“Tech told me all about your…SPARKLING personality” I wanna know what Tech told Phee about Crosshair that made her so confidently sarcastic in that moment, like
Tech: oh yes, our brother Crosshair. Best sniper in the GAR, possibly the galaxy. He always kept an eye on us through his scope while we were on the battlefield.
Phee: that’s ni—
Tech: sure, he is cold and unyielding and incredibly stubborn and a little arrogant, but he always means well. He does like to pick fights with regs, but you can’t blame him, after being bullied all his life.
Phee: I guess we all have our—
Tech: there was that time where he got super upset with Hunter for not murdering that Jedi on Kaller. Then he tried to convince us to murder civilians. But he abandoned us for the Empire after that, so it wasn’t really a repeating problem.
Phee: wait—
Tech: that was when he shot Wrecker. Oh, and he tried to roast us alive in a spaceship engine. That was all under the influence of the inhibitor chip, though. Supposedly he’s had it removed since then. So his murderous tendencies have probably chilled out a little bit.
Phee:
Tech: he also used to eat glue.
Watching The Bad Batch has made the Battle of Endor so much more emotional for me. Cuz like. We see the clones continuing to fight, even after the army they were bred into dissolves. They never stop fighting for the republic that NEVER fought for them. They laid the foundations of the rebellion. Endor was THE end of the war that the clones had been fighting from day one. It was the glorious, victorious ending that all our precious clone brothers deserved—and so few of them got to see it. But they also played such a huge role in blazing the trail for the people that DID see it—Ashoka, Omega. They lost so much, but they gave so much, and that’s the clone legacy—boys whose sacrifices and dreams lived to fight another day, even if most of them are marching far away.
Hunter wasn’t jealous watching Omega chew on a toothpick just like Crosshair. He just knew her sarcastic potential and was terrified that Crosshair would turn her into his evil, sassy prodigy, and he only has the mental capacity to deal with one of those in his squad
You know what just occurred to me?? When Crosshair said “clone force 99 died with Tech” it implies that, to him, his brothers continued to be CF 99 after HE left, but not after Tech was gone. He was a disposable part of their team, Tech was not. CF 99 could exist without Crosshair. It could not exist without Tech. And him returning did not revive CF 99, because Tech was still gone. So it wasn’t about numbers/size, it was about the people in the squad. Without Crosshair, it’s the same. But without Tech, it’s not. And I just—
I literally loved this so much. Like watching it you could just see how much Hunter trusted her to handle the situation—something Crosshair didn’t know to have faith in quite yet, because he hadn’t been around as long, but Hunter has watched her grow and he’s trained her and he knows she knows. Zero doubt whatsoever. That’s HIS kid.
I just noticed during a rewatch of the Bad Batch finale….
after the binders were shot by Crosshair (yeah buddy)- Omega knew to hit the deck so Hunter and Crosshair could keep firing at Hemlock.
It’s a small detail that for me really brought together those moments of Omega saying to the kids “I’ve been trained for this.” - and Hunter saying to Crosshair “She knows what to do, Crosshair. Wait for her…then take the shot” after she taps Hemlock’s arm to signal them.
I can’t stop crying about how much they’ve learned from one another. My head is filling with all the “off camera” training sessions her brothers put her through so she’d learn the plans and know exactly what to do in any situation. I love them so much 😭
I’ve seen different headcanons about why Crosshair has silver hair, and I think most of them involve something with his advanced aging gene. I feel like Crosshair would be super sensitive about it, like to him it’s a sign that even his defects are defective, and he’s constantly worried that the aging issue will affect the rest of him and not just his hair. And I feel like maybe the others are aware of this, so one day they sneak a bunch of posters of celebrities with silver hair who people still find incredibly cool and attractive into their room and start dropping hints like “man that guy looks cool, I wish my hair would do that” and “dang I’ll be lucky if I even HAVE hair when I age” and Crosshair will never admit it, but it makes him feel like, way cool. And a lot, lot better about his hair
The finale of 'The Bad Batch' has made me feel things that other shows haven't and I don't really know what those things all are, so I can only really think about small aspects of them. There's the obvious sadness you have at the goodbye to anything, the appreciation for the time that I got with the show, and the satisfaction of a well-executed conclusion.
But I want to talk about something else.
There was a review of 'Star Wars: the Clone Wars' that mentioned that the S7 finale gave something to the Clones that they rarely if ever got: a burial. There is the remark from Hunter about how the Clones are finally free to choose for the first time...ever, really. We see from the closing scene that Hunter is struggling a bit from his age; his heightened senses have started to dull.
So I thought to myself, choking up as I did so, where would the Clones want to be buried? What would they want to be done with their remains? Most Clones would probably have a pretty simple wish. Place, preparation, maybe a reason. Not much else, probably.
Rex might want to be buried with the brothers that he and Ahsoka buried together at the crashed cruiser. In death they would be as they once were: together.
We know Waxer didn't survive the war, but if Boil did, he'd be buried on Ryloth. Numa would personally see to the wishes of her nerra.
Hunter would want to be cremated and interred at Pabu. He'd want to take up as little space as possible. They would put his urn with the rest of their priceless treasures.
Echo might want to be on Coruscant. Whatever data that would be still in his head could be useful and he wants to help. Grim though it may be, he'd be like he was on Skako Minor but on his own terms.
Wrecker would want a viking funeral. He wants to go out with a bang and he would want to press the button. The folks on Pabu would rig up a boat for him.
Crosshair would be very specific on everything except his reasons. There's an old Imperial outpost on Barton IV. He would want to be buried in the mountainside just past the perimeter sensors. No one asks why. Maybe Hunter would know something. What Crosshair knows is that the Imperials wouldn't have given the man a proper burial. But he would be there. Somewhere. Crosshair would have to keep lookout. He would be on an eternal watch. For Mayday.
HUNTER: he’s a breakfast for dinner kind of guy. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice. He does his best to keep the kitchen mess contained, but somehow pancake batter always ends up splattered on the counter and one thing or other ends up just a little bit burned.
WRECKER: he has a “follow your heart” philosophy when it comes to cooking, which means lots of experimentation with spices and cooking times that has varying levels of success. What he really excels at is grilling. The kitchen is always a disaster when he’s done with it (which drives Crosshair up the wall, but Wrecker is the only one who can make steak exactly the way he likes it, so he never complains).
CROSSHAIR: the exact opposite of Wrecker’s philosophy—he follows the recipe incredibly exactly, with no variation, and he keeps a very close eye on everything while it cooks. Incredibly slow and methodical about it all, plus he cleans and washes up while he cooks, which means it takes him 5x longer to make dinner than the others. It drives them crazy, but it also means his food is the most consistent in terms of quality.
TECH: he also likes to experiment—not quite like Wrecker, but he’s always looking up new recipes and delicacies from the planets they’ve visited to try. He’s usually more invested in authenticity than in what his brothers will actually LIKE, which means he’s served them some of the strangest, goopiest, spiciest, unusual foods they’ve ever eaten for the sake of experience.
ECHO: he doesn’t have time to mess around in the kitchen—he’ll pop a frozen pizza in the oven or reheat some leftovers. But he makes up for it by always being the one to help out with clean up, and always cheerfully putting up with the others’ sometimes questionable cooking (let’s be honest, he probably had worse in the 501st).
Omega: hi I’m Omega!!
The rest of the batch: 🤔🙄😑
Tech: *in his head* child?? Human child?? Kaminoan-created human child?? Origin?? Purpose?? Genetic composition?? Must scan this fascinating creature.
Echo: When I first met you, I thought you were weird and annoying.
[long pause]
Crosshair: And?
Echo: And you are.
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—