#Star Wars analyses

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Fives Thoughts

Sooooo I literally just made a post being like 'here are some fun bits from Umbara because the arc is depressing and I don't wanna talk about the sad bits' but uh... I had thoughts in the last 15 mins and now I wanna share them. 😃

And of course tagging as usual for people I'm interested to hear opinions from: @saturn-sends-hugs @inkstainedhandswithrings @the-bi-space-ace

It's been a while since I watched these story arcs back-to-back, so a lot of the character development is really showing atm. And one I find interesting is a shift in Fives between The Citadel and Umbara.

Fives has always had a bit of a firey personality, but up until this point he's been a little bit held back with that passion for the most part. And I'm gonna touch in something that @novaceleste and @spaceyjessa spoke about in their podcast (@coffeeandclones I was just listening to it the other day and they talk about some interesting points. Defo recommend you check it out. Also #JusticeForDroidbait2024) because it really is the basis for this whole point. Despite Fives being the brasher, slightly more hardheaded personality, and Echo being the more by-the-books one, it's Echo that tends to do a lot of the talking when authority is involved. When they speak to Shaak Ti, it's Echo that takes the lead, while Fives is a little more hesitant.

And when they first meet Rex and Cody, Fives automatically introduces himself as CT-27-5555, despite being very open about his displeasure of being called that throughout their training. He has this louder personality but he tends to draw into himself and panic slightly when put in front of authority.

However, he still has these more fiery moments, like during his speech in ARC Troopers. When he's put in a fight, that spark within him comes out full force. "My blood is boiling for a fight." That's what drives Fives. That's where that passion comes from. He always wanted to make ARC trooper, to prove himself and to demonstrate that fire in the fight.

And yet when we get to the Citadel, he's surprisingly nervous. Echo seems to be fairly on board with everything, he's listening intently, he's down with the plan. But Fives is rather hesitant and doesn't seem totally enthused about the whole thing. They've made ARC trooper, they're being included in a specialist mission, the things that Fives so desperately worked for. But now that they're here? He's really not comfortable with it.

And I think that Fives' passion and drive is so prominent in the heat of battle because his adrenaline is going, he's got the energy to burn and so that's when we see this fire in him. But in the quieter moments, the meetings, the in-between fights? He's nervous. Those are the moments where he can sit on it and really think about what they're up against. And what becomes really apparent is that Fives is absolutely terrified of the thing that fuels his fire. The thing he worked so hard for scares the absolute shit out of him. And for good reason.

But it's never been so much of an issue because he had Echo. Echo, who's more level headed, who feels comfortable with plans and formats and authority. He could be the comforting presence that Fives needed outside of battle, while Fives could be the spark in it. They're like fire and water. They keep each other regulated, balanced.

But then The Citadel happens.

And watching the Umbara arc, I noticed that Fives doesn't have that very noticeable fear. It's not that it's absent, it's just that it isn't so obvious all of the time. Of course, some of that is going to come with experience, he's been an ARC for longer, he's know Rex for a while so there's slightly more comfort with that level of authority, but he's definitely more consistently confident than he was before.

So my suggestion is, what if that comes as a result of losing Echo (at least in part)? He doesn't have that calming presence anymore, the one to balance his nerves. He doesn't have someone to stand firm beside him or take the bigger step for the two of them, so he's had to learn to do that himself. I think part of it is natural growth that comes with experience (to quote Rex: "experience outranks everything") but I do also think it comes with no longer having that constant other half. Fives has had to learn to balance himself.

Like I said earlier, a lot of this links back to stuff said in Nova and Jessa's podcast, so I'd recommend checking it out. But I just wanted to add my extra thoughts on it, having just watched Umbara, because it definitely stuck out to me on this rewatch.

[mirrorofliterature]

in response to a few replies about my post calling the jedi out for the bare minimum treatment of the clones -

a few people have brought up anakin and sure, anakin could have done more for the clones, but I think bringing up a situation like him not immediately sticking up for fives is a bit disingenuous because, like, fives WAS making some pretty wild claims. and I don't think anakin was ever trying to kill fives, and shaak ti's actions during that arc are a lot more questionable imo because she was there.

my main point was not jedi like anakin or, to take another jedi of equivalent/similar rank, aayla secura, failed the clones miserably - they did not really have the power or leverage to change the clones situation. these are junior knights with little sway within the organisation and I feel like if anakin or aayla or barris had been more vocal, they could have been censured by the jedi or differentiated as a 'younger radical'.

what the jedi order needed, vis a via the clones, was a unified institutional response that was like:

first, we did not order them, but we take responsibility for them because one of ours did.

second, we recognise that they are sentient beings and that, as slavery is illegal in the republic, we refuse to fight in the war until the clones sentience is legally recognised, with all the ensuing rights

this needed to happen at the top-down institutional level - not by anakin, or aayla, or barris, or ahoska. I'm talking about yoda, mace, fucking obi-wan, because people seem to forget so often that obi-wan was on the council

idk I just think it's a bit of an uncharitable reading of my post, explicitly about the jedi order as an institution failing to agitate for systemic reform to the treatment of clones in the republic, to just be like 'yeah! fuck anakin!' because no, the post is more like 'fuck the jedi council', like it's the fault of the jedi in charge, not the random junior jedi like anakin like learn how hierarchical power structures work thanks

[writingmonet]

Domino Twins + elements & (some) meanings

[engagemythrusters]

he doesn't even know kanan is coming and hes just calling for his dad bc he's scared :( i have no analysis to make. just :( to feel

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

I've seen referenced several times a paraphrased quote attributed both to DBB and to Jen Corbett of Bad Batch that the show's creators ultimately decided to kill off Tech because they couldn't make season 3 work otherwise.

Hmm.

I rarely read interviews from creators about a storyline because I prefer to let the story tell itself and let the interpretations come as they will based on what the narrative itself presents. But in this case I looked up the quotes/interview simply because I had to know how in the blazes they came to the conclusion that a storyline HAD to involve Tech (or any Bad Batch member, for that matter) dying.

I have... thoughts. Lots of thoughts. RESPECTFUL thoughts, because I truly do think the writers/directors of this show are absolutely BRILLIANT (which is partly why I had such a difficult time during season 3 and it has taken quite a bit of reflection to come to terms with it... But I needed to come to terms with it because I love it so much I want to enjoy all of it in the future!) But fair warning: if you prefer not to read a post if the post's author isn't 100% in agreement with the show's creative choices, then this might not be the post for you.

Reference: https://www.starwars.com/news/brad-rau-jennifer-corbett-the-bad-batch-season-3-interview

Quote #1: “When we first started this show, we had hoped that we could get three seasons to tell this story," executive producer and head writer Jennifer Corbett tells StarWars.com. "We kicked Season 1 off with Order 66 and the team trying to figure out where they fit in the galaxy. We knew Season 2 was going to be a little bit darker, because we knew that the team was going to lose in some way. As the season progressed, it became clear that the way for them to lose is to essentially have the team be fractured. That's what happens when we lose Tech, and then also with Omega being taken by the Empire.”

I find the choice of words here - particularly "fracture" and "lose" - to be interesting. This is the quote that made me realize my original (starting in season 1) hopes for where the themes of the show would conclude had apparently never been in line with what the show was aiming for. The show's definition of the team "fracturing" and "los[ing] in some way" apparently had to include death and only came in the season 2 finale; whereas I considered the team to be "fractured" within the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode - as soon as Order 66 came through and Crosshair was susceptible to the inhibitor chip, the team was broken. And they weren't ever truly whole in the first place, given that Order 66 occurs before they meet Omega. For me, the team lost big time as soon as the show started.

So, while I went through the entire show (yes, I kept hoping Tech would come back in season 3) hoping the themes of family and never leaving family behind would conclude in at least one instance of this little clone family being whole and truly united again - considering the fact that they were broken since "Aftermath" - I realize now this hope was nigh impossible to fulfill given that the show didn't consider the team fractured upon Crosshair's departure and therefore felt the need to not only break it apart further, but break it permanently.

Quote #2: “There were a lot of conversations that went into that [killing off Tech], and we even tried to talk ourselves out of it many times, because he's such an important character to the show, to all of us and the crew, and we know he is important to the fans,” Corbett says. “But what we're showing in Season 2 is that the galaxy has changed and the Empire is now very powerful in the early years. So we were trying to be logical in the sense that, the Batch keeps putting themselves in these positions and, ultimately, there has to be a time when they do lose."

I can respect this decision, though (as I stated above), the entire show pretty much involves the Bad Batch losing in one way or another and personally I don't care for the idea that the only real way a team can lose (read: "stakes") is if death is involved. But that's just me, and I can get over this personal hang up.

Quote #3: Throughout, they’ll feel the loss of their brother. “It affected a lot of the logistics,” Brad Rau, executive producer, says. “The very mathematical logistics of how we normally would have the team operate was massively different without Tech there. But emotionally, the most important part, the way that the loss of Tech affected Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair, even throughout the whole season was, I wouldn't say heavier than we expected, but was definitely very heavy.”

I'm gonna be blunt: when first watching season 3, I felt the emotional impact of the loss of Tech for most of the squad was sorely lacking, and this is the main reason why I kept hoping right up through the epilogue that Tech would somehow show up.

Every. Single. Allusion. To. Tech in season 3 hit like a ton of bricks right to the gut. @eriexplosion described it extremely well (paraphrasing) as picking at a wound and not letting it fully heal. After some reflection following the series finale, I came to the conclusion that this might be because the Tech mentions were meant to show how the Batch - Crosshair in particular - were still feeling about the loss, and (in hindsight) it seemed that Crosshair felt deep guilt and pain over Tech's death all the way through season 3. (Heck, I now see Crosshair having a moment to honor Mayday early on but never truly honoring Tech as yet another indication that, while Crosshair felt grief over Mayday, he must have felt even deeper grief compounded with guilt and remorse over Tech that led to him essentially avoiding the subject.) So I guess it turns out my conclusion fits the original intention of the creators.

Thing is, since we don't ever see any actual catharsis or healing for any of the Bad Batch members (Omega is the closest we get to it, and even that's a stretch), this aspect of the show does NOT land well for me - really, many times during season 3 it came across that the only real impact Tech's absence had on the team as a whole was that Hunter had to deal with datapads and decryption was harder. (There have been fan comments that if Tech had been around in season 3, the entire storyline would have been wrapped up in two episodes (and I actually rather agree with this) - but this headcanon/focus still only emphasizes Tech's role/function on the team, not his impact as a brother.)

Again, upon reflection I am quite willing to give the narrative the benefit of the doubt and say the excruciating emotional pain inflicted with every Tech mention was intended to show the impact of the loss on his family; but it was SO difficult to watch season 3 when this wasn't made clear from the get-go. And given that (based on reddit discussions I've seen) half the audience seemed to think the Bad Batch had long since moved on because "stoic soldiers/they have other priorities" while the other half thought the Bad Batch hadn't moved on and were avoiding the subject, I truly do think this ended up being a murky point - and it shouldn't have been.

This is where we get to the hill I will die on and my ONLY major criticism of the show: if Tech "had" to die and stay dead, there should have, at bare minimum, been a scene - even if it came at the end of the finale - where Tech's entire family finally had a chance to meaningfully acknowledge and honor Tech, even if it was brief such as Crosshair had with Mayday. If there had been any moment before the finale for any of Tech's brothers to honor and/or memorialize him, the contrast between that cathartic moment versus how the topic had been treated before/by his other siblings would have been more than adequate to cement early on the idea that the squad was still feeling the loss of Tech as an individual and a brother, thereby clarifying the show's intentions. And a moment for Tech's ENTIRE family (and friends) to honor him, even if it came at the end of the finale, would have closed out the dangling plot thread of Crosshair still feeling guilt and grief over Tech.

Anyway, while this interview didn't much change my own conclusions of how season 3 played out and what could have been done better, I am glad I read it since it provided at least a modicum of clarity as to what the show's intentions actually were - even if those intentions didn't always clearly come through in the narrative.

[margindoodles2407]

The Comprehensive List of Margin's Star Wars Character Analyses

On the heels of my publishing of the Domino Twins Dissertation I thought it would be prudent to make. You know. An actual list

Published Works*

(*in publication order from most to least recent)

The Commander Fox Dissertation

The Domino Twins Dissertation

The Commander Cody Postulation

The Crosshair Dissertation

Can The Bad Batch Cook? An Exploration

Fun Fives Facts: An Analysis

Star Wars is a Love Story: A Thesis in Brief

The Dogma Dissertation

A Fives Analysis: High Fantasy Star Wars Edition

Heliophilic Clones: A Discussion

On Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and How Love Can Turn to Hatred

Pending Works (Unpublished But Getting There)

The Fives Thesis (AKA How I Will Be Getting Into College)

The Captain Rex Essay (I Have Thoughts (tm))

The Hunter Analysis (Eldest Siblings Of The World Unite)

The Wrecker and Tech Analyses (The Forgotten Youngest Children. We Love You)

@seeking-elsewhither @whyoneartheven behold. my very serious academic writings

[mypoorlittlemaulmaul]

Will Wilson, Dawn of Maul, 2009.

[shiversdownyourspleen]

SPOILERS FOR THE BAD BATCH PREMIERE

Okay non-spoilers first

so…

HOLY SH*T HAOSHPWPKWJSI

Each of the three episodes makes for an awesome start that really builds on its core cast with a really solid tone that pulls you in and Crosshair is a standout as always!

Okay so spoilers

Two words

Project. Necromancer.

That entire scene in the third episode with Palpatine’s visit to Tantiss was executed so well and seeing the labs open up to a straight up SITH CULT room absolutely FLOORED me

The entire reveal was amazing and Ian McDiarmid still being able to play perfectly evil Palpatine after literal decades is amazing I love that man

And a STAND OUT so far is the Omega and Crosshair duo, all their interactions and the dynamic between them feels so real and both Dee Bradley Baker and Michelle Ang are great VA’s

Seriously what a great start to the season gang, we did it

[briliantlymad]

A lot of the people doing sw analysis are either

"Anakin is the only one wrong"

Or

"Anakin did nothing wrong"

It's funny cus both sides keep taking potshots at the other for not understanding the source material when in fact they're both extreme and wrong. I be scrolling through the tag and I can make out when someone makes a post in response to the other but neither @ each other shsjsjdjdjd

Must be nice. Not being able to understand that characters can be multidimensional and that plot developments can be influenced through multiple factors.

[timeladix]

the fact that lakinda thinks that thrawn is playing some big, elaborate scheme to hurt the irizi and xodlak families by gaining more honor in battles?? and- and bc he s getting more important asssigments?? our blueberry military genius?? the one that is at the same time the most oblivious chiss in the whole ascendancy to politics?? really?? i m literally mortified i m sorry i can t....

[alabyte]

«People in the fandom are too strict and unfair to [INSERT CHARACTER NAME]» but no hear me out let people dislike characters the same way they like some.

They may have a reason not to like these characters. Their reason may seem completely insignificant to you. You may feel that reason is unfair to the character. But that's the damn man's personal opinion.

Heck, a person might not even have a reason. He doesn't like them - that's enough. As long as that person isn't trying to get everyone else to dislike the character, back off and let the person dislike what they don't like.

Let the people dislike characters for the love of Force.

[elizabethwydevilles]

Call me nuts, but if it's reasonable to interrogate the real life implications of the rise of the Empire (and it is reasonable, SW has always been political), I think it's perfectly reasonable to examine the real life implications of the Jedi order's practices or Naboo electing teenage girls as Queens.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Currently running an elimination game for Bad Batch episodes on Reddit, and have made it a rule for myself to not personally comment on any of the posts just to keep my own biases out of the picture for now...

But I gotta admit, we're on season 2, and I'm sorting through the votes thinking - "If y'all redditors don't keep "Faster" and "The Crossing" AT LEAST in the top 8 then y'all better prepare yourselves for a deluge of analysis posts from me about those two episodes in particular because you obviously don't appreciate them as much as you should." 🙎‍♀��😂

(Pretty sure "The Outpost" and "The Solitary Clone" are gonna be safe for a while so we're all good there.)

[sw5w]

He's Not Finished Yet

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 00:38:45

Here's some high quality photos of the lamp seen just behind Padmé in this scene from Propstore.com

[qsmetrologyprivatelimited]

Portable XRF Analysers

[pinspec]

i really like the way arcane is exploring police brutality and class essentialism through caitlyn’s character. i’ve seen a lot of people getting upset about this, and yes—it is supposed to be disturbing. caitlyn’s position of power, her anger regarding her mother’s death, and her increasing hatred of the people of zaun is going in a dangerous direction because that’s what happens when privileged people lash out against their “aggressors” who are, in reality, oppressed.

many people seem angry at both caitlyn and the showrunners for developing caitlyn’s character in this direction. it’s upsetting. it’s tragic. caitlyn hitting vi with the butt of her gun like a true cop and leaving her to cry wrenched my fucking heart.

but this is why i love stories. corruption arcs and dark nights of the soul can make them extremely interesting.

i love analysing the layers of characters. my instinctive reaction towards caitlyn’s corruption arc was excitement—the path she’s going down is like that of a star wars villain. she is a dangerous (and simultaneously vulnerable) person who is grieving and lost and is therefore malleable, and ambessa medarda has decided to use caitlyn’s grief and anger to serve her own purposes. this will leave caitlyn with blood on her hands and a hard path towards redemption.

i would urge my fellow arcane enjoyers to remember that characters are not real individuals and the aim of telling stories is not necessarily to guide them towards happy endings, perfect relationships, and moral correctness. i obviously don’t support caitlyn’s actions (just making this clear after receiving a confused comment on a previous post).

my heart breaks for vi after act 1. i hope she’s able to find her feet again after the awful shit she’s been through—losing not two but three parental figures, being pushed to become an enforcer despite her serious cognitive dissonance surrounding this, deciding to take it upon herself to kill her estranged sister, and finally losing caitlyn whom she had come to think of as a reliable constant through everything that has happened.

i’ll enjoy watching her punch her sorrows away with some awesome rhea ripley-esque makeup on, though.