Welcome back to the Heavy Spoilers show I’m your host Paul and this video we’re breaking down Episode 3 of The Bad Batch Season 2. This entry puts Crosshair in the Crosshair and we watch him carrying out imperial missions for the Empire. Crosshair has always been a fascinating character to me and he’s basically the evil twin…well clone to the rest of the Bad Batch. In season 1 there was a lot of back and forth over the chips in the troopers heads that activated Order 66. It was thought for a while that Crosshair was simply…following orders…because his had activated whereas the rest had malfunctioned in these highly altered clones. Wrecker even went in full attack mode at one point and it was only upon this being removed that he finally came back to the light.
It was suspect Crosshair still had his chip in his head but he revealed in the two part finale that he’d had it removed a while back.
Obviously the idea of the Empire would be attractive to some and though we tend to side with the jedi and rebels, some people obviously saw the allure of it. They promised peace and prosperity in a Galaxy overrun with gangster and the black market and the Resistance didn’t really fix things that much either when they got in charge.
Now this video is sponsored by the Empire where I’m allowing you guys to sign up today.
What is The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 3 about?
Nah kinda sound like that but I like that the series is basically your mate from Uni who’s basically like ‘well I can see things from both sides. Now the episode is titled The Solitary Clone which you initially think might be a reference to Crosshair. This is definitely possible too and the episode even ends with him walking towards the camera in the opposite direction to the clones showing how their mentalities are moving in opposite directions.
However I see this more as being a nod to the one he teams up with aka ya boy Commander Cody. Cody was known as CC-2224 and he’s quite a big character in the Star Wars lore. Cody has appeared in live action and he was the one who received the message to kill Obi-Wan during Revenge Of The Sith. He’s also appeared in over 20 Clone Wars episodes and some from Rebels too. He also helped to enslave Kashyyk and after turning on his allies he likely questioned what it was all for. In this entry, to me, he very much represents the dissent that’s starting to rise up in the clones.
Though we initially thought that they were phased out because of the events last season it also seems like they started to disobey direct orders and think for themselves. This was shown last week in Willco who refused to alter a report for Rampart. Also huge shoutouts to everyone on our last video for pointing out that his name Wilco could be a reference to the military term Will Comply.
Now here we see an outpost on Dessex that’s approached by an imperial transport. Onboard are a Governor and some Phase 1 Stormtroopers who were slowly taking the Clones place due to costs and the fact that Tipoca city was no more. These suits are based on the original Ralph McQuarrie designs and he pretty much created all the first looks for Lucas when he was coming up with the concept of Star Wars. I love the way they’ve integrated them into the series and it’s such a smart way to pay tribute to what’s come before. They arrive in an N.U. Class attack Shuttle which when you say it a different way is Nu Class, ey, Nu class.
Now the citizens flee the streets upon their arrival and we see Rodians and all other kinds of species running around.
They come face to face with the real Governor of the Planet Tawni Ames. She’s a Dooku Ally and a Separatists which explains why she has Battledroids and Droidekas later on. Governors of planets have taken a big focus recently in Star Wars with us even get an episode centred around one and Ahsoka during The Mandalorian season 2.
The imperial governor is there to replace her but after they refuse they take their forces captive which is when Crosshair is called in.
Now we see Crosshair on a planet that looks very similar to coruscant and the building itself is meant to be similar to the Jedi temple.
I think to show how the image of it has been desecrated and later on when we get a shot of it we can see two balls at the top and these look identical to the ones that exist on Star Destroyers.
Obviously this bill did pass and it potentially meant that the Empire could just completely get rid of Clones instead of having to use them. Clones were people so they still had rights but this bill could’ve meant they could cut them off and force citizens into conscription.
It could operate similar to the Republic Military Enhancement Bill which was put forth by Senator Halle Bertoni. This deregulated the banks and it also offered additional lines of credit to the Empire so that they could pay more for troops which caused a surge in people enlisting.
They do a mean girls on Crosshair and move tables and lonely….he’s Mr. lonely. Also little cup he has looks similar to the one that Luke had in a New Hope when he had lunch with his Aunt and Uncle. Heard they had a Roast Dinner after that ey.
Anyway this solitary…probably is crosshair, this solitary clone is called in by Rampart.
We discover that he spent 32 rotations on Kamino and that when they left him on the platform at the end of Season 1 that he stayed there for weeks on end. The Empire clearly didn’t really care about him and they probably only picked him up because they were passing. Rampart doesn’t know why Crosshair even returned after that but he says: “I am a soldier loyal to the empire,”.
He values what they bring above his family and without the Imperials he likely doesn’t feel like he has any purpose in life. He just wants orders and he’s enlisted to be sent in under the guise it’s a diplomatic mission. This is something we’ve seen in Star Wars before and it’s what Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did at the start of Phantom Menace.
He’s not given his own unit and instead he falls under the control of Commander Cody. They meet at the War Memorial which has appeared in Clone Wars before. This showed up in The Jedi who knew too much and it documents all the fallen soldiers who died so Palpatine could just f**k about.
Now Cody’s uniform used to have flourishes of colour in it however when the empire took over this was toned down. They very much represented conformity and this is why all the uniforms are either white, grey or black. Juxtaposing this, last week showed that the batch had started to integrate colour into their costumes showing how they now differ from those that stayed in line. Now you will stay in line and conform by liking this video, subscribing and sharing it, sharing it with your bloody WhatsApp group. I want them all watching it.
Anyway he also has the scar on his head and eye which was a characteristic that he had throughout the saga.
Betrayal in The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 3
Crosshair says the Bad Batch were traitors like the Jedi and this clearly rubs Cody the wrong way. Like we mentioned earlier, he wrestled back and forth with his betrayal of Obi-Wan and didn’t truly understand why he did it. The pair trusted one another but he turned his guns on him and as they say, “Good soldiers follow orders,”
Now this is part of the clone programming and this saying is something that they constantly spouted off to almost repress what they’d done. It of course has links back to world war 2 and many of the Germans that carried out horrific crimes said that they did so because they were simply following orders.
They pass two giant monuments to the clones and board the shuttle to Dessex. We hear mention of how the battle droids should’ve been shut down but that they’ve likely been reprogrammed which I think a lot of planet will have done secretly.
Now thematically this season seems to be focusing a lot on Dooku’s Legacy. He seems to be having a big revival in star wars recently with Tales Of The Jedi also showing a lot of his backstory too. Guessing Disney worked out a way to not have to pay Christopher Lloyds family or they made a deal with the estate to pump out constant Dooku content. Either way we are clearly seeing a lot of things in this season showing the aftermath of his actions and why things are they way they are due to what he did and who followed him.
Dooku is brought up by Ames and she says that everything he predicted has come to pass. In a deleted scene for Attack of The Clones there was a lot of talk about his motivation and how he realised that this entire thing would play out the way it has.
We see the shuttle pilot along with his helmet which looks similar to the one that was shown in Cid’s bar.
Battle Droids are back with their sassy attitude and we watch governor vs governor with one representing freedom and the other representing fascism.
Ames has predicted the diplomatic vessel is actually a ruse and this could have been correctly guessed due to her having a Tac Droid. These Tactical droids were master strategists and we even had clone wars episodes where there were missions to steal their chips due to the information they possessed. Very difficult to combat they can work out millions of scenarios and form strategies that will lead them to victory but they’re no match for the power of the force.
Now the droids all roll out and we also see an AAT Battle Tank which we could catch the ruins of in the second episode last week. I think the Ruins Of War entry kinda showed what would’ve happened if they’d kept losing and the Empire would’ve likely reigned fire from the sky had they not got this victory here.
They bring down the shuttle and the troopers bust out with Crosshair now wearing a helmet that looks more like a stormtroopers. Originally he didn’t have the grated mouth piece but now the character has it so he looks closer to their eventual design.
They refer to the droids as Clankers which is a nickname they were given in the war and eventually take out the tank through his clone war knowledge of their weakness.
Man hits the bullseye and it shows how valuable Crosshair is to the war effort.
Slowly he and the rest of the Clones storm the fortress and they use grappling guns to pull themselves up like what we saw in Phantom Menace.
In the streets they come across a family and say they’re here to help but its clear that those on Dessex don’t want to be freed by the Empire. It will just mean that they’re put back under the control of a fascist dictatorship which brings a lot of social commentary with it. Droidekas roll in leading to one of the most hectic scenes in the season. Jedi knew to run from these and they have to use stun grenades in order to make their way through.
Now at this point they’re swarmed by a different kind of battle droid and these are the BX-Series Droid Commandos.
These were highly specialised and used more in extreme circumstances which is why we don’t see them that much in the saga. Due to them being an advanced model they brought a hefty price tag with them so it shows how against the wall that the Governor is when she starts to activate more of them.
Love seeing Crosshair ricochet shots around the steps to get them and it adds so much to the scene with them swarming this stairwell. He takes out the tech droid and we see a flame trooper busting out some fire. Flame troopers have shown up throughout the saga with them appearing in in The Mandalorian Season 1 and also in the opening of The Force Awakens.
Tawni arrives holding the Imperial governor hostage and she demands that her planet is acknowledged as being independent. We see how the Clones view them as liberating the people of Dessex whereas Ames sees herself as defending the planet from a hostile nation. The Empire are of course the bad guys and though things are framed as being from Crosshairs perspective, the good people are definitely the Separatists. With this in mind it kinda makes you view the clone wars differently. We had the Separatists as the bad guys in that but they were replaced by an even bigger bad and poor old people like Roman were the ones stuck in the middle. It’s what elevates this animated show above a lot of other ones and I love the layers to this series.
We of course have the planet wanting to go independent and many of the clones due to due to them see what the empire does.
Tawni says that she put forth a treaty once to end the war between the separatists and republic but that the supreme chancellor rejected this. He was of course playing both sides and he’s basically your mate that says ‘I can see things from both sides’
Shoutouts our Editor Matt for pointing out that she mentions Mina Bonteri who is a character that appeared in The Clone wars. She was a mentor to Padme and she also represented the planet Onderon in The Senate.
Tawni says peace was never an option but Cody gives her it as he doesn’t want another war to begin after they just got through the last one.
She hands the Governor over who then demands that Tawni is executed.
The Bad Batch Season 2 Episode 3 Ending Explained
However, Cody refuses to carry this out and instead it’s crosshair who does it. Again this lines up with the idea that the Clones are slowly starting to think for themselves and couple with Wilko we’ve seen them disobey direct orders twice now. It is possible that Order 66 broke the clones and killing their allies is what has made them question following the Imps.
Either way they seize the planet and we see a Star Destroyed in the sky. This often spells doom and it’s of course what we also saw on Jeddah in Rogue One. Imperials used to harvest planets for minerals and their rule led to oppression and civil unrest. This is a terrifying site for all the population as it hangs over the planet, ever watching and unmoving.
Soldiers patrol the streets and dissenters are rounded up with the mother and son from before house being searched. Supplies are given to the empire by the people and we very much get the feeling that this once free city is now occupied by military rule. Cody clearly wrestles with this too as we see more soldiers coming in and he puts his helmet back on almost as if to fall back in line. However there is clearly doubt within him and I very much view him as the solitary clone the title is referring to.
After they return home he asks Crosshair if they’re making the galaxy better. He says that the only thing that makes them different from battle droids is that they make their own choices and that they have to live with them too.
This clearly torments crosshair and we get a shot of him waking up which echoes the one from the opening. He is simply like a droid now, just following orders because he doesn’t know what else to live for. We very much get a repeat of the earlier scene with him visiting the cantina before going to Rampart. Rampart is even in the exact same position with the data pad being presented to the camera like how it was earlier in the episode.
He tells him to report to Clone leader CC-1226 who is a character that has been mentioned in the saga before but only in the books. He appeared at three points in the essential guide to warfare and was listed as featuring in several battles. Unlike Cody he doesn’t have a nickname and this could represent him still being inline with the Empire. We find out that Cody has gone AWOL.
Cody was actually meant to feature in the Obi Wan series and originally when this was a film, the Jedi would come across him on Tatooine. It was revealed he had had his chip removed so that he wouldn’t hurt the Jedi and he was going to become his ally once more similar to Revenge Of The Sith. It was said that Cody wrestled with the guilt of Order 66 and he was trying to make things right in the galaxy before his accelerated aging got the best of him.
As we know this was cut but I can imagine that we will see him again at some point.
Rampart has noticed dissent amongst the clones and he even questions the loyalty of Crosshair who heads out on his next mission.
That ends the episodes and I think that the season is very much going to head off in a direction with him finally becoming independent. He could possibly be seeing the fault in the Empire too and that closes it all off.
And I have to say I really enjoyed this entry. I got to see it twice before it released and its rare I go back to these things but this was one I got swept up in.
Love the way we saw the other side of the fight and hopefully we get some Crosshair centric episodes that show the Clones slowly starting to think for themselves. Anyway that closes things off and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
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If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of perfect scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it’s definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video, I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace
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