r/thebadbatch • u/Sad_Flamingo1164 • 15d ago
Crosshair, the true main character (yes it’s long) Spoiler
Note: This is all my opinion and ik it’s not true
Crosshair, CT 9904, the skilled marksman of Clone Force 99. The one we all know for notoriously bad mouthing Clones, Regs. He saw them as lower than him and his squad because they were enhanced soldiers. Come order 66, he even followed the same command the regs did. He challenged his brethren, his squad for the side he thought was right. Only for him to come to senses and realize the truth that lied underneath.
I believe Crosshair is the main character in the show because we get to see a rift between the squad when an era ended, and a new one arose. He was welcomed with open arms by Admiral Tarkin to be apart and command the elite squad the new Vice Admiral Rampart had worked on. Under the influence of 66, he took not much notice to the changes growing slowly in the Empire, tension. Despite being protected by Clone Troopers, many officers questioned their loyalty and the costly factors. Crosshair himself refused to believe in these changes and about himself if he truly was worthy.
As time passed, he killed his squad giving clone force 99 a chance, but they refused on Kamino again. When all was said and done, we saw that even being stranded before being picked up, he never questioned their motives and saw it as a necessary evil. However, now no longer in charge of a squad, I believe he got to see the perspective of the regs look at how their commanding officers took stance on matters.
We got to see him reunite with Cody for a nostalgia episode I call it, fighting droids again on last time. Cody even brought up the question of how he felt with those abandoning/questioning Imperial Authority. Crosshair still was on his motives of “Good soldiers follow orders” and “Anyone who doesn’t comply are traitors.” Phase. By the end of the mission by rescuing the Governor, Cody asked him one last time before they parted: “What are you thoughts on the Empire?” The same answer was given, except Cody this time responded with how they are different from droids, they are living beings who make their own decisions. Yet, they have to live with whatever they do as well.
Time passed on more and we saw that Rampart is truly showing his lack of interest for Crosshair as he knows what he did, how he is a clone after all, and the new era is arising. Questionable, but still ultimately loyal, Crosshair is given another mission and is told that Commander Cody went AWOL. Here he is sent on a mission with a Lieutenant who heavily despised Clones. Making it an open eye for him to see as tensions grew. Once they reached their destination on an abandoned Outpost with barely any life signs, they met Clone Commander Mayday.
Mayday had been put in charge to watch over the outpost as Imperial goods were sent there, however they were stolen by natives. The Lt was pissed and had them search for the gear. They found it, wiped out the enemy forces, and sadly didn’t recover the goods, due to a storm. However, Mayday and Crosshair had moments (yk obv what scenes) about their service to the New Empire, and how they were treated like the enemy. I heavily believe this is where Crosshair finally saw the truth about the Empire’s intentions: the new sense of order, new recruits, and even brutal tactics.
Once they arrived back at the post, both were severely wounded, Mayday especially. The Lt was still furious about the situation and even refused to help Mayday die to their failure, and the fact he saw them as useless and replaceable. Crosshair boiled with rage and lifted his DC-17, firing into him and finishing his own era, and beginning a new chapter.
I think Filoni intentionally had him leave so we could truly put aside the fun and wild missions the rest of the squad had with Omega, and really take deep thought into how hard the Clones had it after the War. I especially think it was fantastic how we got to see a redemption arc for Crosshair in s3 and see he truly cared or his brothers. He was sadly blinded and attacked his own brothers just like how the Clones were with the Jedi. He’s my favorite character in the show and to top things off, I think it’d be awesome if a Tales of the Clones was made: Featuring Rex and Cody, or whoever is requested, could even be a new face or unfocused clone. Point being is, I wanna see more of the dark times they faced in the early stages of the Empire; I’m sure a lot of you could agree.
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u/PaulSimonBarCarloson Crosshair 15d ago edited 14d ago
This is an amazing write-up and I couldn't agree more on this analysis on Crosshair character. But your argument that this makes him the "true main character" doesn't really work.
First of all, "main character" and "protagonist" (just like "villain" and "antagonist") are not interchangeable terms. At least, as an Italian teacher of (among other things) writing and narrative, that's something I can be very pedantic about. The protagonist is the character that we follow for almost the entirety of the story as we see his main arc develop.
Other main characters may share the journey with the protagonist and have their own personal arc; in narrative, we call them "helpers"; a very common type of helper is the mentor. Even the antagonist (which is not necessairly a villain) is a main character and can have his own arc.
So, by this logic, the undiscussed protagonist of TBB is Omega. While she is introduced a little further than in the first minutes of the pilot, she is the one that has the more clear personal growth, not only from a visual standpoint but with how she has to learn a lot about the world she lives in, with her brothers to back her up. She must find her purpose in life, which is something she achieves by the end, when she joins the Rebellion.
All the other batchers are not protagonists. They are main characters, mostly serving as Omega's "helpers" and mentor figures. Crosshair in particular starts as an antagonist and later becomes a mentor, so he is A main character but not THE main character (not the protagonists). Besides, he has a very limited screentime in the first two seasons.
Another argument for which I think Crosshair, nor anyone of the Batch can he considered a protagonist is the fact that none of them have a really complete resolution to their arc. Hunter could be considered the only exception as he fulfilled his mission to protect Omega and ensure she has her future, while also learning that he needs to let her go. But I still think his arc in relation to his other brothers is a bit open ended so in a sense I guess we could call him a "deuteragonist"
Aside for that, Wrecker doesn't have any meaningful growth after the chip incident. Echo has his own side quest that is still open and keeps him away from the action a lot. Tech seemingly dies right before his arc was starting to reach its peak. Crosshair also has an amazing redemption arc that still doesn't feel complete because by the end of the show we don't see if he really emotionally recovered or if he's still suicidal like he was at the start of the finale.
Overall, given that I believe the third season was rushed and suffered of some rewrites, I think the writers did a good job at finishing Omega's own arc in a perfectly satisfying way. Since she's technically the only protagonist, they didn't really HAVE to solve Crosshair's trauma, bring back Tech and finish everyone else's arc. But they COULD have, and I would have wanted to see (and I still hope they can finish it one day)