I'm really tired of people criticizing Star Wars for its simple approach to good and evil, because that ignores the point.
Star Wars is not about morally complex situations where it's hard to tell who the villains are.
Star Wars is about how easy it is to become one of the villains.
The more that I think about the early episodes of TBB S3, the funnier they get to me. Like
First we have Crosshair, who is really getting to know Omega for the first time. His only real interactions with her in the past have involved his brothers being EXTRA protective of her, so in his head Omega is probably just this poor, scared, naive little kid. And then one day she just pulls up to his prison cell and is like “what’s up, loser, we’re getting out of here” and then proceeds to sneak him out of a high security government lab under the nose of the emperor himself (she knows our battle plans?? Of course she knows all of our battle plans, that’s a normal thing to teach a 12 year old…) Not to mention the fact that Omega gambled in a bar and won more credits than either of them had probably ever seen in their lives, so that they could bribe the space TSA into getting them off world (WHY does the kid know how to gamble). Not that Crosshair is in any position to judge someone’s parenting, but he has QUESTIONS.
Omega, meanwhile, is for the first time getting the full Crosshair Experience, complete with every bit of sarcasm, snark, and sass that the man has been bottling up on Tantiss, and she is not having it. No, Crosshair, I don’t really know how to fly this shuttle, why don’t you quit your backseat flying and get your butt up here and do this yourself? No, Crosshair, we cannot open fire on civilians in an airport, I thought that was just an inhibitor chip thing for you. No, Crosshair, we are NOT LEAVING OUR MAN-EATING HOUND ALONE AND UNSUPERVISED ON A RESIDENTIAL PLANET.
And then you have Hunter, who hasn’t been thinking clearly for five months and who probably is living off a diet of spiked lemonade and sour patch kids (to match the bitterness inside him), who went from thinking “oh yeah we’re gonna settle down on Space Greece” to “Wrecker, that one crime syndicate called us back, if we murder this one guy for them then they MIGHT give us some info on Omega, wheels up in 10”
And poor Wrecker finds himself as The Responsible Adult for the first time in his life, which is incredibly confusing and a little bit scary and Hunter, you are TOO CLOSE to the edge of that cliff!! He’s never really believed in vegetables before but Echo says they’re good for you so he spends every moment that he’s not trying to keep Hunter from starting a second interplanetary war over the disappearance of his kid attempting to convince Hunter to try an apple or something.
And then it all culminates in this very tense, dramatic moment where they’re all staring at each other and Omega is like “yay now we can all get therapy!” and Wrecker is like “Echo come back I can’t do this on my own anymore” and Hunter is like “you can’t commit fratricide in front of the kid, you can’t commit fratricide in front of the kid” and Crosshair is like “TAKE YOUR SCARY CHILD BACK” and if that’s not peak Bad Batch then I don’t know what is
Do you think that Tech would stay up late at night drawing up plans to get Crosshair back
Do you think he had a secret folder on his datapad titled “Operation Crosshair” where he saved his plans and all the data he uncovered about inhibitor chips and photos and videos of their adventures so that they could catch him up when they got him back
Do you think he had plans that were more or less just kidnapping Crosshair and forcing him to be with them again because so help him, that little toothpick-chewing twerp was gonna like them again whether he wanted to or not
Do you think he had plans where Crosshair simply commed them one day on their secure channel and asked them to come back for him because he’s their brother and he’s gonna come around one day
Do you think he had a specific plan where he died getting Crosshair back because him being part of the family again meant more to him than anything
DO YOU THINK—
Wrecker: We should send Echo. Everyone likes Echo.
Hunter: Not everyone.
Crosshair, loading his rifle: Who doesn’t like Echo? I want names and locations.
Cut literally told Hunter “you need to take care of your people” and then Hunter turned around and gave them the best care that has ever been cared in the history of ever
Examples #56,282-56,285 of Hunter being an exceptional older brother/leader:
- Noticing Crosshair's continued hand tremor, but being discreet about it
- Noticing how close Crosshair and Omega have become
- Drawing a hard line on Omega being anywhere near Fennec, but also...
- Giving Omega an important mission of her own: talk to Crosshair about the hand tremors (because he knows Omega needs something to do AND he knows Crosshair needs to stop avoiding the problem)
Season 2 Bad Batch’s wardrobe change has so many fantastic implications:
I bet Tech quit wearing armor first, man literally never wore leg armor, I fully believe that he just walked off the Marauder one day in his cute little vest and ignored everyone’s stares
Wrecker probably got jealous though and was like “Hunter why can’t I not wear armor” except he literally doesn’t have any other clothes. So Omega is like SHOPPING!!
Echo, frankly, was concerned, but Omega was so excited about it that he just gave up
Hunter, at some point, saw a red scarf and was like “…I like this. a lot”
Finding clothes that fit Wrecker was like IMPOSSIBLE. Hunter tried doing the alterations but all the seams ended up crooked. They really missed Crosshair for that part
Shopkeepers kept asking Hunter, “Why are you buying clothes for your droid???” Which made Echo very salty, except the shopkeepers were usually so mortified at their mistake that they would give the batch a huge discount (“this is just Pantora all over again” “come ooooon, Echo, you’re really helping us out here” “fine, but next time, I am worth 60% off!!”)
Omega, again, was VERY excited (“I’ve never picked my own clothes before!”) and the boys definitely got carried away making sure she had EVERYTHING (“Omega, come here and pick out a raincoat” “Omega, do you have enough socks??” “Look, Omega, this is a nice sweater, you like sweaters, right??” “How fast are you gonna grow?? That’s it, we’re buying jeans in every size”)
Not that they didn’t customize their armor before, but now that they are dressing themselves in civilian clothes their own personal styles really come out. That is when they discover that Tech is actually extremely fashionable, and Hunter is literally a mountain hippie man
I just KNOW that Crosshair and Tech were the most chaotic duo back on Kamino. Tech is literally terrifying. He’s the most intelligent and the most practical, yet the man watched two (2) illegal high speed races and was like “eh yeah I could beat that system” and then DID. His unhingedness is a CHOICE. Combine that with Crosshair, who hated your guts before the Kaminoans even bred them in a tube, who picked three (3) physical fights with his COs in a four-episode arc, and you know they got up to the most chaotic shenanigans together as cadets. Poor Hunter has probably been trying to keep them out of prison since they could walk
Shep: you know what the best thing about being a father is? Getting to teach your kid the most important life lessons, and watch them use them.
Tech: oh yes, absolutely. I will never forget the deep feeling of pride I felt the first time I saw Omega correctly splice into an Imperial database. Or the joy of watching her re-wire her first bomb. And of course, watching her become more accurate with her laser bow has been a privilege. She is truly a formidable opponent. Not to mention her skills with stealth and reconnaissance, or her growing aptitude as a pilot and mechanic.
Shep:
Shep: well I really meant like, friendship and integrity
Tech: oh. Well, that too.
Do you think Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech understand how attractive they are
Like, it took Phee all of three seconds to look at Tech’s eyes and be like “wowwwww”
Was that a common occurrence?? Did the boys get hit on frequently on their adventures?
I mean with the number of seedy places they’ve been to, you can’t tell me that not a SINGLE person looked at Hunter and was like “ooooooh.” You can’t tell me someone on Pabu didn’t see Crosshair’s five o’clock shadow and drool a little. You can’t tell me somebody didn’t just GAWK at Wrecker’s muscles and brilliant smile for like five minutes straight. You can’t tell me Phee was the only one who noticed Tech’s pretty eyes (and the fact that the man is literally BUILT).
Literally…
Crosshair and Omega’s relationship has a different vibe though. Their relationship is less of a “I would die for you because you are my child and I love you” and more of a “I would die for you because you are too good for this world and I am your lowly servant, and if you wanted me to I would fight a war in your name because I love you, now shut up and let me devote my life to you, you little twerp”
Hunter before Omega: alright lads, the odds are -10% that any of us survive this, which means we are in it for a GOOD TIME, in fact, just for kicks, I say we go in with no armor and no guns and just STAB our way through the droid army. If you get shot, don’t forget to take a selfie for the Battle Wound Wall of Fame *does a shot*
Hunter after Omega: okay, so I know we planned to go to on our family picnic today, but I checked the weather and it MIGHT rain later, so I say we avoid the risk altogether and postpone for another day just to be on the safe side. How is everyone doing? Do we have snacks?? Are we warm enough?? Does anybody need a bandaid??? Omega come here, you look like you need a hug—
For real though, it’s so on brand that the first thing Crosshair does when he meets Tech’s girlfriend is almost fight her
My favorite part of this episode was Phee meeting Crosshair and immediately giving him shit