Relationships: Hunter & Omega

Additional Tags: Mentioned Tech, Hunter & Omega-centric, Hunter Has Sensory Issues, Mild Hurt/Comfort, (mostly comfort), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Hunter is Omega's Parent, Sensory Overload, Father-Daughter Relationship, Mentioned 99 (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Mentioned Wrecker, Pabu Island, Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon) Season/Series 03, Gift Giving

Summary: Growing up, Hunter had no way of controlling his enhanced abilities. The Kaminoans never helped him so he spent what little childhood he had perpetually overwhelmed and in constant distress as a result.

Now, as an adult, he finds that knowing Omega has changed his relationship with his senses for the better.

OR: Hunter has dealt with sensory overload his entire life. Omega helps him manage it.

I love Anakin as a character but I think Star Wars as a whole needs to be less forgiving of him and his actions and I think Rex is the perfect character to explore this idea.

Rex wants to save his brothers more than anything and we know that he fails and never recovers from the trauma. It was an impossible task but he fought so hard for it. The clones don’t become a thriving community after the Empire falls. Few live to remember their sacrifice or that they were even there to begin with. They’re wiped off the map and that’s it and Rex just has the live with it.

Imagine realistically how you would feel if you were him and you learned that a huge reason why the Empire was even allowed to rise in the first place is because of the man who you trusted, who was one of your closest friends for three years, who convinced you that he thought of you as a person unlike the rest of the galaxy. I wouldn’t ever be able to look past it, and I don’t think Rex would or should either.

Obi Wan considers Anakin metaphorically dead because it’s the only way to cope with the grief.

Ahsoka has a more complicated view of him because of the distance leaving the Jedi order put between them.

Luke is able to forgive him in the only way that is narratively compelling, because he sees him as his father and not as the monster everyone else does.

Leia never forgives him (nor should she) but grows to understand him more over time.

Padme uses her dying breath to vouch for him even if he doesn’t deserve it.

If Rex didn’t forgive Anakin, it would offer yet another perspective. He is someone who loved Anakin, but Anakin is a huge reason why his brothers are dead. Anakin is the one who used his brothers as the tools they had always been told they were to march on the Jedi temple and murder the Jedi, the only allies the Clones ever truly had. Everything that happens during the reign of the Empire, including whatever goes down in the Bad Batch finale, is part of a huge domino effect because of Anakin’s choices. It would be tragic to see their friendship end this way, but Rex’s entire life is rife with tragedy. Ahsoka is the only positive result of his friendship with Anakin left. They only have each other.

I want Rex to be angry at him. Anakin’s actions are abhorrent and to downplay them only does Anakin a disservice as a character and denies his agency. Yes, he’s a victim of Palpatine’s grooming. He is also the perpetrator of a literal reign of terror and there are few groups of people who are bigger victims of the Empire he helped create than the clones.

Omega truly is Hunter’s daughter.

She has never looked like him more than she did in this latest episode. Her facial expressions even looked like him. The way she carried herself, her determination, her bravery, her natural leadership and ability to hold the people around her together and unite them. She’s born to be a leader and she clearly learned so much from him.

They may the same DNA yet we all know the clones look so different from each other just because their personalities vary so much, but the way Omega carried herself in this episode was Hunter through and through. Her growth has been insane and you can see the impact her brothers have all had on her.

Broke: Individual Jedi were good people with good intentions, but the Jedi Order as an institution was flawed and needed to be reformed.

Woke: The Jedi Order as an institution is completely correct in all of its teachings about everything and following the Jedi's teachings about selflessness and compassion are what allow people of the galaxy to achieve balance and peace, but these teachings are an ideal to live up to and they assert that everyone has the capacity for darkness within them anyway, so sometimes individual Jedi will make mistakes or struggle with fear and pain and selfishness as they strive towards being their best selves the way their culture trains them to do.

In some ways, it’s actually a relief The Bad Batch is ending because I think if I had to watch Omega get any older, I’d actually have a mental breakdown. I feel like I’m watching my daughter grow up and it’s maybe the saddest part of the show.

Do you ship it?

Everyone who has responded to this so far in the reblogs or tags has pretty much hit the nail on the head.

We got told the ending was bittersweet, not tragic. If that’s the case, it can’t just be bitter. This is a show that has focused so much on Omega (aka the sweet part of bittersweet) and how she has changed the men around her. Their love for each other and for her has been the core theme of the story. It would feel both needlessly cruel and also would come completely out of left field if it was a total massacre at the end.

Usually you can generally predict what way things are going based on how the story is set up (for example I clocked Tech’s death from the second Phee was introduced) but it gets harder to guess the more of an emotional investment you have in it. Plus the fan theories, no matter how absolutely ridiculous or implausible or out of character they are, can really get to you if they’re widespread enough. It can be hard to interact in fandoms of shows that are still airing because of this.

Project Necromancer gets delayed. We know this from The Mandalorian. Something good has to happen. They don’t defeat the Empire but they definitely manage to fuck up Palpatine’s longterm plans.

This show has been gold every single episode so far. It would be odd if we got to the end and felt like it was all a waste of time. Doesn’t seem likely.

It’s a big galaxy, guys. There’s thousands of planets. Maybe they’re not in Rebels because they’re literally anywhere else.

I know it’s highly likely someone will die in the finale of The Bad Batch but wouldn’t it be nice if they won?

We know they don’t defeat the Empire but winning to them could just mean staying together. The clones as a people have been put through so much and have all but been erased from the galaxy’s history. There is barely anyone alive to remember them. Their entire collective existence has been interwoven with tragedy from the moment Jango Fett allowed his DNA to be used. You don’t need to kill anyone for their stories to be tragic. For as long as they all live, they will never get to experience true freedom that doesn’t involve hiding.

I know Rex is clearly traumatised in Rebels and Echo isn’t with him so people are making the assumption Echo won’t survive. And I know people are placing bets on which other member of the batch won’t make it, but what if it just didn’t happen?

I’d just like the clones to have one small win because they’ve never had one. Let the remaining members of the batch live. Let Echo come back to them. Let Hunter live to see his little girl grow up. Let Crosshair actually get better. Let this tiny percentage of a race of people who are being wiped out spend a few more days in the sun. It would be a nice subversion of our expectations.

I know it’s highly likely someone will die in the finale of The Bad Batch but wouldn’t it be nice if they won?

We know they don’t defeat the Empire but winning to them could just mean staying together. The clones as a people have been put through so much and have all but been erased from the galaxy’s history. There is barely anyone alive to remember them. Their entire collective existence has been interwoven with tragedy from the moment Jango Fett allowed his DNA to be used. You don’t need to kill anyone for their stories to be tragic. For as long as they all live, they will never get to experience true freedom that doesn’t involve hiding.

I know Rex is clearly traumatised in Rebels and Echo isn’t with him so people are making the assumption Echo won’t survive. And I know people are placing bets on which other member of the batch won’t make it, but what if it just didn’t happen?

I’d just like the clones to have one small win because they’ve never had one. Let the remaining members of the batch live. Let Echo come back to them. Let Hunter live to see his little girl grow up. Let Crosshair actually get better. Let this tiny percentage of a race of people who are being wiped out spend a few more days in the sun. It would be a nice subversion of our expectations.

It just doesn't feel like Star Wars if it's mindlessly Jedi-critical or anti-Jedi, and not because the Jedi are perfect, but because they're the core of what makes Star Wars what it is. You may not agree with their philosophy and their modus operandi, but you can't deny that their lessons aren't just a particular way of thinking but the fundation of how the Star Wars universe works by. It's interesting to explore other characters and groups and their way of thinking the universe but trying to rewrite the base of how the Force works or the rules of that universe just to contradict the Jedi only serves to make Star Wars feel that tad less Star Wars.

Here is why I really doubt that the clone assassin is Cody:

So either CX-2 is Tech or they are throwing a hell of a lot of red herrings at us which wouldn’t really make sense unless the writers decided to completely switch styles right at the end, but the alternative theory people have is just not good imo.

It shouldn’t be Cody. I truly don’t believe it is and if it somehow was, then I think it would be a bad idea.

Cody is why Crosshair ultimately leaves the Empire. Jennifer Corbett actually said it herself. Cody is someone Crosshair admires and who has always treated the Bad Batch with respect and kindness even if no one else did, and it is him that makes Crosshair begin to change his mind. Mayday exposed the horror of what the Empire was really doing and Cody starts him on his journey of wanting to leave.

Cody was obviously just a throwaway character at the time ROTS came out but who he became in TCW is so important. Even if he doesn’t have the most screen time, it’s more about what he represents than anything else. His personality evolving into what it is when he is the Commander who serves with Obi Wan is very intentional because both characters serve similar purposes for their respective groups, those obviously being the clones and the Jedi. They both are imperfect people who are genuinely good at heart and it’s that goodness that is so important. They don’t know everything but they do their best to navigate the galaxy with empathy and respect for others. There are so many lovely parallels between the two of them and I think analysing Obi Wan actually allows you more insight into Cody too. They have differences of course, but there is so much that connects them and their influence on each other is undeniable.

Cody turning into this antagonistic figure would undercut Crosshair’s journey in my opinion. Cody needs to just be in the one episode to be a symbol of Crosshair’s development. Any further involvement from him devalues his contribution which was so crucial. One single episode created such a ripple effect. Obviously Cody wouldn’t choose to be like this, but even being forced against his will to become a monster still colours what he gave Crosshair and also feels like a very unfulfilling arc for him. There’s been no set-up and it contradicts everything he has ever been. Cody should stay as this pure moral character because that’s what he’s been from the very beginning. Order 66 was his moment of tragedy. There shouldn’t be anything else. It wouldn’t feel complete, narratively speaking, and I’d hate for him to be used just to develop someone else, like Rex. He just drops wisdom in random episodes of shows he’s in and then gets the hell out of there and I love him for that. The clone assassin shouldn’t be him and I truly don’t believe it is.

Relationships: CT-9904 | Crosshair & Clone Trooper Hunter, Hunter & Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), CT-9904 | Crosshair & Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)

Additional Tags: Angst, Panic Attacks, Hunter Needs A Hug (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Brotherly Bonding, Hunter is Omega's Parent (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), CT-9904 | Crosshair Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety

Summary: Crosshair missed. He missed the shot and they took Omega away. Now, he has to admit to Hunter what he did and face whatever wrath his brother throws his way.

And then Hunter surprises him.

OR: The missing scene in which Hunter finds out Crosshair let the Empire take Omega.

Omega looked really happy that she had an older sister. I want to see them together again. Or what will happen if she meets Hunter?

And I love her so much. She probably never left the lab or faced the world outside like Omega in ss1.

So we all agree that we’re giving Emerie the same grace we gave Crosshair, right? That seems fair, doesn’t it?

She’s clearly showing signs of wanting to defect but doesn’t think she can. I mean she has never experienced what it’s like to be free. She was raised and groomed to be a lab assistant and then was abandoned by Nala Se in favour of Omega (or maybe other female clones we haven’t even seen who came before Omega) and this is literally the only life she has ever known. The concept of leaving must be so terrifying to her. She might not even have considered it before Omega and Crosshair escaped and proved it could be done.

We can see she wants to do the right thing despite everything she was raised to think. She’s not soulless like other people in the Empire. She cares about the force sensitive children and she kept Omega’s doll, so she’s clearly attached to her too.

I really hope we get to see her bond with Omega more and, although I doubt it, I hope she makes it to the end of the show because she, like every other clone, deserves to be free and to have her own life. I want her to make it out so Omega can have a sister and Emerie can know what it’s like to have people genuinely care about you.

Even though we didn't see Hunter's reaction at the moment of him finding out about Omega, we do see the aftermath, and let me tell you, Hunter is calm.

Hunter is not lashing out at Crosshair, he is not blaming him either in words or actions, he is not shutting him out, he's not accusing Crosshair of having had any ulterior motives. Even when Rampart and the possibility of finding Tantiss being hidden comes up, Hunter adopts an attitude of wanting to understand. Even when Hunter would have every right to be furious at his brother and deem losing Omega as the last straw, question why in the stars would Crosshair allow such a thing to happen, why has he been hiding things until now, Hunter chooses to understand.

And to have Crosshair tell him that he did not want to go back to Tantiss, while the hand tremor is returning at the very idea, is enough for Hunter. Hunter didn't even need to hear that explicitly, he was already as calm and collected as humanly possible before, which in a situation like the one he's in, takes abnormal amounts of strength.

Hunter's got a heart of gold and a strength to be applauded.

The Bad Batch season 3 summarised:

good luck kiss :]

Anyway the silly Crosshair and Hunter are rivals narrative can finally be put to rest for good now that they are close again and Hunter as clearly demonstrated multiple times that he cares about and trusts Crosshair so let’s never ever ever pit them against each other again because they are literally family. Thank you. 🫶