Star Wars: The Bad Batch S2, Ep 12 Review
There’s only so much abuse a person can take before they finally snap. Treat people like dirt or demean them one too many times, and they’ll turn on the ones doing the demeaning. It seemed like Crosshair, despite the Empire not caring about him as he did for it, might never reach this point. However, this week’s episode of The Bad Batch is the straw that breaks the bantha’s back. Crosshair snaps, and it’s about kriffing time!
The Clones are Now Expendable to the Empire
One of the big reasons why Crosshair chose to stay with the Empire while his brothers deserted was he thought they needed him. He believed that the Empire would need loyal, veteran soldiers like him to keep the peace. Crosshair bet on the wrong pod.
Following the Emperor’s passing of the recruitment bill, the Clones days are numbered. One after another, the Empire’s forced them into retirement in favor of conscripts and enlisted people. Those still left get treated like trash, despite being the ones who put the Empire in power by turning on the Jedi. Once again, Crosshair deals with this racism from someone who makes Admiral Rampart look like a saint, Lt. Nolan.
Nolan’s the incompetence of the Empire personified into a single hate sink. He treats Crosshair and the other Clones under him like trash, and acts like he’s better than them when it’s obvious he shouldn’t be in charge, let alone in any army unit. Even Crosshair, whose been nothing but loyal to the Empire, finds his patience wearing thin when he’s sent out on a mission with this man in charge.
The events of the episode whittle down Crosshair’s loyalty to the Empire bit by bit.
A Pointless Mission and Pointless Death
On Crosshair’s latest mission, he and the Lieutenant are sent to this obscure outpost on a freezing, barely habitable planet where a squad of Clones is supposed to be guarding some “important cargo.” Except they don’t know what they’re guarding and there’s only three of them left, not that the Lieutenant cares. He forces Crosshair and last remaining Clone, Mayday, out to retrieve the cargo when its stolen by insurgents. The two of them. Alone. The other Clones died in battle.
In the past, Crosshair’s been an antisocial type, never really interacting with anyone outside his squad. However, the sheer loneliness forces Crosshair and Mayday to talk about their experiences during the war and how the Empire’s treating them now. It soon becomes apparent they’ve got a lot in common: they both served the Republic loyally, they work well in combat, and they’re both losing their patience with the Empire. It’s the first positive relationship Crosshair’s had since Cody chose to desert. Which only makes it all the more tragic when their mission ends in disaster.
As it turns out, the cargo they were guarding was new armor and gear; the kind that could’ve saved the lives of the other Clones. None of that matters, though, when an avalanche buries them alive. Crosshair makes it out well enough to walk, but Mayday’s left on death’s door.
What happens next is the last straw for Crosshair.
Crosshair Does What he Should’ve Done from the Start
When Crosshair drags the barely alive Mayday back to base, it’s now populated by the new T-K troopers with new gear and armor. And the Lieutenant? Even when Crosshair practically begs for his superior to get Mayday medical care, the man callously refuses, saying he’s outlived his usefulness. As a result, Mayday dies when he could’ve been saved.
It’s at this point that Crosshair finally snaps. He turned his back on his brothers for something he cared for, but it didn’t care about him. An Empire that wouldn’t care if he lived or died. So, he does what he should’ve done from the start: he takes out the trash.
Killing his superior officially makes him a traitor to the Empire, and he’s taken into custody. However, some things are worth any punishment. I think many viewers would’ve done what Crosshair did.
The bad news is that when he comes to, Crosshair’s not in a cell, but a lab. And given the Imperial scientist hovering over him, he’s at the same facility Lama Su is being held. A place fans are calling Mount Tantiss.
The Pieces are Being Set up For the Finale
For those who don’t know, Mount Tantiss was an important facility to the Empire. Located on a planet not on any known maps, the Emperor used it as a storehouse for his most dangerous toys. Toys such as experimental cloning technology. You see where this is going? If this is the same Mount Tantiss from the old EU, then it’s bad news for the Galaxy.
Given the importance the show’s putting on this facility, the finale will likely see the Bad Batch infiltrate this facility for one reason or another. Whether its to save Omega, Lama Su, Crosshair, or all three is up for debate. However, given everything going on, the Bad Batch will soon return to the Empire’s radar. They may not have a choice. Crosshair may be a jerk, but he doesn’t deserve what he’s being put through, and none of the Clones do.
This was a quiet, but great episode of The Bad Batch, in my opinion. It’s about time Crosshair saw the Empire for the abusive institute it is and stood up against it.
