#someday I hope we get an explanation for why the TBB is Like That

[katara-stan-club]

I’ve just rewatched all of Rebels while working on a sewing project (and yet I still have more hemming to do grrr), and its finale has me wishing TBB’s had been as impactful/well executed, so I’m putting a tiny bit of salt beneath the cut.

In Rebels they bring back so many old friends for the finale fight: Ryder Azadi, Hondo Ohnaka, Muchi, Gregor, Wolffe, Mart Mattin, Vizago, Ketsu, and Zeb’s boyfriend Kallus. Hell, they brought back the purgill! It’s a nice culmination of how far everyone, both Ghost crew and not, have come during the show’s running, and I wish that TBB had gotten that so badly.

I had been hoping bare minimum the Batch would send word to Rex so his group of fighters could be a part of liberating their brothers from the place they had been searching for!! And yet, come the finale it was just the Batch raiding Tantiss, not a single other ally in sight. No Rex and company, no Phee, no Benni or Syndullas or Romar or Cid or even the Wookiee’s! Literally anyone else they had ever worked with! Hell, even the Zillo Beast gets used somewhat disappointingly, only causing a distraction and breaking a hole in a wall, compared to the purgill herd whisking Thrawn and Ezra away to places unknown.

It feels like such a let down of a finale in terms of keeping the Batch separated from everyone else, when the whole point is they work better together (with every member there grumble grumble). It would feel more like a wrapping up of the Batch’s story if they had gathered allies in the lead up to the finale like the ghost crew did, instead of running around with Rampart for several episodes. Phee was literally right there!!! She was friends with the Batch AND wasn’t an antagonist for a season and a half!!! Was it funny to see Rampart? Yes. Do I think they could’ve used their time more wisely with anyone else? Also yes.

The lack of ally usage really feels like a weird choice writing wise. They set up all these connections, and then they are just never used? We only get some payoff for Roland Durand and Phee, we get way more for fucking Rampart, and everyone else can apparently suck eggs. The absence of any other clones outside of the Batch and Emerie is so jarring, when so much of the show has been about showcasing clones breaking free! I just can’t get over no other clones help the Tantiss clones break out except Echo and Omega, it just feels so out of place compared to the rest of the show.

Also, this is more personal, but I’ve seen the Rebels finale at least 6 times at this point, compared to the 2 times I watched the Bad Batch finale (both on the day it came out). Despite crying every time I watch the Rebels finale, I am still willing to watch it because it’s a satisfying wrap up for so many characters in that show. I don’t know when, if ever, I’ll watch the TBB finale again. It has so many weird writing choices and it hurts me too badly for me to be able to handle watching it. Maybe we’ll get a follow up show that focuses on clone rebellion stuff that will recontextualize it, but as it currently stands I won’t be rewatching TBB’s finale anytime soon. I’ll stick with crying while rewatching The Clone Wars and Rebel’s finales.

[nimata-beroya]

Thanks for your answer (it was well worth the wait)! First of all, yippie for continuing Rough Awakening - I've reread it a few times and still love your take. In regard to the SWR parallels: Though I like fics that reunite Cross with TBB, I think a long redemption arc is much more meaningful and - if well executed - would illuminate the struggles that weren't shown by Kallus' redemption arc. There's a lot of potential for powerful story-telling (1/2)

Aww! 😊🥰 I´m glad that I didn't lose you as a follower during my absence. And yes!! Long, well-crafted redemption arcs are the best! I also wish we had had that for Kallus but we might have it someday. There's a post in my queue for today or tomorrow that says that since Andor and Ahsoka are having their own shows, Kallus needs his. That way all known Fulcrum agents have a show. I wholeheartedly agree!!! Can you imagine? They could show everything we didn't get to see in Rebels. Anyway, sorry, I went off the topic.

You're right, my confidence in the TBB writers to pull that kind of storyline off is not the best. There are some issues that irk me with what they've done so far. It could improve in season 2 tho. I'm hoping for the better, but I'm preparing myself for being disappointed, just in case.

Crosshair is such a complex character that I could go on and on about each of his layers. Again, you're right. Part of his motivation is to prove to everyone that he's the best. Many can see it as arrogance, and certainly, there's some of that. But I think it goes much deeper than that. To me, that implies self-esteem issues as in If I'm not the best then I'm nothing. And he's not the only one with similar thoughts, I might add. Both Rex and Echo had said a similar thing ("We're soldiers, what else is there?"). Isn't it ironic that, out of everyone in the BB, Crosshair who despises the regs is the most similar to them?

Anyway, Echo and Rex don't take that sentiment as far as Cross does, but we can only imagine how his cadet days were like. Just as any clone, not meeting the Kaminoans' expectations meant death at best and reconditioning at worst, and even when the batch had "desirable" mutations, they were not exempt from that threat. The trauma of that has Crosshair in survival mode 24/7. Even now. It's that so, that he says it to Hunter in 1x15, that they'd be safe with the Empire. He wants them all safe.

As for which scene confirmed to me that Cross has still the chip in, nothing major. Just a voice-over of him saying YET AGAIN "Good soldiers follow orders". Granted, it could be a voice-over from season 1, but why use it on the trailer? Why do they insist on that, a phrase that means that the clones are controlled if Cross isn't being controlled anymore? It doesn't make sense! the only explanation I can find is that Cross in fact still has the chip. I will die on this hill until I get 100% confirmation, via scan done by Azi3 or Tech. And even then, I might ignore it 🤣. In the GFFA everything is possible, so if Palpatine somehow returned, Crosshair can still have the chip.

And just for you, a tiny teeny bitsy sneak peek from my fic below the cut. It's a bit angsty. Don't kill me! 😅

"What if something is wrong?" Omega asks no one in particular, stopping halfway through her path. "They should be done by now."

Hunter approaches her and goes on one knee to get to her eyes' level. "Nothing is going wrong, ‘Mega. Dr. Kinall and Azi are taking care of Crosshair. He'll be fine."

"But they're taking too long. It was faster when we were on Bracca."

"Probably because there's no surgical pod here like in the cruiser's medbay. The doctor and Azi have to go by hand and hence why it’s taking longer."

"Echo is right. They're going slow because they're being careful. We just have to be patient, okay?"

Omega looks at them in turn and huffs sadly. "Fine!" Then, she returns to her pacing. Hunter and Echo share a worried glance. Even when their arguments to pacify Omega are true, it's hard to ignore her concerns. Same concerns have crossed Echo's mind as well.