Salty recluse

I love parts of this show. I hate other parts. It’s a fucking rollercoaster of enjoyment and despair at the writing quality. And when I look at the parts I hate and go “why was this decision made in the writing room” I’ve found the answer of “the writing team only cares about Omega” answers it.

Hunter’s selfish behaviour and decisions that make him only seem to care about Omega? I think are entirely unfair to judge from an in-character perspective, because he hasn’t been allowed a personality since Omega appeared. He exists only to enable her story, and the writers don’t care about his perspective beyond his relationship with her. He’s the embodiment of the writing team’s complete lack of care for the Batch, and is a prime example of how they’re only used as supporting characters to Omega.

We will never see all the potential for Echo’s character followed through on, because it can’t be made Omega-centric. He’s underutilized by the show because the writers can’t shove him and his story into the “space dad” role as much as they can the rest of the Batch. The little room he is given to actually have some focus on him is inevitably made Omega-centric. Actually getting to see him have a serious conversation with Hunter about the group’s future? Forced to be Omega-centric. Him leaving to work with Rex? Forced to be Omega-centric.

Far too many things with Tech in season 2 felt like a “passing of the torch” from him to Omega, which makes me think he’s truly dead. Because Omega is all the writers care about, and her taking up even a fraction of Tech’s role in the group means he’s worthless to the writing team alive. Honestly, it won’t surprise me if that’s why he was the one chosen to die of the Batch: he’s got the “easiest” skillset for Omega to replace him with.

What’s worse, before his death, he was only allowed meaningful interactions with her, not his brothers. Where’s the Tech and Hunter focused conversations? Where’s the Tech and Echo focused conversations, especially before Echo left? We didn’t even get a comment from either of them about events in ‘Faster’! Wrecker got some extra crumbs of attention compared to his brothers, but it’s nowhere near enough.

To add insult to injury, the story is almost immediately back to Omega-centric drama after Tech’s death. Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo aren’t given space to grieve for him because that’s not important to the writers. They need to make everything about Omega again as quickly as possible.

Also, fuck the writers for killing the ND rep, and before that, romanticising masking with him. The “brown eyes” nickname celebrates an ND person only being liked for his appearance while receiving negative reactions for acting like himself, and it makes me feel sick every time I see it, or anything to do with it. But hey, Omega made a friend, and that’s apparently all that matters with that mess.

Wrecker suffers almost as badly as Hunter with how he’s only allowed to exist to enable Omega’s story, and the one time the show paid attention to him, it wasn’t for him as a character, but the inhibitor chip in his head. He was used as a tool to inflict the experience of Order 66 on Omega and that’s it.

Saying that, the inhibitor chip has only been used in this series to inflict the experience of Order 66 on Omega, and after that, it seemed to magically poof out of all the clones’ heads. Gregor needs saving? No mention of how much they should worry about his chip triggering, despite the horrors they endured on Bracca. Rex and Echo saving clones in season 2? No mention of needing to get their chips removed, or how dangerous they might still be with the ticking time bombs in their brains. The Batch still separated from Crosshair? Let’s not mention the chip in his head, not even when Wrecker knows exactly what his brother is going through. Let’s not even discuss trying to rescue their own family on Ryloth, even though there’s was a gigantic fucking opportunity to while Hera was convincing them to rescue hers. To quote Omega: “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.” Where’s that fucking attitude for Crosshair!? (It’s not allowed because it wouldn’t lead to Omega-centric writing.)

The inhibitor chip can’t be made Omega-centric anymore, so it’s just gone and isn’t allowed to even be mentioned. It’s handwaved outta Crosshair’s head in the season 1 finale and that’s it.

And a mention is all that’s needed in most cases. The lack of those necessary mentions has damaged this series beyond repair at this point. As a sidenote: I don’t want to see this show turn into a “clone rebellion” show all about the chips and so on. I want it to focus on Crosshair, Tech, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo. I want it to focus on them exploring the galaxy and having new experiences in it, and growing as characters and as a team from it. But we’re never gonna fucking get that in the “Omega and her space dads” show. The “Dad Batch” aren’t allowed their own stories or character development, unless it revolves around Omega.

Time for a reminder that AZI can remove inhibitor chips by himself, and even when the Batch don’t know that, they know Rex is helping other clones, and how useful a Kaminoan medical droid would probably be for assisting with removing the chips. But giving AZI to Rex wouldn’t lead to more Omega-centric writing, so he gets stuck as Cid’s bartender instead to force the contrived situation on Ord Mantell at the end of season 2.

Saying that, there’s not even a mention of them leaving AZI with Cid when they cut ties with her. Not even from Omega herself, who almost fucking drowned herself on Kamino trying to save him. Nah, she’s not allowed to care about him at all now, not when he’s being set up to force more Omega-centric plot.

Omega herself as a character suffers from the Omega-centric writing too with shit like that. How many “Omega might be Force-sensitive” theories can be debunked by “actually the writing is just being lazy with wanting to make its ONE main character do cool/important/dramatic stuff.” How much less whining about “filler episodes” would the fandom get if the rest of the Batch were actually allowed to be main characters alongside her, instead of supporting characters being her yes-men. Y’know why the episodes away from the Batch get so much praise? Because the writers actually have to think about the perspectives of the non-Omega characters for a fucking change.

(To be clear, I am not complaining about her as a character, and I say this as someone who does not like children, or child characters in media. Omega is ok. If the Bad Batch was actually about the Bad Batch, I’d probably have grown to like her! But all I see now is a symbol of bad writing that’s stolen away any chance of the characters around her ever having stories or character arcs of their own.)

I’m so exhausted of the narrative focusing on her I’ve ended up just not caring about what happens to her. Kidnapped? So what, we already had that with ‘Bounty Lost’, I don’t need multiple episodes of the Batch being “we have to find and save Omega” I’ve already had enough of that shit. Especially when compared to the Batch never being shown even planning to rescue Crosshair, ‘cause guess what! That can’t be made Omega-centric.

Seriously, how many characters do the Batch go on rescue missions for, while never even discussing rescuing Crosshair and removing his chip. Where’s the forgiveness and understanding like Wrecker got after Bracca? Oh, that’s not allowed, because that wouldn’t lead to Omega-centric writing.

At this point I’m 100% convinced Crosshair’s chip magically poofed out of his head in the same way that it did with all the other clones after Bracca. Why? Because him still having the chip in his head wouldn’t lead to an Omega-centric story. You know what does? The bullshit miserable situation at the end of season 2, after shoving a story about “decisions” on a character who hasn’t had the agency to make any decisions for himself from the fucking start.

The moment Omega was taken to Tantiss, I felt like I saw Crosshair die. I had the same reaction as seeing Tech fall.

Because characters around Omega aren’t allowed to be anything but supporting characters to her. 0 thought will be given to Crosshair’s perspective from now on. He might look and sound like Crosshair, but his personality and any chance of a fitting continuation of his story is dead and gone.

So I lost my two favourite characters in one fucking misery of an episode.

After the writing so far, I expect that everything between Crosshair and his brothers will be magically fixed in season 3 because “he made friends with Omega” and that’s it. No healing arc, no trust-rebuilding arc for the entire team, no focus on Crosshair processing everything he’s been through and adapting to life outside the Empire, and his brothers helping him to adapt, because that’s not Omega-centric. He’ll only be allowed to have a “become a space dad” arc now.

Hell it’s already started in season 2. The plot point about the Empire thinking the Batch are dead after Tipoca City’s destruction, Crosshair not telling them otherwise, and Rampart hearing they’re actually alive, is entirely fucked over in ‘Tipping Point’ when Crosshair doesn’t even attempt to feign that he doesn’t know if his brothers are still alive. Nope! Immediately to Omega-centric writing for him now he’s had his short handwavey excuse of a “character arc”.

(Don’t get me wrong, I adore the Crosshair eps in season 2, but the writing around them entirely lets them down. Great when looked at individually, but his overall story so far is an inconsistent mess.)

Also RIP Wilco, who died for nothing but drama that didn’t even survive past the episode after his murder.

Of course, this is assuming Crosshair will survive escaping Tantiss to rejoin the Batch. At this point, I’m hoping he is actually killed off, so he can escape the Omega-centric writing. What’s the point of him surviving and rejoining the Batch, when we’ll never get a fitting reunion. It won’t be Crosshair rejoining the Batch, it’ll be “space dad #5” who isn’t allowed a personality or story beyond “one of Omega’s dads”. Saying that, he won’t even be reunited with his brothers, just the “Dad Batch”, who’ve had their personalities stolen away from them by a writing team that doesn’t care about their perspectives.

Y’know the writing done fucked up when it makes someone wish that their favourite character was dead to escape it.

(Yes this is the short version of my thoughts, this rant is still going lol.)

I’ve not studied Cid’s writing as closely as the others yet, but the little I have makes me think the writing around her suffers because of the Omega-centric writing too. There is a complete lack of consequences for how she interacts with the Batch, ‘cause guess what, the Batch’s perspectives aren’t allowed to be considered in their own damn show. ‘Infested’ should’ve been a prompt for them to at least realize that they can’t always rely on Cid being around; that someone more experienced and dangerous than Roland might eventually come along, and they should be prepared for that.

Season 2 could’ve been great for showing this too: instead of having them sat around waiting for Cid to give them stuff to do, we could’ve had space for Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, or Echo themselves to prompt events of an episode, while focusing on them as characters and their relationships with their brothers. What would each of them suggest for making more money? What are their different ideas for if they distance themselves from Cid? What do they want to do or try? What are their hopes for the future? How would their ideas and decisions impact the group’s dynamic? Character focused episodes could’ve explored these questions, and made the show “The Bad Batch” actually be about the Bad Batch.

But that wouldn’t be Omega-centric, so no Batch-focused episodes for us, it’s all got to revolve around her. They can only be the “space dads” who follow Omega and enable her story. Meanwhile, all the potential around Cid’s character and her interactions with the Batch are wasted, because the little I have looked at her character, I think there’s great character-building potential for her and the Batch interacting with each other. She’s an excellent teacher for them to learn how to survive away from the Republic (be that her intentionally teaching them by the situations she puts them in, or them just being allowed to react to how she treats them) if only the Batch were allowed to learn. But them learning that wouldn’t lead to Omega-centric episodes either, so we’re denied that.

Phee is one of the worst cases for how damaging the Omega-centric writing can be for a character, and I want to emphasise here that that’s not just with her and Tech, but with the entire Batch. The only person she has positive interactions and reactions with is Omega, and everything with her relies on people being ok with “Omega made a friend” being the basis of her being around the Batch at all, no matter how she interacts with them. I am not ok with this.

Thanks to this, ‘Entombed’ as an episode is miserable and frustrating to watch, and I am still surprised when I see that people think it was “fun”. From the start, Phee is established as a liar when she’s telling her stories. The writers massively let her down here: if they wanted to show that Tech was showing an interest in what she was saying, while also showing that Phee is an experienced explorer, then he should’ve made comments about how many stories she has to tell. Instead, the writing frames her as a liar. So not only are the Batch dragged into needless danger, but it’s with someone stated to be untrustworthy, who rudely dismisses valid concerns about the group’s safety, while telling more “stories” about herself that remind the viewer that she’s a liar. By the end of that episode, I never wanted to see her again thanks to her attitude towards the Batch, and how unhappy they were around her – and this is something very important here, how the Batch interacted with her. They weren’t happy around her, they don’t respond positively to her “sass”, they’re not acting like they’re making a new friend/ally, and it adds to the whole situation just feeling miserable.

But Omega made a friend, and that’s all that matters. But Omega had “fun”, and that’s all that matters. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo’s perspectives, the needless danger they were in, how they were spoken to, and how they reacted through the events, are shown as not mattering at all.

(I’m going to add a “please do not interact” to Phee fans here, in case any have chosen to read this far. I’ve read analysis and positivity posts about her, trying to understand how people can like her attitude (especially towards the Batch) and I still don’t get it. If you enjoy the writing involving her, ok, you do you, I don’t want to hear or debate about it. I am using this post to vent, not to start a discussion.)

‘Entombed’ is one of the rare occasions where I’ll say I actually hate Omega’s behaviour too – her complete lack of care about the needless danger her brothers are being put in, how clear it is that they’re not enjoying the situation, and how close the Marauder was to being destroyed too, makes her seem so incredibly selfish here. Saying that, that lack of care feels out of character, and is an example of she herself being harmed by the Omega-centric writing. The writers only paid attention to “Omega makes a friend” in this episode, and everything suffered for it.

As such, all of ‘Pabu’ feels forced, rushed, jarring, and hollow, since it relies on ‘Entombed’ to establish Phee as a friend to the Batch, and it totally failed there. Alongside that, its awful heavy-handed writing feels like the writers slapping me repeatedly in the face with a “THIS IS THE HAPPY ENDING FOR OMEGA AND HER SPACE DADS” while having no foundation for that ending or them even being on that planet, other than “Omega made a friend.”

What’s worse, it’s galling to see the supposedly “happy ending” when the Batch haven’t been allowed to have their own story in the first place. Fuck there being any sort of “end” when there’s not been a middle to the story, there’s barely even a start of one before the Omega-centric writing hijacked everything.

‘Entombed’, ‘Pabu’, and ‘Plan 99’ are the fucking epitome of awful Omega-centric writing in this show, I hate them.

(‘Bounty Lost’ is almost a part of that list too, but Fennec Shand’s presence prevents me from outright hating that episode.)

As a last scream into the void: if people are going to try place IC blame on a character for Tech’s death, Omega is the one who compromised the mission on Eriadu. Echo is the one who caused a distraction that put the whole place on alert. Hunter is the one who decided it’s ok to bring an untrained child on dangerous missions just because she could play space-chess. I don’t know Saw’s character enough to really comment on him or his decisions (I’m more just a TBB fan than a SW fan, so I only really remember his appearances in TBB and CW) but what I can say is it won’t surprise me if he’s yet another victim of a subpar writing team fucking him over with Omega-centric writing.

Either way there, I don’t think any of these characters are responsible for Tech’s death, and the vitriol aimed at Saw should be aimed at the writing team instead. They are the ones who made the decision to kill off an ND character, after showing him as only desirable for his appearance, while setting up Omega to take his role in the group and making his story be all about passing his torch to her.

(Disclaimer: No, I am not fucking endorsing anyone to go actually complain at the writers/creative team. Only that people getting pissed off at certain characters maybe need to consider that those characters are the victims of a shit writing team that doesn’t care about their perspective, and that the writing needs criticising instead of the characters.)

Anyway, to bring this rant to a close, because it’s already much longer than I intended: Crosshair, Tech, Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, and many other characters have been let down by a writing team that do not care about their perspectives. This has caused issues in the writing of the show that I believe are the root of the majority of complaints and criticisms.

It’s a shame, because I don’t think the writing team are entirely shit writers. I wouldn’t be this angry if it was all bad. Where the writing has failed to have a consistent overarching narrative that’s faithful to the show’s name, it does shine wonderfully with those smaller interactions between the Batch, all those moments of banter and hints of personality being shown off, which makes me want to see more of these characters. There is so much potential there, so many things to work with just from having character-driven stories from the Batch and exploring their different perspectives, which the writing team has absolutely fucking wasted. Instead, they’re forced to have their personalities and stories revolve around one character, severely limiting what little character development they’re allowed, and causing glaring plot holes, like the inhibitor chips suddenly ceasing to exist once Omega has interacted with them.

As I started this rant saying, The Bad Batch has felt like a rollercoaster of good and bad, side by side in almost every episode. This reminds me of my experience with Mass Effect.

(The first two games anyway. ME2’s Arrival DLC made me ragequit the series. But that’s a whole other rant, do not get me started, I have over a decade of undying rage on that subject.)

Something both the Bad Batch and Mass Effect have in common is that they’re written by a team, and I found the Mass Effect rollercoaster made sense when I saw a list of who-wrote-what: the things I enjoy have certain names linked to them, and the things I hate have certain other names linked to them. And in some cases, certain writers are great at some things, but then they write a specific type of character or situation, and the writing quality takes an unfortunate nosedive.

Far too many times, I’ve seen the Star Wars fandom point fingers at people like Filoni or Corbett – either way, one person, who may not have been involved in certain writing decisions at all. And while we know who wrote what episode, that doesn’t mean that writer made all the decisions for what happens in that episode.

Point here being, as far as I know, we do not have information for who made what writing decision, so I am not pointing fingers at any specific person, and I think it’s unhelpful when people try to lay blame on an individual when it’s a team effort. We also don’t know how much the writing team has had pressure on them from outside the writer’s room to have specific plot points, leaving the writers to do damage control on what they’ve been ordered to write. When marketing departments and “Higher Paid” people meddle in the development of game stories, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the same with other media. (And adds to my earlier statement of “don’t attack the creators”, we don’t know who made what decisions, or if some asshole wearing an expensive suit poked their nose in and demanded they make the show revolve around the child character, because it’s better for marketing, or pushes the romanticisation/glorification of parenthood on the viewers, or some shit like that.)

Too long, didn’t read: The majority of the narrative decisions in this show can be explained by badly handwavey writing that is focusing on only one character’s perspective and story, to the detriment of all events and characters around her, including herself. Characters cannot be faithfully analysed from an in-character viewpoint when the canon writing has failed them so badly. Also, supposed “details” cannot be taken seriously when the show’s writing is inconsistent with details. While the fandom has come up with some interesting analysis of characters and the story, I think they’re better framed as headcanon than what the writing team intended. If you think the writing team cares about the Bad Batch as anything other than being “space dads” who only exist to enable Omega’s story, then you’re probably in for a world of disappointment in season 3.

I’ve seen people call Omega the “heart” of the show. I believe this is only because none of the other characters have been allowed to have any hearts themselves, thanks to a writing team that doesn’t care about them.

Rename “The Bad Batch” to “Omega”, and the shitty writing decisions make sense.

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