#one of my top 5 tbb eps

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Thoughts on TBB 3x5: The Return

General Summary: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

*stares at sheer number of bullet points in phone from this episode*

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY THIS WEEK!!! PROPER ANALYSES MAY BE BACK!!!!!! (if I have time because I have so much to do D:)

ECHO'S IN THE THUMBNAIL!!! *cue biggest freakout I've had this season*

I genuinely let myself believe that we weren't going to see Echo this episode because I was so desperate not to get my hopes up. I though they were going to try and sort out some stuff between Cross and the other Batchers before bringing Echo into the fold but he's back!!!

The lighting is so pretty 😍

THEY TOOK CROSSHAIR TO PABU

HE'S TARGET TRAINING WITH AZI I'M GONNA CRY

The shaky hands are making me so upset 😭

But I'm glad that they're exploring something like this. It isn't just a case of Crosshair losing his spot in the Empire, it's about him being faced with something that affects his ability to be a sniper in all situations. His purpose was not the Empire, it was being a soldier, and that's what he's afraid of losing.

"IT'S ECHO!" Absolute mood and the only appropriate reaction to Echo being in an ep

THE HUUUUUGGG 😭❤️

Okay this may already be one of my new favourite eps

*replays hug 5 times before continuing with the episode*

"No hug for me?" "Depends on how good your intel is." Echo is defo still a little wary but the fact that the sass and sarcasm is strong between them is giving me life

There's been a lot of discussion about the parallels between what Echo went through and what Crosshair went though and I think that this is a perfect demonstration of the dynamic that stems from that. Echo knows what it's like to have your mind taken and to be used as a weapon against your brothers. He knows what it's like to not instantly be trusted. And because of that he has a leniency with Crosshair that the other Batcher don't. He isn't completely trusting but he's more willing to give Crosshair some grace because he understands better than the others.

"Especially without Tech" I'M RUNNING ON BARELY ANY SLEEP AND HALF A CUP OF COFFEE YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME

"I'm older than you are, little brother." The script for this episode is the greatest thing ever and I genuinely can't tell you how much the sass is giving me life rn 😆

Less than 10 minutes in and this episode is already killing me

WE'RE BACK AT THE OUTPOST 😭😭😭

CROSS IN THE ARMOUR AGAIN AAAAAAAHHHHH

Echo being the mediator in the group feels so appropriate

I adore how much focus Echo is getting this ep. They didn't bring him back and give him nothing, he's absolutely serving this episode and I am obsessed! 🤩

I'm in love with the fact that the Batch now just have a family pet

"I guess it served it's purpose." "Huh, sounds familiar." Initially this feels like a jab towards Cross but I don't think it is. That statement applies to all of the clones: they served their purpose and then they got ditched. It may have taken longer for Crosshair to accept the fact that the Empire didn't like him, but it is a statement that applies to every clone post Order 66. I think that that is what Echo is getting at: not a direct jab at Cross, but a general statement about something that Crosshair has finally come to terms with

MAYDAY'S HELMET KILL ME NOW AAAAAAHHHH

Mayday meant a lot to Cross and I think it feels particularly poignant now. He's back with his squad, but they don't all trust him. Crosshair could probably do with someone like Mayday right now, someone who trusts him enough that Crosshair doesn't feel as alone as he does.

Omega trusts him, and Wrecker is kind of there (as is Echo), but Cross still doesn't feel like he's home. He's missing one of the few friends he had.

Also, this is just evidence that Crosshair isn't the cold. heartless bastard that loads of people wanted to label him as 😌

Crosshair moving the helmets is such a simple thing, but it's so meaningful. The helmets were discarded and left in a heap, which represents the exact attitude the Empire had towards the clones. Picking them up and laying them out gives them a small amount of dignity.

It reminds me of the burial of the clones that died in the crash at the end of the clone wars. They may be in a remote location where they won't be visited, but they haven't just been left in a wreck, discarded. They were given at least an ounce of respect by their brothers and that is what Crosshair is giving to the clones at the outpost

Slight interval as I realise just how much I wrote down about this episode and just how much I have left to write 😵‍💫

Sensors down? That doesn't seem like that's going to go well

THE TOOTHPICK IS BACK!!! ❤️

"So yes, I did betray them, after they betrayed me."

This is all what it boils down to: they both feel betrayed. The thing is, both Hunter and Cross' feelings are valid, but they need to talk through why they made the decisions they did so that the other person understands. It's complicated because there isn't a good or bad side right now, they just won't listen to each other, nor will they talk things through because they don't trust the other person enough to be honest about their decisions.

"She went through what she did because you failed" OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH

I'm not angry at Cross. Don't get me wrong, it's brutal and harsh and a dick move but Crosshair is getting defensive because Hunter is being confrontational. They're both messing up here. I can guarantee that this is going to cause discourse among the Hunter stand who are going to get pissed at Cross, but you have to understand that his actions make sense. They're not good (in the same way that Hunter really needs to ease up) but it's behaviour that makes complete sense.

We know that Crosshair's way of defending himself is to be an arsehole. He puts up walls and he lashes out. And Hunter rn is mostly stewing in his own self-loathing (which is why Crosshair struck a nerve).

Hunter is likely taking his self-hatred out on Cross and trying to shift the blame so that he can tell himself that it isn't his fault. The problem is, it's making Cross defensive, so Crosshair is pushing the blame back and sticking Hunter where it hurts. They're both stuck in a toxic cycle.

Oh dear (I literally wrote down nothing else here. This was just my reaction to the giant worm)

Echo is so on it in this episode and I love it! ❤️

Oh shit bye Hunter

This season looks so pretty and the animation is gorgeous ✨

The worm reminds me of that thing from HTTYD2 👇

GROUP HUG

"And I don't even see any blood this time. That's progress" ECHO I FUCKING LOVE YOU OMG 😭

On a side note, we talked about how Echo's humour and sass kind of deteriorated after Skako Minor but it's coming back in full swing! It shows how comfortable he's become and is evidence that he's healing 🥲🫶

Echo talking to Omega actually has me crying. He's so fucking supportive!!! 😭

"There might just be hope for us yet" followed by a shot of the ice vulture flying towards the light. It's a good way of showing Cross' journey away from the darkness of the Empire and back towards a place of healing.

Okay so this episode just means like... everything to me. The humour was on point, the emotions were on point. We got some good content from every member of the Batch. ECHO CAME BACK!

I'm just so obsessed with this episode omg

AND BINGO UPDATE!

[photogirl894]

I don’t think I’ve ever asked you this, but what are your top 5 favorite episodes of TBB (so far LOL)?

I don't believe anyone has ever asked me that! Ohhhh that's gonna be hard 😅😅

1. "Battle Scars" (s1 ep7)

2. "Cut and Run" (s1 ep2)

3. "Tribe" (s2 ep6)

4. "Pabu" (s2 ep 13)

5. "The Crossing" (s2 ep9)

I'm gonna add a bonus one: "Aftermath" (s1 ep1)

Honestly, though, I love all the episodes 🥰

Ask me my "TOP 5/TOP 10" anything!

[phantom-of-the-501st]

Thoughts on Season 2 As Of Eps 1-9

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

So I just saw a video on TikTok that I thought was interesting and I just want to share some of my thoughts on it. The creator said that as of right now, they are struggling to understand what the point on TBB Season 2 is and what the main story thread is supposed to be. And I found this interesting because I have a fairly good idea of what I think the overall message they're trying to show is. But I'm not going to critise the creator because I think I might also have an idea of where the confusion is coming from.

In TBB S2, there seems to be 2 distinct narrative threads running through, which while linking to each other at points, can definitely be seen as two separate storylines. One is how the Batch is trying to find their place in a post-Republic world while looking after a child. The other is the rise of the Empire and the clone rebellion.

And while they definitely tie into each other, I can see why they feel like two separate narratives and that's where I think the confusion over what the show is actually about is coming from.

I'm not going to say that this is a bad thing necessarily. I personally like seeing both stories but I'm not necessarily going to go after people if they personally don't enjoy that. For some people they'd rather have the Batch storyline in one season and the rebellion storyline in another. At the end of the day, it's just an opinion. But I do just want to give my thoughts on why I think this works for me.

Really, I think one of the best ways to understand the season is to look at Hunter and Echo. They each represent one storyline: Hunter wanting to choose a more peaceful life for Omega and Echo wanting to do more to fight against the Empire.

And I think those two really show what this show is touching on: what do the clones do in a post-Republic world?

I think the easiest thing to do is to touch on how each episode ties into the main plot, so I'm going to do that.

Eps 1+2: While feeling like the typical Bad Batch "mission goes wrong" style of episodes, these two set up the two sides of the story. Hunter wants the money so that they can go into hiding while Echo wants the money so that they can fight the Empire and help other people. It's setting up the idea that the clones, while literally being copies of the same person, have different ideas of where they want to go. On top of that, you have Tech beginning to understand more about life outside of war.

Ep 3: You have Crosshair trying to prove that he has a place in the Empire, while Cody believes that the best thing to do is to leave. Cody doesn't want to live the life of a soldier if it means working for the Empire, while Crosshair struggles with the idea of his life being anything other than that.

Ep 4: This episode lets the Batch see that there's more to the world outside of the army. Giving Tech a chance to experience something outside of being a soldier opens up the idea of him realising that maybe he doesn't want to carry on fighting.

Ep 5: A deeper look into what it's like for a child to be living in this world. We have Hunter very clearly trying to come to terms with what the best life for Omega is and how they're going to have to change their lives to accommodate that.

Ep 6: Another look into how the Empire is affecting the galaxy and what the clones' place is in all of that. Omega can't be a child in a world like this, so do the Batch give up their lives as soldiers? Or do they carry on fighting for the greater cause like when they helped the Wookies?

Eps 7+8: You have more and more clones questioning the Empire and having to choose whether or not they are willing to put their lives at risk. While the Batch are willing to help Rex, they don't feel like they can take the big step of fully partaking in the Rebellion. But then you have Echo who doesn't want to give up the fight, who, while not wanting anything bad to happen to his brothers or Omega, doesn't want to say goodbye to his life as a soldier if it means having to stop helping people.

Ep 9: This episode is a deeper look into how the difference in the clones' decisions are affecting them. Did the Batch make the right choice in choosing to work with Cid? Should they have gone with Echo? Or was choosing to protect Omega the right choice? Should they give up the fight? Should they throw themselves further into it? Where do they go from here? What is their place in the galaxy? What is their job?

While the idea of the Batch wanting to live their own lives protecting Omega and the idea of the clones beginning to rise up as a collective and fight back may feel like two different storylines, they are both integral to each other.

This season let's us see what is happening to the clones in a post-Republic galaxy: what their choices are, what their purpose is, what they want their future to be. We're all watching the story of the clones but we're just looking at it from multiple sides.

If people don't connect with the show, then that's fine. I can understand why it may be difficult to understand what this season is trying to say and why some people feel that the episodes seem a little disjointed. But I do think that when you break it down, there is a greater narrative there. You sometimes just need to do a little digging to see it.