#tbb s3 ep 5

[zeb-z]

Crosshair returning to the Outpost in his old, old armor, with his brothers and sister. Where the snow has buried it but the helmets of who died there are still there in the abandoned base. Gone, but not forgotten, not as Crosshair sets them back up again. And that damned vulture, always circling around, still looking for scraps - Crosshair, still looking for answers from a forgotten base and an Empire that never cared about him. Until he opens up before they leave, and Hunter tells him that all they can do is move on, try to be better. That’s when the vulture finally flies away - like Crosshair, leaving the base and all the trouble it gave him behind.

[happydragon]

With all the memes now out and the fact that they've shown a snowy planet in the trailer, I think The Return is referencing the return to Barton IV which is gonna be rough. I wish everyone luck!!

[enigmatist17]

Here we go again

--------

He looks like he's asleep.

It's horrible to think, trembling hands touching skin colder than space itself, skin that should have been bone. He's still lying where he'd fallen all those days ago, and there's an ugly snarled sound from the person unrolling some tattered cloth, dragging the frozen body up and out of the snow. The trembling grows more violent as the body is tenderly covered in the cloth, a small doll made of frayed straw tucked into a bloodied breastplate before opaque eyes are covered forever more, the body slowly placed back into its exposed "grave". For a moment, the only sound is the muffled wind that traveled over the neverending snow, and the trembling hands are put to work covering the clothed body with the same snow, and before long it was like nothing was there.

"Crosshair?"

The wind whistles as the smallest clone kneels down, gently drawing the trembling hands into her own.

The warmth from her hands is painful.

"His name was Mayday."

The wind continues, this time broken by the screeching of a distant bird out of view.

"Was he your friend?"

"Yes, my only friend."

The bird sounds quieter now, and a miserable noise claws its way out of Crosshair's throat, the taller clone hunching over and trying so hard to push the feeling down and down and down out of sight.

It doesn't work, and a tear lands on the snow.

"Will you tell me about him?"

She felt his hands close around hers, as if at any moment he'd slip away and out of sight.

"One day."

"Alright."

[miss-musings]

The Official CrossDad Ranking of The Bad Batch Season 3 Episodes

I love TBB Season 3 so much, and it's partly because of Crosshair's arc and his growing bond with Omega. His attitude toward life in general and her specifically really evolves throughout the season, to the point where he becomes CrossDad™️.

So I thought I'd rank all the S3 episodes by how many and how significant of CrossDad moments we get.

Disclaimer: I'll only be counting episodes where Crosshair and Omega have screentime together (Ep 1, 3-9 and 11).

So, starting with the least CrossDad episode and working our way to the most:

9. Episode 3.01 "Confinement"

Crosshair literally tells Omega that if he had a chance to escape he wouldn't think twice about leaving her behind. Ouch. I’m 99% sure he’s lying, but it’s still not very CrossDad of him to say that.

He also says "I'm not them" when Omega says he's her brother.

But, I guess bro had to start somewhere.

Grade: F

8. Episode 3.03 "Shadows of Tantiss"

Unsurprisingly this is only slightly better. Crosshair's definitely mad at Omega for just winging an escape, but he goes along with it and watches her back. He's definitely not as protective of her here as he is later in the season, but I guess that's to be expected.

The one highlight is, once she thinks they've failed and they'll be killed or recaptured, his Dad instincts kick in and he praises her for getting them as far as she did.

Grade: D

7. Episode 3.08 "Bad Territory"

As much as I love Crosshair and Omega's scenes in Bad Territory -- in fact, they're the only good parts of the whole episode -- I don't think Crosshair acts much like Omega's dad in this episode. More like that older sister-younger brother dynamic she's teased him about before.

However, there are a few crumbs I can highlight:

Crosshair telling her she needs to stay safe and Hunter agreeing with him.

Crosshair's unenthused look when Omega talks about Phee.

As Hunter correctly deduces, Omega is the *only* person Crosshair would listen to about getting his hand examined.

Omega telling Crosshair he doesn't like anything and him agreeing with her.

Crosshair looking very sad and upset when he realizes just how much time he's missed with Omega.

Still, overall, definitely not the most CrossDad episode of the season.

Grade: C

TIE-5. Episode 3.11 "Point of No Return"

This is a weird one, because while we don't get a lot of CrossDad moments with Omega, the episode goes out of its way to make parallels between Crosshair and Hunter to show they're both parental figures to Omega.

I'll talk about this more later on, but one of the ways S3 really solidifies CrossDad is by putting him alongside Hunter so it feels like they're co-parenting Omega together.

This episode does that, in part, by sidelining Wrecker the entire episode. Crosshair and Hunter go up to the colonnade together to get Omega while Wrecker loads the ship, and they watch over Omega together after Wrecker's incapacitated.

And then, we have the parallel between Hunter watching Hemlock's shuttle take Omega away in 2.16 "Plan 99" and Crosshair watching CX-2's shuttle take Omega away from Pabu.

Another poignant parallel that shows Crosshair has become a parental figure to Omega, the way Hunter has been the entire show.

However, I feel like Crosshair ultimately agreeing with Omega's plan to turn herself in is something Hunter would never do. I get that Crosshair was reluctant, tried to talk her out of it and only agreed because he didn't see any better options. But, I still feel like Hunter would never have done that.

Ultimately, I feel like this one's a mixed bag.

Grade: C+

TIE-5. Episode 3.06 "Infiltration"

Admittedly there aren't many CrossDad moments in this one, as the bulk of the runtime is focused on the CX assassins and Rex's clone underground.

But we do get a few:

Omega copies Crosshair's toothpick thing, just like she did with Hunter in 1.01 Aftermath (and her other brothers throughout the series). Now, she's finally copying him, and he takes note of it.

He just nonchalantly tells Omega the Empire's after her again, but once it's clear there's an operative nearby, he freaks out.

Again, the show pairs Crosshair up with Hunter as co-parents talking about Omega's safety and the bigger problems with Hemlock, Tantiss and the CX operatives. Meanwhile Wrecker hangs out with Omega -- like a big brother distracting/entertaining his sister while the "grown-ups" talk.

Not a lot to work with, but it's cute for what we do have.

Grade: C+

4. Episode 3.05 "The Return"

This is another episode where we don't get a ton of one-on-one interactions between Crosshair and Omega, and some of the ones we do get fall more into that brother-sister dynamic (ie, "He started it," and Omega sighing in frustration).

But there are some big CrossDad moments in this episode:

When Omega first approaches the beach and Crosshair looks up at her, his expression definitely changes. It's hard to tell because the focus switches as Batcher comes into the foreground, but it honestly looks like he smiles when he sees her. Or at least his expression "lightens up."

Crosshair has a nice teaching moment with Omega where he describes what it takes to be a good sniper!! :)

Despite his resentment and anger toward Hunter, it's clear that Crosshair agrees with Hunter about not wanting to endanger Omega. In fact, he even defends Hunter's stance to Omega and tells her not to hold it against him.

The "you let Omega be taken to Tantiss" exchange is *chef's kiss*. I feel like I could write entire essays about it.

It's clear that, for the first half of the episode, Hunter doesn't like that Omega and Crosshair are so close. Not only does he not trust Crosshair, but he definitely resents Crosshair for helping Omega escape when he couldn't. I think he's also a bit jealous (???) of all the attention Omega shows Crosshair after she and Hunter have been separated for months. Like, she couldn't even spend one minute having breakfast with him and Wrecker before asking where Crosshair was and immediately going to find him. Hunter also needlessly threw Crosshair a dirty look for seeing how much Omega was following him around before they left for Barton IV. Again, I know it's because he and Crosshair have their own issues -- which they resolve by the end of the episode -- but he never seemed insecure/jealous/resentful of Omega spending so much time with Wrecker, Echo or Tech before.

Overall, this is the one episode where it's clear that, despite their personal differences, Crosshair and Hunter both care about Omega and prioritize her safety. Because they're *both* her dads now.

Side note: the little exchange where Crosshair says he'll handle getting the creature outside the perimeter and Hunter saying "Not alone -- we'll do it together" and then Crosshair asking him if he's sure... you can definitely read that more than one way... :)

Grade: B-

3. Episode 3.04 "A Different Approach"

This episode isn't the *most* CrossDad episode, but I feel like it's the one where Crosshair first starts down the CrossDad path thanks to two big moments:

THE FIRST:

As I said, the show goes out of its way several times to show that Crosshair is on the same path as Hunter -- just two seasons later. While Hunter acted like Omega's dad pretty much from Day 1, Crosshair's just starting his journey in Season 3.

In 1.01 Aftermath, after TBB fails Tarkin's mission, Hunter decides to go back to Kamino for Omega. Even though there's a possibility TBB could be captured or killed if they return to Kamino, Hunter chooses Omega's safety and well-being over his and his squad's freedom.

At the time, Crosshair argued against returning for Omega. But, here in 3.04, he faces the same decision as Hunter: Ensure his own freedom by going to the spaceport OR follow Omega despite the risk of both of them getting (re)captured or killed.

And like Hunter, he chooses Omega over his own freedom and safety.

This was his own Point of No Return, if you will. The moment he first takes up the CrossDad mantle -- never to let it go again.

THE SECOND:

Additionally, in this episode, we have the Imperial officer mistaking Crosshair for Omega's dad. I'm 99% sure that Hunter is the only Bad Batcher who was assumed to be Omega's dad before this episode. I can't recall anyone ever doing that with Echo, Wrecker or Tech before -- just Hunter. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

The fact that another character in-universe believes Crosshair is Omega's dad is a purposeful choice by the writers. The captain could've easily said "I've never seen you two around here before," and the conversation could've continued the same way. The fact that he says "dad" is significant, because again, we're drawing parallels between Crosshair and Hunter.

And in this episode, where Crosshair ultimately makes the same "Omega>freedom" choice Hunter did, that seems poignant.

ADDITIONAL POINTS:

Outside of the two big items, I'll only say that there are a few other CrossDad elements in this episode, like him being ready to square up against anyone who threatens Omega. Including a poor street kid. LOL

But, the bulk of the time, he follows her lead. She tells him they need new clothes; she has the idea to bribe the spaceport employee; she decides to "hustle" people at the cantina; and she refuses to go with Crosshair after the Imperials take Batcher. Heck, even the "Let's try things your way" line is still HER decision.

Hunter definitely has his moments where he defers to Omega's judgment (and moments when she just 100% defies or disobeys him), but the narrative and other characters definitely see him as the one who has the final say as the squad leader and her guardian.

So, we can see that Crosshair might be transitioning into a "dad" role, but he's definitely not there yet.

I also like how he grabs the briefcase of credits, even though they didn't really need it anymore. He was like, "I'm not going to let all of Omega's hard work go to waste." LOL

The final moment I want to highlight is Crosshair trying to emotionally prepare Omega that Hunter and Wrecker might not be there. Of course he was wrong, but I appreciate that he was not only looking out for her physical well-being in this episode, but also her emotional well-being too.

Overall, this is one worth being in the Top 3 of Most CrossDad episodes.

Grade: B

2. Episode 3.09 "The Harbinger"

Like 3.05 The Return, we don't have a lot of one-on-one interactions between Crosshair and Omega. But, again, the narrative and other characters go out of their way to treat Crosshair as a full member of The Dad Batch.

Asajj seems to view all three brothers as equally problematic toward Omega's possible Force training. She doesn't single Hunter or Crosshair or Wrecker out more than the other two -- they're all "overprotective shadows" in her eyes.

If anything, I think that shows just how well Crosshair has slotted into the family dynamic in such a short amount of time. Hunter and Wrecker have been with Omega longer and arguably know her better, but Crosshair is just as fiercely protective of her as they are.

It also demonstrates how far he's come in just half a season. Seven episodes ago he said he'd leave her behind without a second thought (although he was probably lying), and now he's fighting a former Sith apprentice because she might be a threat to Omega's safety.

But, while Asajj might view all three brothers the same way -- and to a certain degree they are -- the narrative once again has Wrecker playing a different role in Omega's life while putting Crosshair and Hunter on (near) equal footing.

Multiple times throughout the episode -- namely the family meeting in the Marauder and the final conversation with Asajj -- we see Hunter and Crosshair are framed more as co-parents while Wrecker acts as either guard dog or Omega's distraction while the "grown-ups" talk.

One final point I'll make is that, while Crosshair nominally agreed with Hunter's plan to let Omega train with Asajj alone, he also made it clear he disagreed with Hunter’s decision. He basically gave himself an out. Like: "You might've agreed to let Omega train with a former Separatist assassin unsupervised, but I made no such promise so I can intervene if I see fit. I'm only up here with you guys because of peer pressure."

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of this episode in general, and honestly wish we could've consolidated it with 3.08 Bad Territory somehow. But, it's definitely a CrossDad heavy episode, and in that respect, I *am* here for it!

Grade: A

1. Episode 3.07 "Extraction"

You all knew this had to be No. 1. It's THE quintessential CrossDad episode!!

I love the little touch of Omega going to look down the spire alongside Crosshair. She really is trying to learn from him, and he doesn't seem to be opposed to it.

As we see later in this episode and again in the finale, once Crosshair knows a CX operative is after them, he volunteers to face him. I know he has all sorts of reasons for wanting to confront CX-2 by himself, but protecting Omega must be one of them.

Once they get away and crash-land in the jungle, we get THE CrossDad conversation -- which was apparently a late addition by the production team.

Once again, he's checking on Omega's physical and emotional well-being. He makes sure she's safe and knows what to do, even though they've been in at least two firefights together at this point.

And once again, we get another parallel between him and Hunter, this time by Omega herself!

Omega: You're as bad as Hunter. Crosshair: Oh, I'm much worse.

He's so fully embraced the CrossDad path that it convinces Howzer (who understandably didn't trust Crosshair earlier in the two-parter) that Crosshair really is different.

Once those Jango Fett "dad genes" kick in, all the clones are practically different people, and Howzer clearly sees that in Crosshair. I'm sure it reminded Howzer of his own time on Ryloth and how much he cared about the Syndulla family and Hera specifically.

We also get a nice allusion to Crosshair's own journey of loyalty. He said earlier in the two-parter that he wasn't loyal to the Empire any longer, but didn't really specify who he was loyal to now. But, Howzer clearly sees Crosshair's now 100% dedicated to his family, especially Omega.

During the first skirmish between the protagonists and the Imperial troops, Crosshair unnecessarily tells Omega, "Stay by my side and stay down."

I say unnecessarily because 1) he should know by now Omega can handle herself and 2) neither Hunter nor Wrecker felt compelled to give her similar directions. But, he's full CrossDad™️ in this episode, so his first priority is her safety. It was also objectively a good idea for Omega to stay with Crosshair, considering he has an infrared sight and could see enemies the others couldn't.

Which is exactly what happens when Crosshair realizes CX-2 is after them. So, once again, he takes on the responsibility of distracting CX-2 so Omega and the others can get to safety.

Omega doesn't like his decision, and in the perfect CrossDad™️ move -- in that it combines all of Crosshair's quintessential traits with those of the quintessential dad -- he turns off his comm and says under his breath: "Too bad." LOL

The fight against CX-2 is so well-done, in part because we see exactly who Crosshair used to be in S1 and who he could've become in S3 if he hadn't resisted Hemlock's "re-education" efforts.

Granted, this was a headcanon someone else shared, but I like the thought that Crosshair was able to resist specifically because of Omega.

Either:

Hemlock controls the CX operatives by enhancing the effects of their inhibitor chips (like what Tarkin & co did to Crosshair in S1); in which case, Crosshair is immune because he took Omega's advice in S1 and removed his inhibitor chip.

OR

While he'd never admit it, I'm sure seeing Omega regularly (probably daily) on Tantiss gave him some amount of hope and comfort in an otherwise desolate and isolated environment. In which case, he had something to hold onto mentally and emotionally while he was being tortured. This would be a nice parallel to Hemlock interrogating him in S2. He didn't break then because he was clearly thinking about his family, and it'd poignant if that was the case again in S3.

In any case, 3.07 Extraction is, without a doubt, the most CrossDad episode in S3. I honestly wish we could've gotten more episodes like it, or just more S3 episodes in general. But, I'm thankful we got to see Crosshair and Omega grow so much -- both individually and together -- this season.

Grade: A+

EDIT/UPDATE:

Episode 3.15 "The Cavalry Has Arrived"

I initially said I wasn't going to grade the finale, because I felt like it'd be too hard. But I kinda had a change of heart:

While I won't put it in the official ranking, I will share some thoughts and give it a general score.

This is another episode that falls into same category as 3.05 "The Return": Omega and Crosshair might not have a lot of screentime together, but the narrative and other characters go out of their way to reinforce Crosshair's role as a co-parent to Omega.

The first time Crosshair mentions Omega is in the "change of plans" scene. It's genuinely heartbreaking for a myriad of reasons, but one is that Crosshair doesn't feel like Omega needs him the way she needs Hunter and Wrecker.

I personally don't feel like this is a very CrossDad moment. Him doing whatever it took to infiltrate Tantiss and rescue Omega -- absolutely. But deprecating himself and saying he deserves to die -- definitely not.

(Tech's sacrifice was different, because there was no alternative. That definitely wasn't the case for Crosshair.)

Look, I know why he says it. He must feel like Hunter and Wrecker genuinely mean more to her, and after letting her surrender on Pabu and missing the shot to track her ship, he probably also feels like he failed her and doesn't deserve to be in her life anymore.

Thank goodness Hunter and Wrecker talk sense into him! (Btw, I love their little look at each other when he says "Omega needs you both." They're like, "Buddy, she'd be devastated if you died. That ain't happening.")

And I love that it's Hunter who emphasizes to him that Omega needs all three of them in her life. This moment -- plus the final confrontation later -- shows how far Hunter and Crosshair's dynamic has evolved, especially regarding Omega.

Moving on, the next time we get a real CrossDad moment is when Hunter says he's going after Omega and recommends Crosshair stay behind.

Considering that Echo and Wrecker were still fighting the CX clones, Crosshair covering them from above would've been helpful. So it wasn't a terrible suggestion on Hunter's part, but that's not Crosshair's place emotionally or narratively.

If Hunter's going after Omega, he is too. They're going to do it together, as they've said since 3.05.

And I'll say: once again, the narrative sidelines Wrecker while putting Hunter and Crosshair on (near) equal footing.

Wrecker stepped into his role as the team's Tank and fought off the CX clones long enough to give Hunter (and Crosshair) a chance to save Omega. His role in the story -- just like in Omega's life -- is important, but it is different from Hunter and Crosshair's roles.

And now we have THE SCENE.

Holy crap. I can't tell you, as a CrossDad fan or just a TBB fan in general, how much I adore this scene!!!

Hunter and Crosshair take out CX-2's Dagger together. I'm sure they both had their respective flashbacks of helplessly watching Omega be taken away, and they both thought, "OH HELL NO!! We're not letting that happen again!"

They take every move together. They destroy the Dagger; they shoot Scorch; they take a knee on the bridge after Hemlock puts the blaster to Omega's head. They're in total lock step.

Until Hunter catches Omega's signal, but Crosshair apparently doesn't.

So, Hunter tells him what he needs to do. He physically and emotionally supports him in that moment.

It's also crazy to think that Hunter is trusting Crosshair with Omega's life, and the fact that Crosshair is hesitant to shoot while Hunter is encouraging him. How far these kids have come since 1.01 Aftermath!

As I've alluded to before, Crosshair has been kind of speed-running through Hunter's Dad arc from S1-2. Now, he gets to the moment where he must fully accept how capable Omega is and trust her. This is something Hunter has understandably struggled with before, but he seems to have made his peace with it by this point.

But, Crosshair hasn't.

He loves Omega so much AND has lost so much confidence in his own abilities for numerous reasons that he can't stand the thought of potentially hurting her.

It's a far cry from the shot he made to save her in 1.16, when he had full confidence in his abilities and didn't seem to realize or care that he might endanger her if he missed.

But, with Hunter's support and Omega's faith, he makes it!

And now the hug:

Omega runs toward them, but rather than flinging herself onto one or both of them, she stops a few feet away and smiles. It's only when she sees Crosshair's missing his right hand that she goes to hug him first.

(BTW, the English-Audio Description version confirms that Crosshair's eyes well with tears in that moment.)

Crosshair definitely doesn't like to be touched. We've seen this as far back as 1.01 Aftermath, when Wrecker's messing with him. His brothers and Omega seem to be the only people he'll accept physical affection from, and even then, he doesn't really reciprocate it.

Until now.

He doesn't use his arms, but he closes his eyes and presses his head against Omega's as she hugs him. Also, once they start walking back, he puts his right stump on her shoulder.

Side note: others have pointed out how Hunter's body language in that scene suggested he wanted Omega to hug Crosshair first, that he was happy when she did, and that he hugged both Omega and Crosshair back. I agree with this assessment. Hunter clearly understands how important Crosshair and Omega are to each other, and really reinforces how all of them are a family together.

Now, I really wish we could've gotten one post-Tantiss conversation between Omega and Crosshair, because they haven't had an onscreen conversation since 3.11. (Although that's better than poor Wrecker, who hasn't had an onscreen conversation with Omega since 3.09.)

But, I do love that, once Crosshair and Wrecker settle into their "family portrait" pose, Crosshair is on Hunter's side. Again, it's significant to their relationship as brothers, as well as co-parents to Omega. They're going to be supporting each other for the long run. (Wrecker too, but I would imagine in a different way based on his role in the narrative.)

One final thing I'll mention is that, in the epilogue, Hunter says, "You're our kid, Omega. You always will be."

Hunter might've been the first one to step into the role of Omega's Dad, but he also recognizes that he didn't raise her alone. She's not just his kid. She's Crosshair and Wrecker and Tech and Echo's kid too. They all raised her, together.

It reinforces the same point as 3.09: Crosshair might've been the last brother to officially join the Dad Batch, but he was a full member all the same. Even Hunter acknowledges that.

Anyway, looking at the finale on the CrossDad ranking, it's a weird one, because we only have a few CrossDad moments in the hourlong episode. But, man, do those moments really pack a punch!

If I have to grade it, I think it'd put it in the same ballpark as 3.05 "The Return." It hits a lot of similar beats as far as the Hunter-Crosshair dynamic and how the narrative once again frames them as co-parents to Omega.

But, we got the long-awaited Crosshair-Omega hug, so I think that automatically bumps it up from a B- to a B!

Grade: B

*****

Here's to hoping that, somewhere down the line, we'll get a Bad Batch comic, novel, spin-off show, cameo... something! I'd love to get more CrossDad content, but I suppose fanfics will have to do for now! LOL

Thanks for reading 'til the end, especially now that I've added in the super-long finale analysis. :)

[iam-lnt]

so i was scrolling through my photos and i found this from tbb s3 ep 5 (i think?)

ah the good old days...ah the wholesome times of family...ah...wait a minute

OMG HIS EXPRESSION I SWEAR 😭???? he's like a damn cat being attack-hugged fgnoamgrcalru

cross: ?!

cross: 😳

i mean that emoji is literally him in the pic afskungaoimcrour

(pretty sure basically everyone had noticed this but just wanna bring it back before the final ep 🏳️ )

[inkstainedhandswithrings]

TBB S3 Ep 5 Thoughts!!

Love Omega’s new outfit

Batcher hanging out with Cross then, I see

Cross is like the dad who continuesly goes “NO PET” and then when you do get a pet they’re suddenly besties

“ITS ECHO” “perfect”

Ah, the duality of man

Love how there’s no end to this dynamic

“What? No hug for me?” “That depends how good your intel is.”

LOVE Echo matching Cross’s causal sass

These two are gonna push against each other a lot huh?

Yanno, given all the promo material, I was kinda expecting Rex to be with Echo when he arrived (hoping phi, the word is hoping.) (she’s delulu.)

“Especially without Tech” 😭😭😭😭

No surprise reactions from Cross through. Means he already knows.

But also, Cross coming in with the solve <3

Is Hunter,,,, JEALOUS??? of the fact that Omega is spending so much time with Cross? Like that SIDEYE when they walked past each other on the platform

Like, God forbid Omega spent time with the member of the squad who everybody is always suspicious of and spends the most time alone

BUT ALSO!!!

“Don’t hold it against him. His only worried about you.” CROSS YOU BIG ‘OL SOFTY!!!

“I’m older than you are, little brother.”

THE CHUCKLE

AND WRECKER GIVING BACK CROSS’S ARMOUR AAAAAAAHHHH

oooohhh the girls are fighting

“Hey, kill each other later.” SIR THE WAY I CACKLED BYE ✋🏻

“He started it.” Sir, are you 5?

MAYDAY’S HELMET

Echo not wanting Omega to see the straight up Bitch fight between Hunter and Cross

TELL HIM CROSSHAIR!!!!!

Jesus Christ, fucking finally

I wrote a post at some point about Cross becoming the mirror held up to Hunter in which he can view his own shortcomings because of his adamant refusal to change AND ITS HAPPENING

“I risked everything to send you that message and you ignored it.” THIS

Hunter’s mistrust in Cross played a big part in Omega getting captured, but also ofc Cross thinks the message was fully ignored, because no one came to save him either

Also Cross just not hiding anymore that he’s always cared for Omega too I LOVE

Love how quick they put that plan together

Batch is Batching :) (almost) (Tech, my love, come back)

“We’ll try to dig through.” “You’ll try?” “Glad you heard me properly.” I AM WHEEZING

Cross patting Batcher

BIG ‘OL SOFTY

Say did Hunter abandon the bandana for a god damn leather strap

wtf

Cross and Hunter walking back to base side by side, when the last time Cross was walking back to this base was with Mayday dying in his arms🥺

Wrecker hugging them both

AAAAAHHH

“See? They always work it out. And I don’t even see any blood this time.”

EXCUSE ME??

i am worried.

Blood??

Was typical??

Jesus Christ

Don’t know how much I appreciate Hunter getting on a high horse and giving Cross advice

Bird flying away from Cross After always being with him on that base, like the shadows of his past leaving his life, now that this period of his life is over (also sun setting, signifying the day is over)

Good symbolism yes

Okokok good episode! Tbh I thought “The Return” would be Echo’s permanent return to the Batch, but narratively that wouldn’t’ve made sense for him anyway. And I am LOVING the fact that it is actually Crosshair’s return to the turning point in his life, followed by his full return to the batch. Like yeah, last ep they re-met, but he hadn’t fully arrived until the end of this episode and GAAAAHHH I love it!

Also the dialogue is just totally A1 chefs kiss mwah this season (or maybe I just appreciate sarcasm)

Loved this one!! Would love to tag Saturn and Steph because I wanna see their thoughts of Echo being back but idk if they’ve seen the ep already and I don’t wanna spoil them so,,, idk guys if you see this hmu lol

[salubriousbean]

AHH I ONLY NOW JUST REALIZED THAT THE SOUNDTRACK FOR TBB S3 EP. 9-15 DROPPED 5 DAYS AGO!!! (At least on spotify)

I'm currently listening to it and it's really good :)

[meandmyechoes]

Weekly Star Wars (Mando S3 Week 5, TBB S2 finale)

\ok, so, about the new episodes. I'm... decently surprised by them? I mean they're not GREAT, but they are not BAD either. An improvement to last week I guess? I'm not excited about them, but they do pulled at a few strings? I'm finding this whole experience strange, as if 'watching Star Wars weekly' has been habitualized and I'm just combating FOMO.

but back on the episodes. I watched Mando first this week because I want TBB to be really good. I was glad it was at ‘proper’ length ~40 minutes, but grew impatient as the episode went because you just know Mando & co. will come and save the day. It’s also funny all that fiasco just to shove R5 Din’s way was because of this plot point.

I still don’t see the point writing New Republic’s bureaucracy - but with R5′s case, maybe the show would eventually pay off. I don’t share the delusion of grandeur that Mando would ‘erase’ the sequels - I’d rather they stay away from it - but so far they represented a weak and restricted government that could easily overlook the birth of the First Order. That’s the tonal dissonace. It’s odd for a Saturday morning cartoon to interject with this backbone of the sequel trilogy - that should’ve been in the sequel films itself and long novels.

But I can still see they are trying to build up towards the Ahsoka show/Thrawn reveal/crossover event even if I dislike it. I really don’t like it because it doesn’t feel like The Mandalorian anymore. It feels just like The Weekly Star Wars Show and it took what’s little charm left of the Mandoverse away from me.

It wasn’t like I expected anything grand or catering in S3. Either they converge on Din and Grogu as characters, or they diverge to cover the Mandalorian identity and civil wars. Instead they cast such a wide net, it seems I only got very little of what was shown in the trailer.

Let’s go in on the episode. I think the Pirates are dumb and ugly. Nevarro set and costume is fine. New Republic captain scenes can all be cut if only to deliver the last scene and message that Giddeon escaped. Karga could’ve sent a direct message to Mando. I like Elia Kane better seeing how good she is at sabotaging. i still think it’s out of self-interest the Armourer acts. I really wanted them to retake Mandalore but now it seems if Bo-Katan and find the rest of her crew, a civil war would break out between the two factions again, if only temporarily to serve the finale. But then the whole Mandalore plot could then be condensed to just 4 episodes then! See? That’s why you don’t steal episodes from affliated shows!

I didn’t recgonize Zeb at all. I saw a CG-saturated creature and heard a very cartoon voice. The whole thing doesn’t look real at all. I thought it was odd that there’s a random Lasat coz I thought they were nearly extinct but I just rule it to Favloni ignoring established canon anyway. Either way it was that unrecgonizable Zeb never crossed my mind. tbh it’s not that bad. Though in hindsight, prospecting it as a preview to the Ahsoka show, I really don’t like it for the meaning CG > practical, even if it’s true here... a billionsssss company chose the least cost method...

---------TBB S2 finale-----------

Coming out of Mandalorian, I was equally impatient (or maybe it’s that dose of caffiene at tea). An episode named ‘The Summit’ that I expected to be about a conference and they actually show imperial old men talking and--

I guess I wanted too bad for the Batch to reunite and become a happy family again. All in all it’s not a bad episode - maybe not even a bad finale. I have to applaud their guts to outright state Rex (by extension other legacy characters) won’t show up in the beginning.

I didn’t see most of it coming, but I also didn’t trust what most of it says...? First of all I don’t believe that Tech is dead. Not that he isn’t dead, just that the writers are waiting out on fans’ reaction to finalize his fate. *sigh* This is definitely residual sequel. Tech was getting focus eps, a love interest, complete with a farewell so totally flags. I’d be kind of sad if he doesn’t come back... but one could also easily see now that Tech, Omega and Crosshair are all confined to the same place, they could easily get out themselves....?

Another quasi-disappointment is Omega’s importance is still not quite explained. If not, it’s even less clear now if her sex is not what made her unique. I also don’t see how she is the key to Palpatine’s eternal life quest unless normal growth rate is a feature and not the norm? Or was it about consciousness transfer?? Or it just circles back to pre-preimere that she is force-sensitive?? which seem to never be reinforced this season? IDK

Even thought TBB S2 made better use of their Quest epsiodes to sharpen characters and experimented with some upheaval within the teams, as well as limiting legacy characters to appropriateness, its pace still move under the conviction of a Season 3. It’s almost like they are dragging out the story so there’s a show to put on every week without an end point in sight - or even too much liberty to worldbuild early empire with it - because it’s animated.

When it comes around I guess I will still watch S3? but not with much more enthusiaism this time than to just watch what Lucasfilm Animation is up to. It’s kind of tiring to pick it apart every week if i just don’t like it that much. I would hate it if this mediocrity is the new face of Star Wars animation, but what business is that of mine. Season 3 would probably start with an episode at most of grieving and they’re all gonna reunite, whatever.

[arlothia]

YES!!! Overanalyzing is the BEST!!!!! Woot!

This got long, so to save people the hassle of having to scroll aaaaaall the way through it and risk straining or breaking their fingers, I'll put this under the cut ;)

I was looking at those curves as well and I guess it MIGHT be that, but the angle doesn't seem quite right to me, especially considering the stuff under/behind it. But yeah, it doesn't really matter in the long run. Still fun, though!! And YES!! That place is GORGEOUS!!! I reeeeally want to see more of it in the next ep (and hopefully beyond if the Imps don't end up finding it 😬😬😬) and especially inside!! I want to see what's in there! There could be fun easter eggs in there or some awesome game-changer items as well!! I've also thought that the place miiiiiiight be an old Jedi Temple????? Probably not, but it kinda gave me that feel when I first saw it. Time will tell!!

NEVER enough Rex!! And if they're planning something big then they might need some extra help from, say, Gregor, Wolffe (I want to see his rescue, but I'd be okay with just seeing him newly-free!), and maybe....Cody???? PLEASE bring him back!!! 😭🙏

HA! Very true about DBB! I love him to bits!! And as far as I can tell, it's more of an hourly rate, so it would be closer to 'payed by line'. I've done research in that realm as it's my goal to become a voice actor/audiobook reader ;)

Oh my gosh I am a re-watching MACHING!!!! So for S1 (which I started late - Feb of last year) I have re-watched the entire season 9 whole times (not counting individual ep re-watches) and for S2 I started with watching them 7 times per, then I rewatched 1-6 an extra time before the midseason, making it 8 times per, which I've kept up to now (currently on my 7th re-watch of 'Pabu'), but I also want to do a 1-13 re-watch before the finale with one ep per day, meaning today I got up to watching ep 5 for the 9th time and I will continue doing that (one ep a day) until I get to ep 14 for the last (and, through me week-long re-watches, 9th total) time on March 28th before watching the final 2 eps at midnight on the 29th. I'll watch (and cry over, probably) those two eps 9 total times (just to keep everything even 😉). Then I'll probably do a full S2 re-watch and then a S1-S2 re-watch. Then during the summer I want to do another full chronological TCW re-watch, followed by TBB S1-5, then 'Rebels', and then (if the rumors are true) I'll be ready for when 'Ahsoka' airs in the late summer. But who's obsessed, hmmm? 😅

*cough* But yeah, anyway, it'll be really great to see the whole picture of S2 while binging instead of the agonizing week-by-week slog we've had to suffer through 😩😩😩 Just with the shorter binges I've done of part of the season, it works better than having to wait a week and also know what's coming so you can appreciate more of what's happening in each episode.

I checked 1.15 and 1.16 and they were normal length (24:07 and 26:14 respectively). But here's hoping!!!! 🤞🤞🤞

I saw a screenshot of an interview snippet or something from a while back that said 4 seasons were planned? But I have no idea how much that was subject to change or anything. If anything, I'd want it to change to MORE!!!!! They've done an AMAZING job showing the phasing out of clones and the introduction of TK/Stormtroopers this season (Crosshair's eps have taken the brunt of THAT!!! OOF!!!) and the Zillo ep really kicked off from where the final scene of S1 teased us with the cloning storyline. I definitely think S3 will delve more fully into that. I've often wondered just how much the "somehow Palpatine returned" bit was planned and how much of what we're seeing in recent media is just scrambling to try and explain it. So long as they explain it well and it's entertaining, I don't really care!

And YES!!! fanfiction is ALWAYS there to fill our needs!! Though....usually....I make angsty/whumpy stuff, so I'm not helping matters there hahaha!

Alright, time to hop over to reddit! hahaha

Tell me what you think because I realised this shit as I was falling asleep and I now I can't go unless I get it out there:

Does the colour scheme of the background sort of look like the colour scheme of the houses and buildings on Pabu?

So, theory: Cid didn't sound...normal? the last time she contacted the guys and it's actually because the empire has gotten hold of her to try to bait the bad batch into coming into contact with her again. Well, that didn't work, so Cid suggests contacting Echo alone and tells him about Cross needing help (she knows the group has split) and that checks the "Cid is going to betray them" checkbox. Echo and Rex fall for it, contact the rest of the batch because they are going to need as much help as they can get in infiltrating Tantiss, and head to Pabu to rendezvous. That's where we get the long awaited Echo and Omega reunion. The group head to Tantiss, get Crosshair out, but in the process Omega is captured. They are forced to leave her to save injured/drugged/traumatised/comatose Cross and themselves. We open season 3 on Omega being experimented on or being mistreated to get Nala Se to cooperate.

[wanderneverlost]

That's okay... didn't need my heart anyways 💔💔💔😭😭😭

Here we go again

--------

He looks like he's asleep.

It's horrible to think, trembling hands touching skin colder than space itself, skin that should have been bone. He's still lying where he'd fallen all those days ago, and there's an ugly snarled sound from the person unrolling some tattered cloth, dragging the frozen body up and out of the snow. The trembling grows more violent as the body is tenderly covered in the cloth, a small doll made of frayed straw tucked into a bloodied breastplate before opaque eyes are covered forever more, the body slowly placed back into its exposed "grave". For a moment, the only sound is the muffled wind that traveled over the neverending snow, and the trembling hands are put to work covering the clothed body with the same snow, and before long it was like nothing was there.

"Crosshair?"

The wind whistles as the smallest clone kneels down, gently drawing the trembling hands into her own.

The warmth from her hands is painful.

"His name was Mayday."

The wind continues, this time broken by the screeching of a distant bird out of view.

"Was he your friend?"

"Yes, my only friend."

The bird sounds quieter now, and a miserable noise claws its way out of Crosshair's throat, the taller clone hunching over and trying so hard to push the feeling down and down and down out of sight.

It doesn't work, and a tear lands on the snow.

"Will you tell me about him?"

She felt his hands close around hers, as if at any moment he'd slip away and out of sight.

"One day."

"Alright."

[arlothia]

Next round!!!

I hadn't seen their tweet but now I have!!! Wrecker is going to be living his best life there! Woot! I've never been to Greece but it indeed looks beautiful! There are so many places I want to visit! Hopefully I'll get that chance! 🤞 But did you see what they put at the end of the "Made with mematic text?!?!!?!??!

IT'S A FREAKING IT-O INTERROGATOR!!!!! I AM SCARED!!!!! 😱😱😱 Why do they keep doing this to us?!?! They're so mean!!! 😩😩😩

I'm pretty sure the big mech monster from ep 5 was meant to be a nod to an ancient civilization seen in the game 'Jedi Survivor' (haven't played but I've seen a few things) but I can't remember the name of the ancient civilization this thing was supposed to be referencing.... I also think that ep was a way to 1) further introduce/develop Phee so we could get to know her better before Pabu and 2) maybe that mech thing will become important again later? Maybe there's something else inside it? Another one on the planet they can use to maybe stop the Zillo Beast if necessary? Or 3) Phee kept mentioning other legends and items and she said that her droid Mel had all her travels stored in her data bank so that could prove to be useful, too. But yeah, there's definitely more to the Archium we have yet to see and I'm excited!!!

It very well could not be a Jedi Temple and I'd be okay with that. Not everything in SW needs to be Jedi-focused. but my gosh I sure hope Pabu isn't on Scarif!!! PLEASE I would not be able to handle that!!! 😭😭😭

I could see Gregor's story being pushed to S3. I mean, unless getting him out has something to do with how they learn about the Imps wanting Omega or that Crosshair is on Tantiss (don't know how that'd work but you never know...) then I doubt they'd throw that storyline in with the last three eps. And I think that would be a bit too repetitive. 1.14 we see Gregor being rescued and 2.14 (or 15/16) we see Wolffe being rescued? Yeah, probably not.

But assuming all of the theories are correct and the Batch and Friends have to rescue Omega (and Crosshair) from Tantiss, I'm just really curious how they'd even be able to do that!! I mean, it seems to be a very secure location with only the top ("Summit"????) being accessible, though there very well could be other access points along the side and at the base of the mountain. But seeing how this is a very super secret cloning facility and there are loads of Commandos there along with who knows what other security measures, I'm struggling to see how they'd be able to get in undetected!

Haha, thank you!!! I'm super excited to start this journey, but also very terrified! This is a whole new and unfamiliar world and I'm trying to info gather as much as I can, take some classes, etc... For me, STARTING is the hardest part to any project, so I know that once I get over that initial hurtle then things will start moving. Thank goodness there's an entire subreddit for Voice Acting! :P I've always loved reading aloud (and going funny voices and accents) and a number of years ago the thought "hey, being an audiobook reader would be fun!" ran through my mind. It's been a very passing thought for years, but I swear when I was watching TBB and I was soaking everything in and just being amazed at how DBB is able to change his voice so much for each character, something in my just clicked and I knew that VA was my calling. As scary as it seems at times, there's always been this very peaceful "yeah, this is what I'm meant to do" feeling that goes along with it, and that's a comfort :) But anyway, I digress :P

Well, usually when I re-watch something I'll split my desktop screen in half and do something on the left side while the eps are playing on the right. Multitasking ftw!!! It's the only way I'm able to be semi-productive while doing re-watches! haha

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath for extended length final eps (even if just 16 is longer), but you're so right that 50-ish minutes of TBB at one time is awesome!!! I'm just so happy they're airing the final 2 eps at the same time because I KNOW I wouldn't be able to survive waiting a week for ep 16!!!

4 seasons makes sense to me: S3 will probably be everyone dealing with the effects of whatever fresh hell the writers have in store for us in the finale and then S4 could be some kind of cohesive and proactive measures from the characters. Maybe. I just want this show to keep going and going and going because I just LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH!!! And oh my gosh YES seeing them get old while Omega ages normally is going to HURT!!!!! I have this lovely thought in my head that there's some sort of drug/treatment/procedure that could be done to stop or at least slow down the accelerated aging for the clones so they could survive longer. I would LOVE IT if that happened but I know it has about a 0% chance of ever happening 😭😭😭

The Clone VS Storm dynamic is one that's so interesting to me!!! Before 2.12 aired I thought they were going to highlight that, but alas, they decided to rip our hearts out and give us anxiety instead :P But yeah, I hope we're able to see more of that going forwards, and that's a very cool idea of seeing the average Joe's thoughts on the matter as well!

I don't know. Yes, they screwed up the sequels horribly, but I can't believe Lucasfilm was just like "okay writers we have hired! Do whatever you want! We won't oversee it at all and you can make all these big important plot decisions with nooooooo input from us at all!" There had to be more of a "okay, here's where we're going, work within these parameters" type thing but it just didn't end up jiving too great. But yeah, it very well could just be a "welp, we have THIS huge unexplained mess in our laps so we're going to reverse engineer that story now!" And I love how that line has turned into a meme! It's fabulous!! hahaha!

But yes, TBB is it's own entity for me totally separated from the sequels. I mean, we knew back in TCW that Palps was interested in cloning - he told that doctor at the end of the Zillo arc to start working on that, and, you know, the whole clone army thing... So really, to me, TBB is just a continuation of the threads that were in place with TCW and it definitely does NOT feel like a mad dash scramble to explain something that makes no sense. But these writers are good so I can see them doing both ;)

OOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! What kind of WIPs do you have??? I'll show you mine if you show me yours!!! Sometimes my ideas come from things that happened (or didn't happen) in episodes, or they're based off theories I had for what could happen in the eps, or even based off of fanart I've seen (and there have been some AMAZINGLY angsty ones I've seen that have given me more ideas!! Mwahahahahaha!! Live in fear!!! :P

#you are becoming my pen pal SAME!!!! This is fun! hahaha

*wiggles figners* Now, to reddit!! CHAAAAAAARGE!!!!!!!!

P.S. What should I call you? "i-dont-know-how-this-site-works" and "ThePowerOfPotatoes" don't really lend themselves to "hey (insert name here)!" :P

Tell me what you think because I realised this shit as I was falling asleep and I now I can't go unless I get it out there:

Does the colour scheme of the background sort of look like the colour scheme of the houses and buildings on Pabu?

So, theory: Cid didn't sound...normal? the last time she contacted the guys and it's actually because the empire has gotten hold of her to try to bait the bad batch into coming into contact with her again. Well, that didn't work, so Cid suggests contacting Echo alone and tells him about Cross needing help (she knows the group has split) and that checks the "Cid is going to betray them" checkbox. Echo and Rex fall for it, contact the rest of the batch because they are going to need as much help as they can get in infiltrating Tantiss, and head to Pabu to rendezvous. That's where we get the long awaited Echo and Omega reunion. The group head to Tantiss, get Crosshair out, but in the process Omega is captured. They are forced to leave her to save injured/drugged/traumatised/comatose Cross and themselves. We open season 3 on Omega being experimented on or being mistreated to get Nala Se to cooperate.