– Spoiler Review –
Early in season two of The Bad Batch we were blessed with a pretty intense and intriguing Crosshair focused episode, but he’s been out of the mix for awhile. Thankfully “The Outpost” returns us to his story, where a routine mission forces him to re-examine his choices, resulting in an episode which even outshines his earlier outing.
“The Solitary Clone” was a riveting episode which questioned how far Crosshair was willing to go for the new Empire, especially as he has to live with the consequences of his actions, which we saw happen by its end. It left me wondering what the final straw would be for Crosshair, so not returning to him for awhile has left the question dangling far longer than I would’ve hoped. But the wait was more than worth it thanks to “The Outpost,” as while it’s not as riveting due the lack of a big The Clone Wars-esque action sequence, it’s far more introspective and thought-provoking, which it needed to be for this next leg of Crosshair’s journey.
Assigned to a haughty Imperial Lieutenant named Nolan, Crosshair gets a fresh blast of the growing disdain within the Empire for the remaining clones, though he views Nolan as an annoyance he has to deal with simply because, as far as he believes, he’s a good soldier and as long as he follows orders, he doesn’t have anything to worry about. Their mission takes them to a snowy, cold world and a small outpost which needs to be guarded until its cargo can be transported. When they arrive, the outpost is barren and empty, until they find the remaining three clones guarding the place, led by one named Mayday. Whereas Crosshair is willing to put up with Nolan, Mayday sees Nolan for what he is and has no time for him, acting like a good soldier but sneaking in quips or alternative ideas which the new Lieutenant doesn’t appreciate in the slightest, seeing the loss of all Mayday’s men his failure…and not that of the Empire’s never responding to request for replacements. Crosshair stays out of it, preferring not to rock the boat, but it’s clear he respects Mayday for standing up.
A late-night raid results in the rest of Mayday’s men dead and their transport destroyed, leaving Lt. Nolan angry at the two men, blaming this all on them again, and he forces them to go out and retrieve the stolen cargo. This allows Mayday and Crosshair some time alone, where the bearded clone, in his patchworked armor, starts prying at Crosshair’s edges, which have been fraying a little since the events of “The Solitary Clone.” While Crosshair is his usual stoic and silent self, Mayday is anything but, forcing conversation out of him, especially while having to disarm a pressure sensitive mine Crosshair stumbles on as they attempt to locate the raiders’ camp. Mayday disarms it even despite Crosshair’s earlier comments about a dead raider they passed in the caves, saying he understood why they left him behind because why would you carry dead weight, and Mayday’s actions show Crosshair what it’s like to be part of a team again like he had with Clone Force 99. He’s been happy to go it solo, but he can’t deny the advantages to having someone with you who cares about you. Also in their conversation, Crosshair learns, despite Mayday’s attitude towards Nolan and the lack of the Empire’s help, he’s still a good soldier following orders because he never once peeked into the containers to see what cargo was so important his team lost their lives for, something which surprises Crosshair as he’s been known to break a rule or two and likely would’ve looked…or at least one of his fellow Clone Force 99 team would’ve looked. Mayday is the blind allegiance Crosshair purports to be, yet he’s at least willing to question or doubt his superiors, whereas Crosshair is just content to follow the orders because he thinks it’s all he needs to do to help him avoid having guilt for his actions.
These moments between Mayday and Crosshair are vital to the latter’s development, as it’ll change everything for him going forward. The pair make it through the caves and find the raider’s encampment, the cargo waiting for them to rescue, and they assault the camp. It’s a quick and dirty action sequence, the two clones a well-oiled and deadly machine, the nameless and faceless raiders not given any explanation before Crosshair brings a nearby outcropping of the mountain down on them after blowing up more pressure mines. The cargo nearly gets away in the fracas, but Crosshair stops one of the raiders from escaping with it, so the pair go to collect it…and find it’s full of new armor for the clonetroopers’ replacements, the stormtroopers. Mayday is devastated and angry to learn he’s been guarding equipment he and his men could’ve used as they waited on the Empire to help them and even Crosshair sees the cruelty in it. Before they get it all together, the explosion they set off results in an avalanche, and while they try to run, they obviously aren’t fast enough against a force of nature and Mayday pushes Crosshair to avoid hitting a giant rock, which he collides with instead as the avalanche takes them. Crosshair emerges, helmetless in the freezing wind and storm brewing around them, uncovering Mayday and, despite his earlier comment, dragging the other clone back to base. I loved the sequence of Crosshair carrying Mayday as it returns to one of the more effective tools in “The Solitary Clone,” which is silence, allowing the music and lack of dialogue to do all the talking, like when the two huddle together for warmth for the night.
Upon their return, the Empire’s stormtroopers are already there, loading up the cargo, and Lt. Nolan sees their struggle and only notices the lack of cargo. Crosshair asks for medical assistance for Mayday, but Nolan’s clonetrooper dislike means he only sees the dying man as a soldier who fulfilled its purpose as an expendable resource. As Mayday dies, Lt. Nolan reminds Crosshair he feels the same way about him, and he better get to work so he’s not expendable too. Is this the moment which wakes up Crosshair, seeing a good soldier who follows orders left to die simply because the Empire doesn’t care about them anymore and only results? Is this enough? While we don’t get a definitive answer, Crosshair rallies enough strength to get up and kill Lt. Nolan, a cathartic moment for us and him, leaving his actions to speak far louder than any words the usually quiet clone could use. Collapsing afterwards, the stormtroopers surround him, and he awakes in a dark and creepy place, where the scientist Emerie Karr (Keisha Castle-Hughes), who we saw last episode with the Mount Wayland intrigue, jabbing him in the neck with something before he passes out again. Just as Crosshair might’ve finally had a reason to leave, or made the choice to leave, he’s forced back in deeper with experiments…I’ll be curious to see what they are doing to him though I can only imagine it means we’ll see him again in, at the very least, the season finale, once again at odds with his brethren. But will his awakening from Lt. Nolan and Mayday remain in tact enough, regardless of the experiments, Clone Force 99 can break through to him again and he’s able to choose them this time? Only time will tell, and with 4 episodes left (and only three weeks left as the final two episodes will air the same day), we’ll see soon enough.
Here are a few other things:
- The Kiner brothers really do something special when it’s Crosshair-focused episodes and it really adds to the ambiance of the character study, the synth-heavy sounds both arresting and haunting, like his continued decision to stay with the Empire.
- Snow animation is a tricky thing to nail and I felt frigid watching, which says a lot from someone who lives in Wisconsin (we’re about to get a nice 6-8inches this Thursday-Friday). There’s some absolutely gorgeous shots this episode of the mountain after its delivered its deadly avalanche payload, showing how beautiful yet dangerous nature can be…and how minor we are in its story.
- Every episode I make it a point to include in my review mention of the Unwhitewash The Bad Batch campaign and this week is no different, especially after the recent reveal of the Hot Toys take on Tech, who is not only straight-up white, he doesn’t even look like Temuera Morrison like their other toys of Clone Force 99 do. If the show had taken the time to actually change the skin tone of these characters, maybe this could’ve been avoided, though as is it’s disgusting, to say the least. As always, #UnwhitewashTBB. You can read more up on the campaign via their Carrd, and this great article on Gizmodo, but it’s simply pointing out how the special clones of a character played by a Māori actor are whiter than any other clone, unintentionally implying superiority and uniqueness are inherent in those who are white versus their darker-skinned brethren. I find it hard to cover this show without mentioning it each episode, as not acknowledging it would be ignoring the problem. They’ve reportedly darkened the characters, but it’s still not been enough to fix the issue, so hopefully by the show’s eventual third season they can maybe get it right.
The Bad Batch season two’s “The Outpost” is another standout episode, putting Crosshair’s devotion to the Empire to the test once again, resulting in some change for once, though we’re left unsure if it can stick due to further Imperial machinations.
+ Crosshair’s realizations
+ Mayday and his effect on Crosshair
– Unwhitewash the Bad Batch
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE BAD BATCH REVIEWS
Season Two: 1.1/1.2 Spoils of War & Ruins of War | 1.3 The Solitary Clone | 1.4 Faster | 1.5 Entombed | 1.6 Tribe | 1.7/1.8 The Clone Conspiracy & Truth and Consequences | 1.9 The Crossing | 1. 10 Retrieval | 1.11 Metamorphosis
Season One: 1.1 Aftermath | 1.2 Cut and Run | 1.3 Replacements | 1.4 Cornered | 1.5 Rampage | 1.6 Decommissioned | 1.7 Battle Scars | 1.8 Reunion | 1.9 Bounty Lost | 1.10 Common Ground | 1.11 Devil’s Deal | 1.12 Rescue on Ryloth | 1.13 Infested | 1.14 War-Mantle | 1.15 Return to Kamino | 1.16 Kamino Lost