User Reviews

The Outpost is one of the best episodes of The Bad Batch. The mood is intense and there is so much development.

Crosshair is assigned on a mission and makes a new friend in Mayday, what a legend. Seeing the Empire not caring at all and just moving on to their new project, kicking the Clone Troopers to the side, the Sniper starts having doubts after everything he sacrificed. Mayday points it out... They followed orders and were absolute soldiers... and for what ?

The tragedy is present and witnessing Crosshair trying to survive and save someone in a blizzard was heartwarming. And as everything starts to crumble, and we get more of the same bulls.t by one of the most despicable Lieutenants of all time, we get the tension rising up to a truly cathartic moment where Crosshair shoots the dkhead in cold blood. And the vultures are there lurking in the sky, like a sign of freedom and also resilience (because they managed to survive).

There is some true lessons there, and Crosshair goes through the ringer and is put in the middle of crucial situations making him realize a lot. His world has been shaken, and as you sit there in triumph after Crosshair's return, you get to Emerie and the rug is pulled out right from under your feet, and you get back to reality, in somberness and sorrow, and maybe there is no escape after all. And the episode concludes. This is the way.

After last week's episode, I am so excited to see how the Tantiss story plays out. I was wondering how they'd include Crosshair. I can safely say that this episode did a great job of making his return organic.

I feel like Crosshair was disillusioned with the Empire from the moment he was separated from his brothers, but he stayed with the empire because he needed to believe he was serving a higher purpose.

After Cody went AWOL and now Mayday dying for nothing, Crosshair finally realizes that this purpose doesn't exist with the empire.

Crosshair's character arc is one of my favorites of any character in Star Wars. He is well-written and just feels so genuine.

I am looking forward to how this plays out and what will happen to Crosshair and the rest of the Batch, especially Omega and Echo.

So far, the two Episodes centered around Crosshair were amongst the best of the season if not series.

This episode was fantastic and might be one of the best pieces of Star Wars content made in a long long time. I love the arc Crosshair is on. We are really seeing the Crosshair that was deep down past the chip. He's really coming back as an anti-hero and showing his true colors. Crosshair was always the character with the most depth in Bad Batch and I'm happy this episode was focused on his humanity. This episode had it all, great action, amazing writing, dangerous beasts, adventure, comradery, danger and this felt like there was actually something on the line for the characters. If the season keeps going like the last two episodes this season has a chance to completely redeem itself.

The Clones have become relics from a past that seems far distant. No one in the Empirical authority gives the Clones more than a glance of respect.

Crosshair and Mayday embark on a journey to bring back stolen cargo. They have no idea what they're even retrieving. They take out the garrison, but an avalanche ensues. Before this, they discover that it was in fact stormtrooper armor that was contained in those boxes. It's ironic, really. And a great story component.

In the end, Crosshair gets fed up with Nolan because he let Mayday die. He in turn kills him. This is the turning point in his character progression.

This hammered home the point that the Clones are no longer wanted be the Empire, and they are being replaced. I loved the recurrent dialogue from Mayday about his thoughts.

A quote I really liked: "In my experience, respect is something to be earned."

Overall, I think this week's episode outdid this week's Mandalorian.

9.5/10.

"We were good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?"

This was a powerful episode, that really showcased the futility of the clone wars. All that the clones fought and sacrificed for, resulted in a despotic empire that devalued the very beings to which they owed their survival. They were created as a tool, and once the purpose for their creation was fulfilled, they were discarded as trash.

It was truly heartbreaking seeing Mayday and Crosshair come to realize this. Crosshair has always been one of my favorite characters of the show as he is so complex. I've been wondering what it would take to make him split from the empire, if it was even possible, now I know.

The entire reason that he didn't go with his brothers, when they asked him to come back, was because he believed in the power of the empire. He believed that in the new order the strong would be favored and the weak cast out. Throughout this episode, we get to see him realize how wrong this was, in the empire's treatment of the clones.

The clone troopers are far more skilled than most of the storm troopers are. It makes no tactical sense for the empire to so casually dismiss such a capable fighting force, from crosshair's perspective. The imperials horrible treatment of the clones, goes against everything crosshair believes in.

That coupled with the officer letting Mayday die when it was well within his power to save him, further drove this point home.

This was a very powerful and heartbreaking episode that perfectly showcased how the empire cruelly discarded the clones.

The Clones were created at a time of war. When the separatists loomed over the galaxy. The Clones were powerful soliders, who were not only ferocious but had good hearts and were in every way good men. They served the republic despite being born and created for war. War is a clone's purpose. Without combat and duty a clone is nothing. However they were decieved, thrown away, abandoned and they fought for nothing. They had chips inside their brain to turn them into aggressive monsters that would make them slay the generals they fought beside. The relationship between a Jedi and Clone was close, and when the chip turned on, they killed their friends and generals, and the bond between them was broken.

After Palpatine's ascension to Emperor in the new Empire, which replaced the Republic. He discarded the "expensive to make" Clones and replaced them with the "cheaper to hire" Stormtroopers. Which were paid soldiers that could join the empire whenever they wanted.

In this point of the story, the clones are being replaced at a fast rate. Forced retirement, suicide missions, and sometimes secret genocide. Two clones travel together to recover cargo they cannot even retrieve. Only one of them will make it through the journey. But when they discover what the cargo is, it shatters Crosshair's world completely. And the death of his fellow clone "MayDay" drives him to further grief and torment. As he realizes that everything he and his brothers fought for was for nothing. They were slave-soliders who fought for a dying republic. According to Mayday, "Respect is something that is earned", but in the end. They earned no respect, and they now amount to scraps leftover from an old war.

Final thoughts: these latest episodes are really good. And this series has so much potential, however we keep getting these filler "side quest" episodes that don't enhance the story or push the plot at all. I want to see these characters fleshed out more. I feel like Crosshair, Hunter, Echo, and Omega are the only members of the Bad Batch I can understand. I feel like I understand them as characters, but Wrecker and Tech feel like stereotypes. "Dumb strong" and just plain old "I'm the smart one 🤓" aren't valid character traits. I hope they flesh out the characters more as the series goes on.

More episodes like this please.

Man when this show is on it is (capital letters) on!

What a perfect setup, underserved clones defending shipments of armor for their replacements. The dialogue is pretty spectacular (we did follow orders) and the symbolism with the scavenger animals works really well. Crosshair cradling Mayday was a very impactful shot and almost brought me to tears. It's nice to see this side of Crosshair brought out and what will probably make for an interesting disillusionment arc. It makes a lot of sense for the character considering they prioritize loyalty so much, and the Empire's loyalty is a one-way street.

(For those who were initially confused as I was, Mayday shoves Crosshair to save him. The avalanche was too fast to get behind the rock and would have crushed Crosshair against it. Initially, it appeared to me like Mayday was pushing Crosshair so he could get behind the rock and not Crosshair).

Overall, I have no complaints. For a single episode arc, it setup and knocked down the house perfectly, and the deep-ish subject matter is enough for me to put it from 9/10 territory to 10/10.

Crosshair is my new favorite clone character. It used to be Rex followed by Jesse, Fives and Hevy. Crosshair has grown and evolved more than any clone character. Seeing him finally, while in a desperate situation disobey orders while a part of the empire was such a cool moment. I genuinely felt happy for him yet sad at the feeling of dread he was experiencing. The overall tone and atmosphere of the episode was perfect. The Bad Batch should feel darker and grimmer than the Clone Wars, these are "The Dark Times" after all. I wonder if the injury he sustained from the ship engine in Season 1 is why he was stunned at the beginning while looking in his scope🤔

Seeing Clones being disposed off, is something that gradually makes me really sad. But this episode is worth the sad feeling.

Crosshair finds himself in a crossroads; it's time to realise the truth and deal with it, regardless of the consequences. Alongside him, Commander Mayday (really now, "Mayday"?! Couldn't they find a proper name?!) is the epitome of the old breed of Clone Troopers, a shattered fighter, cast aside with his fellow clone troopers, left in a god forsaken place to guard containers, struggling to keep his men alive in a harsh environment. Yet, this is the moment where Crosshair reunites with his true human emotions - a prelude established back in the "Kamino Lost" episode.

The Batch was not in good terms with the Regs; yet Crosshair tries to protect this Reg Commander, while realising the truth about his use in the new Empire. It started with Cody, back in the "Solitary Clone" episode.

Mayday's thinking out loud about the "sacrifices of the Clones, and all this for what?", as he kneeled down in the snow, a mid-aged man, almost like a Clone hermit, had really given me the shivers. It's one of the most powerful scenes of the Arc.

Maybe it's my being a fan of the Clones that clouds my judgement, but I think this is a top-notch episode in every aspect.

This series has been of similar good quality as the last and it's because of episodes like these that explore the Clones and their relationships. We are reunited with Crosshair as he takes on a mission to protect gear on a snowy world. The relationship between him and Mayday is done very well and shows the Clones' close connections with one another and their anger at their treatment by the Empire. It finally gets Crosshair to realise the Empire is not for him and seeing the way they treat Mayday and let him die is cruel. This is a fairly simple story but it's done very well and again we have some good character development. Great storytelling and I can't wait to finish this season and see how it develops. Score: 8.5/10.

The best episode in the series so far and it's not even really that close if you ask me.

Crosshair is by far the most interesting character in this entire series. I like the Bad Batch well enough and Omega is becoming more tolerable and interesting too, but none of them have reached the character work or trauma of Crosshair. This was what his character needed. It's a turn we saw coming, but the way they didn't was surprising and very human.

Mayday was a really good one-shot character. He was the perfect light for Crosshair to see through the Empire's real nature as well as a reminder of what good soldiers shouldn't be like, and in the end, Crosshair learns what it means to truly be a good soldier. He's so good here.

I do find it a little odd that the cargo just ended up being armor for the Stormtrooper program, but eh, it served its purpose. Everything else was great. I loved the tension, the animation, and the final stretch/sacrifice Crosshair makes only for it to blow up in his face anyway.

Anyway the lieutenant had it coming and rightly belongs up there with the other scummy imperials we've seen in Star Wars.

Probably goes without saying the score, directing and animation are all great. This is the kind of Star Wars I like. I don't HATE the filler stuff, I'm just sad there's so much of it this season. I loved this.

Now that the show is almost over, looking back on it as a whole is amazing. But this episode sticks out, because it is the most realistic, heartbreaking, life-changing episode ever released for the show.

You've seen how the clones have been phased out, and how they were treated in this show, and even in other shows (like the 501st clone in Obi-Wan Kenobi). You've seen how they are neglected, and treated like junk. Mayday's quote, "After all the clones have done... all we sacrificed. We're good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?" is so painful. Bred for a war, staged to end in one way and one way only, and once the war was won, they were no longer need nor even wanted, now just treated like old property that nobody wants; it's the most piercingly sad concepts the franchise has ever had.

Then you see it first-hand. You watch as Mayday is denied medical help, yet was dragged through kilometers of snow and harsh weather by a fellow clone. Crosshair brought him all the way there over the course of multiple days, risked his own life just to save his brother, and when they finally made it to supposed safety.

All Lieutenant Nolan cared for was the crates of equipment, saying that without the crates, Mayday does not deserve help. He says it would be a waste of resources. Implying that crates of equipment and medical supplies are more worthwhile on their own than a person's life. He says that clones are expendable, especially in the Empire. Then, he threatens Crosshair's life, ordering him to continue like nothing had even happened. Like his brother didn't just die in his arms.

All of this comes together for Crosshair, realizing what the batch and Cody said in the past held reverence, that how is brothers were treated on base or in the field, or how they were referred to by many of the Imperial Officers. He realizes, the Empire does not care for them, they never did and they certainly never will. They won't be treated well, won't be given support, won't be given medical attention when dying.

They do not care.

Crosshair knows what he must do, taking his blaster and shooting Nolan dead. Even then, it's too late. Mayday is dead, and Stormtroopers are running towards him.

There has never been a more realistic portrayal of the psychological and physical mistreatment for Clones after the end of the Clone Wars. After everything they did, after millions of them died, millions of them traumatized by seeing people they spent their entire lives with die, they were the force behind the war, they were what drove it. Yet they are treated like old, useless junk, lesser than basic resources. The Empire never cared for them, and they never will. It is heartbreakingly depressing, that these people who were only created to serve one purpose, and be thrown away when that purpose was complete.

I am genuinely shocked that this show does not get more acclaim. This is seriously one of the best written episodes of a television series ever, showing in a brutally and gut-wrenchingly realistic way how the Empire treated its own soldiers. I cannot fully express how good this show and this episode is.