Wow. Did they drop the supertitle with the Star Wars: Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids cartoons? (Which were produced by the Canadian animation studio Nelvana, by the way.)
That was a surprisingly deep Bad Batch episode. Felt more like a clone wars episode, and not just because of the Clankers and Clones.
Oh, yeah, this one was good. Crosshair is becoming less and less redeemable as the show goes on meanwhile Cody is seen throughout the episode to be developing conflicted feelings about serving the Empire leading to him deserting at the end. Presumably, he's going to end up with Rex and/or the rest of the Batch in coming episodes. Great stuff this week.
Deep toward the end, yeah, but most of it felt like it was a budget-saver episode, recycling a lot of leftover TCW droid, trooper, and vehicle models and featuring a minimum of facial animation (why else put the governor in a mask?). And most of it was combat scenes, which generally don't hold my interest. I found myself barely paying attention to a lot of it. I couldn't remember where Cody stood at the end of TCW, but now that I think about it, I remember that he was a character from the movies. Looking him up on the wiki, I'm reminded that he was the one who led the attempted execution of Obi-Wan, and then the conquest of Kazhyyyk. So I guess reintroducing him here and having him defect at the end is a new development, and something of a retcon. I dunno, it feels a bit redundant to have Cody defect when Rex already did. They were the two main clone leader characters in TCW, albeit at different ranks, so it might've been better to maintain the contrast between them. We've already got Crosshair as an example of a clone who stays loyal to the Empire, but it might've been interesting to explore a character who stayed loyal for a different reason, perhaps. This episode was novel in not featuring any of the regular characters, aside from Crosshair. Michelle Ang was credited despite not being in the episode at all. And Baker was credited as "The Bad Batch" as usual as well as getting a "guest" credit for Cody and the Clone Troopers. I was kind of expecting a closing scene of Cody contacting the Batch to give them a token appearance, but the story stuck entirely with Crosshair the whole way through. Anyone here read Aurebesh? I'm guessing that wall of writing behind Cody and Crosshair's final conversation was a memorial wall with the names or numbers of dead clones.
That may be my favorite episode of the series so far. Easily the best of the first three of Season 2.
Very strong third episode. It felt like old school latter-day Clone Wars, but through a mirror darkly. The clones are in their element and fighting with veteran efficiency, and yet the Empire is still just carelessly throwing them into the meat grinder then replacing them with more and more inferior conscripts. Rampart doesn't even seem to care that Co- sorry; CC-2224 straight up and deserted. Just another number on a list of millions. Forward his chaincode to the MPs and he'll be forgotten before he even puts down the datapad. As for Crosshair, it's getting harder and harder to understand why he stayed once the chip was out. Sunk cost fallacy? An identity crisis? Fear of being useless, because what is there for a sniper to do on civvy street? Pride? Difficult to say exactly at this point and I suspect he doesn't really know himself anymore. He's still not beyond redemption (because nobody is) but it'll be a long road I think. As for Cody; kind of wild that he deserted the Empire, though the fact he didn't end up in retirement with Rex Gregor & Wolfe (who I'm sure will also show up sooner or later) probably doesn't bode well for his future. On a lighter note; the action in the episode was masterful, almost effortless. I like how inventive they got with things like using a B1 to get a detonator past a droidika's shield. Also I don't think battle droids have ever felt this competent and dangerous before (as a unit, if not individuals.) I suppose that's a testament to the competence of the governor. Even a tactical droid is just a tool and needs direction and oversight, so much of their incompetence during the Clone Wars can be chalked up to the inadequacies of their organic generals, or a general overreliance on leaving the tactical droids to their own devices.
This week's episode was so good. As always, it's the little things. We've already seen the clones once again dehumanized by the Empire, stripped of their names and individual markings and reduced to their numbers once again. But this time we get a new riff. The Empire sends TK troopers to escort the governor and then to occupy Desix at the end. But when real work needs to be done? Send in the clones. And you can see why, their almost terrifying efficiency. They are being used, thrown at the few pockets of meaningful resistence to enforce the Empire's authority. Taking advantage of their experience and capability before they are discarded for more easily controlled and more cheaply trained fodder. And a good soldier may follow orders, but a good man questions those orders when they fly in the face of your values. Cody finally sees that, but Crosshair seems indifferent.
Kind of how the best episode of The Book of Boba Fett either had just a silent appearance by Boba Fett himself or didn't show him at all.
That whole diversion makes a lot more sense if one reframes BoBF as a whole as season 2.5 of Mandalorian rather than a show unto itself. Zero proof to back it up, but I have a sneaky suspicious that those episodes (or rather just the events therein) had originally been intended to be a part of 'Rangers of the New Republic' as a crossover point for all three shows, but then that show imploded it got condensed and rolled into the Fett chapters. Indeed I intend to view Ahsoka's show through a similar lens. Even more so considering the inherent intersections between the animates shows and Mando.
The Recruitment Act mentioned early in the episode is likely the piece of Imperial legislation that relegates most remaining Clones to background and support duties and eventual obsolescence. With TK Troopers making a prominent appearance in this episode the road to the familiar Imperial Stormtrooper has been paved.
Rewatching the first scene between Cody & Crosshair; in hindsight it seems pretty clear that Cody had intended to desert the whole time and that initial meeting was to fee Crosshair out on the prospect. It's a subtle bit of acting on the animators' part but you can see he's hopeful when probing about the rest of the Batch going rogue, then mentioning how other clones have been having mixed feelings after the war. All of it goes right over Crosshair's head of course and he takes it as an implied questioning of his own reliability, which in turn pushes him to give everything he's got to prove himself during the mission, only to be left alone again as Cody leaves him behind without a word. The tragedy of all this is that Crosshair feels like he's the one being abandoned--first by the rest of the Batch, now Cody--when in reality he's the one moving away from them. ETA: also just occurred to me that Cody's attempt at a negotiated peace is a clear sign of Obi-Wan's influence, and a signal that while he couldn't resist Order 66 (because nobody could), he's still Cody and hasn't forgotten what he learned from his General.