in October plus having to find a new job I was dead tired and really low mood-wise. The sun is staying up later in the day which has helped my mood improve (thankfully). All of that was really just to say that you can expect some new stuff from me soon lol.

I’m excited for this season and I was very positively impressed with S2! Expect some chaotic ramblings from me in the next few weeks 😅

[techslander]

TBB Tech Thoughts

I won’t bore you with the details of why I think he’s alive because it’s been rehashed everywhere for the past two weeks, but yeah I think there’s a decent chance he’s still alive. The real question is whether or not that's a good idea!

On a personal level I want him to come back because he is a major comfort character and I already miss him to death, just based on a sketchy death scene. Emotions go 0 to 100 on a daily basis about this but it hurts thinking about him alone out there, no burial and no brothers. I do think it's a cheap way of building “stakes” in a show that’s already destroyed the main characters’ homeland and familial ties, and if Omega were still captured with Tech alive, I don’t think the impact would’ve been lost. 

Now, do I want him back from a writing point?

yeeessss ? and no. Yes because his death felt shoddily put together and almost as if we’re supposed to see all the holes in it, and no because there’s one season left and with all the plot lines they have to tie up, it’s hard to see the second coming of Tech fitting in well to an 16/18 episode run. 

I don’t care about the whole “Star Wars needs to stop faking deaths” thing because obviously they’re going to fake deaths, this is fantasy. But, Tech dying and coming back would make it much more difficult for any of the other batches to die believably in this season, which I think is a very real possibility. And, sorry, but the character writing in TBB can vary wildly and I’m content to have Tech’s character remain where he is and not get messed up via s3 shenanigans. Is it shitty to kill off your one autistic character for shock value? Definitely. I detest that. But, here we are. 

It’s hard to tell what the tone of s3 is going to end up as, because the teaser trailer (not sure where to find one, they've all been taken down) shows a very dark future for the batch, but they usually only show the first few episodes, so we can’t know where this ends up going. If it keeps with the darkness and gloom then bringing Tech back might be too much tonal whiplash, but if they want a ROTJ ending for this series after their ESB, then totally bring him back oh my god. This is just Han in carbonite again. 

As my final thoughts, I will say I am very excited to be delusional about Tech coming back, because this is fandom and I want to have fun with the show that I love!!! Even if he doesn’t come back, this would’ve been an interesting few months of theorizing, and it just shows how energized the Tech section of the fandom is. We all love this nerdy guy and whether or not he’s breathing, that love will be shown via sobs on twitter or rambles here on Tumblr. 

[meandmyechoes]

Weekly Star Wars (Mando S3 Week 5, TBB S2 finale)

\ok, so, about the new episodes. I'm... decently surprised by them? I mean they're not GREAT, but they are not BAD either. An improvement to last week I guess? I'm not excited about them, but they do pulled at a few strings? I'm finding this whole experience strange, as if 'watching Star Wars weekly' has been habitualized and I'm just combating FOMO.

but back on the episodes. I watched Mando first this week because I want TBB to be really good. I was glad it was at ‘proper’ length ~40 minutes, but grew impatient as the episode went because you just know Mando & co. will come and save the day. It’s also funny all that fiasco just to shove R5 Din’s way was because of this plot point.

I still don’t see the point writing New Republic’s bureaucracy - but with R5′s case, maybe the show would eventually pay off. I don’t share the delusion of grandeur that Mando would ‘erase’ the sequels - I’d rather they stay away from it - but so far they represented a weak and restricted government that could easily overlook the birth of the First Order. That’s the tonal dissonace. It’s odd for a Saturday morning cartoon to interject with this backbone of the sequel trilogy - that should’ve been in the sequel films itself and long novels.

But I can still see they are trying to build up towards the Ahsoka show/Thrawn reveal/crossover event even if I dislike it. I really don’t like it because it doesn’t feel like The Mandalorian anymore. It feels just like The Weekly Star Wars Show and it took what’s little charm left of the Mandoverse away from me.

It wasn’t like I expected anything grand or catering in S3. Either they converge on Din and Grogu as characters, or they diverge to cover the Mandalorian identity and civil wars. Instead they cast such a wide net, it seems I only got very little of what was shown in the trailer.

Let’s go in on the episode. I think the Pirates are dumb and ugly. Nevarro set and costume is fine. New Republic captain scenes can all be cut if only to deliver the last scene and message that Giddeon escaped. Karga could’ve sent a direct message to Mando. I like Elia Kane better seeing how good she is at sabotaging. i still think it’s out of self-interest the Armourer acts. I really wanted them to retake Mandalore but now it seems if Bo-Katan and find the rest of her crew, a civil war would break out between the two factions again, if only temporarily to serve the finale. But then the whole Mandalore plot could then be condensed to just 4 episodes then! See? That’s why you don’t steal episodes from affliated shows!

I didn’t recgonize Zeb at all. I saw a CG-saturated creature and heard a very cartoon voice. The whole thing doesn’t look real at all. I thought it was odd that there’s a random Lasat coz I thought they were nearly extinct but I just rule it to Favloni ignoring established canon anyway. Either way it was that unrecgonizable Zeb never crossed my mind. tbh it’s not that bad. Though in hindsight, prospecting it as a preview to the Ahsoka show, I really don’t like it for the meaning CG > practical, even if it’s true here... a billionsssss company chose the least cost method...

---------TBB S2 finale-----------

Coming out of Mandalorian, I was equally impatient (or maybe it’s that dose of caffiene at tea). An episode named ‘The Summit’ that I expected to be about a conference and they actually show imperial old men talking and--

I guess I wanted too bad for the Batch to reunite and become a happy family again. All in all it’s not a bad episode - maybe not even a bad finale. I have to applaud their guts to outright state Rex (by extension other legacy characters) won’t show up in the beginning.

I didn’t see most of it coming, but I also didn’t trust what most of it says...? First of all I don’t believe that Tech is dead. Not that he isn’t dead, just that the writers are waiting out on fans’ reaction to finalize his fate. *sigh* This is definitely residual sequel. Tech was getting focus eps, a love interest, complete with a farewell so totally flags. I’d be kind of sad if he doesn’t come back... but one could also easily see now that Tech, Omega and Crosshair are all confined to the same place, they could easily get out themselves....?

Another quasi-disappointment is Omega’s importance is still not quite explained. If not, it’s even less clear now if her sex is not what made her unique. I also don’t see how she is the key to Palpatine’s eternal life quest unless normal growth rate is a feature and not the norm? Or was it about consciousness transfer?? Or it just circles back to pre-preimere that she is force-sensitive?? which seem to never be reinforced this season? IDK

Even thought TBB S2 made better use of their Quest epsiodes to sharpen characters and experimented with some upheaval within the teams, as well as limiting legacy characters to appropriateness, its pace still move under the conviction of a Season 3. It’s almost like they are dragging out the story so there’s a show to put on every week without an end point in sight - or even too much liberty to worldbuild early empire with it - because it’s animated.

When it comes around I guess I will still watch S3? but not with much more enthusiaism this time than to just watch what Lucasfilm Animation is up to. It’s kind of tiring to pick it apart every week if i just don’t like it that much. I would hate it if this mediocrity is the new face of Star Wars animation, but what business is that of mine. Season 3 would probably start with an episode at most of grieving and they’re all gonna reunite, whatever.

[brachiosaurus-on]

My commentary & some analysis on the latest episode of The Bad Batch. I actually had positive things to say! This episode's writing was a major improvement and I found the characters felt like characters and they played off each other really well. Perhaps I should give Dee Bradley Baker more credit since he's trying to play off himself?

Warning: Spoilers below the cut

I love how diverse the Twi'lek character models are. If only they could do that for everyone else.

I bet Cham is not mentioning the Jedi because if he does he'll be shot. The thing is, it doesn't feel like an elephant in the room when he doesn't mention them. I wonder if that's intentional.

Hera calling him "Uncle Gobi" is so cute.

Hera's mom is my favorite.

Hera's mom, intimidating: I know you were up to no good.

Hera's mom, asking for the tea: Tell me everything.

I'm 5 minutes in and this is TBB's best writing so far. Actual politics that make sense. No immediately blaring plot holes. Characters are responding to each other rather than reading a stilted & predictable script.

Omg the chunk missing from Crosshair's skull.

Wait why is there a chunk missing? Did he get hit in the head? I thought his face was burned. I'll have to rewatch that scene.

Also, since he's here, and not actively looking for leads on where TBB is, I can only assume that they aren't that high on the Empire's wanted list. Especially considering they've been returning to the same base each episode, and multiple people know how to contact them. Or perhaps the Empire expects Ryloth to be more of a problem so they're using their best sniper.

Cham "another armed occupation is not a free Ryloth" Syndulla advocating for an armed occupation. Wonder what changed his position on that one.

Rampart sounds like he's on 1.5x speed.

Cham's position is a really good position to explore this dilemma, but I'm not sure why he's the one who believes this. It doesn't feel out of character yet, more like the toll of the war made him desperate for peace and he doesn't want Hera to grow up fighting. Whoops, look how that one turned out.

"I want my child to have peace" vs "I want my child to be free" this was a great way to have conflict between Hera's parents.

Hahaha Gobi & Hera are so cute. "I was going to let you fly this time" "FLY???" Lmao he so knows her.

Are these "French" accents bothering anyone else?

This conversation between Omega and Hera is flowing naturally, showing two perspectives of children during the rise of the empire and they both feel true to character.

Hunter telling Ryloth's freedom fighters that they "better know what they're getting into" sounds rather patronizing. They were doing this before he was. They were literally massacred doing this. They know exactly what they're getting into.

Interesting that Gobi doesn't want more clone troops, but doesn't have any opinion on receiving weapons from clone troops. Does he recognize that TBB are clones? The armor should give it away.

I have now learned that no one in the bad batch has a passion for flying. It's just a skill set for them.

One sniper shot from Crosshair's regular weapon takes out an engine... I guess it was well placed? They have established that the weapon can be reconfigured for specialized ammunition.

They're totally going to make a joke about "very exciting landings"

Rampart's interest in Hera is... really creepy.

Is Howzer's chip malfunctioning? Since when do the chips care about children? Since when do the chips allow them to question orders?

There's the Cham Syndulla we know.

Ok Howzer clearly has doubts & uncertainties. He feels like he has personality. But Dave said all the individuality got wiped away by the chips. He even has his clone wars armor when Dave made a point of erasing individual armor in Siege of Mandalore. What is the deal, Dave. Make a decision, Dave. I hope they explain this in the next episode. Who is Howzer and why does he get to be different? Don't get me wrong, I really like him. I wish we got more characters like him in TCW. Also, WHERE IS CODY. Nvm, don't tell me, I don't want to know.

Love seeing regular clones doing things.

If they have TBB come in and save the day I'm going to be salty. These guys are doing great on their own.

Cham "I trust the clones" Syndulla not hesitating to shoot them. There's the Cham we know.

Aww Hera. This writing is so much better than the rest of the show? Why have the writers been sleeping this whole time?

DO IT CHAM.

DEW IT.

YO. THAT WAS UNEXPECTED. Totally believable though. And Cham made a great point about Orn Free Taa putting greed above Ryloth. Finally some acknowledgement of why the Republic actually fell.

Oh Hera's mom is so dead. She's so gonna die in this. I should really watch s3 of Rebels.

The Empire is very smart to recognize the danger of allowing children of rebels to go free. They will come back for you.

Ok I would be slightly more alright if TBB came to the rescue, but I'd still much prefer it if the Twi'leks won this one for themselves.

[mara-the-cactupus]

TGG as the inspiration for Eurus’s games

I’m sure someone’s pointed it out before… but look at the parallels between these two shots:

Sherlock (and therefore, everyone) knows that the painting is fake; everyone (including poor Molly) knows that Sherlock’s “I love you” is fake

A bomb countdown, set up by the big villain, is threatening the most innocent victim in the episode (a child/Molly)

Blue-grey color scheme in a minimal, symmetrical room

Sherlock is wearing a pale shirt with a dark jacket

Sherlock is staring straight into the camera, looking at a painting/TV screen

On the left, John is very concerned about the safety of the hostage

On the right, the person who usually has some authority in the art gallery/prison can only stand back and watch with folded arms, and is more concerned about the situation’s consequences and implications

Now, I think that this parallel has huge implications for EMP. We’ve been talking about the connections to things like Saw or The Ring, but with this shot in mind, I think that if TFP is part of Sherlock’s dream/MP, he drew heavily from TGG.

Think about it: Eurus is a clear Moriarty mirror (they even did the weird glass reflection dance thing). Both of them play “games” with Sherlock, for no real reason other than to watch him dance. The games involve countdowns.

The key difference between these two games is this: in TGG, Sherlock got to save people by playing the game; in TFP, he had to let people get hurt. Each time he solved a case, the hostage in the bomb vest got to be rescued by Scotland Yard. Sherlock wasn’t even connected to the crimes: Carl Powers, Janus Cars, Connie Prince, the Van Buren Supernova. But in TFP, Eurus forces Sherlock to be involved in the decision of who lives and who dies. The governor, or his wife? (Both.) Which two Garridebs brothers? (All three.) To emotionally torture Molly, or let her die? To kill Mycroft or John? Sherlock is the one causing the pain.

So what does it mean?

This is all very interesting because John had asked Sherlock back in TGG if he actually cared about any of the victims; Sherlock continued to play the “high-functioning sociopath” act, but it’s clear that he does care very much for the victims involved in cases. He’s visibly affected when the old woman’s bomb vest goes off. He’s disappointed when Soo Lin dies. In fact, that’s likely why he chose to become a consulting detective: not just for the challenge and excitement, but also because it allows him to use his skills to help people, even though they might not appreciate him as a person. He stops serial killers so that they can’t kill again.

But everyone else doesn’t see him that way. They think that he just enjoys the thrill of the game, and that one day, he’ll be the one responsible for the dead body. The interesting thing about TFP is that it demonstrates this, in a way: it shows the mindless violence with no real end goal; Eurus won’t let Sherlock win, and she tries to punish Sherlock for feeling emotions. “All those complicated little emotions. I lost count. Emotional context, Sherlock – it destroys you every time.” Sherlock insists that he “won” the game with Molly, since he saved her from getting killed, but Eurus points out that all he did was hurt her himself. Sherlock always tries his best to ensure a happy ending, but people keep pointing out that his methods can be hurtful.

Here, he’s obsessing over this, wondering if he’s responsible for putting his friends in danger. In TRF, it affected John, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade. Now he’s imagining it happening to Molly, who he has already hurt so many times, and who won’t just forgive him like Mrs. Hudson or Lestrade did after the Fall. She is the person who he has the potential to hurt the most.

Additionally, this danger to Molly reflects the danger that Sherlock puts John in merely by existing: John has been kidnapped repeatedly because of his connection to Sherlock (TBB, TGG, TEH), and Sherlock’s fake suicide resulted in enormous pain for John.

…Now, assuming that EMP started as early as Sherlock getting shot, or as late as his overdose in the airplane, what might have sparked these thoughts? Hmm… well, I would say that Mary probably has a lot to do with it. HLV through TST covers the initial reaction to “does Mary put me and/or John in danger?”, and TAB/TST specifically include the question, “how did Mary get involved in our lives in the first place?” (I’m in the process of writing a long meta analyzing Sherlock’s train of thought and how it shapes HLV, TAB, and series 4; I’ll cover these topics more in depth then.) Basically, Sherlock is wondering if he is responsible for introducing John to Mary the assassin, and for putting their lives in danger.

Maybe his lifestyle and fame can’t help but attract dangerous villains like Moriarty. Maybe his detective work has deeper repercussions than he had anticipated, endangering the people he cares about. Is it still worth it?

We liked s1-2 because they were all about the cases, while s3-4 became more about one overarching danger in Sherlock’s life. Maybe Sherlock feels the same way as we do.

[str8-goggles]

Why I became a TJLCer

Dear fandom (and some others),

I think I’m done reblogging negative posts. I have some things I have to SAY though first, and they aren’t going to be negative. Not really. 

My history with the show is down below, but it essentially comes down to this:

I DECIDED to believe in TJLC, because it meant that the show was better than it was. 

It started with @loudest-subtext-in-tv ‘s original tumblr, I don’t think she had finished M-theory yet. In fact, I read her meta before S3, so I’m sure she hadn’t. I remember thinking she was BRILLIANT, and that meta as a concept was FASCINATING, and that I would NEVER be smart enough to contribute. Even though she wrote some amazing theories, I honestly thought she was reaching a bit too much. I was only somewhat interested in Johnlock (it wasn’t my favorite ship at the time), and I didn’t believe it would really happen. 

I flirted with meta for years, but I didn’t want to be disappointed, and more importantly, I didn’t have the confidence to contribute to the community. So what was the point? 

TRF made me sob, and I think I eventually read enough meta to say “JFC, if they don’t make Johnlock canon, that is a HUGE mistake, because THIS is the heart of the show. THIS is what makes the show great. It’s the chemistry, the ROMANTIC chemistry, between these actors. I think this was circa 2013. 

I have always felt that this show would be better if Johnlock was canon, but that didn’t mean it would be canon.

In 2016, I started to get back into the fandom, especially over the summer. There was so much meta to catch up on! Then I found TJLCE, and I was convinced that this really could be possible. 

Occam’s razor. It was the best explanation of all of the facts. 

Otherwise this show was pretty messy, and only slightly above mediocre. Honestly, the thing that pushed this show beyond mediocrity for me was the characterization in writing and the ACTING. Dear GOD the ACTING. 

As I started spending more and more time, energy and brain power on the series, people in my life expressed concern for me. “What if it doesn’t happen?”

I would always say the same thing: If it doesn’t happen, that’s a shame, but the show is 1000x more fun to watch and think about it this is true. I choose to see it that way, because I’m having more fun.

I do understand that not everyone has the luxury of thinking of it this way. I have more to write on that later. I just want to emphasize that 

What we came up with was more fun, better written, more brilliant, and more socially important, than anything the writers chose to portray. 

It’s a shame for them, but it’s something we should all be proud of. 

Under the cut will follow a breakdown of my experience in detail, for anyone who is curious. I enjoyed writing it. Read if you wish.

I was excited about Sherlock when previews started in 2010. When I saw the first episode, I thought it was FANTASTIC, with a few exceptions. 

Why didn’t Sherlock immediately realize it had to be a cab? I did!

lol that ended up being the original plan in the gay pilot-- so I forgave them

I ADORED their use of technology. I still think its one of the best things that ever existed about this show. 

I saw the possibility of Johnlock shipping, and they were both hot, but I felt pretty meh about it. 

Then I watched TBB, and it was a little disappointing. 

I only forgave this episode in 2016, when I became convinced the TBB codes were real. I read M-theory in 2014, but I still wasn’t convinced it was real until TJLCE. (Thank you so much @quietlyprim)

The characterization was frustrating, and didn’t develop enough. (Ironically I think this is because they were trying to establish John’s heterosexuality, and put distance between him and Sherlock. This is one of the reasons the episode falls flat. They aren’t in sync.)

The bad guys were ridiculous.

I watched TGG and was hooked once again. 

I was most impressed by the huge number of interesting and inventive mysteries! How fun! None of which were boring or simple!

I thought Moriarty was too camp and ridiculous, and he kept taking me out of my immersion with his line delivery. I kept thinking “Are they serious with this?” (Sorry Andrew! I grew to love you)

After Sherlock and John decided to die together, I thought the ship looked more interesting, and began reading some fanfiction at the request of my friend @januarymarlinquin . 

I was really frustrated at the cliff hanger!! My GOD that felt painful at the time. My favorite head cannon theory would be that they jump in the pool to escape the blast. 

But I knew I had to wait a long time, so I mostly moved on with my life. 

more to come later.