#mace windu is alive

[inquisitor-apologist]

The idea that Mace Windu coming back would be the thing that makes death meaningless in Star Wars is so funny to me. Girl, come on, it’s Star Wars.

Ahsoka Tano just died and came back to life for the third time. Maul survived being cut in half, with no apparent repercussions. Cere Junda fell into lava and wasn’t even burned. If you’re stabbed straight through the stomach, you only have a 25% chance of dying.

Find me a single person who actually believes that Moff Gideon is dead. It would’ve been too unbelievable to kill Thrawn in Rebels, so they jetted him off to another galaxy instead. Bad Batch fans were absolutely convinced a character was Winter Soldiered because the writers don’t ever kill anyone off.

This is the Somehow Palpatine Returned franchise. Death has not meant anything since A New Hope.

[padawansuggest]

Mace: *holding Padawan Kenobi by the collar of his robes and coming into the mess hall* Attention everyone! Someone else needs to take custody of this child before I throw him off the highest tower!

Mess Hall: *quietly, contemplating who’s gonna speak up and risk ending up with custody of the feral one*

Victim 1: *raises hand* Um, where are his usual guardians?

Mace: *batting away Obi-Wan’s lil gremlin hands and squeezing his neck like a scruff* Master Yoda is claiming he has a contagious infection and Master Jinn is passed out in the healing halls with a broken nose that had to be healed with a minor surgery.

Victim 2: Oh? Why do you want to get rid of him anyways? I thought Kenobi was a sweetheart?

Mace: He is giving me constant shatter point migraines. This started when he was about three years old and has persisted since the day I met him.

Victim 2: Fair. Consider? Giving him to whoever broke Master Jinn’s nose??

Mace: Great idea, not an option, he was a flamboyant pirate named Ohnaka who give Obi-Wan spice laced candy.

Obi-Wan: I CAN SEE THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE AND IT IS HUNGRY AND SO AM I

Mace: I am afraid of him. Someone please take this child.

Quinlan: idk bruh force agrees with the kid???? Maybe he’s on that good shit?

Mace: You. I’ve decided he’s yours now for that horrible sentence and agreeing with the hungry void. Take this child and never speak to me again. He bites and sometimes licks. Be careful and don’t point at him. *bodily drops the 16yo into the lap of a 19yo Quinlan*

Quinlan: *immediately petting through Obi-Wan’s hair till he’s purring and pushing into Quinlan’s hands* Was Master Windu being mean to you, Obes?

Obi-Wan: *deep purrs and happy noises* He wouldn’t let me go back to the pirates.

Quinlan: lol, why do you wanna go back to Ohnaka?

Obi-Wan: Made a friend. He was a Mandalorian. Hondo’s gonna ransom him back to his dad-leader. I wanna hang out with him more.

Quinlan: lol that sounds like way more fun than what I had planned. Let’s go steal a ship. *pulls Obi-Wan up and let’s him out of the mess hall*

Victim 2: …should we be letting him do that?

Victim 1: You’re from a side temple, so you wouldn’t get it, but if Windu is leaving Kenobi with Vos, he’s giving them free reign for chaos, he just doesn’t wanna be the one to babysit Kenobi while he follows his fucked up side quests.

Someone Smart Enough To Stay Out Of That Mess: They’ll be back in a week with three new strays.

[jonathanrogersartist]

After how we just had a sobering real-life example of a deeply corrupt politician having the entire system in his pocket, and being able to get away with literally 'everything' because of how his loyalists have twisted the laws to protect him.... yeah, Mace Windu knew the only real solution to stopping a man like Palpatine.

Cancel me for this one if you wish. IDGAF at the moment. The Republic's already fallen anyway.

EDIT: Furthermore, let's remind folks that the whole 'moral dilemma' of that moment wasn't nearly as complex as some think. Mace isn't acting like a giant hypocrite, or showing how the Jedi are 'just as bad' as the Sith. That line 'he's too dangerous to be kept alive' is being used by George as a point of tragic irony, and its also an unfortunately realistic example of how gaslighting in political discourse works.

Here's one of my favorites: whenever liberals talk about the need to not tolerate the intolerant, the conservatives without fail will reply with a sneering 'oh so tolerance is only ok if it's with people I agree with, gotcha! Ya snowflake!'

When Palpatine says that line, he's saying it as an act of manipulation and twisting a situation to fit an emotional response, not a logical or practical one. When Mace says it, he's pointing out something that's actually logically and ethically true in that moment: Palpatine is indeed too dangerous to be kept alive, given the kind of power he wields. Dooku wasn't at all the same situation: he was soundly beaten, defenseless, and not fighting back. Palpatine was only pretending to be cowed and submissive and helpless. Mace was intelligent enough and in-balance with the Force to catch this, whereas Anakin, in his emotionally-turbulent state, could not.

Palpatine perfectly played that moment to make a parallel with what happened to Dooku, in order to fuck with Anakin's head. One can only imagine how delighted he was internally when Mace had the misfortunate to accidentally quote Palpatine's own line, which messed with Anakin even more.

Palpatine's gambit in that situation was to take advantage of the age-old political trick of trying to 'both-sidesism' and 'whataboutism' with the ideals of stopping injustice, and how far is too far. Mace had just witnessed this man brutally cut down his comrades and put up a good fight against HIM, the literal second-greatest swordsman in the Jedi Order: no shit, he's going to think (correctly) 'this motherfucker is the most dangerous being in the universe, and if he's allowed to get away with this, I will have shirked all my responsibility as a Jedi to protect the innocents of the galaxy.'

I don't condone rampant, casual execution of enemies, especially in real life. But in a fictional space opera universe where the guy in question is LITERALLY A SATANIC ARCHETYPE WHOSE POWER AND INFLUENCE HAS RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF LIFEFORMS ACROSS UNFATHOMABLE LENGTHS OF SPACE.... yeah, time to follow Spock's mantra about the needs of the many and so forth. Mace was doing the ethically responsible thing, choosing to execute Palpatine. Come at me, bros.

[charmwasjess]

...but now that I'm not on the main Glass Abyss tag, can I meanly whisper just to my cool friends (who I hope understand that I love Qui-Gon but also I love him in his true form: a PROBLEM) how I'm dismayed to see that the plot appears to once again revolve around Blameless Space Jesus Qui-Gon Jinn, the Only True Jedi Who Ever Helped Anyone, We All Have Much to Learn From Him?

Like UGHHH we just DID this with The Living Force

[hermitw]

Usually I forgive gege/sukuna for his crimes bc gege gives us so many beautiful images of true form sukuna and it takes me an hour to read a chapter bc I just. Keep looking at him. And he's one of my favorite characters.

But he's in time out rn!! Both sukuna and gege ughhhhh that was........ No.....

It can't be Chosover.

[firefly-fez]

Interesting that you feel this way, OP.

I always thought Plo’s conduct in this arc was exemplary, to be honest.

His compassion for Boba is remarkable. Even though he tried to kill a Jedi, Plo only wants Boba to be rehabilitated and put out of danger. He wants Boba to recognise the danger he is putting himself in. I don’t see “we are justice” as a statement of arrogance, I see it as a statement of “we are the help you are looking for, please accept it”.

Boba’s being misguided by Aurra Sing, he’s just a child, and he doesn’t really understand the consequences of what he’s doing or the danger he’s putting himself in. Plo Koon just sees a lost, scared kid and is trying to help him get on a better path in life. He recognises Hondo as someone who can persuade Boba to do the right thing. He’s always trying to save as many lives as possible, keeping calm while the hostages are in danger and he never treats Boba like he’s expendable or a threat, he very much treats Boba like another person in this dangerous situation that he is trying to save.

He makes a comment about Anakin having a “lack of subtlety” - which is fair, he doesn’t do stealth well - not to disparage Anakin’s character, but to try and mentor Ahsoka and have her improve on casework that requires stealth. He’s tongue-in-cheek and sassy about it, yes, because that’s very much Plo Koon’s character.

There’s also a moment where he meets someone on the lower levels of Coruscang who complains about the Jedi being too preoccupied with the war to care for the people of Coruscant, and he says something to the effect of “We are never too busy to help the people of the Republic”.

I think different characters in the SW universe are supposed to represent different things. In my opinion, the Jedi who most represents the flaws of the Jedi Order is Obi Wan. He’s very much out of his element almost all of the time, perpetually roped into a mess he didn’t create but is no less responsible for resolving, and always, always defending someone who arguably doesn’t deserve it, be it his cleaning up after Anakin or his careful diplomacy in navigating the demands of the Senate or other politicians who are just never going to come around to his side, dealite his valiant efforts. I think Obi Wan serves as the archetype of the Jedi, and his fish-out-of-water character arc represents how completely unsuited the Jedi are to serve as a military force.

The Jedi are flawed. The Order is flawed. Those flaws and their inability to reconcile with them play a part in their fate, in how easy it was for the public eye to come to reject the Jedi and accept Chancellor Palpatine’s propaganda.

However; the Jedi were good people. They were trying. I think Plo represents the effort of the Jedi to do good despite it all.

He faces his men while they say to him that they don’t believe their lives are valuable. “We’re just clones. We’re meant to be expendable.” What does Plo say? “Not to me.” To others, yes. To our world, yes. There are many that see you that way and I am sorry. It is true. But I don’t and I never will. You matter to me, I promise you.

“We are justice”. I can help you. I am the help you are looking for. You are one of the people I am trying to save.

“We’re never too busy to help the people of the republic.” No matter how busy I am with the war effort I will stil help you. I am here. I am always here.

He’s persistently faithful in what he says and does even in the face of evidence directly contradicting what he’s saying. He’s compassionate and kind.

The clone wars is a show that puts contex to Anakin’s fall. Context to the flaws of the Jedi.

But in all that tragedy, it introduces to us a kindly Jedi Master who reminds the audience that despite everything, the Jedi were good.

They weren’t perfect. They made mistakes. Big mistakes. Mistakes that made people justifiably lose their faith in the Order.

But they were good. They were trying. And they certainly didn’t deserve their fate. And throughout everything, their legacy, a legacy they had themselves at times forgotten, will go on.

Is it really so bad that to see that in Plo Koon?

Apart from this line being sick as heck, it stood out to me rewatching this episode - because how is it that I've never, ever seen anybody use it to paint the Jedi as arrogant, or as fanatic vigilantes who only answer to themselves?

Yoda gets a lot of flak for admitting that some Jedi have grown arrogant in AotC and this is the episode that people use to tear Mace apart for supposedly being mean to Boba, but Plo gets nothing? Not an ounce of criticism for saying something as harsh and uncompromising? For calling the Order justice itself?

And he freaking disses Anakin in front of Ahsoka in this very episode! He acts like a cop in the lower levels! The fandom loves to nitpick every single thing Jedi like Mace, Luminara, Yoda or Ki-Adi do - now imagine if one of them had said this line. They'd be called "everything wrong with the Order" and "the embodiment of the arrogance of the Jedi." But Plo is "everything they should have been."

Could it be - and I'm just going out on a limb here - that Plo being a fan favorite - not in small part because of his fatherly relationship with Ahsoka - is the only reason why he's considered 'better' and 'different' even when he says and does things other Jedi are getting skewered for? Love the Jedi (I do) or hate them, but he's the same as all of them.

[darthjess-writing]

The Mask of Darth Vader

I'm sure other people realize this and have thought of this before, but as I've been writing my Star Wars fanfic I've come to understand something that feels a bit profound. At least to me.

Darth Vader IS the mask.

He is the mask that Anakin Skywalker wears to DEAL WITH WHAT HE'S DONE.

Because the truth is, Anakin Skywalker is not actually capable of committing the absolute horrors attributed to Vader. If you think about it, Anakin CARES and FEELS MORE DEEPLY than anyone. And while his love for Padmé drives him to embrace the Dark Side, he does not do it lightly. He falls to his knees, saying, "What have I done?" after (quite literally) disarming Mace Windu, which very quickly leads to the Jedi Master's death.

He only accepts the Dark Side and becomes Sidious's apprentice because he truly believes this is the only way to save the woman he loves. But what Sidious asks him to do to become powerful enough in the Dark Side is so awful and goes against everything Anakin ever stood for or believed in. So he creates this second persona, VADER, who has the strength to do what Anakin could not.

And I think this is why Vader hates Anakin: because Anakin didn't have it in him to do what needed to be done to save his (their?) wife. Because Anakin honestly doesn't have it in him to do what Sidious asks him to do.

This is why it's so shocking to everyone who ever knew Anakin that he turned to the Dark Side. Because once gain, HE JUST DOESN'T HAVE IT IN HIM. He is too caring, too loving, too empathetic to do the things that Vader does. And I think that NEVER STOPS BEING THE CASE.

Of course, Anakin and Vader are the same person, and deep down Anakin realizes that Vader is not actually real. But the Vader Persona protects him from the pain. Vader allows Anakin his innocence, Vader takes all the blame. Vader doesn't wallow in grief, Vader turns his pain into rage and uses it to protect the Empire.

Vader is the coping strategy Anakin uses to survive what he did. To survive his wife's death. And it's only fitting that once Luke brings Anakin forth once more, Anakin becomes one with the Force. Vader was the only thing keeping him alive.

This is why I love writing about Vader. His cognitive dissonance is horrifying and wonderful.

[stealingpotatoes]

How did things in the fix-it AU get fixed? And is Fives alive?

feeling very honoured that you think i put thought into the fix-it au beyond "heehee action figures kiss" ANYWAY it's just your run-of-the-mill fix it, anakin made one (1) single good decision and stayed in the temple and mace windu kicked palpatine's wrinkly ass out the window <3

it's kinda just a rots-onwards fix it but... i'm sure we can find a way to get fives back!!

[inquisitor-apologist]

Just gonna come out and say it: Mace Windu should’ve survived and should’ve become the grandmaster of the New Jedi Order. Luke was probably not ready for that (as a Jedi. He was just knighted) and deserved to learn the traditions and cultures of the Order from a living Master

[padawansuggest]

Anakin: *holding up Luke with tears in his eyes* he’s perfect.

Mace: But Skywalker, a child isn’t yourself, your master or your padawan, why do you care about it?

Anakin: Well, for one, I made this one myself. The other one bites me so I couldn’t pry her off her mother during their nap, so I left her there.

Obi-Wan: The smartest move you could have made. I taught her to nerve pinch last week and she used it to make Master Laan take a nap when she told her to put up the toys for class time.

Anakin: Amazing. Listen, there are a lot of things I’m willing to kill for; love, revenge, master Yoda fighting me over the last skruit beetle in the nest-

Yoda: Put them in my famous stew, I do!

Anakin: -but finally, I’ve found something I’m willing to /die/ for; this useless human.

Toddler Luke: *puts his little hand on Anakin’s cheek* bah!

Anakin: *crying* bah to you too, Sunshine, bah.

Mace: …I would love it if these interruptions stopped happening so we could finish a meeting in under five hours for once.

[saphronethaleph]

Keyword

Palpatine raised his hands, lightning sparking in them, and blasted at Mace Windu with a fan of electrical energy.

Mace raised his lightsaber, blocking the assault, and pressed the attack. He forced Palpatine back, against the windowsill, and the Chancellor’s gaze flicked for a moment to Anakin.

“He is a traitor, Anakin!” he appealed, desperate.

“He’s the traitor!” Mace said, his voice strained by the effort of sustaining the Seventh Form and maintaining control of the battle. “Stop him!”

“Come to your senses, boy!” Palpatine implored. “The Jedi are in revolt! They will betray you, just as they betrayed me!”

His bolts of lightning pressed in on Mace’s defences, and Mace shouted in exertion.

Anakin’s hand twitched, torn at a moment of decision. The Force pressed in on him, on this moment, and he took a step forwards.

There was a faint squish sound as he stepped in Master Tiin, and Anakin glanced down to see the half-bisected corpse on the ground.

“You are not one of them, Anakin!” Palpatine pleaded. “Don’t let him kill me!”

Anakin’s gaze lifted again, to the battle, and he hesitated.

“I am your pathway to power!” Palpatine insisted. “I have the power to save the one you love-”

“Anakin!” Mace interrupted, his voice a shout. “If we stop him now I think we can save Master Fisto!”

Anakin blinked, looking down at the Nautolan.

He appeared to be missing at least two lungs, possibly all three of them.

“We can?” he asked. “He looks… dead.”

“Force healing, mother-” Mace shouted, his irritation spiking and leading him dangerously close to falling off the blade’s edge of the Seventh Form, then wrenched himself back into balance with a monumental effort.

Then Anakin stabbed Palpatine in the side, and the sudden cutoff in Palpatine’s spray of Force Lightning meant that the Chancellor went flying out the window.

Then a speeder crashed into him, and he exploded.

“Ow,” Mace muttered, blinking a few times. “Now that was a shatterpoint.”

“...why did he explode?” Anakin asked, confused, then shook his head. “Master – Master Fisto!”

“Right,” Mace said, deactivating his lightsaber and taking two striding steps over to the fallen Masters – stepping over Master Kolar before kneeling on the battered floor of the office.

“What do I do?” Anakin asked. “How can I help?”

“Hold his head up and watch,” Mace replied, focusing, and put both hands on the chest of his friend. “Nautolans can last for longer without air than humans can, but he needs his lungs…”

Anakin watched, fascinated, as Mace summoned the Force to him.

It was… surprisingly simple, all things considered. It wasn’t some kind of complex, intricate trick where Mace had to factor in all the medical details of exactly what he was doing.

It was just… he was willing to give up some of his own strength, some of his own life. And as he did, Master Fisto coughed, a wet sound but one that showed he was still alive.

Then so did Mace.

“Ow,” the human Master muttered. “I’d… appreciate it if you could call a medic…”

“Master?” Anakin asked, worried. “Are you all right?”

“One of my lungs doesn’t work any more, what do you think?” Mace asked, shaking his head. “There’s a reason we don’t teach that technique to just anyone…”

He turned, slumping into a sitting position on the floor, and sighed. “I think I could have handled this whole thing better…”

“I wondered why you didn’t try to arrest him,” Anakin admitted.

“We did,” Mace replied. “For trial before the Senate – he said he was the Senate. Then he killed three Jedi Masters in five seconds, and you saw yourself… disarming him wouldn’t do anything to stop him killing anyone he wanted dead.”

He shot a glare at Anakin. “Medic?”

“Oh – right,” Anakin realized, fumbling for his commlink.

[eclec-tech]

Let's get into this "Tech is dead" thing...

Until someone from the show confirms that Tech is dead, I don't believe it. We've seen this before. Echo died in an explosion. Nope. Ahsoka fell when she dueled Vader. That didn't stick. Maul, Palpatine, Leia, Mace Windu...okay, that last one is still in the air. But my point is that we never saw a body. Face it. If they wanted Tech dead, they would have given him a shoulder wound. I lost track of how many times that proved fatal this season.

For starters, it would be a very bad move! Tech was probably the most loved character on the show even before they further developed his character this season. To remove him from the show would deprive a lot of people of someone who gives them a feeling of true representation in Star Wars.

Then there's Phee. That last "conversation" she tried to have with him was awkward and very specific. They animated him in such a way that he was obviously avoiding eye contact. He was uncomfortable. He didn't want to say goodbye. I don't think he knew how. It looked to me like they were setting us up for a reunion scene.

Now let's talk about Hemlock. Him being in possession of Tech's goggles is another reason I think he's alive. When he held out the goggles and said, "I'm afraid this is all I could salvage," it suggested to me that Hemlock has him. It doubly struck me since he had just used the term "fascinating" in the same spirit of scientific curiosity Tech had used earlier in the season with the Zillo Beast. The only way I can see Tech being alive but not captured in this scenario would be if there is a raging river or deep crevasse beneath the train and all they found nearby was the goggles. (Which means that, if he is alive, we will finally get that goggleless Tech we've been wanting to see so badly all this time.)

Let's not forget the most important thing of all. Tech is an incredibly capable soldier. He is resourceful, exceptionally well-trained, and was fully kitted-out when he fell. It's not hard for me to imagine him using a grappling hook and cable or other means to keep from falling to his death. He said it himself. He has the "ability to think clearly in stressful situations". And if Hemlock has him, he's going to need it.

All this gives me great hope for season three. If Hemlock does have Tech, he would have him transferred to Mt. Tantiss on Weyland. Now, Crosshair and Tech are together with other no-longer-Imperial clones. Omega is there with Nala Se, who wants Omega as far from there as possible. Nala Se is no longer in a cell, but working in a lab—under guard, but with access to equipment. Factor in Omega's clone sister and this has all the earmarks of an epic escape episode.

Fingers crossed.

[fanfic-obsessed]

Duty

Here I try a hand at Emperor Obi Wan. It just feels right. 

It starts after Order 66, after the march on the temple. When Obi Wan says that he cannot go after Anakin, Yoda believes him. Instead of Yoda going for Sidious and Obi Wan for Anakin, they reverse it.  Yoda heads for Mustafar. 

Obi Wan goes for Sidious.He’s so done, traumatized and tired. He is also somewhere between passively suicidal and actively suicidal.  He attacks Sidious in front of the newly formed Imperial Senate and no one is more surprised than him when he takes Sidious’s head off cleanly (Sidious did not consider this one tired, hurting Jedi to be a threat and Obi Wan went in full throttle, hoping to do some damage before his death). Even though the Empire is only a few days old at this point, there are some old rules that are already in place, backed by the Force (which is why no one really questions what happens next). One of those rules is the right of conquest. 

To the winner goes the Empire. 

Now Obi Wan is the recognized Emperor, including to the chips in the Clones.   Obi Wan does not want to be the Emperor. Obi Wan wants to go sit in a depression cave and contemplate his infinite sadness in peace, please. 

Bail Organa manages to convince Obi Wan that being the Emperor and helping to unfuck everything is his duty (Bail is both semi reluctant-he knows that duty is Obi Wan’s buzzword and hates that he needs to take advantage of that-, and not, as he is pretty sure that is all that is keeping Obi Wan alive right now). 

So Obi Wan agrees to be Emperor until they can figure out how to undo the Sith’s great plan (while all 1000 years was not spent creating a web of fucked up laws that slowly built the trap they all fell into, a good portion of that time was).  He manages to rescind the Order that the Jedi are traitors, but is not able to deactivate the chips (this is another where the chips turn the clones into Automatons, with no independent thoughts). There is some code phrase that will shut the chips off, but only Palpatine knew it. The Kaminoans are sure that, now that the chips are active, removing the chips will cause brain damage and death to the clones (this is not true, but we are still several months away from Ahsoka and Rex-as the only two who have proof this is patently false- coming back into Obi Wan’s life).  Obi Wan has recalled the 212th, unable to stop himself from wanting them around him, even as they are. Yoda successfully captured Anakin, who is currently being held in a medically induced coma until they figure out what to do with him (he is decidedly fallen, but also is coming off as being in middle of a clinically psychotic episode-also both Yoda and Obi Wan are not so secretly hoping there is something that makes his actions…not Anakin of his own free will slaughtering children). Now Yoda is off in the galaxy trying to find Jedi survivors. Mace Windu was found and is Bacta and would be there for a minimum of a year. 

Padme is on bedrest for her own safety, and the safety of her children. She is also subject to frequent lectures on seeing an actual medical professional while pregnant. It turns out that she had an uncommon, but not rare, condition that meant that a natural birth would kill her. This condition can only be diagnosed in the third trimester (also notably that this condition could not be fixed with the Force, Light or Dark). Obi Wan cannot bring himself to visit her, if asked he would have the excuse of ‘too busy’ ready to go but the truth was he couldn’t face Padme, whom he had considered a friend, after she had spent so much time lying to him about her relationship with Anakin (Also he now has access to all the instances that Palpatine knew about where both of his dear friends abused their power for the sake of the other).  Even after the children are born, Obi Wan keeps his distance. 

So we have Obi Wan, holding himself by a thread as he simultaneously tries to: figure out how to undo hundreds of years of damage against democracy, run an empire (if he has to do this, he will do it right), deactivate the chips (this means going through every single Palpatine has ever recorded in hopes of discovering the code- no matter how horrific), figure out a place that the remaining Jedi can live (the temple is out of the question with the death that clings to the walls like a slime).  There is no one he can truly trust, not even Bail (For all that Bail entreaty to remain emperor was 100% necessary, it did damage Obi Wan and his friendship in a way that it would take a decade to recover).

It will eventually get better. Other Jedi will come from hiding, giving Obi Wan people he can fully rely on. But right now, about a year into the Empire, Obi Wan is running on the barest fumes, heart sick. He is surrounded by the Senate, whom he does not trust, and the puppeted bodies of the clones, whom he forces himself to treat just the same, to never forget that these are people. He has had to order the clones to ignore any order that contradicts his (in order to prevent abuse by senators) and make an explicit order for the clones to defend themselves and to see to their own needs. He is facing the prospect that there may be no way to undo this damage.  

However there is something that no one knows about the chips. Like in cannon, they do eventually break down, as the clones are forced to go against their own morals and fight the chip, it wears it down.  The irony is that Obi Wan treating them as sentients causes less wear than Palptine’s treatment. 

The 212 love their general, none more so than Cody.  As part of that, each one made a point to memorize the signs that Obi Wan was overworking himself.  Now Obi Wan is, to the clones trapped by the chips, overworking himself beyond anything they had seen. The chips do not allow for this kind of care, which starts to cause the same kind of wear that cannon saw. While most of the clones do not fight the chips with Obi Wan in charge, the 212th begins to fight even harder. 

Their general needs them. 

It starts around the 1 year mark, and is so small that Obi Wan thinks he is imagining it.  It starts with Cody frowning faintly at a senator bringing another unnecessary problem to the Emperor to solve (something that they should have been able to solve themselves).  Then Obi Wan realizes his cup of tea keeps getting refilled (Boil does it when Obi Wan isn’t looking-it both is and is not a breakthrough, the chip means that if Obi Wan had asked for the tea Boil would have provided it, but it is Boil himself that is able to anticipate the need and choose Obi Wan’s favorite tea). Several of his guards (all members of the 212th) subtly herd him down lesser known hallways and paths to his destination, causing him to avoid other senators trying, badly, to curry favor. All the while not able to say anything but “Yes, Sir” or answer direct questions with the least amount of words in a monotone.

Something shatters, just a little, in Obi Wan’s heart at those responses. He continues to talk to any of the clones,including promises that he will find a way to fix this, but does not ask as many questions. 

The first substantial sign that the chips were wearing out on their own came from Cody. It was late, Obi Wan had not slept in days, had not eaten in even longer. Cody's voice was raspy, and his words were slow, deliberate (if you have ever spoken to someone with mild aphasia, think of that with long pauses between words). He looked right at Obi Wan and said “You…have…not…eaten.”

Obi Wan found himself whipping around so fast he nearly tripped on the pretentious robes he had been forced into to stare at Cody, whose face was twisted into this incredibly focused look. 

“Cody?” Obi Wan asks, breathless. 

“You…need…to…eat” 

Obi Wan takes another step closer, almost close enough to touch “Cody?”

Cody’s jaw tightens,  “We…are..still…here…we…we…we...can…hear…you.”

Then all at once Cody’s face smoothed out again, responding to Obi Wan with a monotonous ‘yes sir’, back under the chips' control.  

It is both better and worse for Obi Wan. He now knows for sure that the clones are in there, but he still does not know how to free them.  His mindset and self care is bad enough that he actually cannot make the connection between what seems to bring members of the 212th forward in spite of the chips (and Cody is only the first, the spark is usually Obi Wan taking particularly bad care of himself, and that definition is variable for each clone-Helix the head medic is almost himself more than he is controlled within a few weeks).

It is a few weeks after this that Rex and Ahsoka finally arrive. They had been found by Yoda, who convinced them that it was safe to return to Coruscant.  Part of the reason they had not believed it before hand was that it was clear that the Clone were still controlled by the chips. 

They are the ones to break the news to Obi Wan that the Kaminoans were wrong (and it was they were wrong, not they were lying, they truly did believe that the chips could not be removed after they had been activated), the chips could be removed. 

Obi Wan takes that news in, asks a few questions on what is needed to remove the chips, then makes arrangements for the medics to have their chips removed (with the idea that they can then supervise the surgery of everyone else-Obi Wan currently has trust issues and cannot think of letting anyone who is not a clone operate on the 212th, in particular). At that point he sits on the floor of the room they were in and has a small breakdown (Disturbing both Rex and Ahsoka, and bringing his current guard, Wooley, to the point of breaking the chip entirely). 

There is still so much to do. Obi Wan still knows that. He still has a duty to keep the Empire together and undo enough damage that it can become a republic again.  He still has to live with the horrific things that Palpatine had recorded (experiments, thoughts, his plans for Anakin) and figure out what to do with Anakin (who is still being held in a medically induced coma). The knife’s edge of the politics he has been balancing on has not grown any easier (in fact Ahsoka and Rex, having internalized Anakin's beliefs more than they realized are going to make it more difficult not less). 

But Obi Wan has hope, hearing that the clones would soon be free. Through he does not make any kind of suggestion or let himself have an opinion on who goes when for choir removing (save that all of the medics needed to go first so they could sort out who was going next), the medics in charge prioritize the 212th, because Obi Wan desperately needs his battalion back. Also because no one is completely sure that they won’t all give themselves brain damage fighting against the chip. 

There are enough medics that Ghost Company is dechipped at the same time, with minimal recovery.  Boil and Wooley immediately take charge, while the others lock Cody and Obi Wan into Obi Wan’s ‘temporary’ apartment (What had been Palpatine’s living space- the senate insisted) opening the door only for to provide food while Obi Wan is made to take an enforced ‘vacation’ or at least a ten day (They accept no criticisms, or questions from the Senate. The first senator to protest was shot with a stunner and told to be glad for it-the others decide that they will accept Wooley and Boil as a substitute Emperor).

Cody cuddling Obi Wan produces the first true sleep he had since Utapau.  Obi Wan sleeps for a full 24 hours.

[astheforcewillsit]

I can't stop thinking about the way that the Force subconsciously exist around the Jedi. That even when they are asleep, or knocked out, or uncertain of a situation, it's working to protect them until they are able to take control again.

It is like a sentient being constantly cradling them to shield them from danger, warning them that danger is afoot, giving them hints and clues about their environment.

Even when they aren't concentrating on it.

It worked so long to protect them that it only failed when a powerful dark side user interfered with it, but through the Clone Wars the Force did everything it could to keep them alive, and afterwards it did what it could to bring them back together again.

It keeps on looking for Jedi. It keeps on holding space for them in the universe to rebuild. And no matter their pitfalls, it's always there calling out to them. Reaching out, connecting them with one another.

This was inspire by a part in the new Mace Windu book which I am slowly making my way through. There was an instance in which Qui-Gon had been knocked out, but he felt as if his connection to the Force helped him find a safe space to land as he was falling.

It must be so comforting to know that this thing that you cannot see, but that you can feel is doing what it can to protect you.

[milling-around]

The Bad Batch Finale and Joel Aron’s cryptic tweet

Okay so Joel Aron, Director of Cinematography Lighting & VFX at Lucasfilm, tweeted this:

Initially, I thought that this was going to be the runtime of S3E15 The Cavalry Has Arrived. This episode being longer would make sense as it’s the finale of the show and it’s close in length to S1E1 Aftermath. However, I saw a screenshot floating around the other day that says the runtime of the final episode “spans 24 to 25 minutes”.

If this episode is the typical length then this timestamp must be referring to a different piece of media. The question is, what media? In an effort to determine what could happen in the finale, I went to that point in the films to see what I would find. None of them strike as much fear in me as what’s happening in A New Hope.

The Phantom Menace - Anakin has just won the pod race and they are celebrating his victory.

Attack of the Clones - Jango Fett and Boba Fett have just attacked Obi-Wan with seismic charges.

Revenge of the Sith - Anakin is looking out over Coruscant from the Jedi Council room. He has just revealed to Mace Windu that Palpatine is a Sith.

A New Hope - Before leaving to disable the tractor beam on the Death Star, Obi-Wan delivers a line which may foreshadow what’s to come in The Bad Batch.

Empire Strikes Back - Luke is trying to lift the ship out of the swamp on Dagobah.

Return of the Jedi - Luke, Han, and Chewbacca, along with the droids, are captured by the Ewoks.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Anakin and Ahsoka are heading towards Tatooine to deliver Jabba’s son back to him.

At 01:09:56:01 in A New Hope, or as close to it as I could get (Disney+ sucks) this is what we see:

Sorry it’s a photo of my computer, I don’t know how y’all take screenshots of Disney+.

“Your destiny lies along a different path from mine.”

Many people have been theorising that the show could end with the Batch and Omega surviving but being separated, either by choice or by circumstance. This line from A New Hope, as well as the fact that Omega’s voice actor, Michelle Ang, has described the ending as “bittersweet”, definitely make that a solid theory.

Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree though. There’s also speculation about whether Omega is force sensitive, so maybe Luke using the force in Empire Strikes Back is the real clue. Despite Ventress not believing Omega to have a high m-count, and her not being one of Hemlock’s designated m-count specimens, we have seen characters with a low m-count who were capable of wielding the force. Sabine Wren, for example.

Still, Omega being force sensitive doesn’t prevent the theory that she gets separated from the Batch from being true. It could actually be a reason for that separation because she may pursue training or decide that her proximity to the Batch endangers them.

But wait, there’s more!

At this timestamp in S1E1 Aftermath, Omega is on the Marauder with the Bad Batch (minus Crosshair) and they’re setting off on what will be her first big adventure. Omega’s Theme is playing and she’s gazing out at space with child-like wonder. While they’ve just parted ways with Crosshair, the overall feeling in this scene is hopeful.

If the tweet is referring to this episode, it could mean that we get a wholesome Bad Batch family moment. Whether Tech is there or not may rely on CX-2 being unmasked. Perhaps it’s bittersweet because Tech truly is dead or because he’s alive but they cannot save him from the Empire. Or maybe it’s bittersweet for a whole host of other reasons.

Honourable mention

@kiffobaby also looked into what is happening at this timestamp if you combine the runtimes (including credits) of all episodes in clone relevant story arcs and didn’t really find anything of note. If credits were removed then it would put at us a different point in the arc, however it’s unlikely that we’d be looking for a timestamp in an arcs combined duration anyway.

If you’ve read this far, I love you and don’t worry, we’re almost done.

Secret 16th episode?

Seasons 1 and 2 each had 16 episodes which leads me to speculate that this timestamp could actually be the runtime of the final episode, a secret 16th episode.

Is it likely? No. Can I dream? Yes.

[the-bi-space-ace]

Echo & Unshakeable Trust

If we really want to talk about how Echo and trust are intertwined then I think we need to start at The Bad Batch arc of The Clone Wars in season 7. We see pretty clearly that the batch doesn’t trust him, even before they know him. They make snide remarks, doubt him, and are ready to take him down if he crosses them. Hell, they’re sure he’s a traitor. One of the earliest examples of this is when Hunter first claims it’s a trap. He even says they’ll tag along with the mission even just to say ‘I told you so.’ Oh how wrong he was. How wrong they all were.

They venture into Skako to save Echo, following Rex’s intuition and going along with it even if they don’t agree. They go, they’re not trusting about it, but they go. What they find is Echo, being used as the algorithm for the Separatists. Rex has no reason to doubt that this is against Echo’s will but the batch… they’re not so sure. 

Echo’s plan to escape through the vents is what saves them from Wat Tambor. They have no choice but to follow his plan, even if they aren’t sure if they can trust him yet. But following along and going with it is what gets them out of there. That doesn’t mean it fixes the doubt. The batch even hesitates before walking across the pipe to escape. They’re still sure he’s screwing them over. They have no idea why Anakin and Rex follow Echo’s plans blindly, even when they’re objectively ridiculous. 

Rex trusts him. Always. Every time. When Rex hears Echo’s voice he doesn’t ever doubt that Echo is still alive and on their side. Even in the bad batch season 3 when he’s questioned about whether or not Crosshair gave them all of the information Rex doesn’t doubt that Echo handled it and they have no reason to question that. It’s such a beautiful thing to watch. His faith in Echo has always been unshakable. Just as unshakable as Echo’s faith in himself. At first Rex isn’t sure Echo is battle ready after being rescued; it's never about distrusting Echo, it’s about not being sure he’s ready yet. Has he healed enough? Is he stable enough to pull this off? It’s care, caution, not doubt. 

Echo even points that out: ‘I’m not a liability, Rex.’ Mace Windu really had me cheering when he says if Echo has a plan then he’d like to hear it. When Mace asks if Echo is certain he even responds with ‘Absolutely.’ Echo doesn’t doubt himself and he isn’t about to start now. This confidence is something we see from him a lot. From how he plans, how he moves, what he says. He knows he’s good at what he does. It’s so refreshing to watch him be so confident and grow in that confidence as time moves forward. 

It’s here we start to really see the batch mistrust Echo. Tech voices this most often, followed by Hunter. Tech isn’t sure of Echo’s plan. He even goes as far as to say that ‘We don’t really know where his loyalties lie.’ You know what’s incredible about this? Rex follows it up with ‘Well, I know.’ Because he does. He doesn’t doubt Echo, has no reason to. The batch, however, isn’t ready for that yet. 

When Echo sends all the droids to the assembly complex and successfully shuts them all down is when both Hunter and Tech - the two who were the most vocal about their doubt in him - are ready to accept that Echo is on their side. He isn’t fighting against them, he never has been. They’re ready. Echo has proven himself without ever even really trying to.

Echo: ‘Was there ever any doubt?’ Tech: ‘Some.’

Echo trusts himself totally. He’s been trusted by his squads, by Fives, by Rex, by Cody. Hell, even Anakin, Mace, and Obi-Wan trust him. He’s been surrounded by people who are convinced of his skills. Being confronted by the batch who doesn’t trust him doesn’t even really faze him. He knows his intentions, he doesn’t need to fight their doubt. He just does what he’s always done and he proves himself in his actions. This confidence he has in himself is what carries him through everything and we only see that grow over time. (This post by @phantom-of-the-501st demonstrates how much he’s grown perfectly. Please go read it. It's amazing.) 

The batch saw him in action when they first met him, they had their time to doubt, and once Echo had proven to them that he was trustworthy and skilled they’ve trusted him fully ever since then. Hunter trusts him to be his second in command - the mission where they save Gregor comes to mind. He always hears Echo out and usually follows him into nearly certain death even if he doesn’t agree. Hunter trusts his word and he knows he wants only good things for them even when they don’t agree on how to get those good things. I think it’s especially important to note that they do disagree often but that is never cause to accuse the other of something in bad faith. The batch even trusts him to lead them into Kamino, right into enemy territory, when Hunter gets taken at the end of season 1. They follow his lead, listen to him, and know he’s got this. They’d never doubt him. Not for a second. Not now. Not when it’s Echo.

And of course we have this most recent episode, the thing that spurred this all on for me. This episode only solidifies for me that trust is a main thread in Echo’s story. He gets them a ship, has a disguise for Rampart, and he is ready to take on the brunt of their mission when things start to get dicey. Crosshair does say something about how Echo can’t infiltrate the ship alone which I am certain is more about worrying for him than it is doubt in his skillset. Letting Echo go into enemy territory without anyone else is difficult for them but they know he can do it. They always know he can pull it off, even if it’s absolutely ridiculous. When Rampart starts to bad mouth the plan Crosshair is right there with ‘Relax. Echo’s on it.’ I am still absolutely losing it over this line. To see Crosshair go from ‘besides, he’s just a reg’ to his hand on Echo’s shoulder in their first mission after they meet to ‘relax. Echo’s on it.’ That… That makes me so emotional. Of course the plan will work. It’s Echo. He’s got this. He knows exactly what he’s doing and he’s quick on his feet. It’ll work out. It’s Echo.

To follow that line with Hunter’s ‘Echo will come through. He just needs more time.’ just further solidifies that they wouldn’t doubt him, not anymore. He’s proved time and time again that he’s got this. They’re prepared to go with whatever scheme he proposes. He’s just as bad as them but he’s also got the skillset to back up his chaos. He fits in well. 

Echo is a skilled man. He’s an excellent strategist and he gets shit done. The batch has learned to trust him with their lives, as quickly and as unshakable as Rex’s faith in him. I think this is a beautiful thing to have seen over the course of our time with the batch. The batch puts their lives in Echo’s hands more than once and they don’t doubt him. Just like how he doesn’t doubt himself. The people around him trust him because he owns what he says, because he can back his shit up. 

It’s rather fitting that the intro quote in the last episode of The Bad Batch arc in The Clone Wars (S7 E4 Unfinished Business) is: Trust placed in another is trust earned. They learned a lot by watching Rex’s unshakeable faith in Echo and they knew that’s something they could do too by the end of their mission together. He proved his chaos, his strategies, and his intellect were invaluable. So much so that they wanted him with them, whatever that was going to look like.