Star Wars: The Bad Batch: The Outpost
March 8, 2023 3:00 AM - Season 2, Episode 12 - Subscribe
A new friend is made on a harsh and unforgiving planet.
Increasingly looking like Crosshair is going to turn on the Empire.
I’m pretty sure that fragging your CO qualifies as turning against the empire.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:05 AM on March 8, 2023 [9 favorites]
I’m pretty sure that fragging your CO qualifies as turning against the empire.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:05 AM on March 8, 2023 [9 favorites]
Yeah might have posted that a little early!
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:06 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:06 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The animation team is just showing off now--everything is just so beautiful. Are there Emmys for this kind of thing?
It's telling of how bad things are for Crosshair that when a stranger shows him a little kindness he'll drop everything to help them. And the catch in his voice when he says "They're gone" when asked about CF99. Crosshair has always been my least favorite Beeb but I genuinely pitied him this episode (and he would probably tell me what to do with my pity!).
In that long moment after he capped the lieutenant and everone is frozen with shock, did anyone else think he might try to kill himself? He had such a hopeless look on his face.
posted by orrnyereg at 5:57 AM on March 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's telling of how bad things are for Crosshair that when a stranger shows him a little kindness he'll drop everything to help them. And the catch in his voice when he says "They're gone" when asked about CF99. Crosshair has always been my least favorite Beeb but I genuinely pitied him this episode (and he would probably tell me what to do with my pity!).
In that long moment after he capped the lieutenant and everone is frozen with shock, did anyone else think he might try to kill himself? He had such a hopeless look on his face.
posted by orrnyereg at 5:57 AM on March 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
The animation team is just showing off now--everything is just so beautiful. Are there Emmys for this kind of thing?
Holy heck was the animation incredible this episode. I about hit pause when the snow was sticking to Mayday's face after the avalanche. I think the best Bad Batch and go for is an animation/daytime emmy award. There's also the Annie's, and they might have a more technical category there. I'm not super familiar with their categories.
The key moment really was when Mayday complained that they were good soldiers who followed orders, and they were still treated like crap. The circle is complete for the Clones, as it's clear, programming or not, their efforts and sacrifices, are not being rewarded as they are unceremoniously replaced by the growing stormtrooper corps.
Given the lieutenant's behavior from the outset, I wasn't shocked he ended up getting fragged by Crosshair. I also thought Mayday was a pretty cool Clone design/character, and was fearing we would get some kind of All Quiet on the Western Front type end for him as Crosshair hauled him back to the base. I have to believe this was intentional, as that story is all about disillusionment in war, and here we have Crosshair finally becoming disillusioned with the Empire he had served faithfully since its inception. I was expecting them to just end with him blacking out and leaving his fate a mystery, but the surprise wake up at Clone Mountain was, well, a surprise. We had a very close look at the woman tech, and I swear, her face is designed to reflect something of an adult Omega with brown hair - as a regular Jango Clone would have.
This was a very good episode and the show at it's best, which unfortunately, tends to happen more when it focuses on the non-team characters and tales the story of the GFFA as it unfolds following the birth of the Empire.
posted by Atreides at 7:59 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Holy heck was the animation incredible this episode. I about hit pause when the snow was sticking to Mayday's face after the avalanche. I think the best Bad Batch and go for is an animation/daytime emmy award. There's also the Annie's, and they might have a more technical category there. I'm not super familiar with their categories.
The key moment really was when Mayday complained that they were good soldiers who followed orders, and they were still treated like crap. The circle is complete for the Clones, as it's clear, programming or not, their efforts and sacrifices, are not being rewarded as they are unceremoniously replaced by the growing stormtrooper corps.
Given the lieutenant's behavior from the outset, I wasn't shocked he ended up getting fragged by Crosshair. I also thought Mayday was a pretty cool Clone design/character, and was fearing we would get some kind of All Quiet on the Western Front type end for him as Crosshair hauled him back to the base. I have to believe this was intentional, as that story is all about disillusionment in war, and here we have Crosshair finally becoming disillusioned with the Empire he had served faithfully since its inception. I was expecting them to just end with him blacking out and leaving his fate a mystery, but the surprise wake up at Clone Mountain was, well, a surprise. We had a very close look at the woman tech, and I swear, her face is designed to reflect something of an adult Omega with brown hair - as a regular Jango Clone would have.
This was a very good episode and the show at it's best, which unfortunately, tends to happen more when it focuses on the non-team characters and tales the story of the GFFA as it unfolds following the birth of the Empire.
posted by Atreides at 7:59 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I swear, her face is designed to reflect something of an adult Omega with brown hair - as a regular Jango Clone would have.
They have Kiwi accents too so I think there's no doubt they're clones. I guess either accents are genetic in Star Wars or Jango Fett made "learn to speak" tapes for the clone babies.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:26 AM on March 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
They have Kiwi accents too so I think there's no doubt they're clones. I guess either accents are genetic in Star Wars or Jango Fett made "learn to speak" tapes for the clone babies.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:26 AM on March 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm cracking up over the idea of Jango sitting down and reading out verses from a learn to speak text.
posted by Atreides at 8:27 AM on March 8, 2023
posted by Atreides at 8:27 AM on March 8, 2023
"I only agreed to train the clones in combat!"
"Actually, Master Fett, the contract you signed states you will teach the clones in all subjects needed to be a competent solider. Speech and writing are part of that. Now, if you will repeat after me: A is for Alderaan. B is for Bespin..."
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:29 AM on March 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
"Actually, Master Fett, the contract you signed states you will teach the clones in all subjects needed to be a competent solider. Speech and writing are part of that. Now, if you will repeat after me: A is for Alderaan. B is for Bespin..."
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:29 AM on March 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
A is for Alderaan. B is for Bespin...
B is for [Like a] Bantha, everybody knows that!
posted by orrnyereg at 9:51 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
B is for [Like a] Bantha, everybody knows that!
posted by orrnyereg at 9:51 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Bantha says
uuurrrRRRRRRRNNNGGHh
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:39 AM on March 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
uuurrrRRRRRRRNNNGGHh
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 10:39 AM on March 8, 2023 [6 favorites]
I liked this a lot, as it confirms (or at least supports) that Doc Hemlock's operation is about more than cloning power-hungry kaiju; also, it advances Crosshair's character arc, as he makes a friend (which he almost immediately loses, but oh well) and loses his Imperial religion. I shudder to think of what even a decent-sized squad of Crosshairs could do, though.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:34 AM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:34 AM on March 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
I really liked the bait-and-switch here. Last week when Hemlock and Lama Su talk about needing "one particular clone" to convince Nala Se to work with them, everyone assumed it was Omega, because we know that Nala Se and Omega had some kind of relationship, and because there was all that stuff last season with Fennec Shand trying to recapture Omega.
However most of the characters still think Clone Force 99 died on Kamino: the only one who knows for sure is Rampart, and he is presumably not talking? Possibly dead?
So the only one of the special clones still alive that the Empire & Kaminoans would have known about would be Crosshair.
As for Emerie and her sister (I don't think we caught her name), I really really want one of the Batch to call them sister, explicitly. That they have been suborned (or brainwashed through the chips) doesn't make them any less the Batch's family than any of the other clones they are trying not to kill.
On another note, I was a bit disturbed by the Raiders in this episode: I had begun to hope that SW had gotten past this weird exoticization of native peoples. They are just like the Tuskens in ANH: faceless non-humans who kill for random purposes or no purpose.
In addition, the Raiders make even less sense when you find out what's in that cargo. WHY would they spend so much energy and use up months attacking the cargo depot once they had opened the first case and found relatively useless plastic armor?
I had really hoped that Mayday and Crosshair would learn something about the Raiders and come to an understanding; but instead they just killed them all. Pretty sad.
posted by suelac at 8:35 AM on March 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
However most of the characters still think Clone Force 99 died on Kamino: the only one who knows for sure is Rampart, and he is presumably not talking? Possibly dead?
So the only one of the special clones still alive that the Empire & Kaminoans would have known about would be Crosshair.
As for Emerie and her sister (I don't think we caught her name), I really really want one of the Batch to call them sister, explicitly. That they have been suborned (or brainwashed through the chips) doesn't make them any less the Batch's family than any of the other clones they are trying not to kill.
On another note, I was a bit disturbed by the Raiders in this episode: I had begun to hope that SW had gotten past this weird exoticization of native peoples. They are just like the Tuskens in ANH: faceless non-humans who kill for random purposes or no purpose.
In addition, the Raiders make even less sense when you find out what's in that cargo. WHY would they spend so much energy and use up months attacking the cargo depot once they had opened the first case and found relatively useless plastic armor?
I had really hoped that Mayday and Crosshair would learn something about the Raiders and come to an understanding; but instead they just killed them all. Pretty sad.
posted by suelac at 8:35 AM on March 9, 2023 [5 favorites]
What gorgeous animation.
I also wanted more from the raiders than senseless violence. Maybe the cache included more high-value items like weapons or comms, and they just happened to grab a dud crate this time for dramatic purposes.
But the show kinda needed the whole twenty minutes to sell Crosshair making a friend. (I like the character, but caring about people he doesn't personally know doesn't seem to be his strong suit.)
And also to maneuver him into a situation where he couldn't avoid seeing that leopards do eat the faces of competent, loyal clone commanders. RIP, Mayday.
posted by mersen at 4:41 AM on March 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
I also wanted more from the raiders than senseless violence. Maybe the cache included more high-value items like weapons or comms, and they just happened to grab a dud crate this time for dramatic purposes.
But the show kinda needed the whole twenty minutes to sell Crosshair making a friend. (I like the character, but caring about people he doesn't personally know doesn't seem to be his strong suit.)
And also to maneuver him into a situation where he couldn't avoid seeing that leopards do eat the faces of competent, loyal clone commanders. RIP, Mayday.
posted by mersen at 4:41 AM on March 11, 2023 [3 favorites]
I kept expecting the raiders to turn out to be the fallen clones, who’d defected after realising what they were guarding and becoming disillusioned.
posted by coriolisdave at 1:56 PM on March 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by coriolisdave at 1:56 PM on March 11, 2023 [7 favorites]
I kept expecting the raiders to turn out to be the fallen clones
That definitely occurred to me too, especially once I saw that Mayday was wrapping cloth around his armor as well. It would have been a really good twist.
... ah, well.
posted by suelac at 3:32 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
That definitely occurred to me too, especially once I saw that Mayday was wrapping cloth around his armor as well. It would have been a really good twist.
... ah, well.
posted by suelac at 3:32 PM on March 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Crosshair's refrain this entire show is that "Good soldiers follow orders," and here we see where he finally breaks through that conditioning.
What will it get him, other than a trip to Experiment City?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:33 PM on March 18, 2023
What will it get him, other than a trip to Experiment City?
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:33 PM on March 18, 2023
I suspect when we see him next he will be either catatonic or gibbering like a Lovecraft protagonist.
posted by orrnyereg at 12:30 PM on March 20, 2023
posted by orrnyereg at 12:30 PM on March 20, 2023
GOD. I'm way behind on this show but give me a CROSSHAIR EPISODE every damn time! Tremendous storytelling!!
Star Wars TV is so uneven but when it's good, holy crap.
posted by potrzebie at 11:09 PM on May 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
Star Wars TV is so uneven but when it's good, holy crap.
posted by potrzebie at 11:09 PM on May 10, 2023 [2 favorites]
The stoic character brings out the best of the show somehow. Crosshair is the best!
posted by Atreides at 6:46 AM on May 11, 2023
posted by Atreides at 6:46 AM on May 11, 2023
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posted by EndsOfInvention at 5:00 AM on March 8, 2023