#i feel like we need to get a whole episode or two on how Rex has been liberating clones

[gospelofme]

Honestly I can see this one being true.

I really want to see Rex rescuing Wolffe by stunning him. Like a joint effort between Echo, Rex, and some of the other clones Rex has helped liberate.

I just have so many ideas on how dramatic that can be.

ahhhhhhhhshit i just read a theory that Commander Wolffe is going to be the one sent to hunt down Omega and CF99 😶

[eriexplosion]

Okay so something that comes up a lot in discussions of season 3 is that it's rushed or that they had a fourth season cut from production and... I do see where it comes from given how many things just Stop rather than end. But when you look at what does get resolved vs what doesn't, I just don't see it being an issue of having to cut things for time.

When writers find themselves with suddenly much less time to tell a story in, the first thing to go is the extras: the minor subplots, the story and character garnishes, the secondary character arcs. These kind of things get cut in order to focus on the main characters and resolving the primary plot.

TBB season 3 meanwhile INTRODUCES new subplots with the extended journey to get to Tantiss, the force kids, Rampart coming back and resolving his story. It finishes Emerie's subplot to the point that we get her telling us everything she plans to do from here. It takes the time to show us the Durands, the clone kids from season one, putting in Fennec and Ventress. These are the things that get cut when you're running short on time, they're not going to cut a Tech reveal, a resolution to Crosshair's guilt, wrapping up Echo and Rex's story, in favor of a bunch of tiny subplots. That just isn't how cutting things for time works. You start with the small stuff and then work up.

So it leaves us with two paths here, knowing what we did resolve versus what we didn't - 1. This was always the plan and they didn't consider what they produced to be dropping anything, or 2. The series is finished but the story isn't.

I think I've talked about it enough to be clear that I'm leaning heavily towards 2. The interesting thing about tbb season 3 is it's actually not rushed - if anything it's stalling. Getting to Tantiss was as simple as letting Omega's plan work, doing a Tech reveal is as simple as replacing saving the force kids with saving the CXs. Instead we get to drag getting to the facility an extra 3 episodes while Omega deals with this new plot point we only find out about at all in episode 10. We get a whole Fennec episode that serves only to introduce an also unnecessary Ventress episode. We have an entire episode of Crosshair and Omega on the run shenanigans.

So we have plenty of side stuff that works to support the characters but isn't strictly required for the primary plot, and we have a solid handful of main plots (Tech's death being full of holes big enough to sail through, what happens to Echo next, does Crosshair still feel guilty enough to be a death seeker, Wrecker's reaction to anything that happened, most of project necromancer) that go unfinished. In fact the only main series long plot to get resolved is Hunter and Omega's relationship.

That leisurely pace, along with several comments from Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau about this being the end of a "chapter," is what makes me think that what ended was just Omega's POV being the primary one we experience the story from. The story of trying to find a place within the batch maybe - because regardless of anything else, she's found her place, Crosshair has at least started to find his. Echo is separate from the team but knows that they're always going to be accepted back and will always come when needed. Tech, if he's alive, still has his place on the team - its shown repeatedly that no one can do what he does, his spot is simply not fillable.

A story has resolved. But not ALL of the story. There's more that can be told, and I do think it's very likely they still have plans to tell it. Even if they don't, just going by how season 3 progressed, I think that it's very likely that the biggest change in season 3 was just squishing the original episodes 15 & 16 together into one long episode 15. I don't think that they had to make major last minute cuts for time, because the things that are missing are NOT the things that get cut when trying to cram in too much story. A cut season 4 is the one thing I don't think happened.

What did happen, that's harder to be sure of, but I'm still crossing my fingers for the rest of their story to be told with Rex and Echo's and the rest of the clones. There's a lot more possibility out there.

[66sharkteeth]

Weekly thoughts, ep 177-

And do I have thoughts this week! As well as things to point out.

I was pretty excited about this episode and it's kind of something I've been building up to for a while. I've talked in the past about Claude's development being some of my favorite in the series, and this ep is kind of what these past few eps have been building up to. I know the last few eps haven't been the most thrilling- Which is normal, to have some calm eps after a huge events, and I have been sprinkling important scenes in there (I mean, Rex got The Memory™), but another big thing drawing these past few eps out were getting Claude to this moment. I think in the original outline, this scene actually came a lot sooner, and it just felt...far too sudden to me. It needed those scenes we've seen the past few eps of Jericho confiding in Claude and him realizing Jericho is too far gone.

Which honestly, I think is kind of sad in a way nobody's really pointed out- Jericho revealing all his plans to Claude because he's the one person he thinks he can trust, and then Claude going behind his back with the information. But like Claude said in the episode, he does this all with the best intention for Jericho- He realizes he's gone too far now and he's trying to put out the fire Jericho set before the bridge is entirely burned.

Now as for his actual plan and if he'll get away with it... Haha, well, I even said last week these panels were important information that I knew people were gonna gloss over and sure enough...

Maybe it would have been more obvious if I put him in...literally pants lol. but yeah, dude was under a blanket the whole episode and it wasn't because he was cold:

That said, I do think the majority connected all the dots, but there were definitely a few people who didn't quite catch onto Claude's plan.

Now I DO think a more valid question is if Jericho could feel what Claude was writing. Which honestly, I just... Didn't really even think about until people started asking, but...

Maybe he just wrote on his human leg

I actually don't think the blank space can feel anything? I mean, we saw Jericho getting ripped and torn apart by scientists and he talks about how it didn't actually hurt.

After people pointed it out, I got curious and tried to write the note on my own leg and... honestly I dont think I would have ever known what someone was writing. I think I would have just thought it was a grocery list. So I think even if Jericho COULD feel it...he still wouldn't assume it was anything but a list of medicine and maybe some other things he needed.

That said... I think everyone is very valid to see a giant death flag over Claude now LOL. You'll just have to keep reading in regards to that.

Hm... I feel like I'm forgetting something. I think the only last thing I had some thoughts on were the small percent of people who still hate Claude and don't see this as any kind of redemption. To which... damn, yall are harsh LOL, but okay. I do kind of think those people are missing...a lot... in regards to Claude's development and his struggles but... w/e he's a fictional character and the enabler of the guy who has killed two protagonists now, so I get it more than like... Lyss. Who just made made wrong choices with the best intentions.

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Citadel Arc Strikes Again

Sooooo... I got to the bit of my Clone Wars rewatch that I've been procrastinating for weeks. And obviously, because the Domino Twins are involved, I have thoughts

Of course you all get dragged along as well 😙

Including you @saturn-sends-hugs @inkstainedhandswithrings and @the-bi-space-ace

Straight off the bat, look at our boys!!! I get so proud of them when I see them in their ARC armour. And I wanna know how much of a say Cody and Rex got in who came along on the mission because I like the idea of them just being like "our sons are coming and we will accept no objections"

Also, why does Echo look like he's ready to deck someone? Chill, dude. It's literally still the briefing.

But something I wanna talk about is how nervous Fives seems about this entire thing. While Echo seemed to be on board with the whole reprogrammed battle droid plan, Fives was less than enthused. And he was clearly unsure about the carbon freezing thing as well. It makes me wonder if he's been on edge about the mission from when they first found out about it and whether Echo had been comforting him and telling him that it was all going to be fine.

Because nothing makes this episode more gut-wrenching than the idea of a stressed out Fives feeling like something is going to go wrong and Echo telling him that everything is going to be okay. 😃

I don't know what happened to these guys during ARC training but Fives has become the one that's all "are we sure this is a good idea?" and Echo's in the briefing room like

And then we have "They're not about to let one of their own be tortured in the handing over of information that will help The Separatists win the war"

Oh the irony

OH THE FUCKING IRONY

How does this show get more depressing with every rewatch? You think you're prepared but haha NOPE

Of course I have to mention Fives handling carbon sickness like an absolute champ 🤜

This pic is also an accurate representation of my mental state after watching this arc

And I'm not sure why this following pic makes my heart melt so much but it just does.

I think it's because we never got much of these three in action together and just seeing them all in a shot like this just makes me think about how far the Domino Twins have come. Rex found these two when they were shinies and now they're all working together with Echo and fives as ARC troopers. They grow up so fast (literally). 🥲

Edit: Looking back at that pic for a second... are there two Echos? That's not Fives in the back. That's Echo's helmet design. And I'm not convinced that the pouches on the chest plates are on the opposite sides like they should be. Rex is talking to two Echos???

Next episode! Oh boy...

Every other clone death aside for a moment, this show really just glossed over the whole "a clone getting cut in half by a door" thing.

The idea of these three being stuck between two sealed doors with half of their brother is horrifying. And the show just moves on like this didn't happen. THEY JUST WATCHED ONE OF THEIR OWN BROTHERS BE CUT IN HALF BY A DOOR WTF

What a happy kids show 😀

And unfortunately it doesn't get much happier.

But I do want to talk about design for a moment because I feel like we don't talk about the clone helmets enough, especially when it comes to things like this shot.

Animating emotion well is hard. Animating emotion well when you can't see your character's face is harder. But what I love is that because of the fact that the top of the visor is just a straight line, you can change the emotion being shown by simply having the character tilt their head.

The first shot clearly shows Echo realising what he needs to do and the next is this very strong look of determination. Just a split second apart, with no change but the tilt of the head, and the emotion changes. It's so cool and I feel like it doesn't get praised enough.

A three-part tragedy:

I think what makes this so heartbreaking is not just the fact that Fives has now lost his closest brother, and the last remaining member of his squad besides himself, but also the fact that it's so sudden. It so quickly went from Echo and Fives to just Fives.

And this is going to be gutting for Rex and Cody as well. They found the Domino Twins as shinies, they would have watched them settle into the 501st, they watched them grow up, were the ones to promote them ARC troopers and were just so freaking proud of these two.

And they not only lost one of them, but they watched this pair of clones, who have been stuck together like glue from the beginning, be torn apart. They didn't just see Echo go, they saw Fives lose Echo as well and that's heartbreaking.

None of them have time to process it either. They have to get out of there and leave Echo behind.

This scene where Fives warns them about the hounds approaching hurt as well because he just sounds so... hollow. He sounds like a man whose lost all hope, and I don't blame him. There's an emptiness now.

Rant Incoming

THESE POOR CLONES. THESE POOR FUCKING CLONES WHO HAVE JUST WATCHED THEIR BROTHERS DIE AND COULD DO NOTHING BUT LEAVE THEM BEHIND ARE NOW HAVING TO PARTICIPATE IN A JEDI FUNERAL DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAD NO OPPORTUNITY TO HONOUR THEIR FALLEN BROTHERS!!!

I'm not saying that Piell doesn't deserve to be honoured and have his body burned (side note: it's really convenient that there was lava everywhere for the whole burning the body thing) but this feels like such a kick in the teeth for the clones.

Also I just want Five's internal monologue here because he literally just watched his closest brother die trying to protect a Jedi who is now also dead. The important info still got back to the Jedi council but Echo gave his life to protect a man who didn't even make it off the planet.

ALSO THEY WATCHED ONE OF THEIR BROTHERS BE CUT IN HALF EARLIER WHY ARE WE IGNORING THE FACT THAT THAT WAS A THING???

Ngl I think I would rather just die than crawl across a wire like this

Despite being depressing as all hell, I do really like these episodes. I love something with actual tangible stakes and having points where they feel comfortable killing off important or well-loved characters is something I appreciate and respect (even if it just leads to endless despair about the Domino Twins).

It's a shame that Echo never gets mentioned between here and the final season because I would love to have explored Fives' response to his loss more. I do like how they handle it in these episodes though. It feels like there is at least some recognition of how Fives would be struggling with all this and it doesn't just have him trotting around like nothing happened.

Fives seemed so nervous for this mission and it's devastating to know how tragic it would be for him and Echo. They didn't go into this knowing that it would be the last time they ever saw each other, but it all got ripped away in an instant and there was nothing they could do about it.

And I think I'm just going to end it on this screenshot because I feel like it just sums it all up.

[morethansky]

***TBB SPOILERS***

My primary takeaway from these last six episodes is that Hunter and Crosshair ARE SO MARRIED OH MY GOD. They do everything together, even little chores.

And my Crosshair-is-Hunter's-second agenda continues to thrive; since their reunion, Hunter has hardly made a decision without checking with Crosshair first.

The way I cackled at Crosshair looking up at a ship careening in the sky and being all put upon: "Uh-huh. That's the idiot I married. Unfortunately."

And then the way he hurriedly reached for his binocs when they saw the ship crash, and how the camera lingers on him to show his relief, sob. I see you and thank you for your service, shippers on the crew.

Finally a glimpse of the cadets! Thinking about them tasting ice cream for the first time makes me want to cry. How many clones have never tasted it...

I like that "Identity Crisis" was like a mirror of "Confined," but I think it could have been 15 minutes. To be fair to them, I feel this way about like 75% of the franchise.

So we were all very wrong about what was in the Vault. What was Palpatine even going in there for, honestly. I do quite like this foreshadowing of the Inquisitorius though.

The ominous hint about Emerie's past is interesting. Is the implication that Nala Se took Omega under her wing and abandoned the rest of the Omega clones? Like Jango, I guess.

I love that Tarkin's cameos are all about funding. Something about the Imps squabbling over government spending just delights me. I wonder if the end of that conversation actually means he's not going to be killed by the clones but by Palpatine instead? That'd be kind of disappointing tbh.

Hilarious to me that Fennec got an entire episode and Cad Bane got like two minutes of screentime. Like Asajj, he knows when to stay out of the plot. They did my boy Todo justice though, love that dumb droid.

I, a plushie enthusiast, approve of how this is adamantly a pro-plushie show. But how am I supposed to believe that Omega, who missed Lula so much she effectively cloned her, was just going to leave her there??? I guess that whole scene was just a way to remove her and the goggles from the ship before it exploded.

I'm in the middle of writing like five different Tech/Wrecker whump fics and even I wouldn't have written CX-2 effectively shooting Wrecker. My heart!!!

I was so worried about Gonky. Glad he's okay.

"Point of No Return" needed 15 more minutes, actually. I continually find it so jarring how quickly this show breezes through reactions. It would've been nice to see at least a little more from the Batch at the sight of their ship being blown up.

That ending...was not for me. Crosshair missing that shot after he was given an entire episode to figure out what was wrong and meditate is such a frustrating choice. What even is going to be the arc here? Is it really going to be him abandoning his weapon entirely? That should be an upswing in the plot, but at this point it'd be more believable for him to be like, "Man, fuck this, I'm over it," lmao.

I'm glad Omega at least chose to get captured. Everyone knows I've been pissed about the anti-heroic messaging of this show from the start, and given how afraid I was that they would just abandon the other clones, I'm very relieved Omega's had this arc of worrying about them. But it's so silly to retread this line of plot after the three kickass episodes covering this exact thing. These next episodes are absolutely about to be messy af, and it's a bummer how it'll take away from the impressive clarity of the first three.

Why does this show keep cutting the titular team off at the knees?? Seems like Omega will probably work with Emerie and Nala Se to contact the Batch and Echo/Rex with the coordinates, but that will mean that Hunter's group will once again be lost and searching in the meantime. And they didn't even get to find her the first time!

Truly the quintessential fandom show. Half of it makes me tear my hair out in frustration and the other half makes me shriek in delight.

[skellymom]

Ok...I might have to watch TBB Ep 10&11 again...but...SPOILERS:

But I DO BELIEVE this man snuck onto Clone-X's ship and is hiding out...even Omega doesn't know he's there.

Maybe I missed him showing up somewhere on the island after that ship took off? Someone please let me know.

In the beginning of the episode Hunter looked in the direction of where the ship landed, seeing the island birds flying away and definitely telling someone he sensed something was off.

He also knows since Ventress landed in that beach cave that it's the ideal place to infiltrate the island.

When he swam to shore, Batcher didn't just seem to be happy he was ok...she MIGHT have alerted on a presence down at the beach...just like she did when Ventress landed.

And, he was RIGHT there (unless he was dumped on the OTHER side of the island) that he might check out to see if anyone landed a ship there. Is he on board? Is Batcher with him? Or did he plant a tracking device himself? Am I assuming too much? Maybe he can radio Rex and Echo for help? Emerie may help break out the children and clone prisoners? Maybe I'm wearing clown shoes...

Lastly...If he didn't make it on the ship, REALLY don't think Hunter is going to ride Crosshair's ass for his mistake with letting Omega go. He could have really raked Cross over the coals back on Barton IV, but he didn't. Now that Crosshair recognizes the stakes, I seriously doubt it's going to happen.

Honestly, with 4 episodes left, we don't have time for more squabbling.

I still feel it's hard to tell if Clone-X is Tech or Cody. The voice sounded like both at different times. If it was Tech HOW could he forget the coordinates to Pabu when Phee put her hand on his shoulder in S2 and gave them to him while he was going all goggle eyed over her touch?

Nala Se getting Emerie to question her motivations to head Project Necromancer. I feel that Emerie is gonna turn on the Empire. Will she survive?

Terrifying that it's children involved in the project...and now they have a baby to experiment on. Hope that force sensitive babeh force throws some bad guys in later episodes like that freakin' vase.

Hemlock and Tarkin passive-aggressively arguing over project funding. lol

Luckily Batcher wasn't shot. I was a bit scared there.

Hopefully Wrecker is going to be all right. He has to be since we see him in the trailer in the Juggernaut and there is an episode named Juggernaut.

The Marauder is gone, so they need another ship. Is that what Phee helps them with in the trailer?

Glad Cad Bane was used ONLY momentarily in the episode instead of using up the whole episode. He seemed to fit in the story and the episode did indeed further the plot. Sorry, but I don't thing Ventress and Fennec's arc really did much of that for two whole episodes. We missed out on a lot of relevant storytelling.

LASTLY: PHEE'S BADASS VIBRO SWORD, YA'LL!!!

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S03E01 - Origin Story PART A

I am free! Finally, we made it out of S2. I do like S3 more as a whole.

Ugh, the subtitles are bad. And I'm afraid they'll remain like that for the rest of the season because I checked a random S3 episode and it was like that. Yep, these are the copies I found and uploaded myself. No, I don't have an alternate subtitle source sadly. HDTV rip subtitles are synced differently. Good news is that it's only S3 that seems to be the problem. Anyway, if you need a good laugh, put them on.

On to the episode.

I like the title, first of all. Definitely puts Rex on a superhero status. Every superhero has an origin story.

Did I prefer this to be the start of Hudson and Rex as a show? Yes. Does it make more of an impact when it's the story of how they met and we've watched Charlie and Rex as partners for two seasons? Also yes.

One drawback is that you can't make Diesel really look younger. I mean, theoretically they could cast another dog for this [on Kommissar Rex, there's an entire movie with how Rex started as a pup, and then an almost adult dog (teenage dog? I don't know dog ages but you could tell by his body) and that was a tv movie. I believe that dog later replaced the dog that played Rex]. But I don't know how much that would work or the training and time required.

Rex with Lindsay.

Aaaand she's dead.

No, that's so sad already.

Covid episodes. So there's plenty of outdoors scenes.

Rex picking flowers lol

It might sound ridiculous, but I feel that's a more dynamic haircut than last season's even though it's not that different. The suits have stayed. For now. The tie is trying to escape his body via Newfoundland air.

Sarah, on the other hand, has done quite the change on her hairstyle. I remember when I saw the episode the first time and I was like, wow, that really suits her, although I never really had a problem with her hairstyle before.

"Thank you for inviting me." "Well, you're a part of the team, it wouldn't feel right to not have you be a part of it." Admit it, you just wanted her there.

Dude, there's no sunshine. But you look cool, I get it. Small change of hairstyle to denote that this is a flashback lol

Joe's flashback hair are also different, without the normally visible white above the sideburns, as I remember it. My takeaway from this is that in 3 years' time, Charlie and Rex gave him quite a few grey hair.

"I'm not letting any of you bastards come close until I see someone trustworthy!"

"I've got four months left running forensics". Subtle way to show that's Sarah's predecessor.

"What's the dog's name?" "Rex." "Rex. Seriously?" Okay, what's with the name? So it means king, so what? Take one look at that dog and tell me that he's not a king. Also, I am headcanoning that Charlie knows Latin.

"New entry? Who's that? Seems trustworthy."

"Yeah, I know, we both have our issues to deal with". Yeah, you do.

There's definitely a connection but I think what's different is that Charlie tries to approach Rex as he would approach someone who's in pain, and more than that, someone who would understand what he's saying, and that's what ultimately makes a difference for Rex.

Charlie: Good boy. Rex: Knock it off, Charlie, we just met.

I don't care, this is a date.

Nice transition from the house now to the "circus" at the same house three years ago.

Jesse is geeking out about the digital board. I can't really tell if they did something with Jesse's look.

"I think it's a picture of the kidnapper". It's a literal shadow and you want Jesse to put it up? Are you going to issue an APB on shadows?

Well, that scene where Charlie and Gus are trying to talk over Rex's very loud barks must have been fun to film.

Charlie doesn't lose his temper often but he's definitely going to when it's about Rex. And we see the start of his "beef" with Renley.

"Therefore, regulation suggests that we retire Rex." "Do you mean, put him down?" Look at him, he's already too invested.

"I'll just sit here and look cute. I find that it often works in my favor."

I think the whole episode is supposed to showcase how Charlie was a bit rougher around the edges. He's easier to lose his temper, he admits to Rex that he also has issues, and it's logical because this dates closer to his divorce than any other episodes we've seen. He's also been off duty god knows for what reason because the Charlie we know is never off duty. My guess is Joe forced him to.

"I'm sorry that man made you cry. I promise, I'll make him better."

lol Rex eating the paper to show Charlie that he needs food!

I'm sorry, that was going to be your... lunch? Snack? What the hell is that?

"Oh, boy, that's high."

Admiring the view.

Charlie: "Come on, we're going around." Rex: "Oh, no, we're taking the quick way down."

"Rex, you're not seriously thinking..." Aaaand he's gone.

"Charlie, no, you can't do that!" Aaaand he's gone.

I love that Charlie doesn't even know that dogs can swim great but he's supposed to take care of a dog.

So, who saved who, guys?

Just came out of the cold river looking fiiiiine.

"You didn't tell me you could swim". This idiot, I swear. Have you not seen one cute "dog swimming video" online? How is that possible?

"You followed me to the river. You're either dumb or my best friend."

"I wish you were part of the team back then. You would have saved us from a very chilly swim". So, it's canon that Sarah is smarter than Charlie, right?

Agh. Damn them, they got me again. To be continued in Part B.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

(Prehistoric Planet person) thanks! And it's okay to take all the time you need, obviously <3

My first question is: how do you feel about it being set in the Late Cretaceous period only? While it is my favourite, I also think it's a little lacking. For example, we only get to see titanosaurs this way. I'd like to see some other sauropods! I want to see what they'd make of Amargosaurus. But, in terms of the narrative, I get why they stay in one period during an episode, at least. So I'm just wondering what your thoughts on that are! Esp if you have time period you'd like them to show.

I also wondered about the bit in the North America episode where the Styginetta are called "duck relatives," but then seconds later the script mentions "but there are also dinosaurs here." It annoyed the crap out of me for the obvious reason of. Well. Birds are just as much dinosaurs as troodontids. So why on earth would they separate the two? Is there a reason? Or is it the face-value slip-up?

Along that line, are there any mistakes that you think they made? I know it was well-researched and all, but surely there's points still to be disagreed upon, right? Or was it overall well done?

Those where honestly my big questions. I thought I had more, but that's kind of it. I guess to end it off I could ask if there's a dino you'd like to see show up in there? (Personally, I want to see Panoplosaurus or Borealopelta :D)

Thanks for taking the time to answer me!

So I get completely why they went with just the Maastrichtian. The whole series is supposed to be "Planet Earth" or "Blue Planet" but at a specific point in the past. All of the animals were, more or less, contemporaneous. So they're trying to show a "snapshot" of the Earth 66 million years ago, as if they were doing Planet Earth then. The whole series reads very much like that - Planet Earth, but 66 million years ago. There are downsides to that, like not highlighting things that existed in other time points, but it makes sense to me. I just want other time points to get similar treatments! Especially because the animals of the Maastrichtian are some of the more famously known prehistoric animals (T. rex, Mosasaurus, Triceratops, Quetzalcoatlus...). I'm hoping the amazing success of Prehistoric Planet leads to more series in other time points. I personally think we need a Triassic series, pronto. It's a weird time period that very very very few people appreciate properly. Selfishly, I'd like a Paleocene or Eocene series, so I have even a 1% chance of getting consulted.

I know the whole story behind the bird-dinosaur snafu with Styginetta, and its not a happy one. The main science consultant on the series, Darren Naish, is one of the leading pioneers in "treat birds like regular dinosaurs you fools" movement - frankly, I learned a lot of what I know from him. He wanted them to acknowledge Styginetta as a dinosaur. It was higher up execs who put the kibosh on that. They literally said no, they would not call birds dinosaurs. The excuses given were crap - something about being accessible to audiences - but we all know that's bullshit. Walking with Dinosaurs called birds dinosaurs in 1999. Jurassic Park called birds dinosaurs in 1993. I don't know what their actual reason is, but whatever it is, it's a bad one. I'm going to blame capitalism and shareholders until proven otherwise. I recognize this sounds like I'm spouting conspiracy theories, but it's not a conspiracy if people involved openly admit this is what happened! Like... damn. this is why scientists and artists suffer - meddling capitalists.

Overall I have very few complaints. I think there could have been more emphasis on the fact that many of these behaviors are our *best guesses* - like, well thought out hypotheses, many even tested, but not fact. In any dinodoc, a lot of the uncertainty about paleontology goes out the window for the sake of storytelling, and that's why I think making of/the science behind features should be part of every dinodoc, not a side note or a podcast or something. They kind of did that in s2 by having the science segments at the end, but that only went into the research for one behavior per episode - not nearly enough to show everything. If people understood more how science works and how research works, we'd have fewer problems... and that's a perfect way to show it to people. Other than that, most of my critiques are really and truly nitpicks, or something I'd want them to show that they haven't, that kind of thing. But honestly, its the best depiction of the Maastrichtian I have ever seen.

I'm personally irritated we haven't seen Thescelosaurus. It's not just a generic bipedal ornithischian! That thing was WEIRD. First of all, we know more about it than most nonavian dinosaurs because we have lots of great fossils. Second off, it had armor on its belly!!! We think they kicked each other like Pachycephalosaurs butted heads!! WHY IS THAT NOT IN A DOC??? Third off, it was just an important component of Hell Creek, which we've now seen in multiple segments, and yet... no Thescelosaurus... wtf, amiright?

And you are very welcome!!! I'm glad I could answer it now :D So yeah, I love PP, but it's not perfect, and there are things I would fix if I could ^_^ That said, huge shoutout to Darren for making this happen. The man is a hero for us all.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Ghosts of Geonosis"

Packaging this two-parter as one big episode because shut up, you're not the boss of me.

I could have sworn I had a live reaction version of this already, but I can't for the life of me find it. Oh well.

This cue here sounds like it comes from TCW, maybe Saw's theme if he had one, anyone wanna confirm that for me?

This whole opening interaction between Ezra and Sabine is cute, she watches him as he plops down into her seat, gives a long-suffering eye roll, and dope slaps him across the back of his head for asking a stupid question and aside from a silently-mouthed "ow" he doesn't object to any of it lol.

Sign of the tightly-written continuity, we are returning to Geonosis to check out the missing populace and also pick up a Saw Guerrera guest appearance post his prominent role in Rogue One. (Out of text-wise that is.)

Empire cleaned up their mess pretty well.

Early establishing of the plot complications of the underground tunnels blocking comm signals, which features throughout the episode as a major element. The GFFA equivalent of establishing "no cell service", essentially.

The sandstorm also obscures things, visually and sensor-wise. And provides us with much humor as Sabine complains about it frequently.

Ho man, I remember how much I loved the banter and dialogue this episode, it was so much fun. Felt like a return to the early days of the show.

This episode was another really great one for subtly showing off Kanan's blindness. He mentions the stillness of the air, his hearing picks up on Klik-Klack before anyone else does, Saw has to let him know to watch his step...

As we already know, abandoned helmet = they 100% dead. The showrunners would use this visual shorthand very effectively in the promo image they did for "Heroes of Mandalore", with a whole pile of empty Mando helmets littered across a scorched landscape.

Kanan plays the voice of caution here, almost like he's the genre-savvy one in a horror movie, lol. Fitting, some aspects of the episode are played up like one. (We got the "Monster POV" shots, we got the cryptic remains left behind, we got no cell service, we got a storm.)

Badass boys shot. <3

Unlike Kalani's decrepit troops, these B1s and Destroyers have been better maintained and repaired, and give the group a bit more of a hassle until Saw shows up.

There's excellent teamwork between all the hero parties involved, Kanan and Ezra work smoothly as oil to slice up the Destroyer once its shield is gone, recalling Obi-Wan and Anakin from TCW.

Something I loved about this season was that characters would offhand mention, "Oh, we don't have this." or "The Rebellion really needs this." and then a couple episodes later they would manage to either acquire them or have them come into play.

Some examples: Proton bombs, this shield generator, spacesuits...

Ooof, was I the only one who caught the similarity between Saw urging them forward to satiate his obsession, Ezra agreeing, and Kanan choosing to trust him and, well... [gestures vaguely to the whole Malachor thing with Maul].

The tension this episode is great, the communication problems lend a sense of urgency and anxiety during both groups' separation and you get a feeling like the messages are coming almost too late to save them.

The Zeb and Sabine banter. <3

Kanan asking Ezra to look for him. <3

There he go, lol.

Kanan is really impressive, Force-wise, this episode, tossing Ezra aaaaaall the way across that chasm, separating and levitating that bridge for Saw and Rex to cross, and still somehow having enough energy and stamina to leap across himself.

And the Force theme that accompanies said above is lovely. <3

Ezra's pretty cool himself, using Force sense to find Klik-Klak when it seems like the bug has given them the slip. His theme is even excerpted a bit.

(Possibly he actually forms a connection, because he's very empathetic towards Klik-Klak after this and defends him from Saw repeatedly.)

Already having some Concerns about Saw's methods lol.

I love how this show depicts Ezra's compassion as one of his major strengths. It's natural for most Jedi and combined with Ezra's natural affinity for connection it's practically a superpower. Ezra's really sweet with Klik-Klak. :)

DEATH STAR-SHADOWING. Oh man the Dramatic Irony was painful, like any time TCW alluded to or called forward to Order 66 and a mental scream rings in your head and you want to yell at the characters and shake them as if that can somehow help them avoid the inevitable doom. Same feeling.

Saw, those binders do NOT have a tracker in them, don't lie.

Obligatory "Stab the TCW fans in the heart" moment.

Ezra seeing shades of himself in Saw's grudge against the Separatists, god his face this whole scene.

Once again touching on those Star Wars archthemes about breaking the cycle of revenge, about not turning your internal pain outwards on the rest of the world, no matter how righteous your cause, about not becoming a monster in your efforts to slay the dragon, about showing compassion to everyone, even your enemies. Saw is representative of the Well-Intentioned Extremist, and even though his ultimate goal is noble--destroying the Empire, exposing their secret superweapon so that the galaxy will finally wake up and deal with the tyranny they've come to complacently accept--Saw loses parts of his humanity in the process, emotionally and ultimately physically. He becomes almost like Vader in the bitter end, for his efforts. (And he's also a shadow of Thrawn.)

Brunsen! I love her.

Saw's personal grudge against the Separatists in general for killing his sister and his squad is blinding him. Ezra points out that Klik-Klak is basically the only survivor of a planet-wide massacre and is understandably a little defensive about invaders, trying to live up to his name again and "bridge" the differences between the two factions, only it doesn't work this time because Saw is too fanatic.

"Saw, we had this argument back at Command." Oh DID YOU now, Rex? Really could have forewarned the team that Saw might get a little deranged in his quest for truth.

I love Saw, he's the best example of an actually Morally Gray character in Star Wars. Unlike Thrawn, his "greater good" reason for going to such extremes, doing whatever it takes to achieve the goal, is actually directed outwards towards the whole of the galaxy, he doesn't selfishly focus inwards on his own interests. Part of it is of course that Saw has already lost his people and planet, so there's nothing left for him except to prevent it from happening to other people. We're encouraged to sympathize with his pain and sense of loss, but not necessarily be comfortable with his actions.

The narrative both condemns his extremism and, ultimately, vindicates him in regards to the Death Star. There's the same sense of futility about him in that neither he nor the Senate and Jedi before Order 66 could uncover the plot quick enough to avoid their fate.

Back to the action, though. Love how the Ghost is so infamous now that their capture/destruction leads to big promotions lol.

This music cue sounds full of adventure, I like it. :)

Klik-Klak trusting Ezra because Ezra was nice to him aww.

"Neither have yours." Saw has a reputation, oof.

It's cute how Klik-Klak keeps tugging on Ezra's wrist.

Yeeeeeeeah I don't think we're supposed to sympathize with Saw in this moment. It's very deliberate, they even have him throw Ezra across the room.

"Your methods are soft, Jedi." Shades of Tarkin much, Saw? I know this annoys people to hear but even if you're fighting fascists, there are lines you don't cross. Saw points a blaster at a baby for heaven's sake. You do not become like your enemy in order to destroy them, because then you're just taking their place, exchanging one kind of cruelty and violence for a different one, for your particular flavor of one.

War is hell but you don't have to become a demon.

Saw's long hesitation after Ezra uses the word "family", Ezra got to him a bit I think, lol. Rex reinforces that tactic, ha ha.

My only minor nitpick this episode, the show once again using the Empire as a Diobulus Ex Machina to make Saw play nice with the others. One more Persuasion Check would have done it I think.

Cue a very excellent action setpiece.

IIIIII think I heard this cue before, back in "Imperial Supercommandos" when Rau ambushed Ezra and Sabine in the shuttle. Interesting choice.

A nice little badass moment for Ezra. :)

And a hero shot for Sabine as we prepare to show off her new jetpack.

He adores her.

Kanan's the only one who can't see how awesome she is. :(

Her little "That's cute." shoulder pat when Ezra says he wants a jetpack too. <3

Love how this Imperial's hat gets sent askew slightly from Brunsen's slap.

HHHHHNNNNNN ONCE AGAIN THE DRAMATIC IRONY IS MENTALLY SCREAMING IN MY HEAD, NO NO THAT'S NOT WHAT HE MEANS.

Saw listens to Ezra this time, next time we see him he's even more apathetic towards the beings in front of him who need help now.

HOW AWESOME WAS IT FOR HERA SLICING THROUGH THIS LIGHT CRUISER? Eh? Eh?

You get such a sense of the speed here.

Ugh, the pictures of the canisters aren't enough, ow, that feels like some kind of Politically Relevant commentary.

And as I said before, the narrative lets Saw get off (this time) with some stern looks from the others, but it's still not completely approving of his actions. He's not the Empire, yet, but he'll come closer and closer to their tactics and methods.

This two-parter episode is almost perfectly paced and it's really well-written. Everything about it works so well.

Solid Rebels content. <3

[aestariiwilderness]

Bad Batch Season 3, Episode I Don't Even Know And Honestly Will Not Be Keeping Track * SPOILERS * (solely because Mina Nunyabiz *REAL NAME REDACTED* has gone on so many diatribes about this inexcusable social faux pas on Tumblr known as failing to accurately and comprehensively tag your posts for pieces of media which some people haven't gotten to watching yet and this means that if they wish to be on Tumblr without getting unwanted foreknowledge they have to undergo some vast and imprecise tribulation known as filtering by tag)

I have come to two, nay, three, EIGHT whole conclusions: a. Tech hacked the Star Wars Internet. b. Tech was the Star Wars Internet. c. Pabu does not have Star Wars Internet. d. The Batch cannot function without their Internet. e. The Batch has lost its sole functioning strategic brain cell. Hemlock caught it when Tech fell. The muscle and the face are kind of just winging it now; the auxiliary brain cell said "haha see you later, losers, I need to be Rex's chauffeur"; and the attitude's first and only plan is, as always, just "KILL". f. These men are adorable and also utter morons. g. Crosshair has no experience with women. Ever. He doesn't even know how to talk to them. They're a different species to him even when they aren't literally a different species. His two methods of social interaction just recently expanded to three (murder, snark, and now mother hen) and still none of them have anything to do with proper behavior towards adult females. Let alone one who doesn't share his genes. You can tell by the way he wildly swung from default "PICK FIGHT/KILL" to "offer genteel non-sarcastic hand up to my ship without sarcasm after you almost got my Stockholm syndroming sister killed by a giant turtle because if I can't kill you I literally am at a loss for how to behave towards you". h. Tech was the only member of the squad who ever bothered to get a newspaper and check to see who they were actually fighting.

Omega IS unsettling. Well noticed Venti

Hunter, continuing to be the king of asking the specific follow-up questions that the audience feels is relevant and the askee absolutely cannot answer without losing their mysterious vibes (see: season 1 finale -- "WHEN did you have your chip removed, exactly" "Does it matter?" "YES")

Hunter, continuing to be the king of not getting an answer to his very reasonable specific follow-up question

For special ops commandos in a war they were literally created to fight, these guys do not seem to have much of a concept of "stranger danger"

"ASKING FOR A FRIEND" omigosh Omega. I have never been so ashamed of you. The big fascist experiment-happy regime is after you. WHY CAN YOU STILL NOT LIE

Why is Omega just. In charge now

And still the most unbelievable thing about this episode was like half a minute in with Crosshair willingly helping a random Pabuan AND not mercing them when they dared to smile, thank him, and use his name

HOWEVER MANY EPISODES IN AND WE JUST GOT TO THE ANSWER THAT EVERYBODY ALREADY KNEW ABOUT M-COUNTS

WAY TOO MANY EPISODES IN AND WE STILL DIDN'T GET A STRAIGHT-UP ANSWER ABOUT OMEGA'S

Qui-gon had a blood test! With a little litmus stick and everything! The crazy weed-addicted space monk had a scientific stick he jabbed baby Anakin with and HEY PRESTO M-COUNT SPREADSHEET. WHERE IS THAT HANDY BIT OF TECHNOLOGY HUH

[trashworldblog]

puppet history theory time!! whats gonna happen this friday???

okokokokok there some stuff to unpack here

(disclaimer! i will be posting about this ep and the finale right after i watch it right when it comes out!! so please avoid my blog until you have seen the most recent episode)

so next week is a BIG episode, i honestly was expecting the finale to be The Big Episode but its possible that both of these episodes are Thicc with lore. Makes sense, theres alot of elements to the story that needs to be wrapped up (minus whatever cliff hanger that shane will leave us hanging until s6).

I thought that we would have to wait for the finale to see this scene, but since the disclaimer, i think we'll be seeing shane in ryans chair on friday! super excited to see what deal/meeting he's having with the devil. Ive heard of a ton of good theories (if you want to read my whole breakdown of the photo look here). now that i know that it has to fit with what we know now, im assuming its Executive Producer Shane Madej™ having a serious talk with the devil. I think the hologram is going to fail, revealing the devil to be somewhat responsible. The details to How he's responsible (or if we're gonna get a nod to demon shane) are pretty unclear, which is exciting!!

my main ideas are

1) shane made a deal with the devil in order to keep the show running. He may be a demon, but it will be subtlely implied for the people who Know™

2) shane just learned that the professor was never really here and is kinda pissed that he has to deal with this bullshit. he has to finish this show and deal with the logistics of having the devil on your payroll. In this one i imagine Executive Producer Shane Madej isnt super attached or passionate about the show and is there just to get his job done (funny becuase obviously irl shane is very passionate about puppet history :) )

I think ryan's fate isnt looking very good so far. Its good that he clearly knows that something is up, but he isn't sure what it is, and seems to be getting involved. He's tried to buy the genie lamp, he's been testing and pushing "the professor" at every turn and continues to get weird and Not Correct vibes from "the professor". i think all this meddling will probably get him caught or hurt. I think theres two ways ryans fate can go he either

1) is caught red handed or off guard by "the professor" (or whoever is behind "the professor") and is hurt in some way. being turned into a puppet, meat suit, or to be eaten are my top 3 picks. If i had to choose, meat suit ryan being controlled by a puppet who doesnt know/remember how human bodies are controlled would be really funny. hijinks, office shenanigans, everyones confused faces, 10/10

2) ryan actually figures it out!! (yay beef boy!) I just can't stop thinking of this line from the professors funeral song. I know shane is always foreshadowing stuff so it Feels like that but, it could be nothing.

In this theory I'm imagining ryan finally pulls back the curtain on the hologram live on puppet history and the person behind the hologram is left exposed and suprized, making it so ryan (and the crew) can put a stop to the hologram. Ryan has been building up his courage to touch "the professor" or the box and its possible that he'll finally get fed up enough that he just does it. After that they might jump to Executive Producer Shane Madej meeting with the devil.

Now, I know its sad, but we have to talk about it.

What will be the fate of our favorite dino family?

Well...

I would love to think that that star that just keeps getting brighter is anything other then a meteor that is going to kill all the dinosaurs.

unfortunately,, this lines up so we can assume,,, this is what killed the dinosaurs. (sorry!)

and if we look closer at this photo, you can see a t-rex and a pterodactyl next to the adorable lil hat and glasses. :(

does this mean i think the dino professor is dead?

no.

He has the knowledge of his past, and he has his satchel. He probably stayed as long as he could, left his hat and glasses behind, and faked his death so he would be off the genies radar for a while. Then he time traveled to current times and has been sneaking around the puppet history and watcher set trying to stop the genie/devil.

The biggest piece of evidence for this is in episode one where theres some noises in the background while "the professor" is on stage teaching and ryan asks

"yo is this place haunted?"

I think the noise they heard is from the dino professor moving around trying to piece together what to do next. It would be best for the dino professor to do all that moving while "the professor" is busy teaching, so that he's less likely to be caught.

WHATS IN THE BOOXXXXXX

I know it has to be important. It has to. Im on board for the dino professor to be in the box. Im not as confident in my theory about the box, but! thats ok!

my thoughts are, if the dino professor is going around the set loudly in ep1, i would expect that to continue to happen more and more throughout the season. However, that has not been happening. So I think the dino professor made it to the puppet history set, made too much noise, escaped to watcher HQ where he was caught by "The professor" and was locked into the box.

Episode 2 started with ryan pointing out the chains on the box. At first i thought the box would progressively get more and more locks and chains, but it didnt. Making me feel like putting the dino professor in the box wasnt part of the plan, but "the professor" added a lock and chain and thought "that'll do".

I think in episode 1 the box was powered on jelly beans, coveted cups, and whatever other magical professor stuff was lying around. After "the professor" caught the dino professor, he needed a place to hold him. Why not this box? i got a lock and chains, that should hold him in the box! And from then on, the dino professor has been stuck in there. All those glitches? might be the dino professor trying to escape the box so he can save and forgive his favorite beef boy.

(a fun idea supporting this is the end song that is usually the backup vocals and instrumentals has been replaced by what sounds like the song playing in another room, possibly becuase the real professor is in the box, barely able to hear what is happening on stage? credit goes to the wonderful max for figuring this theory out with me, truly genius level thinking going on there)

I think i can see either see

1) the dino professor saving beef boy by cutting off the power in the box, leaving the person in charge (probably the devil, maybe the genie) exposed. this either happens live durring puppet history, or the professor escapes the box, and saves ryan from being killed/puppetified just at the last minute. The jist is, the professor saves ryan.

2) or.. ryan breaks the box or touches "the professor" exposing the hologram, and saving the dino professor from being stuck in the box. aka, beef boy saves the professor.

I can see this whole arc taking place over one or two episodes. If the dino professor is saved before the finale, the finale might be a reunion and celebration of the real professor finally coming back and teaching again. and ryan will be relieved when he doesnt win.

ANYWAYS thats my theories!! ill be sure to update yall after the episode on friday! im so excited to see if this is the path shane decides to go down. i feel like theres so many cool ways this shows lore can go and this is just a few of them. knowing shane, its gonna be crazy and entertaining the whole way through.

Super excited!

[heyclickadee]

So I forgot that this was in my drafts and has just been sitting in there for a month and a half. Anyway, actual ramblings on “Replacements”:

1. I took notes while watching this one. My first note just says, “Sad whale noises,” underlined four times, with a little frowny face.

2. Hunter’s little lopsided grin as he says, “Well, that doesn’t look comfortable—for either of you,” to Omega and Gonky. He’s stressed and not sure what to do next, but he’s still kind of playful at this point. The depression hasn’t quite set in. And Omega’s little, “We’re fine.” That’s the “We’re fine,” of, “My legs are asleep and I can’t feel my spine but I’d rather die than take up space or admit I’m uncomfortable because I don’t know what I can get away with around you guys,” I swear….

3. Gonky’s little kicky feets!! Also, how did he get down there? Did he fall over while Tech was doing some unnecessary barrel rolls? Did Wrecker put him there? Did he flop over so Omega could use him as a backrest?

4. Again, Hunter’s deadpan shake of the head when Wrecker just *fyoom* inhales that ration bar. Also, can we talk about how much living on ration bars must suck? You probably get your caloric needs for the day, but it’d be like eating one single cliff bar for every meal. You wouldn’t starve or be malnourished, but you’d never feel full, hence why Wrecker, who is lärge and probably has the metabolism of a Bugatti, never has (I want to make him all the treats! He deserves all the cinnamon rolls and pie and plank grilled salmon and burgers and…).

5. I do kind of appreciate that they start introducing the idea that practical needs, like food and ship fuel, are a concern for these guys, and that they’re more or less flat broke. Other Star Wars shows have touched on people having to actually pay for things to survive—that’s part of the point of the Lando episode of Rebels—but’s a constant thread in this show. Clone Force 99 is always a few really bad days from being stranded, because they can’t afford to fuel the ship, and starving, because they’re out of food.

6. I do kind of appreciate that even though Hunter physically pushes Wrecker back to keep him from grabbing Omega’s ration bar (good for Omega for offering it but), he does so pretty gently, and he drops his voice because even though he wants Wrecker to understand that Omega will absolutely inconvenience herself to make other people comfortable, he doesn’t want to call Wrecker out in front of the whole ship. He’s trying to make it as private as he can…in the space RV…with limited space. Besides, it’s not as though Hunter could shove Wrecker out of the way unless Wrecker allowed himself to be pushed. “I’m gonna push you away from someone who doesn’t need to overhear us now, back up with me,” seems to just be the accepted language of private conversation between all of them. And I also appreciate that Wrecker, as fundamentally kind, gentle, and emotionally intelligent as he is, does have a little trouble switching to/considering other perspectives. He never needs reminding once it’s pointed out, but he does sometimes need it pointed out to begin with.

7. Tech says he’s building the brain scanner so that he can double check that their chips don’t work. Bullshit. BULL. SHIT. I mean, okay, not total bullshit—I do think he’s at least partially telling the truth. He’s definitely thinking that Crosshair was acting the way he was because his chip activated, and if Crosshair’s chip activated, then why wouldn’t theirs? It’d be good to check. But I think that’s a secondary reason. Based on how he’s the one who brings up the chip as an explanation for Crosshair’s behavior, the added context of season two, and the way he totally drops the scanner after this episode until Rex shows up in episode seven, I really think he’s building it because he’s under the impression that they’re going back for Crosshair sooner than later, and he thinks they’ll need it to locate his chip so they can figure out a way to deactivate or remove it. Tech just told Echo what he did so he could keep working on it.

8. “It’s not affecting life support. We’re fine.” “Are you kidding me?!” I love them. Also: Shout out to poor Gonky rattling around the back of the Marauder like the last tic-tac left in the pack. Get the poor droid a seatbelt.

9. I love that Wrecker tests his tie-down to make sure it’s locked. The Bad Batch isn’t a perfect show, but I adore little background gestures like these, and it’s full of them, even compared to the other animated shows. They help the characters feel a little more alive.

10. I feel like I need to have a, “That’s one hell of a pilot,” counter for every time Tech does some impressive piloting. The ship isn’t functioning correctly and goes from zero visibility and turbulent conditions to, “OH SHIT, THE GROUND,” and a very narrow window in which he can react, and he still manages to land the ship. Not crash, land. With the landing gear down. And, yes, I’m sure that there is some kind of ILS system on the ship for low visibility landings, since this is a universe where autopilot exists, but still—Tech kind of strikes me as the sort of person who would turn autopilot off. (Also, tell me that if the ship would be in one piece if it was Anakin flying it. I love Anakin, and he’s a phenomenal pilot, but I also think that both Tech and Hera could outfly him.)

11. There’s something endearing about the way that they all spring into doing different jobs to figure out how to get out of the mess they’re in once they’ve landed—Echo’s checking the weather, since it’s knocking out their commas and they can’t call for help; Tech’s checking which parts they need to fix the ship and if they have any on board; Hunter’s making sure everyone’s okay and getting Gonky on his feet; Wrecker…might actually just be recovering because he hit his head pretty hard (STOP DOING THAT, WRECKER. STOP IT)—and Omega doesn’t want to be left out or useless so she instantly starts trying to help out, too.

12. “That’s…Crosshair’s weapon kit.” Hello darkness my old friend….

13. Everything about this moment is a gut punch. The way Hunter just stares at the weapons kit for a moment, the way that Wrecker’s the first one to speak up, the anger on Echo’s face when he counters with, “He shot you!”; the way Tech looks between Wrecker, the kit, and Echo a couple times before speaking up and then looks right at Echo as he finishes saying that it could be Crosshair’s chip that’s making him act the way he is, as though he’s trying to convince Echo specifically; Echo’s disbelief and the awfulness of, “That’s what they were designed to do.” Hunter shutting the conversation down before the debate really gets underway, and turning away from everyone (and us), probably so they (and we) can’t see his face. The way that each of them expresses one aspect of what they’re probably all feeling: the loss (Wrecker); the betrayal (Echo); the need for an explanation or a justification (Tech); and the way it’s all too painful to deal with (Hunter).

Speaking of Hunter, the way he reacts by shutting the conversation down and shifting the focus to the task at hand is a pretty well done depiction of the way some people deal with loss. Finding something to do, something to fix, something to keep your mind and hands busy, having a problem to solve; that’s just how some people are. Hunter isn’t taking Crosshair’s absence well, even at this point, and it’s important to remember that he only really found out about the chips and clone programming a few days ago. He’s probably still trying to reconcile that with the emotional betrayal of seeing Crosshair walk out into that hangar wearing black armor and ordering him to stand down.

Also, listen for a little four note motif in the music that plays under this scene. Then go listen to “Mayday.” I could be hearing wrong, but I could also be hearing right, and if I have to suffer, so do you.

14. Speaking of Crosshair, I really want to know why he needed another chip amplification procedure done. I mean, yes, it’s not definite that that’s what’s just happened to him when we cut to Kamino, but all the visual cues are there. My personal suspicion is that the first round took, as we saw at the end of “Aftermath,” but that it didn’t last the way it was supposed to after the batch left. My other personal suspicion is that this repeat procedure was potentially augmented, or more targeted, and that it wasn’t the only other time it happened to him. As much as a segment of the fandom was (and is) worried that Crosshair was or is going to be turned into another Clone X or proto-death trooper, I sort of think it works the other way around. Crosshair was already a test subject, we saw it happen in “Aftermath” and in this episode, and he might have already been patient zero for the early versions of what was later done to the poor guy who ended up as Clone X and the people who are going to end up death troopers, and his chip either being damaged or having to be removed after “Reunion” might be what saved him from being experimented on further, for a while, anyway. I don’t think being brainwashed again is in Crosshair’s future, just because that seems like the one way to screw up his character arc, but we’ll see.

15. God, the way Tarkin, Rampart, and the rest back up the literal chip-powered mind control poor Crosshair’s under with some good old fashioned regular brainwashing by making him a commander (in name only, apparently) of an elite squad of new recruits and talking about how important these new clone lead units are going to be for the transition into imperial power is just cruel. Crosshair’s brain is all kinds of messed up and they’re doing their best to make sure it stays that way. And Crosshair is so inexpressive through the episodes where his chip is at full strength compared to how he is in the rest of the show. He’s still in there, and it’s still him, but he’s being filtered through GoodSoldiersFollowOrders.exe and I just. What if I crawled into my screen and kicked Tarkin in the shins? What if I did that? (I would get shot, that’s what. But still.)

16. The Echo-Tech banter as they’re trying to fix the ship is fun, as is the Empire Strikes Back homage. Also, I love how Tech kind of downplays the situation by just saying that other systems are shutting down, and that Echo IMMEDIATELY jumps in and explains that SOMETHING IS ATTACKING THE SHIP.

17. So, we get Tech explaining that the creature is probably an ordo moon dragon, a creature that feeds on energy (we’ll get to that), and Echo saying that it would have been great if Tech had said that earlier. This isn’t the first of the last time someone will say something like this, and this next bit is kind of a silly thought based on almost nothing, but I sometimes wonder if Tech occasionally thinks he’s said something out loud or explained something when he hasn’t.

18. I don’t know what to do about the fact that the ordo moon dragon feeds on raw energy but lives on an apparently unsettled planet with no power generators or ships or whatevers, but it’s also not the only creature we meet that does this. The zillo beast also slurps down electricity like a breakfast smoothie. That kind of implies that there are natural sources of electricity around and that a number of creatures evolved to take advantage of is. But also it has teeth. Maybe it’s like the Zillo beast and can also eat other things. Maybe it grabs electric space eels, chews on electric charge for a while, and then eats the eel. Or something. I don’t know, it’s Star Wars, there are star whales that fly and jump through hyperspace, it doesn’t really have to make sense.

19. Omega says, “Then we’ll find a way to get him back—somehow,” and then Hunter looks back at her and smiles. And it kills me. And maybe it’s because we can only see half his face, but it’s the most unguarded smile I think we’ve seen from Hunter the entire show. He doesn’t think they can go back yet, but I think he still thinks it’s going to be possible someday, maybe even soon, and that when they do it’ll all work out and be fine and oh my sweet summer child…

20. That transition from Crosshair jumping down to Hunter and Omega walking though the mist is such a cool transition. You can’t even tell you’re in a new location until you see Hunter’s and Omega’s legs.

21. Crosshair opens fire on Saw’s camp, of course, but he misses. A lot. I think there’s one point where he fires four shots but only lands one. It’s not the batch, but he’s still pulling his shots here, as much as he can.

22. Along those lines, I do think it’s interesting that Crosshair doesn’t kill the civilians himself. They’re going to die, he can’t stop that, because those are the orders and he doesn’t have the capacity to say no to it at this point, but he passes the order along to his men. He doesn’t do it himself, and he doesn’t watch. Which is interesting.

23. Speaking of Crosshair’s men, you know what? Cowards. All except that one guy who had the backbone to say that murdering civilians is wrong. He’s a jackass about clones, but at least he’s not down for murder.

24. So the way Crosshair says, “dealt with,” when he reports to Tarkin and Rampart is brutal and it’s going to live rent free in my head.

25. *screams about the whole ending sequence with Wrecker and the room and the lights and Omega but also it’s the gunners chair and Crosshair sitting on his bunk and Echo patting Wrecker on the shoulder because he did a good thing and how the warmth of the one scene and the emptiness of the other enhance each other this show is going to kill me again*

[sound-under-the-sea]

Man of Action isn’t ready to hear me talk about how we could explore Reboot!Rex moral compass with how he is aware that Providence is bad and possibly how Consortium is using them to clean up their mess.

It may upset some with my gripe and I’m sorry, it doesn’t get talked about with how the citizens in the Bug Jar are thrown under the bus in the original narrative. In early as episode two, we know Rex is willing to listen to the EVOs to help them, but with the Bug Jar citizens it only comes up once in the whole narrative and is dropped in subsequent episodes. Like even after the crossover episode when the shield is destroyed, the citizens are still there.

It feels weird to me when you consider in UAF, Man of Action is willing to talk about immigrates deserved to be respected and how the military treats them is bad. But in Generator Rex only gets that one or two times even though we know some EVOs are orphaned teenagers like Circe, Tuck, Cricket and Skwydd. Possibly Breach too, but again it’s rarely touched on. Most of Rex’s time is spent fixing people even though that’s great, but he also makes a point to Hunter Cain that everyone has Nanites. Yet we’re just going to ignore how bad the Bug Jar incident is?

In the hypothetical reboot, if we can have Bug Jar or place the location elsewhere with how real world conflicts currently are, I doubt they can do it in Kiev, I’m doubtful they could. Either it has to be in a different country or completely dropped and reworked in a different way. Reboot!Rex would actively explore how the world would quickly abandon a city or country if it were to contain with EVOs who clearly need help instead of being cut off from the world. NoFace or a NoFace equivalent would still feel hurt by those who abandoned them view them as animals, but when they accidentally bring in Rex because they thought it was a means to freedom, but ended up being a child and monkey. Rex asks them where they are and why they were brought down. At first the NoFace equivalent would accuse him being of the people who trapped them.

Rex, being a kid and not being with Providence, would ask them “who trapped you?” To which makes them surprised. It probably doesn’t take long for Providence to track down Rex to the new Bug Jar, and probably think it will be easier to catch him as there’s no way out.

The new NoFace being paranoid and angry after being trapped like this believes Rex brought the new assault on to them and their people. Providence being Providence would generally attack those in order to get to Rex. Rex tries to inform the leader of the new Bug Jar that he didn’t mean to bring them here.

“You brought pain. Torment. Like the before.” They accused, pointing at them.

“What? No!” Rex exclaimed.

“You brought them here to destroy us!” They shout, clenching their fist.

“You have to believe me, I don’t know what you’re talking about or the “before” are!” He explained, his eye’s shimmering in sadness. “I never wanted to bring harm to your people, I swear!”

“Liar!”

“Look, buddy,” Bobo snapped, glaring at them. “The last thing the kid wants to do is bring harm to anyone. So don’t yell at him for it!”

They didn’t respond, as they breathed heavily, anger emanating from them.

“I never meant to bring them here,” the boy said, eyes filling with tears. “I’m sorry if pain follows me everywhere I go.”

They turned to another EVO. “Take them below. I will finish the boy later.”

Rex has already established that he hates putting people in unnecessary danger whenever Providence follows him. Having whoever leads the Bug Jar equivalent say that he brought pain and accuse him to be like the one before hurts. Whereas like the new NoFace would have a lot of pent up anger because I like leaving clear traits a character expresses the most into the next incarnation. I.e. Rex’s desire to help those in need that he shows to be his strongest trait in the original series. The new NoFace or NoFace equivalent would have their anger and pain, but also the desire to help their people. Like how even if NoFace was free in season three, he still decided to return to the Bug Jar.

Anyways, the new leader would eventually realize Rex never meant to bring Providence here, as he joined the surface and began protecting their people. They realize how much Providence chase after him even though he is just a child. When Providence make opening to take Rex out, they debate on whether they should leave, but instead decide to something else.

“Wait! What are you doing?!” Rex exclaimed, as he was being grabbed. “You can leave! You can all leave!”

“No time.” They grunt, running with one arm with child and the other with monkey. “Go.”

“No! I can help!” He argued, squirming. “I won’t leave you!”

“No time.” They state, as they pulled their arm back. “Go.”

They hurled Bobo through the air. The monkey’s screamed, as he passed through the fray and out the hole. As soon as he landed on the other side, they pulled their other arm back.

“NO! STOP!” He shouts, trying to struggle out of the grip. “ I’M NOT LEAVING!!”

“No choice.” They said, as they threw him.

Shots grew closer, as they watched the boy safely pass through the exit. The boy didn’t waste time scrambling to his feet, shouting to them. They ignored him as they whipped around, punching the nearest soldier.

“No!” Rex shouts, as he raced to the closing hole, but Bobo grabbed his arm. “I can help! Let me help!”

“We can’t, kid.” He said, holding him back. “They’ll be fine.”

“No they won’t!” He snapped, as he tears trailed down his cheeks. “We can’t just leave them! Everyone else already abandoned them!”

“There’s nothing we can do, Rex.”

“We haven’t tried!”

“We did, but that prison isn’t coming down.”

“But—!”

“They saved you. Now don’t undo their good gesture by running back in.”

He stopped struggling, bowing his head.

“They wanted you to be free just as much as they did.”

“Can…can we try getting them out again some other time?” He asked softly.

“I…I don’t know, kid.”

“I’m not giving up on them.”

“Of course you won’t…” he sighed, as turned around. “Lets go.”

He transformed into his hoverbike. Bobo got on behind him, as they sped off.

Another grand change that would come from understanding that Providence isn’t trustworthy, is how his dynamic with Circe changes. I will probably go more in-depth in a Circe post, but Rex isn’t introduced to Van Kleiss in the beginning. Like Vilgax in the Ben 10 Reboot, Van Kleiss would take for a more slower build up to his introduction. It’s less that he is no longer having his power like Vilgax was, and more like he can’t leave Abysus like in the original series. I believe he didn’t initially know where Rex was in the original series unless there were claimed sightings of a giant robot otherwise it wouldn’t be until Providence was promoting him as the cure. So in the reboot universe, VK would still look for Rex but doesn’t know where he is as Rex never stays long in one place and is trying to keep under the radar. He gives passing mentions by way of Circe or Breach.

The first member of the Pack Rex meets is Circe, who run into each other. If Rex is younger in the reboot universe, I would believe Circe and Breach would be too. This would give Circe more of a desire to stay with the Pack with her need of a family after possibly being kicked out for being an EVO. A lost child just wishing to have a place to call home and is trying to hide her EVO powers. So instead of focusing heavily on the romance or trying to convince Rex to join at first, they are just friends. They both think the other cool.

“I never really hang out with kids often.” Rex said, smiling. “This was fun.”

“Same here!” Circe beamed. “Well, sort of. Breach and I usually go together when we’re allowed to.”

“Your parents don’t let you or sister out unless you’re good behaviour?” He asked, quirking a brow. “That’s harsh.”

“They…are busy,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “One is usually out working while the other works from home. He does important stuff to help people.”

“Cool. You’re dad sounds awesome.” His grin grew wider.

Her smile flickered briefly. “Right…my Dad is cool. The one who found me is too.”

“Oh! I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”

“It’s ok. I never gave indication.”

“I understand…My parents were gone too.” He said, eyes downcast. “But I’m lucky to have Bobo with me.”

“Bobo?”

“My monkey friend. He’s been with me through thick and thin.”

She smiled. “My bipedal wolf looks after me too.”

“You have a wolf that can do tricks? Cool!”

“Sort of.”

They are more of friends and have more of a sense of understanding. They don’t reveal each other’s powers because they just want to be kids. Rex from personal experience of not attracting Providence’s attention, and Circe’s experience of not showing her powers because she’s had experience chased out or ridiculed. Circe doesn’t think much on the monkey friend and Rex doesn’t think much on wolf guardian.

“I made a new friend, Bobo!” He said, as he took the bowl.

“You did?” Bobo said, smiling. “He must’ve cool.”

“She was cool!” He corrected.

“Oh~~a girlfriend?” He chuckled.

“It isn’t like that! She was nice and awesome. I had the best time!”

“You didn’t tell her you were an…?”

“EVO? No, I…I just want to be a kid.” He said slowly, stirring his broth. “Do you think…if I see her again, I could?”

The monkey took a sip from the broth before scratching his chin. “I don’t know…You know how…regular humans can be, Rex.”

“I know…” he sighed, sipping his broth.

"Maybe in the future we can."

"I'd like that..."

Meanwhile, Circe went to meet her "bipedal wolf guardian" in order to return to Abysus. She and Breach rarely leave Abysus, as they are more younger than their original counter parts, so they wouldn't initially see much fighting at first but would focus on honing their powers. Sometimes they'd leave to explore the outside world for the day. I will go into Reboot Pack in more detail later.

"Where were you?" A deep voice asked.

"Making a new friend." Circe replied, smiling up. Above her, bright red eyes gaze down at her.

There was rumble in response. "What kind of "friend"?"

"A nice kid," she answered, as she walked towards the eyes. "He was funny and a bit awkward, but we had fun. Skalamander would like him."

"Why is that?" The voiced questioned.

"Because he has a sense of humour, Biowulf."

Biowulf huffed, outstretching his hand, arm covered in white fur with sharp claws. She took his hand, as a portal appears behind them.

"Will I see him again?" She asked, glancing up to him.

He hummed in response, as they turned towards the portal they've done countless before. A lanky four armed girl greeted them, teeth grit in determination as her arms trembled.

"I hope I can see him again," Circe said softly, as they crossed the portal. "It was nice to be normal."

"Our life isn't normal, Circe." He states.

"I know..." she murmured. "It was just...nice..."

Carefully, he caressed her hand in reassurance. "Maybe you will see him again...maybe you won't...I cannot say."

"Thank you, Biowulf."

He rumbled lowly. "That's enough, Breach."

Breach inhaled before lowering her arms, the portal closes behind them.

"Good work." He pats her head.

She smiles in response.

"Come along," he said, taking her in his other hand. "Dinner is soon."

They walk quietly through the forest.

If you want I can go into Reboot Pack later on, but Rex would grow to learn they are more morally grey rather than evil like in the OG series. morally grey would allow Rex to try to understand them and more thoroughly explore them. It more explores how some of them consider themselves as family that were abandon by the world. They have more chemistry and because Reboot universe is slow to start and have more shenanigans which are perfect for certain antagonists to further develop them.

Thank you for reading and have a nice day/evening.

[jedimasterbailey]

Hello there, Bailey! How we feeling about Ahsoka Part Five?????? I am so unwell, I loved every bit of it and I was wrecked emotionally 😭😭😭 💜

ALEXEI!!!!! Oh my god you have no idea how big of a smile I get on my face whenever you inbox me, I love it 🥰 And I’m with you, I’m still recovering emotionally from it 😭

Anyhow, I will admit that Ahsoka part 5 is the best episode of the series so far. For once I wasn’t angry or disappointed (I must admit I’m not a hard core Rebels fan so everything up to this point has been frustrating for me) because I was finally seeing the one thing that I think many of us have been dying to see which is Ahsoka reconnecting with Anakin post ROTJ. I absolutely loved the flashbacks and I loved every moment of Ahsoka and Anakin together, I only wished we had more! I love that we got to see teenage Ahsoka with the mind of a much older Ahsoka realizing how distressing her past really was, etc and finally making peace with it. Absolutely beautiful and I was smiling from ear to ear just seeing all the Clone Wars characters again from Rex, to Ahsoka in her Padawan outfit and green lightsaber, to Anakin in his Clone Wars armor. Just amazing and it hits so good when you’ve been watching the Clone Wars since you’ve been a kid! Seeing animated stuff come to live action is truly something.

With that being said, there are a few things I wish we could see (that I doubt we’ll see in this show and that’s fine but I’d love to see it nonetheless). One, I wish Anakin would apologize to Ahsoka for all the trauma he’s inflicted on her as Vader and for all that the Clone Wars have put her through. We saw Obi-Wan apologize to Anakin in the Kenobi show (and let’s be honest here, the only one responsible for Anakin’s fall is well ultimately Anakin), so I’m not sure why that has yet to happen with Ahsoka. She deserves all the apologies but I digress maybe we’ll see it elsewhere because I do believe Anakin and Ahsoka have much to talk about still. Two, I wanna see Barriss! Barriss is such a HUGE part of her past and literally changed the trajectory of her life so why it’s still never discussed is a mystery to me. However again, I think that’s not relevant to this show but when it comes to the story of Ahsoka as a whole, I do believe Barriss needs to return. Like you can’t have a Obi-Wan show without Darth Vader, so why not have Ahsoka make peace/amends with Barriss? Omg can you imagine a live action Clone Wars flashback with Ahsoka AND Barriss?! 😍 Oh I would be in happy tears! ☺️

What did you think my friend? And to everyone else out there, I’d love to hear your thoughts! 😁

[phantom-of-the-501st]

And we're back!

Initial thoughts on TBB S3 Eps 1-3

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

3x1 Confined

Final season premiere let's go!!!

Storms are never a good sign

There's creepy shit on Tantiss (crocodile thing from the trailer maybe?)

Although Hemlock counts as creepy enough

He's the creepiest thing on the whole planet 😬

Tbf there's a stunning view, it's just a shame about the prison window blocking it

CROSS IS BACK!!!

Omega blood sample? That's gotta come back later in the season!

Are these blood samples labelled? How tf does anyone know which is which??? That's just bad lab practice 🙄

Oh the weird machine knows. Nvm

"Replicate the genetic M count" and they want Omega's blood???

Nala Se is protecting Megs. Slenderbitch may actually be of some use

Force senstive Megs?

This feels like this is linking with the cloning plot in The Mandalorian

The animal welfare standards here are abysmal 😠

BATCHER?! Oh that's adorable 😍

And I thought Omegas's room was bad holy shit 😭

The grid across Cross' room is casting a crosshair on Omega's face. I love little details like that

21 tallies on wall = 21 rotations? That doesn't seem like very long

STRAW LULA?! 😭❤️

Why are there blood drips going into each sample? This seems like a contamination issue

At least 150 tallies now 😭

Subject will be terminated if they don't heal. Feels very much like the clones when they were on Kamino, which just shows how much the clones were treated like animals

"I belong here" *sobs*

Cross don't make me cry istg. I can't do this at 8am on a Wednesday 😭

Okay but the droid kind of had a point about Batcher struggling in the wild because of Omega domesticating her. One thing you learn about working in a zoo environment is that hand-reared animals have no idea how to behave like their wild counterparts and basically turn into little psychos (like you can't actually be in the same room as some of them levels of bad). That or they rely on people too much and have no idea how to fend for themselves. Either way, the droid wasn't entirely wrong

Hemlock is a bastard 😒

Omega's theme!!!

Season premiere and only two Batcher (neither of whom are Hunt or Wreck). Interesting!

1x2 Paths Unknown

Fucking Roland Durand?!

Did not expect that in episode 2 omg!

Hunter and Wrecker being mercenaries for the Durands?

Ah okay it seems to be a one off

THE GOGGLES IN THE SHIP! 😭😭😭😭

Hunt and Wreck be looking a bit scuffed

Echo and Rex mention!

They won't be available for 2 rotations? Well we're not seeing them this episode then...

Hunter's emotions are making him impulsive and that's not really a good thing

Wrecker is actually the one holding back, which is an interesting dynamic. Wrecker can see how bad Hunter is coping and is probably having to keep him in line as much as he can so that they don't lose another brother

CLONE CADETS! CLONE CADETS!

These ones actually have New Zealand accents as well

The slither vines were genetically made and got out of hand? This is what we mean by invasive species, people. Very much not good

Okay so we have one called Box and one called Stak

Are the cadets not affected by the chips? Do they only active in fully trained soldiers?

We need to get these kids to Echo and Rex

GONKY BACKPACK!!! 😆

Poor Gonky is stuck upside down.

These vines are making vocalisations somehow and it's confusing me. Plant voice boxes?

OKAY WTF ARE THOSE THINGS???

They look like weird green versions of the slogs from Abe's Oddysee

Why are you breaking into the Marauder???

You better not be stealing it. That's already happened and we can't do it again

Okay clone cadet 3 is Deke

Ayyyy rescue time!

Okay, I'll let them off for getting on the ship

Because we totally needed a swampy sarlacc thing rn 😭

PABU!!!

*Remembers invasion of Pabu in trailer* FUCK

1x3 Shadows of Tantiss

I'm going to throw hands if Echo isn't in this episode 😤

Ooh mystery clone(?) who everyone thinks is Tech!

Nala Se is helping again 👀

The special guest is probs Palpatine

Le Palps is back

Project Necromancer - bringing back the dead?

So is this to do with the cloning stuff or something to do with Tech?

Probs the cloning thing tbf

*Angry mouse droid squeaks*

FUCK YEAH CROSS!

Missed watching this guy fight

Cross and Omega team up let's go!!!

Cross doesn't question why Omega only mentioned Wrecker and Hunter. Has Omega told him about Tech or did he just not question why she only brought two up?

And in that case has she told him that Echo is with Rex?

I HAVE QUESTIONS!

Cross went for the stun not the kill. Very different from 2x3

Do you think Hemlock has a scar or does he just choose to shave a slit in his eyebrow? 🤨

Oh great a big green monkey cat. Just what we need!

"Of course he did". CROSSHAIR BEING SOFT ABOUT TECH HELP

Cross is missing shots because of his shaky hands :(

OMEGA M COUNT???

Oooooooh they're adding blood with midichlorians in to the samples to see if they would take. That explains the blood being added to the samples

Overall I love these episodes! It's nice going back and forth between Cross and Omega, and Hunter and Wrecker. We're going to get some interesting dynamics

This is a very sad day for Echo stans though. I feel like we're going to be suffering a lot this season 🥲

And here's the bingo card as of rn!

[hawthornsword]

Bad Batch Finale spoilers and ... Critique? I dunno it's probably just me bitching a lot.

Well...

It's not Star Wars if somebody doesn't lose a hand.

I would just like to point out that I wrote a fic that included releasing the zillo beast as a distraction, Nala Se's death, rescuing the brothers imprisoned on Tantiss, Hemlock with a blaster to Omega's head with Hunter and Crosshair as the one's to save her, specifically with Crosshair taking the shot, over a year ago.

People often come up with ideas of what they think will happen (what they want to happen) that are so wildly outlandishly off base that I wonder if we're even watching the same show. So predicting that many things correctly makes me feel pretty smug, not gonna lie.

Anyway!

I love that Echo got to shine this episode and that he always knows exactly what Omega is going to do, because he trained her. That is Echo's kid, and he's so damn proud of her. You can of course see all of the Batch's influence on her - I think that's really well done actually. But I love Echo and Omega's dynamic so much; they're my favorite.

It hurt me so much when Crosshair said Clone Force 99 died with Tech. 😭😭😭 We think of Hunter as the leader, but was he really? By their own direct and indirect admissions at various points, Tech was the glue that held them together.

I'm glad Nala Se was against the empire in the end, but honestly her whole storyline did not go as I expected, and I'm not impressed with it. She's not a good person. She's not reformed. She was the lead scientist in charge on a project that treated human beings as expendable slave labor, erased individuality with reconditioning and murdered anyone who didn't obey or perform high enough with decommissioning. That's canon, you can look it up. Omega being her favorite and her being against the empire doesn't change that. This is an enemy of my enemy situation, not a reformed and on our side now situation. Honestly I think I'm mostly disappointed because they could have given her a complex and interesting story arc, whether it was a villain arc or a redemption arc either way, where we dig into her motivations and her change over time. I actually expected we'd get that from episode one, but what we got of her was sort of glossed over and only present enough to move the plot as necessary.

Same with Emerie to a lesser degree. There was that one line she had a few episodes ago. Something about being "discarded". I'm assuming that means she was a sort of test run for Omega. That's why she's older. That's why she's a scientist. I want the whole story there.

I also expected Rex to show up with backup, but narratively it makes sense. This show is about the Bad Batch, not Rex. It started with just them, it needs to end with just them.

But now of course we need the Echo and Rex show, in which we find out what happens to them and Wolffe between now and Rebels.

I also really truly believed (and I know a lot of us did) one of those X troopers would be Tech and there would be a big standoff where the power of love and brotherhood would overcome his conditioning. While on the one hand, Tech's death was a good one, on the other hand Tech was my favorite and I feel like they purposely baited us all season as a misdirection. Well played, but also fuck them for that. I don't know, maybe we all exaggerated the likelihood of it being Tech because we wanted it so bad.

But if that shot of the one X trooper's helmet with goggles was meant to imply that one of them was Tech, and Wrecker and Echo killed him? Well fuck them even more. I hate my brain for even having that thought. Let's pretend I didn't.

Also fuck them for wasting Scorch like that! How fucking dare they! Why did they bother making that commando Scorch if they weren't gonna do anything interesting with him, and once again misdirect us by making us think he mattered somehow?

The misdirection with Tech I totally understand, but did we really need two? At this point I feel like including Scorch and also Cody was name dropping purely to bait Legends fans and Cody fans to watch the show when maybe we otherwise wouldn't have. Am I biased because Cody being in the season 2 trailer is 100% of why I bothered to watch this show in the first place? Maybe.

Anyway, all in all, it was a good episode, a good season, and a good show. I had a good time watching it and there's a lot to love about it. I'm not going to say I'm definitively disappointed despite my complaints here, because I do fully expect them to announce a new show almost immediately now that BB is over. It's Disney. Star Wars makes them assloads of money. They aren't going to stop.

I just hope they give us more Jedi and clones, because I have zero interest in Tales of the Empire or Acolyte and I won't be watching them. Fuck the Sith, man. Sure I was curious what happened to Barriss but not curious enough to watch a show specifically about the bad guys. And I like the Ahsoka show, but I don't care that much about Elsbeth's backstory. Nightsisters? Yes. Elsbeth? Meh. I found Baylan and Shin more compelling.

But back to Bad Batch. I do think the ending with Omega grown up was absolutely wonderful. I was smiling the whole time. Omega is so great, I love her so much, and I'm really proud of her.

Also Hunter looks much hotter with the salt n pepper beard. 10/10.

Maybe we can get a Tales of the Rebellion as well as Tales of the Clones like we want. I want to know if Omega meets Luke and Leia. I would like her and Luke and Han and Hera sitting around talking about ships and piloting. I want her to meet Chewbacca and ask after Gungi. I want her to be talking to Han and find out about his beef with Boba and apologize and be embarrassed that one of her brothers is willingly a bad guy.

I'm gonna be writing SO MUCH Rebellion/Original Trilogy era Omega fanfiction.