#crosshair has truly suffered and i just want him to be ok

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

“The Outpost” Thoughts

I’ve watched this episode twice today and I just need to rant. This episode is one of the most heartbreaking and tragic episodes I’ve ever seen. Both the music and animation go to great lengths to show how utterly alone and lost Crosshair is. He’s lost everything and the only thing he has at the moment is Mayday. Side note: I love that the person who reaches out to Crosshair is a “reg” and we all know how Cross felt about them originally. The fact that Crosshair would fight for the life of a “reg” was truly heartbreaking and heartwarming. He is changing and slowly realizing how warped his views were.

The trek though the snow storm... don’t get me started because that was only adding to the pain. And the symbolism of the vulture... phenomenal.

To me, the most gut-wrenching scene was when Cross and Mayday finally get back to base. Seeing Crosshair, of all people, beg on his knees for help only to be denied broke me. I cried. He is desperate and has been crumbling but now, he has broken. The look he gives when he stares up at the ice vulture is so powerful. You can tell he has resigned his fate and he knows he can’t keep going the way he has been any longer. 

“The Outpost” is an example of peak Star Wars. It perfectly captures the tragedy of Crosshair and the emotions he’s feeling. And instead of giving us hope, they leave us on a dark note. There are consequences for Crosshair’s actions and now he’s paying the price unfortunately. I can only hope that this season ends with some comfort for him. I really hope or else Dave will hear from me. 

[space-blue]

*sigh*

Well, thanks TBB for the most underwhelming finale possible.

Gotta have a scary sea monster attack because we couldn't possibly have sensical dialogue to sort out Crosshair's situation could we?

Gotta have Tech interrupt Wrecker to be mean. Also, wow Wrecker, you of all people gonna judge a brother for not returning to them while he was on the chip?

We still don't know when the chip was taken off, but I wager by the time it was, it must have been painfully clear to Crosshair that his brothers weren't coming back for him. (ouch, when your fic turns canon)

The Empire saw a use for him while his brothers were out there playing arms dealer without him... Imagine if he had his chip off at Bracca and he saw Hunter telling him "it's not you it's your chip!" and explaining chips to him, and Cross just has to silently face the fact Hunter & co STILL think he's a total slave to the Empire and they STILL never tried to save him.

Fuck Hunter this season, seriously.

He tells Cross he wants to give him a chance too, and after a vague, irked brush off comment, promptly TURNS AROUND and flies off without protest, marooning Cross on a world that was just shot to oblivion.

They make a mention of leaving before scouts arrive but that's plot mumbling for cheap continuity BS. Technically they have zero knowledge of any scout coming. Why would any do that? Empire just bombed and GTFO. They could be leaving Cross out to die. They can't even be arsed to give him a ride!!

Also, episode 1 is all about Crosshair's reaction to wanting to follow orders being weird and totally out of character, and in this final episode Cross says "Good soldiers follow orders"... Almost making us wonder if his chip truly is out... But I guess Hunter forgot this isn't like his brother he's known all his life, and just accepts that's his new narrative without a single protest. OK then.

And fair, this is the man who tried to fry them in a ship engine (and the only one to suffer for it) but he also just saved Omega's life. As they all admit, they're even... But even is apparently not enough good will to give him a lift to a place with like... drinking water.

They couldn't make him a real villain, so they had everyone vent out some half baked grief at him (Echo got nothing to say because Echo is the literal wallpaper of this episode. AZ on the team means Echo fans can probably not tune in for season 2...) while making Cross say mean stuff and look miserable...

"Wow dude, it's been like 1h, you're not over your abandonment issues and chip trauma? Well guess we're leaving you behind then. But hey, to your face this time!"

Who the fuck am I supposed to be rooting for?

Where is TBB headed to?? Because Omega isn't in danger anyore is she? Nala will be off making baby snokes isn't she?

What am I supposed to be excited about, for season 2???

Does it open 5 years later and they're all farming with Cut and Suu?

Will it be another season of dealing weapons and babying the kid we now canonically know is older than them? And might I add, must be SIGNIFICANTLY older than them, because she remembers them and remembers wanting to find them again, which a 2yo can't exactly do.

Raaah what a shit ending. Should have left Omega with Cad Bane to bond and do mean shit in the galaxy together (after all, wouldn't he keep the kid if he lost the credits? Keep the asset till you're paid...) and then have TBB bois decide their only chance against Bane is to go rescue Crosshair and ask favours of Rex. Then they'd have a debt to the rebellion to pay out post reunion.

IDK literally anything else but a stupid physics defying sinking city with conversation cutting sea monsters would have been better than this. Ending it last episode would have been better than this.

Damn.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Crosshair, Omega, and the Hidden Horrors of Tantiss

Crosshair and Omega going home might've saved them from experiencing more of Tantiss' horrors, but "Infiltration" and "Extraction" remind us that these two still have so much unspoken trauma. They've told us only the surface level of what happened to them and I think we'll finally start getting answers in the coming weeks. I also have a new theory regarding Crosshair's hand.

Major spoilers below

A lot of people commented on how Omega feels like she's hiding something. Her smile doesn't reach her eyes and she feels distant. Our sweet sunshine child is no longer in the bright sun. She kept putting up a brave face because Crosshair needed it. He needed someone to help him push through the darkness. But underneath, Omega is suffering. We see her routine and the monotony of it in "Confined." Months and months of that leave marks that we can't see. She isn't being physically hurt, but the separation from her brothers, the routine, Crosshair's broken spirit, and Hemlock breathing down her neck have all gotten to her. She is tired and is doing the best she can with the hope she has. Her hope, Crosshair, and Batcher were the only things keeping her from falling into despair. But that can only last for so long and thankfully, she made it. But that doesn't mean it didn't impact her.

During "Infiltration," the way Omega spoke to Rex dug deep. There's something she's not telling us. She looked sad, scared, and broken. The look on her face when she mentions herself as part of Hemlock's experiments hurts. I bet they did more to her than we realized. I bet there's much more going on with her in general. She also carries a lot of survivor's guilt due to her escaping when so many didn't. Worse, she left them behind. That doesn't sit right with Omega because she knows what the Empire is doing to the Clones. They're not just there getting blood drawn, something far sinister is happening.

I think in the next few weeks, we will start hearing Omega open up more to her brothers. Michelle Ang said in an interview I think that Omega worries her presence will endanger her brothers. She needs to talk to them. I know personally what happens if you keep stuff in. You don't want to let that stuff fester and I think if we want to see our girl truly happy again, she needs to confide in her family. Crosshair, Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker won't let anything happen to her. They love her so much.

We're also finally starting to get answers as to what happened to Crosshair. But like Omega, he's not fully open either. Crosshair explains to Rex and the others that Hemlock tried to turn him into a clone assassin, a process which involves erasing their identities and going through intense conditioning. Hemlock himself states that Crosshair resisted this "reeducation." But that's all we get about it. Like Omega, Crosshair isn't telling us the full story. We don't know what reconditioning implies or how Hemlock erases identities of the clones. They even come with a tracker that can't be found with normal technology.

I definitely think that Crosshair will also begin to open up more in the next few episodes. He's tied to the Clone X story now so I know we will be getting answers soon. I also think Crosshair's bad hand is tied to the Clone X program. What if his hand started shaking as way to get him out? If he can't function, then Hemlock wouldn't have use for him. Crosshair also knows that they wipe identities. What if Crosshair did have his identity wiped and his hand is shaking as a result of that? He fought Hemlock's programming. But at what cost? His mental scars are there, but there's more than he's letting on. Crosshair is not ok; he may have come to terms with Mayday and his brothers, but his trauma from Tantiss is still there.

In "The Return," he says "I was a prisoner, not much else to tell." Except that's not the case; he was avoiding talking about his trauma with the program. Seeing the clone assassin frightened him and whatever is to come in the next few weeks will be emotional for sure.

Edit: to add to this, Crosshair says that being defective is part of his nature. Now, he could just be making a remark, but what if there’s more? What if Crosshair’s mutations helped him resist the reconditioning?

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Crosshair ramblings

Spoilers for "Juggernaut" so...

Crosshair is not ok; we've known that since... forever. He's had like no breaks at all. He's suffered in every season and the train doesn't stop now. I just want to wrap him up in a comfort blanket and take away his worries.

When I think about his character, loyalty and identity always come to mind. Season 3 highlights just how much Crosshair has changed. He's really opened up as a person. I think after everything that's happened, he's been forced to evaluate what truly matters in his life. And what matters to him is his family.

"Because, Tantiss isn't a place I ever wanted to go back to."

This line really stuck out to me (and the fact that even mentioning Tantiss triggers his tremors). Whatever happened to Crosshair was truly horrific. What I can honestly see happening is that when the boys infiltrate Tantiss, they accidentally wander into the room where the conditioning went down and then they learn the truth. That or Cross tells them next week.

But anyways, my point is that even though Crosshair is deeply struggling, he's going to be brave in order to save Omega and go back to Tantiss. And I think that really speaks to how far he's come as a character and a person. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for his family, especially Omega. I find it really beautiful and tragic tbh. Crosshair shouldn't have to relive his trauma. He shouldn't have to suffer anymore after all endured. But he will for that little girl whom he loves so dearly. She's worth it.

It just makes me love Crosshair so much more. He is selfless. He is caring. Maybe it's the religious side of me speaking, but Crosshair's admission with the knowledge of what he will do just hit deep for me. It reminds me that life is hard. And sometimes, we have to be brave and face difficult things, especially for others we love.

He also better survive. After everything he's been through, he deserves peace and comfort with his family.