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courtofterrasen · 6 hours

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Alright, clearly some of you guys are just not getting it. So no more emotion from me; I am simply going to write in factual terms.

It takes a VAST amount of work to go into creating a series like Bad Batch. You have to go through writing, scene painting, 3D modeling, rigging, lighting, SFX, voice lines, editing, final production, etc; just to name a few. It takes hours upon hours upon hours of work for those animators to create all of the nuances in a scene, let alone in Bad Batch where there is an extremely high level of attention to detail. It’s not like anime where a character and background are mostly stationary while they talk. There’s constantly stuff happening in the background and they intentionally make choices that provide extremely little to the overall story and, in all honesty, take up a significant amount of their time and can be argued that they’re wasting their time and money and effort (I don’t think so, but I’m sure people could argue it if they thought that effort should be allocated elsewhere). But they do it because it provides a deeper sense of realism to the story as a whole and make it feel like a living, breathing world. For example, when a character trips a little bit or they animated them doing something slightly harder than it would have been otherwise or eyes darting around and studying someone. These are all very little things that take them hundreds of hours to get perfect. And those are the kinds of things that go unnoticed by the vast majority of people watching the show. Either because they don’t noticed the little detail that was put in at all, or they don’t understand the level of work that goes into creating little minute decisions like that. And all of those decisions that they make, both big and tiny, are given to them in specific instructions by the directors. When you think about the insane amount of work that goes into creating a show like Bad Batch, you realize that every single little detail that they choose to add in is intentional and was given to them via specific instruction. It’s not like in live-action shows where the actor can choose to make a subtle decision on the fly. There are hundreds of thousands of hours of work that go into this and every choice that they make is intentional. The lighting dept. has even confirmed this for us, saying that all of the lighting that they did was done very carefully and intentionally and to pay attention to what’s happening in the scene. Because there’s an extremely high level of detail that’s put into the show, based off of very detailed instructions that were presented to them.

Now. Taken all of these points into account, it’s critical to look at all of the little choices that were made when it comes to her character and the way that both she interacts with the world and the people around her, as well as how they, in turn, respond to her. Because, like the lighting dept. has already made very clear to us, every design choice they has been made in the creation of the show is 100% intentional. Even if that’s not something that they had said or wasn’t something you were aware of, when you focus on the aspect of animation, it’s sometimes hard to get a clear grasp on just how long it takes them to do these things. And that every little choice that they made was carried out under specific instruction. And that’s not even getting into the nuances of voice acting and understanding the subtle distinctions in the way someone talks and being able to discern the meaning behind their words based on dialect and the instructions they were given. And for someone who just casually watches the show, absolutely none of these are important. They’re watching it to watch it and no further thought is put into it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. People are allowed to watch things at a surface level and get enjoyment out of it.

For every character, they can be broken up into various parts:

•Their visual appearance

•Their behavior

•Their interactions with others and the world

•How others respond to their character

•Their small, subtle behaviors (such as a particular twitch or repetitive body movement that can be used to convey a deeper meaning)

•And their internal motives

In that order from the least to most complex. And these topics can also be used to understand the complexity of a character. For someone like Cid, all of these topics are touched on in a variety of ways.

•She’s different from them

•She’s gruff and money hungry

•She speaks to the Batch like they’re a bunch of kids and she knows better than them

•They never fully bring themselves to trust her and, at times, they see her has a burden

•Towards the end of their time together, she gets snappier, and whenever she’s around them her movements slow ever so slightly and she furrows her brows slightly a lot more than in the past

•And in the end, she betrays them

And that’s putting her character into a single sentence for every bullet point, which, for well written characters like Cid or Hemlock or Rampart or Nala Se, cuts a lot of things out.

When it comes to the way that Phee is written and what she contributes as a whole to the show, she is not a very complex character. I’m not going to go into every single scene with her, but I am going to touch on a few. And if I need to continue the discussion further to cover more scenes, then I will. On multiple instances, she puts the Batch into very dangerous situations, and overall appears to care very little for them as people unless it gets her something that she wants. This is made very evident when, for example, she gets Omega, a child, excited about a big grand adventure and Omega then convinced the Batch to go along with it. Even though they were very adamant about not doing it. This is said with both their words and their tense body language. They don’t want Omega to get hurt and they know it’s a bad idea; but in the end she’s able to convince them. Then, when they get to the site, she shows clear lack for them or their safety and proceeds to put them in a very dangerous situation where someone could have gotten seriously hurt or killed. And she shows no remorse for it. Her language, both verbal and bodily, are very loose and nonchalant, assuring them that she had everything under control and that they were able to handle it, despite their very clear frustration. This type of behavior is shown again and again and again as they continue to interact with her. Her actions relay to the viewer that she does not respect their boundaries, or arguably, them as people. Her words are designed to be rocks with a pretty bow on them. And again, this is not personal opinion or speculation. Every single word and action was carefully designed by the team. All the tensed muscles were created by a team of people working very hard to convey that to the audience. Every thinly veiled word was guided by a director when the VA came in to record the sessions. Every single choice was intentional for a very specific reason.

Tech likes things in a very specific way. He likes his ship to be in a particular order and takes very good care of its maintenance and upkeep. He prides himself on being able to maintain a good ship. He spends a lot of time on his data pad. It’s how he was designed on Kamino. That’s his link to his role in the group. He can do everything he needs to from there and, in certain scenarios throughout the show, you can see it provides him with a sense of comfort and stability. You can see this, not only in his subtle body language, but also in his fairly obvious body language with how he hunches over it. It’s reminiscent of a child hunching over a toy to bring it closer to them and protect it. It comforts him. You can also see, when he interacts with the rest of the Batch, his aversion to touch. It’s not significantly often that you see it, given that the rest of the Batch knows him better than anyone, but there are still times when physical contact or even just very close proximity happens and he either has a reaction by tensing up slightly or leaning away from it, or sometimes he doesn’t react to it at all and almost seems to not register it; such as when he’s focused on his work. Every little reaction that he has with his brothers was scripted and orchestrated for a very specific purpose. It conveys the nuances of who he is as a unique and individual person.

Keeping that in mind, when it comes to the way she interacts with Tech specifically and the Batch, it’s very clear to understand the dynamic behind them when you look close enough. To recall a few instances, there was a time when she was recounting a story about finding a big treasure and Tech says something along the lines of “she changes this story every time she tells it”. He’s conveying to both the people in the show and us as viewers that she is a liar. She is either changing the story to make herself seem cooler, or maybe it didn’t happen at all and she’s making the entire thing up. Which, I will briefly mention again, are traits synonymous with narcissists. In another instance, Tech, Omega, and Wrecker were having a conversation where Tech is reprimanding them for bringing items back from a junkyard that they were in that they thought were cool instead of what he asked them to go find and bring back for him. I’m this conversation, Phee inserts herself and tells Tech that it’s not junk; also, in that same instance, not calling him by his name, which I will get to in a minute. Tech, in that moment, is trying to work, and his conversation with the other two was interrupted and fizzles out as Omega gets excited about the idea of a treasure map. A third is when the group is on Pabu and Phee is trying to get Tech to converse with her. His body language is hunched, tense, and he averts eye contact with her. When she prods him further, he is unsure how to engage in the conversation. And when he doesn’t respond in the way that she’s wanting him to, she talks about him to the rest of the Batch as he stands there around him and says to them how he “doesn’t know how to have fun”. And then they proceed to laugh at him. And again, you can see in his body language that he is confused as to why they’re laughing at him as well as uncomfortable being in that situation. And going off of that for another small fourth instance, there is another moment when they are getting ready to leave Pabu and she approaches Tech, who is working alone and trying to avoid contact with anyone, and says to him “So you’re just going to leave without saying goodbye?” His body language immediately tenses, he hunches further in on himself around his datapad, and his words make it clear he is both unsure and unwanting of the conversation. And when he does not respond in the way that she wants him to, she moves the datapad away from him to make him focus on her. She removes the item that brings him the most security to force him into engaging in a conversation he is uncomfortable with having. And again, these are all very intentional choices. They are not left up for interpretation. They are there to tell us what the character is feeling in that moment. They are trying to convey to us that he is uncomfortable. Not that he’s shy around a girl he thinks is pretty. And given on other scenarios that have happened throughout the show, it’s very clear that interpersonal relationships with anyone outside of Omega and the Batch is not something that he’s interested in. If they wanted to convey that he found her attractive, there are routes they could have taken to ensure that that comes across correctly to the audience, such as a faint little blush or rubbing a hand through his hair. But they didn’t do that, and instead chose for him to shy away and hide from certain situations or tense up and keep his head down in others. They are conveying to us that he does not like being around her. Because every single action they made him carry out took hundreds of hours of work to execute, and they would not go through all that trouble for no reason.

Branching off of that, we reach the topic of Tech’s name. When you watch the series as a whole, you can count on one hand the number of times that Phee refers to Tech by his actual name, while she refers to the others as their actual names. This is different from Cid in the way that Cid made that intentional choice to call them different things as a way to maintain distance from them. It’s clear from both her body language and her words that she did not want to get close to them. And really, wanted nothing to do with them unless they made her money. These are intentional choices. Phee’s character is designed to be flighty and unbothered. And she wants what she wants when she wants it. The choice to call Tech names and refer to everyone else by their names is an intentional choice. Him not understanding why she does that is an intentional choice. She does not respect him, which is why she does this. She can see that he doesn’t know what to do about it, so she keeps doing it. Like when a person presses on a bruise. These are all intentional choices made by the directors.

There was also a comment that said she behaves exactly like Crosshair does. And there are a few things I think did not entirely process when they made that comment. The first being that Crosshair was written to be one of the main antagonists for the first two season. I know they appeared in Clone Wars as well, but I’m talking specifically about Bad Batch. He was designed to be a bad guy that goes through a redemption arc; just like Zuko did in ATLA, for those who enjoy it. They both started out as antagonists, had horrible things happen to them, realized along their journey that maybe they were wrong, and are able to redeem themselves in the end and side with, or in Cross’ case, return to, the protagonists. In the beginning Cross was very sharp and defensive and thought he knew what was best. But he grew over time and learned how to care for people and share his weaknesses instead of putting on a facade all the time. And that’s the difference. We are reaching the end of the series and Phee has never had character growth to the level that Crosshair has and softens and opens up to the rest of the group. She hasn’t had any character growth at all. She is still the same exact person she was when we met her. There have been characters who have appeared for significantly less time that her, and if you pay attention to them, they have had significantly more growth than her as well.

The problem that I have begun to notice with people who are so quick to defend her actions is that they seem to be focusing more on her than on anything else. When you focus on just her, I can see how someone could mistake these interactions for being positive. Because all they’re focusing on is someone who’s having fun, and of course that would translate to something positive for him. But for the people who focus on Tech, it becomes very evident that these interactions are not positive. When you watch Tech, and I mean actually pay attention to him and not just watch him, you see all the subtle signs that you would otherwise miss. Him being annoyed and uncomfortable and confused and tired and generally not enjoying being around her. And this, unfortunately, happens a lot in real life too. People don’t take the time to absorb both sides of what’s happening. And since we as humans are quicker to pick up on people who are happy as opposed to people who are not, it’s so easy to miss the signals and just assume that what you’re watching is a happy interaction and put forth no further effort into making sure that’s actually what’s happening.

There is no other way to say that these things are all intentional. They wrote, designed, and sent out something that they have spent the past few years creating. When you understand the level of work that was put into it all, there are a lot of things that become very clear. And sure, headcanons exist and people can speculate what happens between the episodes. But headcanons can only go so far before it becomes ridiculous. We cannot confirm that Echo didn’t run off to go have a quiet life with Cid, but that doesn’t automatically mean that it’s true. Inferring things that are not within the realm of possibility is not conducive. Assuming that Phee spent a lot of time talking about her adventures that she may or may not have had with the Batch between the episodes? That’s conducive and we have clear evidence that would support that. Assuming that her and Tech had a very close relationship and she always listens to what he had to say between episodes? As much as some people want it to be true, it’s just not. There is no evidence that supports that line of thinking, and, in fact, there is a vast amount of evidence that would actually conform the opposite; such as Phee talking over everyone and commanding the conversation, not respecting things that Tech says, etc.

I’m going to wrap this up by talking a bit more personally now. There are plenty of people assuming that I’m a racist or a misogynist or that my literacy skills are lacking or whatever, but because you’re upset that someone is calling out the awful behavior of someone you like doesn’t make it any less true. And that applies to both this type of situation and in real life. I know who I am and what I stand for, and you trying to tell me that I’m otherwise changes nothing. And defaulting to assumptions like that shows that either you do not watch the show with a more attentive eye, or that’s all that you see Phee for. A black woman. Both of which are issues.

People are allowed to not like black characters, even if they are black.

People are allowed to not like Asian characters, even if they are Asian.

People are allowed to not like female characters, even if they’re women (or AFAB people).

People are allowed to not like LGBTQ characters, even if they are queer.

People are allowed to not like neurodivergent characters, even if they are neurodivergent.

People are allowed to not like characters that display particular traits or thought processes, even if they share those same traits or thought processes.

People are allowed to not like characters if they think that the character is bad.

Also, for the people saying I’m using my autism as a shield clearly don’t understand how autism works? I don’t say that to be an excuse. I say that to provide context and reasoning behind the things that I say. Like many other neurodivergent people do. You all are getting pressed about the wrong things. If you want to debate the time and study I’ve put into the show because I genuinely enjoy it, then be my guest. But don’t throw out petty insults and waste everyone’s time. At least put forth some more critical thinking behind it and try to figure out why someone could be saying the things that they’re saying

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jedi-enthusiast · 11 months

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Ok, I know that I already reblogged @antianakin's post about why Anakin didn't need to murder an entire Tusken village because 2-3 of them killed his mom (original post here), but I just feel the need to talk about one of the most damning examples of why Anakin has no excuse for that response.

Post Order 66 Jedi/Clone interactions.

Let's just say, for the sake of the argument, that the entirety of the Tusken village--including the literal babies and children--all took part in the torture/murder of Shimi Skywalker. No exceptions.

Anakin's response to his mother's death is to murder everyone with no remorse or a second thought. Even when he confesses what he did to Padme, the RotS novel clearly shows that he doesn't actually feel bad about what he did. Most of his worry is about what others will think of him and, ironically, about how he's a "good Jedi" that should be better than this.

Now let's move on...

Every clone took part in Order 66 in some way.*

The clones murdered every single Jedi they could in cold blood (albeit without a choice), including the children, with only a miniscule few survivors. How many do we canonically have right now that didn't get captured and become Inquisitors? Obi-Wan, Quinlan, Cal, Caleb/Kanan, and Gungi are all I can think of at the moment.** That's 5 Jedi, out of thousands, that survived--and that's not even mentioning the destruction of their places of worship/cultural artifacts and the shitty propaganda spread about their culture.

* I'm not including the Bad Batch because, my own opinions about the show/characters/writing/etc. aside, we can all agree that the only reason their chips didn't activate was because they're Filoni's beloved OCs and he has a habit of trying to make his OCs "special" in some way.

** I'm not including Ahsoka in this because, like she says repeatedly as of Season 7 of TCW onward, she isn't a Jedi and doesn't see herself as such--and for the same reason I'm not including Grogu, since he's like...a Mandalorian apprentice now and not technically a Jedi. I'm also not including Luminara because she eventually gets captured and killed pretty early on and I'm trying to only include Jedi that are alive for a significant amount of time in the Imperial Era.

So, how do the Jedi treat the clones after they murder their entire family and destroy their culture? Let's look!

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Example One:

Obi-Wan Kenobi never learns about the inhibitor chips, as of current canon. He is 100% under the impression that Cody and the 212th (as well as all of the other clones) just up and betrayed him and the Order for no reason. He also watched the security tapes that, yes, showed Anakin killing children, but also would have shown the clones killing Jedi as well.

In the Kenobi show he runs into a clone veteran of the 501st--a veteran who, in all likelihood, probably stormed the Temple and was a part of its destruction.

Does he spit in the clone's face? Call him a murderer? Kill or harm him in any way?

Nope!

He gives the veteran some of his credits, even though it's made a point in the show that Obi-Wan is now working with limited funds and is very poor at this point in time. He doesn't have credits to spare and he is supposed to be looking for Leia, but he takes a moment to give some to someone who took part in the genocide of his people.

He also routinely thinks about Cody and the 212th in the comics! He remembers them fondly and still connects Cody to the feeling of hope, even though they tried to kill him! Even though he has no idea that they never wanted to!

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Example Two:

Kanan Jarrus/Caleb Dume knows about the inhibitor chips, but in Rebels it's made very clear that he thinks that it's just something the clones made up so that they didn't have to take responsibility for their actions.

In Rebels, Ahsoka makes the (objectively bad) decision to send Kanan out to find her "old friends" to help the rebellion.*** Kanan then finds out that her "old friends" are three clones, only after he gets there and sees them. He reacts in a panic and ignites his saber, clearly freaking out a bit.

*** I'll probably expand on this later, because I have a lot of opinions on this particular decision of hers, but anyway-

Does he try to hurt and/or kill them? Do they have to fight him off? Does he even lunge in their direction or deflect Wolffe's blaster bolt at him?

Again, nope!

He steps in front of Ezra in a defensive position and, when shot at by Wolffe, deflects the bolt into their ship. Then, when Ezra steps in and says that Ahsoka said to trust them, Kanan de-ignites his saber and they all have a conversation about them helping in the rebellion--even though Kanan clearly doesn't trust them at all and is dealing with his PTSD while being there. Eventually he even comes to get along with/trust Rex, albeit in later episodes.

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Example Three:

Gungi, in the Bad Batch, meets up with the Batch and immediately recognizes them as clones. Now, we don't know his opinion on them and their betrayal because it's never really expressed, but it's safe to assume that he has no idea about the chips (at least, until Tech tells him) and it's clear that he's very scared at that point in time.

What does he do?

He hides in the corner of the ship and is wary about the food they offer to him.

That's literally it.

And then later in the episode he works together with TBB and trusts them enough to let them help defend his village.

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So, even with most of the Jedi either having no idea about the chips or likely doubting that story, we're shown over and over again that the Jedi never seek revenge against the clones or try to kill them after Order 66. Even though their lives were ruined by what the clones did/took part in, they're never shown to be actively trying to cause them harm.

So there is literally no way you could possibly justify Anakin killing an entire village of Tuskens because of his mother's death, when--in arguably the same/a worse situation--the Jedi are actively shown not doing that.

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jedi-valjean · 1 year

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Reposts are encouraged

#unwhitewashtbb #unwhitewash the bad batch #unwhitewashstarwars #unwhitewash the clones #unwhitewashtcw #the bad batch #star wars #tbb hunter #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #tbb echo #tbb critical

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hyperfixated-fan · 6 months

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May I present…

Thank you for your time.

#lego ninjago #ninjago #tbb #the bad batch #critical role #legends of vox machina #star wars #ninjago zane #tbb tech #clone trooper tech #zane julien #percy de rolo #percival de rolo #these guys have no business being in the same image but here we are lol #I knew Percy would be my fave before I even started watching Vox Machina #tlovm

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artyowlsstuff · 4 months

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I should have posted this on here ages ago but uhhhhh

I was at Rose City Comic Con this year as Jester from Critical Role and my heart fuckin STOPPED when I saw this Tech cosplayer. My partner had to push me towards them to ask for a picture bc I got so flustered and nervous, but they were so very nice and were just as excited about my Jester as I was about their Tech!

Anyways, I didn't get their info 😞😣 but they were super nice and their outfit was amazing (their datapad was printed to hold their phone so they were actually tapping away on it as we took pictures)

Enjoy, Tech fans 👀👉 and if anyone knows of this cosplayer pls link to them!! They did such a good job.

#comic con #tech #bad batch #the bad batch #tbb tech #cosplay #jester lavorre #critical role

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liontalon1 · 29 days

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I think I’m at the point where i don’t want to see Echo again, and if you didn’t know Echo is my favorite character. I just want him to disappear with Cody to have their fates left up to us.

I’ll be honest i don’t trust the writers to do them justice at this point. They’ve made it very clear that they don’t care about Echo, and Cody was always a background character even in the clone wars. I went into this season expecting Echo to die (i think most of us did) but now i think it will just piss me off.

We’ve had one episode with Echo in it so far, I’m not counting the two episodes where he plays cab driver. Regardless of if you think Tech’s alive or not, you have to admit he had a good send off, it was built up the entire season. He had character development multiple episodes that focused on him even if some were filler. Echo hasn’t had that, so if they do kill him after being sidelined practically this entire show, what’s the point.

He’d be boiled down to a plot device (which i can argue the writers already have done). What purpose does he have but to hurt omega and the audience? I think that’s a big disservice to those of us that have been following his character since Rookies aired, to those of us that held the torch of him surviving after the citadel. I was there, i did my time on ff.net writing Echo survival stories, hell i found out he survived from my story blowing up with comments about if i saw the video.

Now again i wasn’t against him dying but i don’t think it’ll have the same emotional impact anymore. The writing this season has been so inconsistent and i think the show and characters are suffering for it. It’s really noticeable with Omega, the entire time she was on Tantiss she didn’t seem to care about anyone except Crosshair, Batcher, and Emerie (don’t even get me started on her). But the minute she sees Echo again (someone she knows cares about the regular clones) she’s upset about leaving them. Not one mention of them on Tantiss, doesn’t try to help them (i know she couldn’t have that’s not my point). Throughout the entire show the only one to care about them is Echo and the show itself is inconsistent on are they using stun bolts or not, oh they are but they’re also firing cannons at them????

I just don’t think the writers know where they want to take their characters, and plots are just pulled out of nowhere without any build up. This season started out with the potential of being my favorite but as it’s gone on I’ve just found myself disappointed.

#sorry for the rant #i’m just frustrated #the bad bad spoilers #the bad batch #tbb critical #commander cody #tbb echo #tbb omega #arc trooper echo

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eelfuneral · 9 days

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I just got a “Tech should stay dead” screed on a post where I discussed not liking the nasty pushback and sometimes outright harassment that those of us who believe Tech is alive are getting. I said, IN THE BODY OF THE POST, that this sort of thing upsets me and people STILL can’t resist being assholes!

This fandom is so utterly devoid of empathy that I’m astonished.

#the bad batch #tech lives #fandom critical

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alitherandom · 16 days

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ALSO! CID!!! WHEN I CATCH YOU!!!!!

#as soon as CX2 mentioned information from a trandoshan #i just #i just couldn't #SHE TOLD THEM ABOUT PHEE #she needs the pong krell treatment from the fandom ngl #i do not take criticism #bad batch #the bad batch #star wars tbb #tbb spoilers #tbb s3 spoilers #bad batch season 3 #bad batch season 3 spoilers #ciddarin scaleback #tbb cid

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warsamongthestars · 6 days

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Okay, time to confront the thing.

There are No Character Relationships in the Bad Batch of the Bad Batch Show... Besides Omega.

Now this comes from 2 things on my end.

The Clone Wars Show ( Which led into the Bad Batch, thus, is the original show and the TBBshow is the sequel)

Fanfiction (Because nothing shows love more than fans interacting and creating. )

Now you might be wondering, why would I think that? Clearly the characters interact with each other, with talking and typing quirks and witty one-liners--all very expected.

They emote and they have fanciful animations, very much in the spirit of animation everywhere.

Easy.

One question question: Why didn't they have the character of Crosshair's Back?

Not, why didn't they go back. But, Why didn't they Have his back?

According to the Clone Wars, Clone Troopers are very important to other Clone Troopers. You never (purposely with intent) leave someone behind. They emphasize this throughout the Clone Wars.

So let's start with Episode 1 of the Bad Batch.

SERGEANT HUNTER sees CROSSHAIR attack A JEDI CHILD. Sergeant Hunter is established in this moment that he cares about children. He covers the child's escape.

AS A CLONE SQUADRON, established by TCWshow, they are very close with their Squadmates.

So, why didn't Sergeant Hunter confront Crosshair when it was safest to do so?

Such as, on the ship THE HAVOC MARAUDER, during its trip in Hyperspace. The planet of KAMINO is established to be on the edge of the galaxy (By the Very Films Themselves), there would be enough time for any uncomfortable conversation.

TECH, the local omni-technician and the SMART GUY TROPE of the troopers, claims several times that the "REGS" (Regular Clone Troopers) may have had programming that caused them to turn against the Jedi. The group has already noticed that Crosshair has had off behavior.

Where was Tech's confrontation of Crosshair, with the possiblity that there was Programming involved? Or since TCWs Tech was establsihed to not like confrontation, why didn't TBB Tech talk to Hunter about Crosshair's behavior? Or create mitigation himself, if assuming it was "Obvious".

The TBBshow has establish that its Wrecker is not nearly as observant as TCWshow Wrecker, thus we cannot consider Wrecker under the TBBshow...

... But TCWshow Wrecker would've surely lifted Crosshair up by the naps of the Neck, as TCWshow Wrecker proved time and time again that if someone is doing something bad--he steps in and physically moves them.

ECHO would've surely confronted not only Crosshair, but the entire Bad Batch, and in fact, even other Clone Troopers for their behavior. TCWshow Echo was a go-getter when it came to regulations, and there are strict regulations for slaughtering your Commanders and attempting to murder children.

The Lack of Confrontation shows that the Characters did not Notice the Obviously Bad Thing--They did not notice to a point where even if you were that dense, you would be ALARMED, because PEOPLE ARE DEA NOW and CHILDREN ARE BEING ATTACKED.

Since the show did not take steps as to why our characters would be so distracted, such as an attachment to the Order of Things--which the TCWshow Bad Batch proved they are absolutely Not--or a general disregard for any Jedi --which Echo is Not, having sacrificed his life to attempt to ensure the safety of Anakin Skywalker, Obiwan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, and a Captive Piell--

Then we must blame the fact that the Writers and Directors, thus the storytellers, said "They did not pay attention because we did not want them to. We wanted Crosshair to be the Bad Guy. Its like this because we said so."

The closest we get to the confrontation, is immediately interrupted by a scene change to the super special awesome totally original character Donut STeel--I mean Omega.

Omega is a cute character. She's a good character... but it comes at the cost of every other character--thus I cannot accept her as a Good Written Character. I have to assume 2000s Fanfic Logic--and call her a Mary Sue, because her good writing comes at the cost of everyone's writing and any reasonable set up.

Your Brother attempting to Kill Children and Kill People Randomly, should never be ignored for a random kid several thousand lightyears away. Omega is imaginary in comparison to the immediacy that is Crosshair, who is right next to you.

( As one scene proves, the Bad Batch have been active with each other since the begining of the Clone Wars--so 3-4 years back. )

( Therefore, even if they didn't grow up with each other, they have a RELATIONSHIP. And it has to be a working, functional relationship, or THEY WOULD BE DEAD BY THIS POINT. Because they lived together on a tiny ship, in each other's space, and they were in a War. )

( If they didn't have a functional communicative relationship, either the enemy would've killed them--or they would've fucking murdered each other. )

( The most basic children's show knows what a sleepover is like, or what its like having to share a room with your siblings. Sitcoms knows what its like to share a room with another person. If you want the military perspective--just look as MASH, or ask any Vet. )

And that's just Episode 1.

What about afterwards?

Oh someone asks about Crosshair, and the only answer is "Its complicated". Nothing else. No "He shot at us so we left him", No "He was acting off and we weren't safe", None of the "Everyone is acting weird and Crosshair was acting weird and it forced us to leave him", not even a "He was trying to kill a Kid and we Have a Kid Now".

And after that? Hunter went "Oh we gotta find a planet to hid out", and no further conversation about the BATCHMATE, who you WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE YEARS OF RELATIONSHIP WITH.

A character whom all your plans hedge on, because he was an intimate part of it. A character whom was reliable, for the above stated reasons of War, Death and Living in Small Spaces with Quirky People.

Not from Tech, who figured about the so called Obvious Programming, and did Nothing.

Not from Echo, who had his whole world ripped away Again. Who had living brothers (as far as he knew), but never once mentioned them. Who had dead brothers, he definitely knows one in particular, and says nothing about "having to move on for now because of the mission / job at hand"...

Wrecker has one "I miss him" and it goes no where. No conversation resulted from it, no actions were changed, not even an opinion was given.

We don't get mourning faces, or emotional outlet.

Like a Someone Falling off a Cliff in a TV Show, if you didn't portray it infront of the Audience, it didn't happen. It is only real when you show us, the Audience, its Real.

So I have to assume that... when Crosshair was left behind, the Bad Batch just, fully left him there. No consideration, none of the interwoven characters from the TCWshow Bad Batch... just, He's Dead to Us Now and We've Moved On Post-Haste.

Confrontation of a Character when their Behavior is randomly off, and performing unacceptable actions to Audience or even empirical evidence, shows that the Characters did not have this Character's Back--or the truth is, the Writers' didn't bother with it.

Refusal to return to a Character, whom by empirical evidence you had Years of Relationship with, shows an unnatural lack of concern.

Let's take it another step.

Echo leaves the Bad Batch.

Was there build up to the leaving? No. I cannot cite an episode where he says "I'm going to leave to do this thing." and someone said "But wait we need you--".

Was there any conversation about attachment between Echo an the Bad Batch? No. It was a pat on the back and a good luck. Was there any conversation afterwards about Echo? Fond memories? Memorable missions?

Wasn't Echo an asset to Hunter in missions?

Didn't Wrecker have some sort of attachment to Echo? Wrecker is a very emotional character, surely he would've had a reaction. He had the most reaction to Crosshair's absence than any of them.

( Omega had feelings about it. But she's a super special awesome original character, Donut Steel, and if I wanted a Donut Steel and a Donut Steel reaction, I would look up Fanfiction. There are plenty of donut steels in fanfiction. Nobody should have to pay for Donut Steels when fanfiction gives them for Free. )

The one confrontation about it, was between Tech... and the Donut Steel. And thus cannot be counted for OC interference.

No steps were taken for this big decision to remove a major character from a group of characters, and no solid sustainable reaction beyond an OC was given.

Echo reappeared three episodes later... like it didn't happen. No impact what's so ever was received or given to the various characters, whom he gave up the 501st (and 5 real world years of TCWshow) for.

And because no steps were given the first time for his character removal, his character impact is now forfeit. His relationships mean little. His attitude to anything is meaningless, because he will simply "vanish" by next episode. His character has become incorporeal... existing only in the imagination from which he originated from.

The characters show that Echo is now not a character, but a tool to be given and removed. Little more than a stage hand. Because when you watch a play, clearly it must be for stage hands.

( You have to take steps to make imaginary things impactful in writing. Because it is just fiction at the end of the day, and fiction isn't real. When you rob the impact, you have robbed everything. )

Yes, we all love Echo... but the Show doesn't, or it would've taken the maintenance and steps required to ensure his impact on the show remains impactful.

Now that we've jumped through time and space.

Let's go the S1 Finale Arc.

Give me one reason why Crosshair could be talked down. Name something that happened prior to the TBBshow that could be named, in order to get Crosshair back to the Bad Batch.

Was there comfortable blankets? Good food? A safe ship? A memory of being bullied by regs and defended by brothers? Did Hunter bite, rip and tear at a trainer for kicking Crosshair? Did Wrecker deck a Kaminonian because they were looking at his squad wrong? Did they run into a bout of geonosis worms that Tech was simultaneous fascinated and horrified by and thus knew the stages of mind control upon the brain? Didn't Echo and Crosshair have snark to snark battles, and maybe an understanding that what Crosshair doesn't actually like about Regs is their Regular Attitude, and the long history of neglect and bullying?

... Now that you have an answer for any of the above questions, or have made one yourself...

Did the Show portray it?

Because if there was a Character Relationship at all, even in the midst of Betrayed Feelings, there would've been History between the Characters.

History would've easily convinced Crosshair back, or set a reaction for Hunter or Wrecker or Tech or Echo to take that wasn't just bitching in the middle of the fucking Ocean.

( When you live in small spaces and survive against enviroments in war, you can't afford to lose your nuts in a sinking ocean base surrounded by adversaries and hungry monsters. )

But History, and Character Relationships, imply there was Character writing at all.

And these? Are just Reactions, with Typing Quirks and a Job attached.

Because if there was anything Solid, anything at all, any Conversation on the matter, any discussion of History, and long missions and long hours, and shared experiences...

... Crosshair could've easily been talked back. He could've been talked back, by Episode 1.

Hunter, being the Rogue, could've easily infiltrated a ship and stolen him. Tech, being the Hacker and Pilot, could've been Mission Control. Wrecker, being the strongman and demolitions, could've brlown the ship up or caused a distraction. Echo, being the stradegist could've planned and directed and even hacked the cameras to watch.

Or if they needed supplies... why not just rob Cid? They're a special secret forces team, they could rob Cid, the nearby stores, most of Ord Mantell, picked a fight with mercenaries and gutted their ships.

Because Character relationships Make History, and History has your Back--because it is Your Back. Its your Back Story. It is You.

Character who share your Backstory, who have comfortably lived in your Space, and faced battles with you and for you, and vice reversa, would be Characters you have a Relationship With.

But.

There are no Character Relationships in the Bad Batch, in the Bad Batch Show.

Because there are no Back Stories. And because there are no Backstories, there are no Characters. These are just props for the current writer's Donut Steel.

And if there was, we'd have a much different show.

( Its the worst aspects of Ahsoka Tano's introduction to Star Wars, without any of the build up or steps it took to make her the beloved character she became in the end. )

#star wars #the bad batch #the clone wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars the clone wars #bad batch hunter #bad batch tech #bad batch wrecker #bad batch crosshair #bad batch echo #clone wars echo #character analysis #analysis #critical analysis

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