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Crosshair's Anima

This is the third part of the character analysis for Crosshair. You can read part 1 and part 2 here. I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Crosshair’s anima consists of multiple archetypes, but the most prominent ones are Artemis and Hera. Artemis, or Diana as the Romans called her, is the Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon. She is the first-born twin sister of Apollo, the God of the Sun. As the Goddess of the Hunt, she wields a silver bow and carries a quiver of arrows on her back. She roams the wilderness of forest, mountain, meadow and glade with her band of nymphs and hunting dogs. As the Goddess of the Moon, she acts as a light-bearer, carrying torches in her hands or with the moon and stars surrounding her head. She is also the Goddess of Wildlife and she is associated with many undomesticated animals like the stag, doe, hare, quail, lioness, boar, bear and horse.

Artemis is a virgin goddess and she is the personification of an independent feminine spirit. She feels whole without a partner, and she has the “I can take care of myself” attitude. This archetype enables one to pursue interests and work that matters to them without needing other people’s approval. Their identity and sense of worth are based on who they are and what they do, rather than their relationships with others. Although Crosshair is part of the Bad Batch, he is capable of doing his own work while separated from them. In “The Bad Batch”, when the Bad Batch, Rex and Jesse infiltrate the Cyber Center, Crosshair positions himself from a distance, and he goes to secure a speeder craft as their getaway vehicle. In “A Distant Echo”, when Anakin tells the Bad Batch and Rex to split up so they can find Echo easier, Crosshair chooses to separate from his team and follow Anakin. With the rise of the Empire, Crosshair remains capable of carrying out the orders given to him even though the Bad Batch refuses to do so. He strongly identifies himself as a soldier of the Empire, claiming that this is who he is in “Return to Kamino”. He is certain of his identity even without the influence of the inhibitor chip and without the approval of the Bad Batch.

As the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis is an archer that has the ability to aim for any target and know that her arrows will reach its marks. This archetype gives one the ability to concentrate intensely on whatever it is important to them, and to be undistracted from their course, which is called “focused consciousness”. The needs of others or competition would not deter them. In fact, competition only heightens the excitement of “the chase”. Not even obstacles or the difficulty in achieving the goal can hinder their perseverance. Since Artemis is more aligned to her instincts, her arrows are charged up with emotions. Hence, when a person channels their passion and intense emotions into pursuing a goal, their focus can be so intense that it becomes incredibly precise or destructive. Crosshair channels his intense emotions through his sharpshooting skills. His focus is so intense that every shot he makes is a precise killshot. However, in “Aftermath”, the shot Crosshair makes towards Wrecker only injures him. This may be a sign that he is fighting the effects of the inhibitor chip, and that he never intends to kill his brothers despite they have been branded as traitors to the Empire.

Artemis is seen as the archetype of the women’s movement because she is competent and independent, and she is protective of women and children. Since Artemis goes hunting and exploring the wilderness with her band of nymphs and minor deities associated with mountains, woods and streams, Artemis is also seen as the “big sister” archetype who emphasizes the “sisterhood” of women. In the myths, Artemis helped her mother Leto during her prolonged childbirth, and saved her from the giant Tityus who tried to overtake her. Artemis also came to other women’s aid, for example, she rescued the woodland nymph Arethusa from the pursuit of a river deity. Artemis is also known for her mercilessness, which is evident when she punished the hunter Actaeon who accidentally saw the goddess and her nymphs bathing in a hidden pool.

Crosshair is very protective of his brothers. In the Hyperspace Stories #10, when Dr. Krail appears as a hologram to greet the Bad Batch and state that he has been anticipating their arrival, Crosshair stands in front of Wrecker to protect him. In the episode “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Crosshair protects the Poletecs by taking down the battle droids from afar. He also cares about Echo’s wellbeing as he is seen placing a hand on Echo’s shoulder after they fight off the battle droids. There are many headcanons and fanfictions that depict Crosshair protecting the vulnerable such as rescuing a person from another’s unwanted advances, which sometimes leads to a physical altercation. If Crosshair is not affected by the inhibitor chip, he will be impressed by Omega’s bravery for standing up for the Bad Batch in “Aftermath”.

People who feel true to themselves being with nature is connected to Artemis because she is associated with the wilderness and undomesticated nature. They may feel like they are in a spiritual communion with nature – be it surrounded by forests, mountains, or under the starry night. As the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, Artemis grants “moonlight vision”, which helps a person to look inward (like going into the wilderness, which contains our dreams, experiences and connection with nature) and be more reflective. There are headcanons that depict Crosshair as an animal lover, especially towards baby animals, which is an Artemis trait. In “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair is shown to have “moonlight vision” when he successfully takes the shot to save Omega despite the dark surroundings and the murky waters below. In “The Outpost”, Crosshair makes a spiritual connection with the Ice Vulture, which helps him to look inward and reflect on his decisions, leading him to turn against the Empire.

In Greek mythology, three goddesses make up the moon trinity – Selene who rules over the sky, Artemis on earth, and Hecate in the Underworld. This moon trinity can be represented by Riyo Chuchi, Crosshair and Echo in terms of their fight against the Empire: Riyo Chuchi is Selene because she is a senator and her high status means she is at the sky domain (the Galactic Senate); Crosshair is Artemis because his rebellion starts in the wilderness of Barton IV; Echo is Hecate (who is a constant companion to Persephone, Echo’s anima) because he fights in the darkness and at the crossroads where he rescues Howzer and two of his men.

Zeus and Leto are parents to Artemis, who are both loving and approving of her course of life. Parental support is needed to cultivate the Artemis archetype from a young age. Opposition and disapproval from parents (mostly from the father) may damage the self-esteem and self-confidence of an Artemis person. They may continue to put on a defiant attitude, but deep down, they feel inadequate despite all the successes they have, and they have a tendency to self-sabotage. Conflict usually arises between the mother and the daughter, especially if the mother is a Demeter archetype. A Demeter mother prefers a compliant good girl like Persephone, who will follow her, ask for her help, and accept that “mother knows best”. However, Artemis is the opposite to Persephone for she is independent and stubborn, which can lead to disappointment and feelings of rejection within the Demeter mother.

The conflict between Demeter and Artemis can be seen between Hunter and Crosshair. Hunter has the Zeus and Demeter archetypes. As Zeus, Hunter recognizes Crosshair’s talent and encourages him to develop it further. Though, his Demeter anima likely causes Hunter to limit Crosshair and stop him from doing certain things. Nevertheless, Crosshair’s stubbornness will get in the way, leading to arguments between the two. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair keeps shooting at Caleb Dume despite Hunter repeatedly telling him to stand down. They later have an argument about following orders. In “Return to Kamino”, Hunter refuses to accept that Crosshair willingly chooses to join the Empire, and decides to forcibly take him away after stunning him. In “Kamino Lost”, Hunter keeps trying to reason with Crosshair about the Empire’s atrocities but to no avail. Crosshair feels that Hunter is trying to control and limit him, deciding what is best for him because Hunter has the mindset that “he knows best”. The more Hunter tries to control Crosshair, the more Crosshair will rebel. This is why he stands his ground and refuses to rejoin the Bad Batch.

Another problem faced by the Demeter mother-Artemis daughter involves a weak, passive mother. The mother may be depressed, an alcoholic, trapped in a bad marriage, or immature, which causes the daughter to take on the parent role. The daughter is disappointed that she does not have a strong mother, and that she is not strong enough to change her mother’s life (unlike the goddess Artemis who was able to help her mother Leto). Determined not to resemble her mother, the Artemis daughter refuses to show her vulnerability and dependency, and she usually rejects what are traditionally feminine like softness, gentleness and receptivity. Crosshair faces this issue when he sees Hunter has failed in his leadership skills or has let his feelings getting in the way. In “Aftermath”, when Hunter refuses to execute Saw Gerrera and his people, Crosshair begins to see Hunter as unfit to lead the squad, and he wants to take over. Crosshair even demands Hunter to explain when he has become soft as he disobeys orders to save Omega, which indicates Crosshair’s contempt for softness and vulnerability. In “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair accuses Hunter that his failed leadership is going to lead them to their deaths, and he expresses his disapproval to let Omega calling the shots because she is a child.

Like Artemis, Crosshair is a natural competitor who is willing to push himself to the limit to achieve his goals. He likes to be challenged, which is seen in the Hyperspace Stories #10. In this comic, the Bad Batch is sent to Hylanth for a mission to investigate battle droids. Crosshair thinks that this mission can be carried out by the regular clone troopers, and the apparent lack of challenge frustrates him. After Tech explains that these battle droids have been modified, Crosshair says that “maybe there is hope for this mission yet” as he feels motivated to take on the challenge. Even if the goal does not guarantee success or it can cause him to become distant from others, Crosshair still chooses to continue his pursuit because he finds personal fulfilment with it. Since Crosshair finds his role as a soldier personally fulfilling, he chooses to stay with the Empire despite facing disapproval from the Bad Batch. Many Artemis people take up sports, especially in marathons and skiing which require a combination of goal focus, will, intensity and competitiveness. They move forward without any hesitation, undeterred by any challenges ahead. We have seen Crosshair expertly slides across floors or down snow slopes in “A Distant Echo” and “Aftermath”, which is a trait of his Artemis anima.

Most Artemis people, especially in their early adulthood, are engrossed in their work or causes. Marriage and childbearing are often far from their minds, or they outright reject them. Though, they like children and are extremely protective of children, like a mother bear who ferociously protects her young. They also prefer to foster independence in children. There are headcanons that Crosshair is not interested in getting married and having children, or he is alright with marriage but chooses to be childfree. These are traits of his Artemis anima. Moreover, Crosshair is not much of a parental figure in the beginning possibly because he views Omega as a dependent, passive child, which is not ideal for an Artemis person. However, as Omega becomes more independent, active and assertive, it is possible for Crosshair to become protective of her while encouraging her to be independent.

A relationship with an Artemis person, be it platonic or romantic, usually resembles the sibling relationship, friendly rivals or the Artemis-Apollo twinship. Their desire to maintain independence in a relationship means they are not drawn to dominating partners and they are not interested in playing the parental role. Their partner is usually their equal with shared or complementary interests, or is the one who nurtures them like teaching them to be more considerate and sensitive. If the Artemis person and their partner are both competitive, they must be careful not to let their competitive nature kill off their relationship, which parallels the myth of Artemis and Orion, where Orion was killed due to Artemis being goaded to take on Apollo’s challenge. Some people do view Crosshair as a person who will treat his partner as his equal instead of dominating them (which is associated with his Poseidon archetype), and his partner is usually as competitive as him, or a nurturing person who opens him up. Crosshair has a strong connection with the Bad Batch, and he is shown to share a friendly competition with Wrecker during the Clone Wars. I interpret Crosshair and Tech having the Artemis-Apollo twinship due to both of them being similar yet different from each other. Crosshair mostly has a brother-sister dynamic with Omega, who usually helps him to be more considerate and sensitive to his feelings.

In the myths, Artemis never suffered but she did bring harm to those who offended her. Similarly, people who identify themselves strongly as Artemis usually cause others to suffer rather than hurting themselves. If an Artemis person is raised to look down on traditionally feminine values, she may develop a contempt for vulnerability and dependency. Her relationships with others are marked with emotional distance and the usual physical unavailability. She may lose interest once her partner wants to get close to her emotionally, or becomes dependent on her, which are seen as “weaknesses” to her. She may even be cruel to her loved ones, treating them as unwanted intruders. Hence, it is important for an Artemis person to realize the importance of love and trust of a special person.

In “Aftermath”, Crosshair expresses his contempt for vulnerability upon seeing Hunter disobeying orders to save Omega. He also dislikes Omega trying to get close to him. It is likely that his inhibitor chip has affected him – possibly strengthening his Artemis anima to the point of becoming cold and cruel. However, he still retains the same contempt for vulnerability even without the influence of the inhibitor chip. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair tries to take Omega away from the Bad Batch and he tells Hunter to stop pretending to be a father figure to her because “that is not who he is”. In “Kamino Lost”, Omega tries to connect with Crosshair but he pushes her away again. Fortunately, Crosshair overcomes his contempt for vulnerability after receiving the love and trust from Commander Mayday in “The Outpost”.

Artemis has been called “the Far-Distant Artemis”, and this archetype is marked with emotional distance. This means Artemis people can become so focused on their own goals that they fail to notice the feelings of other people and can get offended by those who interrupt their focus. Their lack of attentiveness can make people who care about them feel insignificant and excluded. To grow beyond this archetype, Artemis people must learn to pay attention to others and be a good listener. They must also remain in touch and accessible to those who care about them.

When Order 66 happens, Crosshair’s inhibitor chip is somewhat activated. He becomes adamant of following orders, which leads to conflict between him and the rest of the Bad Batch (especially Hunter). He does not understand why they choose to disobey orders, and he even sighs in frustration when Hunter tells him to stand down in “Aftermath” as if Hunter is interrupting his focus to carry out the order. When Crosshair joins the Empire, he becomes “inaccessible” to the Bad Batch. In “Return to Kamino” and “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair reveals that he already has his inhibitor chip removed and that he willingly joins the Empire. This realization hurts the Bad Batch because it means that Crosshair chooses not to come back in his own volition because he prioritizes his role as a soldier of the Empire. Although Crosshair remains mostly closed-off from other clones, Commander Cody’s advice does affect him in “The Solitary Clone”. Later, in “The Outpost”, Commander Mayday helps Crosshair to open up and become more accessible to him.

Artemis is known to be merciless. In one myth, the hunter Actaeon accidentally saw Artemis and her nymphs bathing in a hidden pool. The goddess turned him into a stag and he was later torn to pieces by his own hounds. In another myth, Niobe insulted Leto by bragging that she had many sons and daughters, unlike Leto who only had two. Leto called on Artemis and Apollo to avenge her without mercy. With their bows and arrows, Apollo killed Niobe’s six sons while Artemis killed Niobe’s six daughters, and Niobe was turned into a weeping pillar of stone.

People who strongly identify as Artemis are extremely loyal to others, tend to get angry at injustice, unafraid to express their point of view, and have a tendency to take action. These are positive traits of Artemis, but there is also a tendency to mercilessly judge the actions of others in an absolute black and white. From this perspective, not just an action is either entirely bad or entirely good, but the person who does the action is also either all bad or all good. With that, an Artemis person feels justified to retaliate or punish the person.

Crosshair is extremely loyal to the Bad Batch. However, when they leave him behind on Kamino, he feels betrayed and view them as bad people. In “Reunion”, Crosshair is determined to hunt the Bad Batch down as they have been branded as traitors to the Empire. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair offers the Bad Batch to join the Empire, but they refuse, which from his perspective, makes them all bad people. That is why he tells them not to make the same mistake twice and not to become his enemy. In “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair views Hunter as a bad leader because he has caused the Bad Batch to disobey orders, run away from the Empire and now they are trapped under Tipoca City that is sinking to the ocean floor. In “The Solitary Clone”, Crosshair calls the clones who are questioning orders as traitors like the Jedi because from his perspective, a good soldier follows orders without question, and even a slight tendency to question orders is considered an entirely bad thing, and it makes the soldier a completely bad person.

It is important for an Artemis person to develop compassion and empathy, which may come with maturity and experience. Many Artemis people enter adulthood feeling self-confident and invulnerable. However, after going through suffering, being misjudged or failing at something, they may grow to become more compassionate. They will learn to be more merciful as they learn what it is like to be vulnerable and become more understanding, they realize that people are more complex than they think, and they learn to forgive themselves and others for making mistakes.

Crosshair has always felt confident and invulnerable. He does not believe that he would be replaced by the Empire because of his superiority. He turns a blind eye at the regular clone troopers, who are feeling the plight of being forced into “retirement”. However, that all changes when Crosshair goes through suffering in “The Outpost”. He learns how to be vulnerable to Mayday, which makes him more understanding and compassionate towards the regular clone trooper. This helps Crosshair to become more mature, and realize that the Empire does not care about the clones, including him. Hopefully, Crosshair can learn to forgive himself for making the mistake of joining the Empire and disappointing the Bad Batch.

The goddess Artemis is known for her destructive aspect that is symbolized by the wild boar, one of the animals sacred to her. In Greek mythology, Artemis sent the Calydonian Boar to terrorize the countryside of Calydon because King Oeneus had failed to honour her in his rites to the gods. The Calydonian Boar was described to have burning, bloodshot eyes, thick bristles that stood like sharp spikes, hide tougher than armour, and tusks similar to those of Indian elephants. It trampled vineyards and crops, drove away flocks and herds of animals, and killed many heroes who had tried to bring it down. This rampaging destruction serves as a metaphor for an Artemis person on a warpath.

The rage of Artemis is surpassed only by that of Hera. Although both goddesses appear to share the same intense feelings, the provocation and the direction of the anger are different. A Hera person directs their rage at “the other woman”, while an Artemis person directs their rage at people (mostly men) for depreciating them or for disrespecting something they value. The rage of Artemis can be observed in people reacting to injustice with intense hostility that is often out of proportion to the particular provocation, which leads to a rampage similar to the Calydonian Boar, hurting themselves and many like-minded people along the way.

After the Bad Batch leaves Crosshair behind, he is greatly offended by their betrayal and for throwing away their legacy. He hunts them down as if he is like Artemis on a warpath. His rampage causes injuries to himself and his troops. In “The Outpost”, Crosshair is furious that Lieutenant Nolan refuses to provide medical aid to Mayday because “they should not waste the Empire’s resources on a clone”, resulting in his death. Crosshair reacts to the injustice with intense hostility and he shoots Lieutenant Nolan, instantly killing him. However, Crosshair’s action causes him to end up on Mount Tantiss, where he gets experimented and tortured by Dr. Hemlock.

In the myth of the Calydonian Boar, the huntress Atalanta faced the charging boar with a bow and an arrow, or in some versions, a spear. She waited until the boar was almost on her, took careful aim, and then shot the arrow or threw the spear through an eye, which was its only vulnerable spot. Her action successfully wounded the boar. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, the destructive rage of an Artemis person can only be stopped by what Atalanta did in this myth. The Artemis person must take courage to confront their own destructiveness directly. They must see it as an aspect of themselves that must be stopped before it consumes them and devastates their relationships. They can no longer feel righteous and powerful when they realize how much damage they have done to themselves and others. Humility is what returns their humanity as they become aware that they are flawed humans, not an avenging goddess.

When Crosshair gets angry, he reacts by taking action. However, his actions sometimes hurt himself and others. For example, his decision to hunt the Bad Batch down because he feels betrayed by them worsens the rift between them. By killing Lieutenant Nolan to avenge Mayday’s death, Crosshair ends up being imprisoned on Mount Tantiss and is subjected to experimentation and torture. It is important for Crosshair to realize how destructive his rage is, and how it hurts him and others. He must learn not to let his rage consumes him, and instead become aware that he too is a flawed person.

The myth of Iphigenia depicted the crucial choice an Artemis person would make in their lives. In this story of the Trojan War, the Greek ships had been assembled to set sail for Troy, but no winds arose to fill the sails and carry the fleet to war. Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, believed that it was the doing of a god, so he consulted the expedition’s seer. The seer explained that Agamemnon had offended the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of her sacred stags, and she punished him by withholding the winds. The seer stated that the goddess could only be appeased by the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s daughter Iphigenia. At first, Agamemnon resisted, but as pressure from his troops mounted, he tricked his wife Clytemnestra into sending Iphigenia to him, on the pretext that she was to be married to the Greek hero Achilles. Instead, she was prepared for the human sacrifice in exchange for the winds. There were two types of endings for this myth. One version stated that the death of Iphigenia was carried out as demanded by Artemis. In the alternate version, Artemis interceded just at the point of sacrifice, substituting a stag in her place, and carried her off to Tauris, where she became one of Artemis’s priestesses.

Jean Shinoda Bolen interprets these two endings as the possible effects of the Artemis archetype. She believes that every Artemis person likely has certain traits of Iphigenia — young, trusting, vulnerable, receptive, nurturing, the ability to relate to others, the ability to be intimate with others, dependent on others, and the willingness to make sacrifices for the sake of others. On one hand, the Artemis archetype rescues these traditionally feminine values from the devaluation and oppression of the patriarchy, like Artemis rescuing Iphigenia. On the other hand, the Artemis archetype makes a person so intensely focused on their goals that they sacrifice and devalue these traditionally feminine values, like Iphigenia was sacrificed to appease Artemis so the winds could bring the Greek fleet to war.

With that, an Artemis person is faced with a crucial choice: Will they rescue and protect this Iphigenia part of themselves so that it can grow even as they continue with their life and pursue their goals? Or will they be required to kill this Iphigenia part of themselves in order to be as focused, hard and clear as possible?

The myth of Iphigenia is depicted in “Kamino Lost”. Omega represents Iphigenia for she is young, receptive, vulnerable and dependent on others. Hunter also represents some traits of Iphigenia for he is nurturing and he cares deeply for Omega. These values are deemed as traditionally feminine. In this episode, Omega is unwilling to lose AZI so she swims after the droid. Hunter wants to enter the water to save Omega because she is about to drown. At this moment, Crosshair pulls out his rifle and it seems like he is aiming at Hunter, which is why Wrecker, Tech and Echo point their blasters at him. This scene seems to depict the possibility of Crosshair choosing to “sacrifice Iphigenia”, which is “to eliminate Hunter and let Omega drown”. After all, the episode has shown that Crosshair still has conflicts with Hunter and he continues to push Omega away, which can be interpreted as Crosshair devaluing these traditionally feminine values in favour of the Empire and his soldier’s duty.

When it seems that Hunter is in danger and Omega is about to drown, Crosshair is actually aiming at the water and he shoots a grapple that latches onto AZI, allowing him to pull Omega and the droid to the surface. Crosshair’s action to save Omega’s life represents his Artemis anima choosing to “save Iphigenia”, which can be interpreted as Crosshair rescuing and protecting these traditionally feminine values. His action indicates that there is still good in him, and that he can be vulnerable, receptive and nurturing.

To grow beyond the Artemis archetype, one must learn to become vulnerable, to love and care deeply about another person. This usually happens after the Artemis person has “run down”, after they have achieved or failed their goals, or after the pursuit has gone stale. The people who care about the Artemis person may have to wait, or they can get some help from Aphrodite.

The Atalanta myth serves a metaphor for the psychological growth that an Artemis person may go through. Atalanta was a huntress and runner whose courage and capabilities were equal to any man’s. She was left on a mountaintop to die by her father soon she was born. She was then saved by a bear and raised by hunters. She grew up to be a beautiful woman and she devoted herself to the goddess Artemis. A famous hunter named Meleager became her lover and companion. They played an important part in the Calydonian boar hunt where Atalanta successfully wounded the boar and Meleager finished it off. Since Atalanta had drawn first blood, Meleager offered the boar skin to her as a prize. However, Meleager’s uncles, who had been hunting with them, thought it was disgraceful that a woman should get the trophy where men were involved. They tried to take the skin for themselves and claimed the credit for killing the boar. Meleager was outraged by this and he killed them, which then resulted in his mother killing him shortly thereafter.

Atalanta then left the wilderness, and was eventually reunited with her father. Her father recognized her as heir to his throne, and insisted that she should get married, which was something she was not interested of. Many suitors came to win her hand, and she rejected them all. As her suitors became more persistent, she came up with a challenge for them: she would marry the man who could beat her at a footrace, but he would lose his life if he lost the race. Race after race, Atalanta was always in the lead. Finally, the unathletic Hippomenes, who truly loved her, entered the race. He prayed to Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, for help at the night before the race, and she gave him three golden apples to use in the race. During the race, Hippomenes threw the three golden apples in Atalanta’s path three times, which managed to distract her long enough for him to cross the finish line first and take her as his wife.

The Atalanta myth, or more specifically the deadly footrace, is played out in “The Outpost”, and it helps Crosshair to grow beyond his one-sided Artemis anima and achieve wholeness. There are no official explanations as to why Atalanta is distracted by the three golden apples, but Jean Shinoda Bolen provides her own interpretations for the three golden apples, which surprisingly match Crosshair’s character arc in “The Outpost”.

When Hippomenes threw the first golden apple and Atalanta went to take it, she saw her own face distorted by the curves of the apple. The first golden apple is interpreted to have given her the awareness of time passing. Many Artemis people are unaware of time passing until their desire to take up challenges or to reach their goals dwindle. They may become aware that they are not going to be eternally youthful and start reflecting about their course of life. At the beginning of “The Outpost”, Crosshair observes three clone troopers protesting their “forced retirement” due to the Defense Recruitment Bill has been passed by the Senate. Upon arriving at the outpost, Crosshair meets Commander Mayday, who has been guarding the cargo held in the outpost for a year, and has been expecting reinforcements 36 rotations ago. By witnessing the clones being forced into retirement and realizing that a year has passed since the formation of the Empire, Crosshair becomes aware of time passing, and that soon enough, he would be replaced by Stormtroopers, as it is the fate of all clones.

When Hippomenes threw the second golden apple, Atalanta went to retrieve it, and memories of her dead lover Meleager took over her. The second golden apple is interpreted to raise awareness of the importance of love. As yearnings for physical and emotional closeness are stirred by Aphrodite, an Artemis person may become more receptive to love and intimacy, and this feeling is strengthened by the awareness of time passing.

As Commander Mayday gives Crosshair a tour of the depot and its surroundings, he explains that they have been attacked by raiders who have caught them off guard in the last few raids. Mayday believes that the polar conditions have degraded the sensors, which may explain how the raiders get past them. To make matters worse, he is not receiving any replacements from the Empire. At this moment, Crosshair probably starts to recall memories of Hunter and Tech. Hunter would have been able to detect the raiders quickly thanks to his enhanced senses, and Tech would have upgraded the sensors to make it difficult for raiders to get past.

When Crosshair steps on a pressure mine, Mayday goes ahead to disarm it despite he is not an explosive expert and that he does not have the proper equipment to do so. However, he is able to improvise with the tools he has. At this moment, Crosshair probably starts to recall memories of Wrecker. Wrecker is an explosive expert, and he would have the proper equipment to disarm the pressure mine with ease. While Mayday disarms the mine, he asks Crosshair about his unit. This prompts Crosshair to mention that he was part of Clone Force 99, but they are gone. As he recalls the memories of his former squad, he probably begins to yearn for their presence and support. He probably starts to yearn for physical and emotional closeness, which is why he becomes closer to Mayday.

As Atalanta was about to pass Hippomenes and win the race, he dropped the third golden apple. For a split second, she hesitated: should she cross the finish line and win the race, or take the apple and lose? She chose to reach for the apple just as Hippomenes crossed the finish line, winning the race and her for his wife. The third golden apple represents procreative instincts and creativity, which are associated with Aphrodite. In life, there may come a time where achievements become less important to the Artemis person. They may shift their focus to other things like settling down and having a family, or transforming their experiences into some form of personal expression. They start to follow their heart more.

Crosshair and Mayday are sent to retrieve the cargo stolen by raiders. They are successful but they get caught in an avalanche. Crosshair digs himself out of the snow and finds Mayday injured. Mayday tells Crosshair to go because he is not going to make it. Crosshair now must make a choice: should he complete the mission and leave Mayday to die, just like he has said earlier, “no point of carrying deadweight”? Or should he abandon the mission and save Mayday’s life? Just like Atalanta gives up winning for Hippomenes, Crosshair gives up the mission for Mayday. Crosshair is well-aware that he will be reprimanded for not completing the mission, and his icy-cold reputation will certainly be tarnished. However, as he starts following his own heart, his brotherly love for Mayday wins over his ego and his tendency to follow orders.

Jean Shinoda Bolen believes that the knowledge of Aphrodite can be brought through the love of another person, which can help an Artemis person to move beyond the one-sidedness of this archetype and achieve wholeness. The Artemis person can turn inward to reflect on what is important to them, and be inner-directed as well as outer-focused. They may realize their needs for intimacy as well as for independence. Once they embrace love, they will have moments to decide for themselves what is most important.

In “The Solitary Clone”, Crosshair begins to turn inward to reflect on what is important to him after Commander Cody tells him that they make their own decisions and choices, and they have to live with them too. Crosshair’s brotherly love for Mayday is what pushes him further to turn inward for reflection. From here, he decides that his loyalty to his brothers (and his sister Omega) and his protectiveness towards them mean the most to him. With the Empire not seeing eye to eye with him, Crosshair finally turns against the Empire.

Besides Artemis, Hera is another prominent archetype in Crosshair’s anima. Hera, or Juno as the Romans called her, is the Goddess of Marriage. She is the wife of Zeus (or Jupiter by the Romans), the chief god of the Olympians, who rules over the heavens and earth in Greek mythology. Her name is thought to mean “Great Lady”, which is the feminine form of the Greek word “hero”. Her symbols are the cow, the cuckoo, the Milky Way, the lily, and the peacock (and its iridescent tailfeather “eyes” that symbolized Hera’s watchfulness). Hera has two contrasting aspects: she is greatly revered and worshipped in rituals as a powerful goddess of marriage, and she is depicted as a vindictive, quarrelsome, jealous shrew due to Zeus’s infidelity.

In her rituals, Hera had three epithets and three corresponding sanctuaries where she was worshipped during the year. In the spring, she was Hera Parthenos (Hera the Maiden or the Virgin). She was celebrated as Hera Teleia in the summer and autumn (Hera the Perfected One or the Fulfilled One), and became Hera Chera (Hera the Widow) in the winter. These three aspects of Hera represented the three states of a married person’s life (or more specifically, a woman’s life in Ancient Greece): in spring, they were single; in summer, they felt completed through a wedding; in winter, they grieved at the end of their marriage due to separation or death of their partner.

Hera is the wife archetype that prompts a person to get involved in a committed relationship and to get married. People who identify strongly as Hera view marriage as a way to gain prestige, respect and honour. They want to be recognized as “someone important”, and they seek out outer acknowledgement by having a large wedding ceremony. They find joy, fulfilment and completeness in marriage, in which they see it as sacred. Just like Hera is married to Zeus, people who identify with the Hera archetype are attracted to competent, successful people like rulers, businessmen or politicians. They are usually not into artists, scholars or humanitarians. Their choice in partners comes from their view of marriage as something that provides comfort and security to their lives. Besides that, some Hera people may view marriage as a way out of a bad situation, especially if their parents resemble Hera’s parents Cronos and Rhea – a patriarchal, dominating father and a powerless mother.

There are many headcanons that Crosshair enjoys security and comfort in his life, which are granted by the Republic’s support. The Republic provides necessities to all the clone troopers such as food, shelter, payment, weapons, training and transport. With that, Crosshair may feel ease to do other things. Many fans agree that Crosshair is the most fashionable of the Bad Batch, and he likes to wear jewellery. He may indulge in the best fabrics for comfort like wearing a pair of sleepwear and/or eye mask that are made of silk. He likely cares about his appearance greatly, which leads to a headcanon that he uses a loofah (suggested by a fan) or a pumice stone (suggested by the person running the Star Wars twitter account) during showers for he cares about his skin. These headcanons evoke the imagery of the Hera archetype in Crosshair – pompous, feelings of superiority and likes attention – basically, a prima donna. He probably gets jealous at Omega because she captures all the attention of the Bad Batch in “Aftermath”.

There are also headcanons that Crosshair likes to indulge the Bad Batch like bringing them to the best restaurants on a planet, buying things they like, or crafting things for them. The writers have come up with a headcanon that Crosshair is the one who creates Lula for Wrecker. I also have a headcanon that Crosshair creates Lula after the Hyperspace Stories #10 because Wrecker has lost the stuffed toy and Crosshair wants to cheer him up. I can imagine Crosshair buying something delicious for Wrecker to eat, getting the best equipment for Tech, and choosing the most comfortable fabric for Hunter to wear as a casual outfit. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair is shown to desire orderliness and cleanliness as he complains about the smell getting worse in the squad’s barracks, and that his bed is spotless and tidy (even his blacks are folded neatly). I have this headcanon that Crosshair is mainly responsible for the orderliness and cleanliness of the Marauder, and that Echo’s arrival has helped to ease most of his burdens. For example, Crosshair makes sure the floors of the Marauder are clean of dirt, dust, mud and food crumbs. He makes sure the lights and ventilation are working properly. He washes their blacks regularly and keeps a tab on their toiletries. He does all of these for everyone’s comfort, including himself.

I have seen people shipping Crosshair with a character that is of a higher status than him like a Jedi, a senator, or a politician, which kind of evokes the imagery of Hera and Zeus. There are many romantic headcanons for Crosshair that evoke the Hera archetype, for example, he buys something that his partner yearns to have regardless of the price, or he creates something for his partner to show his love and devotion. People who identify as Hera tend to share the same friend group and interests with their partner, even when they initially do not like them. It is a general headcanon that Crosshair will reluctantly do an activity with his partner because he prioritizes his partner’s needs and wants over his, which is a Hera trait. I have seen one headcanon that Crosshair is willing to give his partner children if his partner wants them, which is also a trait of the Hera archetype.

People who identify strongly as Hera find fulfilment in playing the role of a housewife or a househusband. They can take care of everything in the house while their partner is away for work. Since Crosshair has some traits of the Hera archetype, it is possible for him to play the role of a househusband well. Imagine yourself coming back home from a long, tiring day of work, and you find that Crosshair has cleaned the entire house, done the laundry, cooked your favourite meal, prepared a bubble bath for you, and planned to give you a body massage to help you relax before you go to sleep. Basically, Crosshair can be a devoted partner that pampers and spoils you, making you feel that you are the most important person in his universe.

The Hera archetype grants a person the capacity for commitment. They are loyal and faithful to their partner, and they are willing to endure and go through difficulties with their partner. They are the ones who stay “for better or worse”, and they are willing to drop everything for their partner. Loyalty means everything to the clones, and Crosshair takes it very seriously. Crosshair is extremely loyal to the Bad Batch, and he will do anything for them. In “The Bad Batch”, when Rex takes charge of the mission after Cody is injured, Crosshair sees it as Rex challenging Clone Force 99 for authority, or more specifically, challenging Hunter’s leadership role. This causes Crosshair to defend Hunter and Clone Force 99 by pointing out that Cody has called them in to help Rex, so Rex has no right to challenge their authority. This scene evokes an image of a Hera person fiercely defending their partner. I can imagine Crosshair leaving the last ration bar for Wrecker, placing a warm blanket on Tech when he has fallen asleep on his desk, and giving Hunter a hug upon seeing how work has overwhelmed him. Crosshair always gives his best to his loved ones, and puts their needs above his.

In Greek mythology, Zeus got close to Hera by turning himself into a shivering little bird. Hera took pity of the bird and brought it close to her body to warm it up. Then, Zeus revealed himself as the chief god and made a promise to marry her, in which she accepted. People who identify strongly as Hera may find themselves attracted to powerful and successful people that are also emotionally immature like Zeus. This emotional immaturity is what makes a Hera person to view them as “a poor little creature in need of Hera’s warmth and protection”. This caring trait of Hera can be seen in Crosshair. Although Crosshair can get annoyed at Wrecker’s antics (even telling him to “grow up”), his complaints are never taken seriously by anyone. In “The Bad Batch”, when Jesse defends Rex from Crosshair, Wrecker grabs and lifts him by the throat. Crosshair then defends Wrecker by warning Kix to stay out of it and fights him. This shows that Crosshair is not just protective of Wrecker, he is also enabling Wrecker’s impulsiveness. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair complains about the smell in their barracks and he does not like their laziness on cleaning up the mess. Yet, his complaints are treated as passing comments, and he does not try to change the Bad Batch. He probably grumbles while cleaning up the mess they have created, as if he is just tolerating their bad habits. The Bad Batch probably even sees it as a hobby for Crosshair that is not sharpshooting. Just like how Hera views Zeus in his poor little bird form, it is possible that Crosshair views Hunter, Tech and Wrecker as “poor little boys” in need of his warmth and protection. He feels the need to fiercely defend them from criticisms and insults, and he does not feel the need to change them at all, even if their antics do annoy him.

When the goddess Hera was worshipped in Greek temples and the marriage of Zeus and Hera was ritually enacted, Zeus was called Zeus Teleios, which meant “Zeus, Bringer to Fulfilment”. With that, a Hera person unconsciously places an archetypal expectation of fulfilment on their partner, with the assumption that they will be transformed by marriage. This tendency to project an image of an idealized partner onto a person can usually lead to disappointment, criticism and anger from the Hera person, causing them to urge their partner to change.

To a Hera person, a happy marriage means that their partner is devoted to them, placing their marriage first, and appreciating them as their wife or husband. However, a Hera person is usually drawn to people like Zeus, who are devoted to their careers. A Zeus person usually uses marriage to boost their social image by marrying someone from the same class or higher than his, and they can appear side by side in public. This type of marriage is a personal disaster for a Hera person due to their partner’s lack of involvement and concern of her. Yet, no matter how dissatisfied the Hera person feels about the marriage, they are the least likely to seek divorce and instead, they choose to bury their feelings by putting on the image of a perfect couple.

People who identify strongly as Hera have a tendency to place their relationship with their partner above everything else. They believe in marital promises of eternal devotion and they are willing to make sacrifices for their partner. They can give up their education to be a full-time wife or husband for their partner, get a job to support their partner, or relocate to another town or country if their partner wants to move. Hera people usually do not maintain family ties and friendships made before marriage. They are usually not close with their own children since they tend to prioritize their partner over their children. They also do not maintain their own interests prior to marriage. They instead make themselves conform to their partner’s life, interests and friends. These constraints can lead to problems for a Hera person, and they are made worse if their partners do not give them support to grow beyond the Hera archetype.

The Hera archetype can be such an overwhelming force that it oppresses people, and it turns people into oppressors. This archetype may make an unmarried person feel incomplete and they may end up in a bad marriage. This archetype may also cause a married person to stay in a bad marriage no matter how damaging it is to them. They may constantly nag at their partner for failing to live up to the image of Zeus who fulfils, or they may become enraged and jealous if their partner is unfaithful – be it in a factual or an imaginary scenario.

Whenever Zeus cheats on Hera, the goddess does not channel her rage towards her husband. Instead, she channels her destructive and vindictive rage at the other women (e.g. Callisto, Io, Leto, Aegina), at children conceived by Zeus with other women (e.g. Heracles, Dionysus), or at innocent bystanders (e.g. Echo). Just like the goddess, Hera people tend to judge and punish other people by excluding or ostracizing them and their children, all because they do not meet Hera’s standards. Hera people are judgemental towards people who are unmarried, sensual, or divorced because they are seen as “a threat” that can attract their married partner. Hera people are also judgemental towards people who are not personally threatening like unmarried mothers on welfare.

These disappointed expectations, constraints and judgmental attitude from the Hera archetype can be seen in Crosshair. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair does not see the difference between the Republic and the Empire because their roles as soldiers are being maintained. He expects the Bad Batch to stay as soldiers because that is what they are made for, and that is the only acceptable role for them. Besides that, Crosshair looks down on the regular clone troopers and does not like to work alongside with them because he sees himself and the Bad Batch as more superior than them. Of course, his decision to ostracize the regular clone troopers is also due to him and the Bad Batch are constantly bullied by the regs. When Omega approaches the Bad Batch and sits with them, Crosshair is not welcoming towards her. He sees her as a child, and that she should not hang out with soldiers like them.

Crosshair becomes extremely disappointed at Hunter when he chooses to disobey orders and he starts to prioritize Omega’s safety. To him, good soldiers should follow orders, and Hunter is breaking it. Crosshair’s bitterness towards the Bad Batch grows when they leave him on Kamino and they have taken Omega with them, giving the feeling that he has been replaced. Although he is furious at the Bad Batch, he does not channel his destructive rage towards them, even though the Bad Batch thinks that he is trying to kill them. Instead, he channels his destructive rage towards other people. In “Replacements”, Crosshair executes ES-01 for insubordination and he orders the rest of the Elite Squad Troopers to execute innocent civilians, in which the Bad Batch has failed to do so earlier. In “Reunion”, Crosshair dismisses the Bad Batch for scavenging like rats since they no longer have a stable financial support after deserting the Empire. For Crosshair, being a soldier is the only truly acceptable role for a clone trooper. The life of a mercenary or a bounty hunter is a definite “no” for him and for any clone trooper.

In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair kills his own Elite Squad Troopers for refusing to stand down as he has ordered. He offers the Bad Batch to join the Empire to have a purpose again. Moreover, he tries to take Omega away from the Bad Batch, even telling Hunter to stop pretending to be a father figure to her, which in Crosshair’s eyes, is something Hunter is not. When the Bad Batch refuses Crosshair’s offer, he gets angry at them, warning them not to make the same mistakes twice and not to become his enemy. Despite witnessing and surviving the destruction of Tipoca City caused by the Empire, Crosshair still chooses to stay loyal to the Empire, and not even Hunter’s advice can get to him.

In “The Solitary Clone”, Crosshair is seen to be eating his meal alone as other regular clone troopers move away from him. It is true that regular clone troopers usually have issues with “defective” clones like Crosshair, but Crosshair’s tendency to limit himself to only the Bad Batch also now becomes a side effect as he is no longer with his former squad. He has nobody close to him in the Empire. Although Commander Cody is a close friend of Crosshair, his eventual desertion wounds Crosshair, causing him to further shut himself off. Furthermore, Crosshair still chooses to return to the Empire despite being stranded on Kamino for 32 rotations, claiming that he is a soldier of the Empire. Even though Crosshair later becomes aware that the Empire is not treating the clones well, he finds himself unable to desert the Empire and his role as a soldier, just like a Hera person finds themselves unable to leave an abusive relationship or marriage.

The Medea syndrome, which originates from the Greek mythology character Medea, describes the spurned woman, which is the negative Hera pattern. The Medea myth is a metaphor that describes the Hera woman’s capacity to put her commitment to a man ahead of everything else, and her capacity for revenge when she finds that her commitment counts for nothing in his eyes.

In the myth, Medea was the priestess and daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. The Golden Fleece belonged to the king, and Jason and the Argonauts sought it. Jason needed help to obtain the Golden Fleece as it was well-guarded, and that he needed to complete three seemingly impossible tasks given by the king in a single day. His patron goddesses, Hera and Athena, managed to persuade Aphrodite to make Medea fall in love with him and help him steal the Golden Fleece. Jason begged Medea to help him and promised that he would marry her. So, out of her love and loyalty to Jason, Medea helped him steal the fleece. By doing so, she betrayed her father and her country, and brought about her brother’s death. She fled with Jason, and they eventually settled in Corinth. They got married and had two young sons.

Since Medea was a foreigner, her position was similar to that of a common-law wife. Jason wanted a better life, so he decided to marry Glauce (or Creusa), the daughter of King Creon of Corinth. As a condition for the marriage, Jason agreed that Medea and their children would be exiled. Medea was enraged with Jason for breaking his vows, and she felt humiliated that all her sacrifices and crimes committed for him meant nothing to him. With that, she plotted and carried out her revenge.

First, Medea sent Glauce a gown and a golden coronet that were covered with poison as wedding gifts. Once Glauce put them on, she was burned to death. Her father tried to save her, but he was also burned to death. Then, Medea was in conflict between her love for her children and her desire for revenge. Ultimately, her desire for revenge won, and she murdered her children. When Jason learned of her vengeful plot, Medea fled to Athens in a golden chariot driven by dragons sent by her grandfather, the god of the sun Helios. Despite all the crimes Medea had done, she retained the favours of the gods. As for Jason, since he broke his oath to love Medea forever, he lost favour with Hera and he died alone and unhappy. His story ended with a rotting prow of the Argo breaking off and crushing him in his sleep.

Literal reenactments of the Medea myth are rare, but they are quite common on a metaphoric level. When a person is influenced by Hera and Aphrodite like what happened to Medea, their instinct to mate and their passion for their loved one may cause them to put that relationship above everything. They may leave their family and friends, betray their own values, and cut off any ties if necessary. They will not have any help or support if their partner behaves like Jason.

The Medea person may imagine or attempt to harm their partner’s lover. For example, “Medea” may spread lies to damage the reputation of the other woman or man. Moreover, the Medea person may attempt to destroy their children’s relationship to their partner. They may take the children away, or make efforts to drive their partner away from the children. They may even make their children hate their other parent. It is worth noting that Medea did not murder Jason in the myth. Similarly, the hostile, spurned Hera often harms other people more than the partner who left them.

Crosshair shows his Hera’s destructive rage and the Medea syndrome in “Return to Kamino” and “Kamino Lost”. When Hunter says that they are loyal to each other and not the Empire, Crosshair counters that Hunter is not loyal to him and he has not forgotten that time the Bad Batch left him behind on Kamino. Crosshair is also bitter that the Bad Batch has thrown away their legacy. I have seen headcanons that Crosshair is willing to make tremendous sacrifices for his squad, which aligns with Hera’s capacity for commitment. When the Bad Batch leaves him behind, Crosshair must have felt that all of his devotion and sacrifices mean nothing to his squad. This incident leads him to take on the hostile, spurned Hera archetype.

Furthermore, Crosshair tries to take Omega away from Hunter and send her on a shuttle off-world. Hunter pleads with Crosshair not to do it because Omega belongs with the Bad Batch. However, Crosshair says that Omega is in constant danger from living among fugitives like the Bad Batch, and he is doing this for her own good and for the Bad Batch too. Crosshair even tells Hunter to let go of Omega and stop pretending to be something that he is not – a father figure to the child. This argument evokes the metaphoric reenactment of Medea and Jason, where Crosshair is the “Medea” that threatens to take the child Omega away from Hunter the “Jason”. True to Hera’s destructive rage, Crosshair has no intention of killing the Bad Batch despite their alleged treason and their disloyalty towards him. Instead, he kills his Elite Squad Troopers for refusing to stand down.

To grow beyond the Hera archetype, one must recognize Hera’s influence and understand the susceptibilities of this archetype. It is crucial for a Hera person to expand beyond the Hera archetype. They must realize that this archetype at best limits them, and at worst is destructive to them. They must consciously develop other archetypes, which can enrich their life and marriage, and give them the ability to adapt if death or divorce brings the marriage to an end.

Besides that, a Hera person should view marriage as a growth experience instead of an expectation of fulfilment. An insecure Hera person is highly susceptible to jealousy, and they can easily suspect infidelity or feel humiliated by their partner’s inattention. They may alienate their partner with accusations or make their partner be more aware of the effects of their indifferences. Their partner may learn to respond to the Hera person’s needs with compassion. The Hera person must repeatedly decide whom to trust – the suspicious Hera within or their partner. To grow, they must resist Hera and give their partner credit for support and fidelity.

In the myths, Hera has two sons – Ares, the God of War, and Hephaestus, the God of the Forge. Hera favoured Ares, and “like mother, like son”, Ares’s uncontrollable fury on the battlefield mirrored Hera’s uncontrollable vindictiveness. When a Hera person struggles with their vindictiveness and rage, they can transform their rage and pain into creative work by following the example of Hephaestus, whose wife Aphrodite was repeatedly unfaithful to him. Any kind of work, be it mental or manual, can help the Hera person to channel their rage in a healthy manner instead of being consumed and destroyed by it. Crosshair is close to Wrecker, who has a strong Ares archetype. Like Hera and Ares, they both express their rage directly, which is evident in “The Bad Batch” where Wrecker and Crosshair get into a fight with Jesse and Kix. Since Echo has a strong Hephaestus archetype, Crosshair can learn from Echo to channel his rage in a healthy manner.

It is normal for any person to grasp the loss once their partner has left them. For a Hera person, they are likely to believe that their partner will miss them and come back, just like that myth about Zeus and Hera’s reconciliation. In this myth, after a quarrel with Zeus, Hera left him and retreated to the island of Euboea, and there was nothing Zeus could say to change her mind. King Cithaeron then advised Zeus to stir her jealousy by announcing that he was about to marry Plataea, the daughter of Asopus. Then, Zeus arranged a mock wedding ceremony with a wooden statue of a woman that was wrapped up in a dress. Once Hera heard the news, she stormed into the wedding and tore away the dress from the figure, only to discover that it was a lifeless statue. Hera was amused by this prank, and she and Zeus reconciled and returned to Mount Olympus.

This myth provides several psychological elements for a possible reconciliation to occur. Firstly, Hera let go of more than her husband Zeus. She also let go of her hopes that he would change, and let go of the role of victimized, vindictive Hera. After Hera left, Zeus discovered that she was truly important to him. Zeus set up the mock wedding ceremony with a wooden statue to convey the message that each of his affairs had been a symbol to him (like the statue) rather than an important relationship. Hera was amused by it because she finally recognized that no other woman really had mattered to him all along, leading to a reconciliation. Life sometimes follows this mythic happy ending, but most of the time, it does not. A Hera person may see that separation has not changed her partner’s heart. Then, they must accept reality, grieve and move on with their life.

Despite feeling betrayed by the Bad Batch leaving him on Kamino, Crosshair still clings onto the hope that they can be brothers again. He proves his loyalty towards them by killing his Elite Squad Troopers. Then, he offers them to join the Empire as their chance of reconciliation. However, they refuse his offer, forcing Crosshair to face the reality that the separation has not changed their hearts. When Hunter offers Crosshair a chance to rejoin the Bad Batch, Crosshair refuses, claiming that he has made his decision. At this moment, Crosshair lets go of more than the Bad Batch. He also lets go of his hopes that they will change, and lets go of the role of victimized, vindictive Hera. By accepting this reality, Crosshair is able to grieve and move on with his life without the Bad Batch. He stops chasing after them and he lets go of any desire for revenge. Of course, Crosshair is still loyal to the Bad Batch, and this is proven when he lies in his report that they have perished in the bombardment of Tipoca City. He still wants to protect them, even going so far as to send Plan 88 to warn them to hide.

In “The Crossing”, Tech admits to Omega that he does miss Crosshair. When Tech reveals that Crosshair is now under the hands of Dr. Hemlock, Wrecker is surprised that Crosshair has turned against the Empire. Based on his voice, Wrecker is hopeful that Crosshair will come back to them. Tech then pushes the mission to rescue Crosshair because he is their brother, and they do not leave their own behind. Omega, Wrecker and Echo are supportive of the mission, which leads Hunter to give the approval. Their attempt to rescue Crosshair conveys the message that Crosshair is truly important to them.

Since the worship for the goddess Hera was done in a yearly cycle (Hera the Maiden in spring, Hera the Fulfilled One in summer and autumn, and Hera the Widow in winter), there is an archetypal possibility for a Hera person to complete the cycle and begin anew. A Hera person can emotionally “widow” themselves by leaving a relationship or marriage that is empty, abusive or smeared with infidelity. They can then start anew and choose wisely this time. Their drive to be a committed partner can once again be fulfilled in a positive manner as they find themselves in a new relationship or marriage.

Crosshair takes on the archetypal Hera the Widow when conflict arises between him and Hunter, and it gets worse when the Bad Batch leaves him on Kamino. In “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair chooses to emotionally “widow” himself by not returning to the Bad Batch that clearly does not trust him anymore. This is evident when Wrecker, Tech and Echo point their blasters at Crosshair because they think that he is going to shoot Hunter, when in fact, he is going to shoot a grapple to save Omega. Although Crosshair has made a horrible decision to stay with the Empire, he does come to his senses after meeting Commander Mayday. When Mayday is devastated to realize that the Empire disposes the clones despite their loyalty and sacrifices, Crosshair finally understands that loyalty goes two ways. Since this loyalty between the clones and the Empire is only one-sided, Crosshair turns against the Empire. I am sure that once Crosshair is back with the Bad Batch, he can start anew with them and make wiser decisions this time – like he “recycles” himself and takes on the archetypal Hera the Maiden.

Crosshair’s archetype combination is Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis and Hera. These archetypes are opposites to each other: Poseidon is emotional while Apollo is logical; Artemis is independent while Hera is dependent on others. This combination gives Crosshair a lot of complexity: he is both logical and emotional, is an independent spirit but also deeply cares for his loved ones. In Greek mythology, Apollo and Artemis are twins, and they are both archers, capable of aiming their goals from afar. Apollo is associated with civilizations while Artemis is associated with the wilderness. The Apollo-Artemis combination helps Crosshair to accomplish his goals with ease. He works well with social institutions and he has a love for the wilderness. Besides that, the Poseidon-Hera combination is also possible for it reflects the relationship between Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite. Since a Poseidon person is more in touch with their emotions, they may place high importance on their loved ones, especially if they take on the mature Poseidon that embrace their emotionality in a positive manner. With that, a loving Poseidon can satisfy their Hera partner greatly. The Poseidon-Hera combination makes Crosshair an extremely loyal and committed person. He takes great care of his loved ones and he is fiercely protective of them.

It is worth noting that there is one myth where Poseidon, Apollo, Hera and Athena tried to overthrow Zeus, but they failed. They were punished except for Athena because she was the favourite child of Zeus. This myth gives an insight to the relationship between Hunter (Zeus), Tech (Athena) and Crosshair (Poseidon, Apollo and Hera). When Tech decides not to follow Hunter’s orders, Hunter gets annoyed by it but he lets Tech do his own thing. This is evident in “Cut and Run” when Tech decides to get their ship impounded by the Imperials because this is the simplest solution to get the chain codes. Hunter is angry that Tech goes against his plan, but he trusts that Tech has everything under control. He only warns Tech that Omega is on the ship. On the other hand, when Crosshair decides not to follow Hunter’s orders, Hunter immediately shuts him down. This is evident in “Aftermath” when Crosshair keeps shooting at Caleb Dume despite Hunter repeatedly orders him to stand down. Hunter even questions Crosshair about his actions, wondering what is wrong with him. Moreover, in the Hyperspace Stories #10, Hunter probably senses Crosshair’s frustration with the mission they are given, and he mistakes it as Crosshair questioning orders, which is why he reminds Crosshair that they have their orders. All of these seems to indicate that Tech is Hunter’s favourite, and Crosshair is treated like “the middle child” of the Bad Batch. It is also worth noting that Poseidon, Artemis and Hera are all known for their destructive rage that does not spare innocents, and this reflects on Crosshair’s wrath. If you want to live, do not ever get on his bad side.

Despite all four of his archetypes being opposites of each other, they all prioritize on loyalty and commitment, which are Crosshair’s main values. Crosshair is extremely committed to his duty as a soldier, but he is also committed to his loved ones (probably more than his duty as a soldier). He is fiercely loyal to his loved ones, and will do anything to protect them from harm. If you can see through his cold façade, you will find a man who is willing to make tremendous sacrifices to keep you warm and safe. You just need to be patient with him and be kind to him. As long as you are on his good side, rest assured that you will have a valuable friend and partner in Crosshair.

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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There is more for Crosshair soon! I have only touched upon his innate archetypes, but I still have to analyze his anima (unconscious feminine side of a man), which consists of two archetypes!

I have mentioned the two archetypes that made up his anima in the other Bad Batch analyses.

I am still busy with my assignments but the analysis is currently WIP. I aim to publish it before the series finale.

Crosshair's Innate Archetype (Part 2)

This is the sixth instalment of my Bad Batch analysis. This character analysis has two parts: innate archetypes and anima. I will be referring to “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this first part analysis. This innate archetype analysis is split into two parts.

Part 1 | Part 2

Apollo is the God of the Sun, and he is second only to Zeus as the most important Greek god. The Romans called him “Apollo” like the Greeks, or “Phoebus”, which means “bright, shining, pure”. He is also the god of the arts (especially of music, dance and poetry), prophecy and archery. He is the lawgiver and punisher of wrongs, the protector of herdsmen, and the patron of medicine, who can also bring plagues. He is often depicted with a bow and a lyre, and the laurel is his sacred plant. His two famous precepts, “Know thyself” and “Nothing in excess” are inscribed on his temple at Delphi. Although he is noted for clarity and form, he has a lesser-known darker aspect, with both light and dark reflected in his symbols. Apollo is known as the pure, holy and cleansing god, which are all associated with the sun, his most important symbol. Swans are Apollo’s sacred birds, but so do crows and ravens, which represent his dark side. Snakes and wolves are also associated with Apollo. As a punisher of wrongs, Apollo is known to be cruel and can act vindictively.

The Apollo archetype is the most common archetype found in real people and in fictional characters. The clones have a strong Apollo archetype due to their military training and genetic modifications that cause them to be more inclined in following orders. This archetype is further enhanced during Order 66 as the inhibitor chip causes the clones to carry out orders without question. Crosshair has an enhanced Apollo archetype due to his genetic modification that grants him enhanced eyesight.

Apollo is an archer. His bow and arrow shafts are golden like the sun. It takes will, skill and practice to be an archer. An accomplished archer can aim for a distant target and be confident of hitting it, which comes naturally for people with strong Apollo archetype. People who identify as Apollo are logical and can easily relate to objective reality. They know what they want and have the will to accomplish their goal. They have a sense of future time, which enables them to plan ahead and set goals (like aiming at a target). Their targets are realistic, require effort to achieve it, and grant recognition. Crosshair is an accomplished sniper who is confident of hitting his targets from afar, even when the surroundings are a blur. In the Hyperspace Stories #10, Crosshair warns Wrecker that he can blast a flea off his back from 200 meters away in the pouring rain, and that he can do the same thing to Wrecker’s new toy. This indicates that Crosshair will do anything to accomplish his goals regardless of how difficult his goals are. Adding to his severe and unyielding personality, he has a very strong will to achieve his goals. Moreover, his goals are realistic for they are tangible and objective (for example, taking down a platoon of battle droids is a tangible goal). Like an archer, Crosshair has an excellent sense of future time, which enables him to plan out his trickshots perfectly as he knows where to place the reflecting mirrors and when to shoot to make those trickshots.

Apollo is the Greek god of prophecy, even though he himself does not prophesize. He gained this title by killing a great dragon or serpent named Python and taking over the oracle of Delphi as his temple, a site with a long history of prophetic divination. Through this myth, he was called Pythian Apollo and his priestess was Pythia. Apollo’s mediums were all women and their psychic divinations came from their communion with him. When people came to Apollo’s temple to consult with his oracle, the Pythia would enter a trance state and the priest would put questions to her and take down her words. The response would be turned over to another priest, who usually put it into the rhythm of poetry, though the meaning of the words was often obscure and ambiguous. Apollo as the god of prophecy fits his future-mindedness, like an archer who aims for a faraway target.

Crosshair has shown to exhibit some traits of Apollo as the god of prophecy, but it is usually limited to his ability to plan trickshots. He expertly places the reflecting mirrors on the surfaces as he has already predicted the movements of his targets. He also knows when to make the shot, which enables him to wipe out his targets with one precise shot. In “Return to Kamino”, Tech notices that Crosshair has placed the reflecting mirrors on the walls of the training ground. The placement of mirrors allows Crosshair to take down all four Imperial troopers in one shot, while leaving the Bad Batch unscathed. Crosshair only makes the trickshot when the Imperial troopers refuse to stand down. This indicates that he has foreseen that the Imperial troopers will disobey his order, and that he has planned their deaths. Moreover, the placement of mirrors also indicates that he has foreseen the positions of the Imperial troopers and the Bad Batch will take once they are in the training ground, and he ensures that his trickshot will take down all the Imperial troopers but not harm the Bad Batch.

@wwheeljack has shared this link that explains the observation training taken by military snipers. In this exercise, the snipers observe the various given objects for a short period of time. Then, they need to remember and describe what they have seen – they are not allowed to say the names of the objects. This exercise reminds me of how the oracle of Delphi is sought out by the Ancient Greeks, which evokes the Apollo archetype. It does feel that Crosshair’s enhanced eyesight and sniper training have enhanced his Apollo archetype.

As the goal-oriented archer and the god of the sun and prophecy, Apollo is the far-distant one. He can live in the future, always planning ahead. He can rise above the situation or “go skyward” to see everything objectively or to see his experiences as spiritual lessons. People who are like Apollo response to emotional pain by distancing themselves from these feelings and rise above their emotions through intellectual understanding, a mindful spiritual practice, or repeating their own principles to themselves. In the myths, Apollo had a connection to the mysterious realm of the Hyperboreans, and taking his chariot pulled by swans, he went there during the winter months. The realm of the Hyperboreans was the “northerly realm beyond the mountains”, and on a psychological level, this realm was depicted as a distant place of retreat, a starry world, another dimension, an Underworld or an enlightened world. Regardless of its depictions, the Hyperborean aspect of Apollo leads to feelings of isolation from others and the tendency to occasionally disappearing from this world into another.

As the far-distant one, Crosshair has the tendency to see the bigger picture. Throughout season 1, Crosshair explains his reasonings why he joins the Empire willingly, and keeps accusing Hunter that he cannot see the bigger picture. Moreover, Crosshair prefers to stay above his emotions when chaos breaks out. For example, when the food fight breaks out between the Bad Batch and the regular clone troopers, Crosshair chooses to ignore the commotion and continue to eat until his meal gets ruined. Interestingly, his transfer to the snowy planet of Barton IV can be interpreted as his travels to the realm of the Hyperboreans, despite the realm is not necessarily located in the Arctic Region by the Ancient Greeks. Though, the need to keep his helmet on can be Crosshair’s Hyperborean aspect of Apollo.

As the god of the sun, nothing hides from Apollo, like light shines through the darkness to expose every hidden thing. The Apollo’s clear-sightedness enables a person to see through lies, ulterior motives and hidden information. In the myths, on the day Hermes was born, he proceeded to steal cows from his half-brother Apollo. He hid his tracks by tying branches to his feet, and he laid down a false trail by having the cows walk backwards. When Apollo discovered his cattle were stolen, he noticed tracks that seemed to lead in the opposite direction, and he was not fooled. When Apollo demanded Hermes to reveal where his stolen cows were hidden, Hermes lied and tried to pass himself off as an innocent infant, in which Apollo did not buy into any of his lies. Helios, the god who personifies the sun in Greek mythology and who shares the same title as God of the Sun with Apollo, also exhibits the same clear-sightedness. In the myths, Helios was the one who tells Demeter that her daughter Persephone had been abducted by Hades, and Zeus had permitted it to happen. Helios was also the one who told Hephaestus that his wife Aphrodite had been cheating on him with Ares.

We have seen how Crosshair can easily see through lies and anything hidden from plain sight. In “A Distant Echo”, Crosshair quickly figures out why Rex strongly believes that Echo is alive and is adamant of rescuing him because Rex feels guilty for leaving Echo for dead at the Citadel. His deductions are based on his observations of Rex’s body language and changes to his voice tone. In “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Crosshair uses his helmet scanner to see through the walls, and reports that their enemies and many droids are approaching them. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair is not convinced that Hunter has stunned Caleb, which caused the Padawan to fall to his death in the waterfall. He even inspects the surroundings and the bottom of the waterfall using his helmet scanner to confirm his suspicions. Then, he points out that Hunter should look down not across when he sees someone falls, showing his understanding of body language and how observant he is. In “Reunion”, an Elite Squad Trooper reported that he cannot detect any life signs aboard the Jedi cruiser because the scanner is not working due to atmospheric interferences. However, Crosshair immediately knows that Tech has jammed their sensors and that Clone Force 99 is still onboard the ship. He also manages to predict that Tech has tapped into their comms to track down their movements. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair immediately catches on Wrecker’s lie that they did not bring Omega with them. We know that our pupils dilate when we lie, and I am sure that Crosshair can see that even when we wear sunglasses or helmets with dark visor. I am also sure that Crosshair would never be impressed by magic tricks since they involve misdirection, deception and illusions. He is so observant that he can easily debunk the magic tricks. If you are hiding something, both Hunter and Crosshair will catch on quickly but with different methods – Hunter can sense it while Crosshair can observe it.

Crosshair’s Apollo archetype balances out his Poseidon archetype. When Crosshair unleashes his emotions, they are depicted as storms. The sun only comes out when the storms subside, indicating that he has finally calmed down and he now can see the truth. This motif is shown twice, which are in “Kamino Lost” and “The Outpost”. In “Kamino Lost”, the raging storm on Kamino has subsided by the time the Bad Batch reaches the landing platform at daybreak. The sun comes out, which is a rare occurrence in Kamino. At this moment, Crosshair’s anger, disappointment and sadness towards his teammates have returned to stable conditions after all the explosive arguments they have. When Hunter offers him a chance to rejoin the team, Crosshair turns it down because he sees through Hunter’s intentions. Hunter wants Crosshair to give up his life as a soldier and his allegiance with the Empire, which makes his offer conditional. This contradicts Hunter’s unconditional love towards his teammates (including Crosshair), and if Crosshair chooses to rejoin the team, it will mean that he chooses to sacrifice his values and live in the lie that everyone is fine with him (which is clearly not true because Tech, Wrecker and Echo aim their blasters at Crosshair, thinking that he is going to shoot Hunter). Crosshair can see through this inconsistency and he refuses to return.

In “The Outpost”, Crosshair and the injured Mayday endure the freezing conditions as they return to the Imperial base. Once they arrive there, the snow has stopped falling and the winds have ceased. The sun is hanging above the base as Crosshair begs Lieutenant Nolan to send a medic to save Mayday’s life. Nolan refuses, claiming that it will be a waste of the Empire’s resources. As Mayday succumbs to his injuries, Crosshair finally sees the truth – the Empire never cares about the clones because they are expendable, including him. The sun shining above Crosshair symbolizes his light side as the Empire’s cruelty towards the clones has been exposed in broad daylight. The Ice Vulture circling above Crosshair represents his dark side as Crosshair makes the decision to kill Lieutenant Nolan. The mountains behind Crosshair are positioned to look like the wings of the Ice Vulture – as if Crosshair has become the Ice Vulture. I interpret the Ice Vulture as the equivalent of the raven, Apollo’s sacred bird that represents his dark side. In the Greek myth, the raven was once white, and Apollo assigned it to keep an eye on his mortal wife Coronis, who was pregnant with his child. The bird reported to the god that she was cheating on him. Apollo responded by turning the raven’s feathers from white to black, and he killed Coronis, which he later regretted it. However, he managed to save his unborn son from her body, and gave him to Chiron the centaur to raise. This son was Asclepius, who became the god of healing and medicine. Surprisingly, Apollo’s sacred birds – swans, crows and ravens – are known for their loyalty, and the same goes for vultures. These birds fit Crosshair well as loyalty is important to him.

Apollo is the favourite son of Zeus, and he is the second most important Greek god (the first being Zeus). From his birth, Apollo proclaims that his life mission is to carry out his father’s will. As the favourite son, Apollo people are likely to be basked in parental love, approval and praises, especially from traditional parents, as if there is a brightness cast about them. They are the success in the making, a positive reflection on their parents, and an achiever in a culture that values accomplishments. If they do not have a biological father, they will seek out the approval of other people who resemble Zeus. Crosshair has this archetypal affinity to excel and to please, and he constantly seeks out approval from Hunter, who has the Zeus archetype. This is hinted in “The Bad Batch” when Crosshair smirks as Hunter praises his sharpshooting skills. Crosshair also looks up to Commander Cody and Commander Mayday, who both have higher authority than him.

When Anakin (who has the higher authority as he is a Jedi General) leads the Bad Batch and Rex to rescue Echo, Crosshair is seen following and aiding him. In “A Distant Echo”, Anakin is seen checking out Crosshair’s rifle, and Crosshair is fine with it (possibly even feeling proud that he is being noticed by a Jedi General). When Anakin is snatched away by a keeradak, Crosshair shoots a grappling line towards the flying reptile so Hunter can use it to track down Anakin. When the Bad Batch and Rex find Anakin has been pinned down by the creature and is surrounded by the Poletecs, Hunter commands Wrecker and Crosshair to carry out Plan “Rockslide”. Wrecker proceeds to push a boulder down to distract the Poletecs while Crosshair shoots an electric dart at the leg of the keeradak, forcing it to release Anakin. When Anakin tells them to split up so they can find Echo easier, Crosshair follows Anakin and saves him from almost being cornered by battle droids. Crosshair is also seen fighting alongside Anakin and Echo in the episode “On the Wings of Keeradaks”. In “Unfinished Business”, although Crosshair tells the rest of the Bad Batch and Rex to go as he helps them to buy some time, they stay back to see him performing impressive trickshots. I am sure that by staying back to watch his performance boosts Crosshair’s ego because he loves showing off and all eyes are on him. Crosshair is probably more determined to impress Anakin when he is present to witness his impressive trickshot where he destroys a group of battle droids with only one shot. Some fans jokingly say that Crosshair is disappointed that he does not receive praises from Anakin after that trickshot, so he feels the need to bring down Wrecker by jumping in to say that “he won’t top him next time”.

Apollo is the lawgiver as he provides cities their legal institutions and a structure for communities to work together and settle disputes. He also interprets law, and he supports order and moderation. He is uncomfortable with chaos, turbulence or passionate intensity. He intends to bring form and provide order through rules, laws, measure and time. As the upholders of law and order, Apollo people have a strong conviction that they know what is right and good for everyone. They may be idealists who envision a time when all people may live peacefully under the rule of law that will guarantee justice and fairness. All clones have the Apollo archetype as they follow orders without much questioning. Although the Bad Batch has a tendency to deviate from standard protocol, they still mostly follow orders. When Order 66 is issued, the inhibitor chips enhance the Apollo archetype to the point that the clones mercilessly execute their Jedi Generals that they have been working together for years.

Crosshair takes on the law-and-order aspect of Apollo strongly, even taking the saying “good soldiers follow orders” seriously. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair is somehow affected by the inhibitor chip, and tries to shoot Caleb Dume down despite Hunter keeps telling him to stand down. Crosshair later gets angry at Hunter for helping Caleb to escape and lying that the Padawan has been eliminated. To him, an order is an order, and Hunter should have completed the mission objective without considering the morality of the given order. When the Bad Batch refuses to execute Saw Gerrera and his people, Crosshair grumbles about the need to debate about morality, and states that they need to complete the mission. He believes that Saw Gerrera and his people are enemies of the Empire, and they should be eliminated. He even blames Hunter for making the team disobey orders, which causes them to be branded as traitors to the Empire.

With the effects of his inhibitor chip get amplified, Crosshair leaves the Bad Batch and joins the Empire. He carries out orders without hesitation. In “Replacements”, Crosshair orders his Elite Squad to execute the civilians associated with Saw Gerrera, and he even executes one of the members of his Elite Squad for refusing to obey his order. In “Devil’s Deal”, he follows Rampart’s order and shoots one of Senator Taa’s lekku, which allows Rampart to arrest General Cham Syndulla, his wife and other insurgents for the attempted assassination of the Senator. In “The Solitary Clone”, he carries out Governor Grotton’s order to execute Tawni Ames when Commander Cody fails to do so. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair reveals that he already has his inhibitor chip removed, and that he willingly pledges his loyalty to the Empire. This shocks the Bad Batch and Hunter refuses to believe it, but Crosshair says that this is who he is. It is not out of character for Crosshair to stay loyal with the Empire even without the effects of the inhibitor chip because of his strong Apollo archetype. He even chooses to return to the Empire despite he is left on the Kaminoan platform for 32 rotations because he is a soldier of the Empire. When Commander Cody talks about the rumour that more Clone Troopers have been questioning Order 66, which explains the increasing number of their desertion, Crosshair describes them as traitors like the Jedi.

Moreover, Crosshair is shown to have a strong conviction of what he thinks it is right and good for himself, the Bad Batch and Omega. In “Aftermath”, he strongly believes that the Bad Batch should have obeyed orders like good soldiers because he does not want the team to get into trouble with the higher-ups. In “Return to Kamino”, He believes that he and the rest of the Bad Batch are meant to be soldiers as this is their purpose. This is why he tells them to stop running and join the Empire because the Empire cannot protect the galaxy without strength, and he hopes to be a part of it. In addition, he tries to take Omega away from the Bad Batch and intends to send her on a shuttle offworld. He claims that this is for her own good and theirs as well. He tells Hunter that Omega is in constant danger from living among fugitives like the Bad Batch (which he has a valid point there), and that Hunter should let her go to protect her.

In Greek mythology, Apollo is known to have sibling rivalry and friendship with his younger half-brother Hermes, the Messenger God, and with his older twin sister, Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Moon. Competition emerged between Apollo and Hermes when Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle, and from whom Apollo received the lyre. Shortly after Artemis was born, she helped her mother Leto during her prolonged labour with Apollo. There was one myth where Apollo and Artemis were called upon by their mother Leto to avenge Niobe’s insult. In a myth about Artemis and Orion, Apollo was jealous of her love towards the hunter, so he created a challenge for Artemis, causing her to unknowingly kill Orion. As an archetype of the sibling and favoured older brother, Apollo people can easily become part of a team effort. They are also competitors, and they do it well thanks to their emotional distance. Though, they may not win the top position because they appear cautious and do not inspire others to see them as leaders. They also lack the drive to amass either power or money, the vision, decisiveness, or ruthlessness of a Zeus archetype. Crosshair has a brotherly relationship with members of Clone Force 99, and he works well with them. In the episodes “On the Wings of Keeradaks” and “Unfinished Business”, he and Wrecker have a sibling rivalry where they compete each other on who can take down the most droids. Though, Crosshair does not work well with regular clone troopers with the exceptions of Commander Cody, Commander Mayday and Captain Rex (at the later part of the Clone Wars arc).

Apollo values prudence, avoids physical danger, is emotionally distant, and prefers being an observer. This makes him a side-liner, not a hero. During the Trojan War, Poseidon challenged Apollo to a duel. Apollo turned it down and explained that he was not going to fight for insignificant, short-lived mortals. He still refused to be drawn into combat even when his sister Artemis called him a coward (and somehow Hera gave her a beating for that). Furthermore, Apollo was shown to actively dislike heroes. He refused the help from Heracles through the Pythian Oracle. He also opposed Achilles during the Trojan War. Achilles died when he was struck in the heel by an arrow, which was a vulnerable spot as that had not been bathed in the river Styx. In some versions, it was Apollo who killed Achilles, but in other versions, he was the one who guided Paris to take the shot. Apollo’s action is not a heroic act – he shoots an arrow from a distance instead of getting involved in direct combat.

Crosshair is shown to have traits of the non-hero. As stated in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!” book, Crosshair can be cynical and bitter about the war. He is not like Wrecker, who enjoys the thrill of being on the battlefield and engaging physical combat like a hero. He is a sniper who carefully takes down his targets from afar and without revealing his position. Although he carries out his duty as a soldier seriously, he does not like being in the battlefield. The book also states that Crosshair has little regard for regular clone troopers because he views them as expendables. This aligns with Crosshair telling Captain Rex that he would have left Echo for dead because he is “just another reg”.

Apollo is the archetype of the musician. The bow and the lyre are the two stringed instruments belonging to Apollo. He uses the bow to release arrows, while he plucks the lyre to bring forth music. As the most alert Greek god, he produces music that leads people to a clearly seen truth. Apollonian music expresses clarity and purity that bring harmony and lift spirits up. Moderation and beauty are the essence and the effect of his music, which helps to charm beasts and soothe the tormented mind. Aside from music, dance and poetry are also associated with Apollo. Apollonian art is associated with order, reason, harmony, clarity and structure, which is the opposite of Dionysian art (from Dionysus the god of wine and ecstasy), which is associated with chaos, ecstasy, turbulence, emotional conflicts and passion.

I have seen headcanons of Crosshair being a musical expert – he can sing well, he can write songs, and he can play musical instruments (like the piano and bass guitar). He is likely into classical music and ambient music. He also likes songs with poetic lyrics. There are also headcanons that Crosshair is into other music genres like rock, blues, alternative, rap, and heavy metal. I accept these headcanons because Apollonian and Dionysian are the opposites of the same coin. It will be in character for Crosshair to be drawn to chaos, irrationality, intense emotions and passion. In this YouTube video between 17:00 to 19:00, Dee Bradley Baker, who voices the Bad Batch, comes up with the idea of Crosshair singing “The Time Warp” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (someone even made a short animatic about it in this link). The song talks about madness, chaos, sexual freedom, sensations, and being in the present, which are Dionysian values. Crosshair may be drawn to these opposite values. Aside from music, there are headcanons that Crosshair is a great dancer (mostly ballet), he writes poetry (perhaps to express his cynicism and bitterness towards the war), and he is into calligraphy, literature and aesthetic art, which align with Apollonian values.

People like Apollo tend to live in their heads, rather than in their bodies, emotions or imagination. Hence, Apollo men are not lovers. Their single-minded focus means that they are not easily distracted by attractive partners. Their relationships with women usually lack passion and emotional depth, which lead to both parties having a brother-sister relationship instead. With this arrangement, Apollo men tend to work best with Artemis and/or Athena women because these women are independent, competent and competitive, just like Apollo men. Though, Apollo men can be attracted to their opposites, which is shown in the myths where Apollo is in love with Sybil and Cassandra, who are psychic women – emotional, irrational, impractical and often unimpressed with him. Most Apollo men find these women fascinating, frustrating and unpredictable, and they may try to control them.

Although Apollo is handsome, virtuous and dependable, he is unsuccessful in love as he is rejected by Daphne, Cassandra, Sybil and Marpessa. Even his love for Hyacinth ends in tragedy when he accidentally kills Hyacinth in a discus-throwing contest. Jean Shinoda Bolen interpreted the women Apollo desires but gets rejected by them as the same women who also may reject Apollo men. These women reject Apollo because he lacks depth and intensity, emotional closeness and expressiveness, or sexual spontaneity. Some women reject an Apollo man because they sense that he is too attached to appearances.

Marpessa was loved by Apollo and a mortal man named Idas. Zeus allowed her to choose her lover between the two. Marpessa wisely chose Idas because she was aware that Apollo would desert her when she became old and grey. This myth can serve as a metaphor of choosing a “human” relationship that has the potential to grow and change over time, rather than a relationship with the unchanging Apollo.

When it comes to his relationships with Sybil and Cassandra, Apollo mistakenly assumes that love can be given in exchange for what he can provide. Apollo granted Sybil the gift of prophecy (which was how the famous Sybilline oracles came about) but she rejected him. Apollo taught Cassandra the art of prophecy on the condition that she became his lover, but she did not keep her word. Apollo got his revenge by cursing her that nobody would believe her. With the onset of the Trojan War, Cassandra continuously tried to warn everyone about the future calamities but she was shut away as a mad woman.

Although an Apollo man is cut away from his instinctual, sexual, and sensual thoughts, these thoughts may arise occasionally. His ability to focus on goals combining with his sexual desire may cause him to pursue the person he loves with great enthusiasm and passion. This is similar to the myth where Apollo was struck by an arrow shot by Eros (also known as Amor or Cupid), causing him to fall in love with Daphne and he actively pursued her. If the woman has not fallen in love with him, like Daphne in this myth, she is unlikely to relate to the intensity of his feelings due to the lack of intimacy and communication in the early stages of the relationship. She may feel like a pursued Daphne and may flee from him, as she feels more like an object he wants to possess than a woman being wooed. The myth of Apollo and Daphne ended with Daphne turning into a laurel tree to escape from the god overtaking her. Apollo still loved her, and the laurel became his sacred tree, with her leaves being made into wreaths that adorned his hair.

Even if an Apollo man manages to win a woman’s heart, she may become disappointed at him with his tendency to “go away” as a lover. She may even be unfaithful in his “absence” like the myth of Apollo and Coronis as stated earlier. If a woman desires substance rather than form, needs emotional depth rather than the security of an enduring relationship, or her nature is passionate, intense and in the moment (like Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty), she will be unhappy with her relationship with an Apollo man. This is because an Apollo man often does not see the importance of sexual attraction, physical affection and intimate verbal communication. When facing relationship difficulties, the Apollo man often withdraws as he does not see them as his problems. He can stay comfortably in a relationship or a marriage marked by emotional distance and lack of passion. His partner may feel lonely because of his lack of emotional and communication depth. She may become more like Apollo and start to cut herself off from her emotions, or she may become more irrational or hysterical in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to react emotionally.

Fortunately, Crosshair has the Poseidon archetype to balance out his Apollo archetype. This means that he is “handsome, virtuous and dependable” like Apollo, while also capable of depth and intensity, emotional closeness and expressiveness, intimacy, and sexual spontaneity like Poseidon. This archetype combination may make him an ideal partner, but with Poseidon’s relentless passion combining Apollo’s single-mindedness, he risks mirroring the myth of Apollo and Daphne if his desired partner does not reciprocate his feelings. Moreover, there is a tendency that he may occasionally sway too far into one archetype if he is unbalanced. This is because Apollo and Poseidon are the opposites – Apollo is associated with emotional distance, while Poseidon is associated with overwhelming emotions. If Crosshair chooses to distance himself emotionally, he may go too far to the point of inadvertently pushing people away and becoming lonely. However, if he chooses to give into his intense emotions, he may carry out his actions too far and inadvertently hurt other people, which can cause them to become terrified of him. Hence, it is important for Crosshair to find his centre or “Self” so he can take on the best aspects of both archetypes while reducing the risk of being “taken over” by either of them. This is possible if his “Self” is strong, which is associated with Hestia, the main archetype of Echo.

Since Apollo is “above it all” due to being the sun god, he is emotionally distant. This causes him to communicate about his emotions indirectly. When people seek his advice about something that he does not clearly understand, Apollo speaks through the Delphic Oracle, which contains ambiguous messages that require interpretation. People around an Apollo person often have to interpret the cryptic words that hint at their feelings. The Apollo person will withdraw further if they get the meaning wrong or if they try to draw them out. It is ironic that Apollo, the god of clarity who can make a person speak so precisely and clearly about an impersonal subject, is unable to make a person express themselves clearly. Furthermore, Apollo’s emotional distance also means the tendency to avoid emotional conflict, like the god refusing to respond to Poseidon’s challenge to fight during the Trojan War. He prefers to assess or judge the situation or the person from a distance. He is unwilling to “get close up” – be vulnerable and empathic – in order to truly know someone else.

It is clear that Crosshair struggles to express himself and his emotions through words – he prefers to express it through action. In “The Bad Batch”, Jesse gets angry at Crosshair because he interprets his words as insulting the regular clone troopers and disrespecting Captain Rex. In “A Distant Echo”, Rex interprets Crosshair’s words as he does not care about Echo, which causes him to angrily punch Crosshair. In these occasions, Hunter does not call out Crosshair or intervene when Rex punches Crosshair, possibly because he knows that Crosshair does not mean it. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair’s inhibitor chip is somehow activated, which causes him to become adamant about following orders. Crosshair does not understand what is wrong with himself, and his inability to properly communicate his issues with his teammates only worsens with the effects of the inhibitor chip. To make matters worse, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo do not understand what is wrong with Crosshair. They are confused of his behavioural change since they never have an issue with disobeying orders as they do it all the time. In addition, they are more focused on trying to escape the makeshift prison then dealing with Crosshair’s antics. Crosshair feels frustrated that they do not understand him and he withdraws from the team. He withdraws further when Omega tries to draw him out. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair offers the Bad Batch to join the Empire so they can have a purpose again. Hunter counters that Crosshair does not get who they are. Crosshair feels hurt that they do not understand his intentions and feelings towards them, and warns them not to make the same mistake twice and become his enemy. Hunter tells him that they never are enemies. Throughout “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair keeps on explaining why he chooses to join the Empire willingly, but the Bad Batch does not get him and they struggle to accept that he does this without the influence of the inhibitor chip. This causes Crosshair to withdraw himself further to the point of refusing to rejoin the Bad Batch.

People who identify as Apollo are influenced by their innate characteristics, culture and family of origin. If their family discourages emotional expression and perception, as well as enforcing a culture that disapproves vulnerability, encourages competition, and rewards acquiring power, the Apollo person, especially if they are intelligent and good-looking, may become narcissistic. This negative aspect may be worsened if they have narcissistic parents. These parents are likely to make the Apollo child to become an extension of themselves. They feel better about themselves when their Apollo child “wins” and demand that their child reflects well on them. This child feels the need to win in order to retain the conditional love of their parents, which can lead to anxiety and they end up performing worse.

An Apollo person whose life is full of successes may become arrogant. Their sense of self may become inflated, as if they identify with the god or the archetype. They may forget that they are human, and may assume that they can take on much more that they are able. This can lead to disastrous results, just like what happens to Phaëthon, the son of Helios. In this myth, Phaëthon was told by his mother that he was the son of Helios, and the young man boosted about it. When he was not believed in, he set forth to find Helios to confirm the truth. Helios acknowledged his paternity, and to assure Phaëthon further, he promised to grant him any favour he wished. Phaëthon requested to drive the sun chariot across the sky for one day. At daybreak, Phaëthon put on his father’s sun crown and climbed into the chariot. The great horses of the sun felt his unfamiliar and inexperienced hand on the reins and left the usual path taken by the sun. Phaëthon lacked the strength or experience to check their flight, and the blazing heat of the sun scorched the earth. To save the earth from further damage, Zeus struck Phaëthon down with a lightning bolt. Helios, distraught over the loss of his son, allowed the earth to go without light for one whole day, before once more putting the sun chariot on its regular course. Jean Shinoda Bolen interprets Phaëthon’s assumption that he could drive Apollo’s chariot as “an ego trip” that hurts others and causes him to be struck down.

The Bad Batch consists of Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair, who are all enhanced clones. Crosshair views himself and his squad as more superior than the regular clone troopers or ‘regs’. In “The Bad Batch”, Crosshair sneers at Jesse and tells him that they usually do not work with regs. In “A Distant Echo”, Crosshair says that he would have left Echo for dead too because he is “just a reg” (though his actions say otherwise). In “Return to Kamino”, Hunter realizes that Tipoca City is being decommissioned, which is not a good sign because he has been informed that the Empire is phasing out clones next. Crosshair is unconcerned of it because he thinks that his loyalty to the Empire, his exceptional sharpshooting skills and his superiority will mean that he gets to keep his position. Moreover, he tries to convince the Bad Batch to join the Empire as they are superior to the “regulars” and their strength can help the Empire to protect the galaxy. When the Bad Batch refuses his offer, he tells them that Kamino, the regular clones, and the Galactic Republic's time are over. He claims that the Empire will control the entire galaxy and he hopes to be a part of it. Crosshair’s assumption that he would be important to the Empire is his “ego trip” which hurts the Bad Batch, and it eventually causes him to be “struck down” when he realizes that he is disposable in the eyes of the Empire in spite of his skills, abilities and loyalty.

Apollo is known to be cruel and punitive, especially when he has been humiliated and dominated by someone else. He does not show mercy when he defeats a rival or when he enacts his revenge. In one myth, Marsyas the Satyr challenged Apollo to a musical contest, with the agreement that the victor could do whatever he liked to the loser. There were many variations of the contest, but the most notable one was that Apollo won the contest because he could play the lyre upside down, but Marsyas could not do it with his flute. As punishment for his hubris to challenge a deity, Apollo had Marsyas tied to a tree and stripped his skin off alive, which is inhumane and cruel. In another myth, after Cassandra did not keep her word, Apollo allowed her to keep the gift of prophecy, but he proclaimed that nobody would believe in her. This punishment is both creative and cruel as Cassandra suffers both for knowing the horrible future and living through it.

Crosshair has been shown to be capable of cruelty, especially towards those who disobeys his orders. In “Replacements”, ES-01 questions Crosshair’s leadership and the efficiency of the clones. He also tells Crosshair that the Empire is currently hiring human recruits, which means Crosshair may soon be replaced. This must have been humiliating to Crosshair, and with his emotional intensity, he is not going to let it slide so easily. When Crosshair decides to execute the civilians in compliance with the order to wipe out Saw Gerrera’s camp, ES-01 refuses to comply because he feels that the order is wrong. He takes over leadership as he tells the squad to ignore Crosshair and they should bring the civilians in for questioning. Crosshair coldly reminds ES-01 that the reason he is put in charge is because he is willing to do whatever it needs to be done. Crosshair then shoots ES-01 in the chest and in front of the squad as a punishment of his insubordination. Although not as cruel as Apollo flaying Marsyas alive, it is enough to cause the rest of the squad to obey his command and execute the civilians.

In “Reunion”, Crosshair hunts down the Bad Batch for being traitors to the Empire. He and his troops surround them at the end of the ion engine chamber, and he orders one of his troops to activate the engine. His plan is to trap the Bad Batch within the ion engine and force them to surrender as to avoid being burned by the engine flare. However, the Bad Batch manages to outsmart Crosshair and escape from being incinerated, while Crosshair gets burned by the ion engine. In “Return to Kamino”, when the Elite Squad Troopers reject Crosshair’s order to stand down, he makes a creative trickshot to execute all four of them at once.

Although Apollo is known for his clarity, moderation and healing abilities, the Ancient Greeks also believed that his poisoned arrows brought pestilence and sudden deaths to mortals. Jean Shinoda Bolen interpreted these poisoned arrows as “venomous words” uttered by an Apollo person. When a moderate, rational Apollo person unleashes his fury, he unleashes his repressed emotions that are primitive, undeveloped and irrational. The Apollo person becomes a venomous snake that harms others with words. His hostile words are often directed towards his loved or respected ones who have hurt him, humiliated him, or did not live up to his expectations. Though, his own positive self is the major casualty. Dee Bradley Baker describes Crosshair’s voice as “a coiled snake”, and his words are “deliberate and ready to strike” – resembling the dark aspects of Apollo. We have seen how his venomous words have wounded many people around him. In “The Bad Batch”, Crosshair’s words have incited Jesse’s anger, which causes a conflict between the regular clone troopers and the Bad Batch to break out. In “A Distant Echo”, Rex is wounded by Crosshair’s words and he punches the sniper in a fit of rage.

Throughout Season 1, Crosshair accuses Hunter’s failed leadership as the reason the squad is in trouble, which causes Hunter to start questioning his leadership skills, and he blames himself for leaving Crosshair behind. In “Kamino Lost”, Wrecker is hurt by Crosshair’s mocking his intelligence, and he points out that Crosshair never once tried to reunite with his teammates by his own volition, and that they would have accepted him back. In the same episode, Omega tells Crosshair that she wants to believe that the inhibitor chip has made him like this but she is wrong, indicating that she is hurt by his claim that he already has the chip removed and he willingly joins the Empire.

Since an Apollo person tends to live in their heads and uphold their values, they are often ruled by an idea of what it should be. They care greatly about their appearances, and they want order to their own worlds. They are unlikely to make choices based on their heart, emotions and instincts because these are devalued within them. As a result, an Apollo person can remain in a boring and meaningless job, an empty marriage, or a study course they are not interested in, despite knowing that something better exists out there. With their tendency to emotionally distance themselves, they are able to appear unaffected by the loss.

Crosshair is a sniper, which means he only takes the shot when he is absolutely certain that he can hit his target. Any slight miscalculation will give away his position and possibly compromise the mission. With that, I can see that Crosshair is a risk-averse person. This is evident when Omega suddenly shoots the rifle out of Crosshair’s hand, taking him by surprise. When she starts spraying several blaster bolts in his direction, Crosshair chooses to retreat as he cannot predict her movements, let alone predicting that she can use a blaster well.

We know that Crosshair is proud of being part of Clone Force 99 for they are known for their 100 percent success rate. This makes Crosshair believe that they deserve challenging missions as seen in the Hyperspace Stories #10 when he initially complains that the mission to investigate battle droids can be done by regular clone troopers. Being part of Clone Force 99 also means that Crosshair sees himself and his teammates as the more superior one. In “The Bad Batch”, when Rex takes charge of the mission to the Cyber Center, Crosshair challenges his authority because Clone Force 99 has been called in to help Rex, which means they (or more specifically, Hunter) should be in charge, not Rex.

With the rise of the Empire, the Bad Batch decides to defect because they do not agree with the Empire’s orders. They become mercenaries while also taking care of Omega. On the other hand, Crosshair doubles down on what he is made for and what he is always good at – as a soldier. He believes that the Bad Batch is made to be superior soldiers, and that the Empire will benefit from their skills and abilities. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair offers the Bad Batch to stop running and join the Empire to have a purpose again. To him, being a soldier is all that matters, and it does not matter that his allegiance is to the Republic or to the Empire. He is angry that Hunter chooses to throw away the squad’s legacy and defect. He feels that Hunter has brought chaos to his ideal world and has tarnished the squad’s reputation. He even tells Hunter to let Omega go and stop pretending to be something that he is not – a father figure to Omega. He also looks down at Omega because she is a child, despite that she has proven many times that she is a helpful ally, and she even saves him from drowning.

Even if Crosshair knows that the Empire is bad news, he is unwilling to break away from his values and his ideal world. He tries to justify the Empire’s action of destroying Tipoca City, saying that the Clone Wars is over and now the Empire will expand their control across the galaxy. Although he is left stranded on Kamino for 32 rotations, he still chooses to return because he is a soldier of the Empire. Since Crosshair cannot see what lies ahead if he chooses to give up being a soldier, he is unwilling to take the risk and run away. He stays with the Empire because they can bring structure and stability to his life, like providing him food, weapons, clothing, shelter and payment. He even scoffs at the thought of being more than a soldier as he sneers at the Bad Batch for scavenging like rats in “Reunion”. He also calls the clones that are questioning the Empire’s orders as traitors like the Jedi in “The Solitary Clone”. His tendency to live in his head and his decision to choose order above all else have made him physically and emotionally distant from everyone. The more detached he becomes, the lonelier he gets, which is shown throughout Season 2.

It is necessary for an Apollo person to grow beyond their rational and logical mind, and be in touch with their heart and body. Jean Shinoda Bolen has proposed four methods to grow beyond the Apollo archetype. The first method is to make room for Dionysus in the psyche. Apollo shared his temple at Delphi with Dionysus. Inside the temple, there was a grave of Dionysus, and the cult of Dionysus celebrated his death as an adult god and his reincarnation as a new-born infant. During the three winter months, Dionysus was worshipped and celebrated there, while Apollo went away to the realm of the Hyperboreans. Jean Shinoda Bolen interprets it as the Apollo person must realize the need to live in the moment, and to be absorbed in sensation, feeling, inner imagery, or outer experience, which will allow Dionysus to be present.

Many Apollo people can gain access to the Dionysus archetype through Dionysian music and dance. Dionysian music and dance are perceived as a bodily experience that invites people to dance spontaneously and without self-consciousness. They respond to the music instinctively, letting their bodies move with the flow of the music. In romance, Apollo people are goal-oriented and technique minded. They tend to stay aware of the clock and they may be self-conscious in how they express their love. By allowing Dionysus to take over the romantic aspects, the person becomes more focused in the present and becomes less conscious of their sensuality and methods of expressing love. The relationship will feel like a soulful communion or an emotional merger. I have seen fans describing Crosshair being critical of his appearance and becoming anxious in pleasuring his partner, and I think these are true to his Apollo character. With that, he must learn to let Dionysus in his romantic life, and this can be done with encouragements from his partner.

Hunter is innately Dionysus while Crosshair is more like Apollo. They are the opposites and they balance each other out. When Hunter focuses too much on his body or other people, Crosshair likely helps to shift his focus. For example, in “Aftermath”, Crosshair wants Hunter to focus on the mission and stop being bothered by Omega. It is possible when Crosshair stays in his head for too long, Hunter encourages him to let go and live in the moment. I have mentioned that Dee Bradley Baker once proposed the idea of Crosshair singing “The Time Warp”, which evokes the Dionysus archetype. Dee Bradley Baker once joked that Crosshair would be the one that sits in the back of the classroom eating a bottle of glue (link here), which also evokes the Dionysus archetype. This means that it is possible for Crosshair to move his Apollo archetype aside for the Dionysus archetype.

One of Apollo’s principles is “Keep the woman under rule”, and Jean Shinoda Bolen interprets as an Apollo man’s tendency to suppress his anima, the unconscious feminine of a man. Carl Jung views the anima or inner woman as the realm of emotions and relatedness, which is linked to the man’s emotionality and capacity for closeness and receptivity, which is usually undeveloped. With that, the second method to grow beyond the Apollo archetype will require one to liberate the anima or inner woman. This liberation means to have a positive regard for “feminine” values, which allows one to honour their own feelings and the feelings of others. This method helps an Apollo person to get out of their head and into their heart or body, which enables them to feel connected to nature and all living beings. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, most Apollo men gradually develop their anima through loving women who do not live in their heads and who can speak for their feelings. An Apollo person often hurts other people’s feelings unconsciously or due to their self-centered attitude. The Apollo person must be willing to listen and learn about feelings so they can be more caring towards others and not wanting to offend others.

Although Crosshair is surrounded by his brothers, he is free to liberate his anima (which is discussed in this link) under the encouragement of his brothers. Hunter has a strong Demeter anima, which is the mother archetype. Wrecker has a strong Aphrodite anima, which is the lover and creative woman archetype. Echo has a strong Persephone anima, or more specifically Persephone Queen of the Underworld. Demeter, Aphrodite and Persephone are associated with emotions, instincts and connectedness with others, which can help Crosshair to develop some positive regards for these values. Echo also has a strong Hestia anima, which is the wise maiden aunt archetype. This wise maiden aunt archetype can encourage Crosshair to follow his heart. Like Echo, Omega has a strong Persephone archetype, but it is more towards Persephone the Kore, which is the maiden archetype. This maiden archetype can encourage Crosshair to have a hopeful outlook in life, to be willing to trust others, and to be kind and compassionate. Even though Tech has a strong Athena anima, which is a feminine archetype that leans more towards living in one’s head and becoming detached from the heart and body, he has the Hermes archetype to counter it. Since Hermes is known to be an alchemist, a guide of souls and the rescuer of the child, he has the ability to unite masculinity and femininity, which is extremely helpful for Crosshair. By surrounding with people who view emotions, instincts, sensuality, and connectedness with others as positive values, Crosshair can learn to listen and be more considerate of other people’s feelings.

When a person is a sun-blessed Apollo, they begin life with a favoured status and with some advantages that help them to succeed in this world. The successful Apollo person usually takes credit for their accomplishments and assumes that their success is well deserved, leading them to become prideful. They may also blame others for not succeeding, without considering other factors such as circumstances, status quo, personality or intelligence. Hence, the third method to grow beyond the Apollo archetype will require one to learn humility. An Apollo person may need to actually be in someone’s shoes, or to suffer loss and feel grief, before they realize how arrogant they were and how much they did not know or appreciate. They may need to make a terrible mistake and be forgiven to experience humility. They may need to grow older and go through humbling experiences to become wiser.

The events of “The Outpost” finally gives Crosshair the hard lesson of humility. By working alongside Commander Mayday, Crosshair is able to actually feel the fit of a different pair of shoes. Although Mayday is a regular clone trooper, he is highly experienced, confident without a hint of hubris, and caring towards others. Yet, Lieutenant Nolan looks down at him for being a clone. After Crosshair and Mayday realize that the stolen cargo that they are sent to retrieved contain Stormtrooper gear, Mayday gets upset that they and their fellow brothers are thrown aside despite their combat service, sacrifice and loyalty. From here, Crosshair finally sees and feels himself in the same position as Mayday – the Empire still chooses to cast him aside despite his loyalty, exceptional skills and his supposed superiority as an enhanced clone. Later, Crosshair loses Mayday and he feels immense grief over his death. He is furious at Lieutenant Nolan for refusing to provide medical attention to Mayday. Lieutenant Nolan represents the worst aspects of an Apollo person – arrogant, cruel, thinking he is above everyone else despite lacking of command experience, and disregarding others who are below him. Upon witnessing and experiencing Nolan’s cruelty and hubris, Crosshair finally realizes how arrogant he was in the past. He also finally realizes that he did not appreciate the Republic, the Jedi, the Bad Batch, regular clones like Rex and Cody, and Omega, who are all better than how the Empire treats him and other clones. Crosshair’s decision to kill Lieutenant Nolan represents his decision to kill off his arrogant self and choose to become humble.

An Apollo person has a tendency to always do what is expected of them, without questioning whether they really want to do it. Since young, they gain love and approval for conforming to the rules, which is not difficult for them based on their archetypal nature. It often takes around the time when a mid-life crisis hits to make them start questioning their life. The fourth method to grow beyond the Apollo archetype requires one to make decisions based on love instead of logic. Once an Apollo person starts following their heart, they step out of the boundaries of their “known” rational world. They become human: they know that they are now vulnerable and they may make mistakes, but they are willing to take risks. They also give up the emotional distance that both protect them and keep them isolated.

Crosshair has a natural tendency to do what is expected of him, and he does it without questioning. He gains love and approval for being a good soldier that follows orders. His self-worth is based on what he is good at – as a soldier and as a sharpshooter. As a result, he does not see himself being more than a soldier and a sharpshooter. However, throughout the series, we are seeing Crosshair starts to follow his heart. In “Reunion”, Admiral Rampart orders Crosshair to execute Clone Force 99 for their desertion have made them traitors to the Empire. However, Crosshair reveals that he never intended to kill them in “Return to Kamino”, which means he is going against the Empire’s orders. Moreover, in “Rescue on Ryloth”, when Howzer chooses to stand up to the Empire and helps the rebels to escape, Crosshair does not choose to execute him for treason or for going against orders, which he has done previously to ES-01 in “Replacements”. Furthermore, in “Kamino Lost”, Crosshair chooses to save Omega from drowning even though his action does not fully regain his brothers’ trust. Although Crosshair is disappointed that the Bad Batch refuses his offer to join the Empire, he still chooses to protect them, lying in his report that they have perished in the bombardment of Tipoca City. In “The Outpost”, Crosshair gives up the mission to retrieve the stolen cargo, and chooses to bring Mayday back to the Imperial base in hopes that he will get medical treatment. In “Tipping Point”, Crosshair shoots the Stormtroopers but he chooses to stun Emerie Karr instead. He does this because Emerie has been at least kind to him, and it is possible that he knows that she is a female clone like Omega. When he attempts to escape, he sends Plan 88 to the Bad Batch, warning them to hide as the Empire is after Omega. He puts his brothers and sister above his need to be rescued. Of course, this journey won’t be easy for Crosshair, but as long as he continues to put an effort to let love be his motivator, he would gradually see himself as more than a soldier and a sharpshooter, and realize that his self-worth is not determined by people with authority. He would also learn to be vulnerable and be willing to take a leap of faith into the unknown.

I have the Apollo archetype as my animus. I was born into a well-off family that prioritizes education. I was able to earn very good grades and show off my various talents. With that, I was treated as “the golden child” in the family, receiving many praises from my family, relatives, teachers and even strangers. Many of my uncles and aunts would compare me with my cousins, saying how I was better than them in every way. I have to admit that all the love and approval had made me arrogant and judgmental. During my college and university years, I went to study law under my family’s suggestion. The reason was that I could work in the legal firms owned by my uncle and aunt. Besides, being a lawyer meant that I could gain a higher status in society and I could protect myself from people who wanted to take advantage of me.

I thought I have a clear future path ahead of me. However, the day after I took my first examination to become a lawyer, I had a terrible realization: my father would have never recognized me as his daughter if I wasn’t smart or talented. My parents separated since I was three, and my father had pretended that I never existed in his life. That all changed when I started to perform well in school, and he started introducing me to his business partners and workers. He was proud of my achievements and boosted about how he was a great father to me, when in reality, he was rarely there for me emotionally throughout my childhood. This realization devastated me. I almost lost sense of my identity. I did not know myself beyond my intelligence, skills and talents. I found myself only being held in high esteem based on what I could give to my family – excellent grades, high status, the perfect image of a family that raises a child to be a successful woman, etc. I was lost, not knowing where to go – this was not the life I wanted.

Then, I was denied by my uncle and aunt to work in their legal firms. I also failed my examination, which shocked my family because I always passed my examinations in my first attempt. They pressured me to retake the exams in hopes that I could pass and become a lawyer. They wanted me to earn the high status and get a stable job. Though, I had lost the motivation to become a lawyer, and I failed my retake. Since then, I became “the black sheep” in the family, and now my family threw various words to berate me. I also failed in my first relationship, which hurt me immensely. I wandered around aimlessly, unable to find a job because I could not find one that piqued my interest. I slipped into depression once more as my future became bleak and uncertain.

When I watched “The Outpost” and saw what Crosshair was going through, I saw myself in him. I saw a proud child, doing everything in their power to please those with authority, only to find that their efforts mean nothing to them, and they get casted aside instead. I was touched by the episode, and I had compassion towards Crosshair. As I saw him starting to move beyond his Apollo archetype, I found myself doing the same. Currently, I am studying a Master’s Degree in the field of education, which I have found a passion for it. My father has apologized for causing so much childhood trauma on me and he is willing to make amends, which strengthens our father-daughter bond. He now tells me that I can be whoever I want to be, and that I am more than my intelligence, skills and talents. I start to become more in touch with my instincts and emotions. I learn to be humble and less judgmental. I learn to embrace the positive and negative traits of Apollo, while choosing to move beyond this archetype. I hope to see Crosshair continuing this journey, just as I am doing now.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #tbb #the bad batch analysis #tbb analysis #the bad batch meta #crosshair meta #crosshair #tbb meta #crosshair the bad batch #tbb crosshair #jungian archetypes

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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Thank you for the repost @lightwise! I am glad to hear that you love my analyses on the personalities of the Bad Batch members! <3

I think your favourite character is Crosshair, right? He is also my favourite since "The Outpost".

The reason why I write about Crosshair last because he is the most complex and his relationships with the Bad Batch members are crucial to understand his character.

Crosshair's Innate Archetype (Part 1)

Part 1 | Part 2

Crosshair has two main archetypes: Poseidon and Apollo. His innate archetype is Poseidon, or Neptune as the Romans called him, and he is the God of the Sea. He is linked with tidal waves and earthquakes; hence, he is called Flood-bringer and Earth-shaker. He is bad-tempered, violent, vindictive, destructive, and dangerous, and these characteristics are represented by tempest, turbulence and the raging sea. However, he can also calm the sea – storms instantly stop when he drives his golden chariot drawn by white horses over the waves, and sea monsters play around it. The sea is the realm of emotions and instincts, and it is part of the unconscious. The shallow water is where personal and readily retrievable emotions and memories can be found, while the deep sea is where repressed personal feelings and instincts reside, and it is the emotional realm we share collectively. Underground water represents the deep introverted feelings that are unexpressed and unseen.

All clones have the Poseidon archetype as their innate archetype because their donor Jango Fett is innately Poseidon (Mandalorians generally have Poseidon as their innate archetype). However, this archetype is generally diluted as clones are genetically modified to be more compliant and docile. Besides that, their military training also further dilutes the effect of this archetype. Nevertheless, their Poseidon archetype motivates the clones to seek their individuality. Hence, this archetype is expressed through them in different ways such as having individual names, wearing customized armour, and sporting different hairstyles and tattoos. Even with the desire to be unique individuals, the clones also value honour, loyalty, brotherhood and community, which are all values of Poseidon. Surprisingly, these values are also upheld by most Mandalorians and the people living on Pabu.

Kamino is a remote planet covered by the ocean after the Great Flood. Instead of petitioning aid from the Galactic Republic, the Kaminoans use genetic engineering to adapt their genetic codes, flora and fauna to the new watery environment. They also build their cities in higher land and on stilts. There is an abundance of life in the ocean such as the aiwhas, the Kamoradon Sea Dragon, fish and krill. The planet often experiences heavy rain, and some parts of the year is covered by heavy electrical storms. Kamino is the home of the clones. Their donor Jango Fett did live there for 10 years as he oversaw the training of the clones and raised his unaltered clone as his son, whom he named Boba Fett. Surrounded by the ocean and sea creatures, Kamino is in the realm of Poseidon, and anyone familiar with this planet are usually innately Poseidon. I believe that the Kaminoans are innately Poseidon, especially before the Great Flood. They use science and technology to adapt and survive through the environmental changes. However, once they start using genetic engineering to better themselves, they end up suppressing the Poseidon archetype. They perceive this archetype as no longer beneficial after the Great Flood, and it should be left in the past, submerged in the ocean like their old infrastructure. They become generally expressionless, which can be a sign of being “cut away” from the realm of emotions. The monotone and sterile environment in Tipoca City shows how much they have supressed this archetype. In Legends, the Kaminoans used to be expressive and they had a dance called Nahra where they would display their emotions, which is now frowned upon.

Almost all clones started off with a diluted Poseidon archetype and it is maintained through military training. Of course, there are exceptions like the Domino Squad, whom they have expressed their individuality when they were cadets. Once the clones leave Kamino and join the war, their Poseidon archetype gets cultivated. How much this innate archetype gets cultivated depends on many factors like the environment, the experiences, the people they are surrounded with, etc. For example, clones who are assigned to Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Plo Koon and Shaak Ti have their Poseidon archetype being cultivated positively because they are seen and treated as individuals, not expendables. On the other hand, the clones who are assigned to be Coruscant Guards have a minimal cultivation of the Poseidon archetype as their loyalty to the Republic usually supersedes their loyalty to their fellow clone brothers. Clones who have survived through various battles will have greatly cultivated their Poseidon archetype.

As the god of the sea, Poseidon can plunge into the watery depths and stay under the sea as long as he wants. He can also rise swiftly to the surface by commanding his horses to pull his chariot. This makes Poseidon the archetype of the deep-sea diver. A person who identifies with Poseidon can dive deeply into the watery realm of emotions and stay there as long as they want to. They can feel all sorts of intense emotions that can take the forms of great beauty and monsters of the deep. They can dive so deep to the point that vision must be abandoned and they have to sense the emotions and instincts hidden in the darkness. As deep-sea divers, they have a sense of emotional depth, intensity and complexity. This archetype is expressed through art and literature, music, dance, architecture and psychotherapy when it involves diving into the collective human depth.

The world around us tends to force us to cut off the Poseidon archetype. However, one can enter the realm of emotions and be overwhelmed by it like a drowning person when they drink or when they are consumed by a strong emotion (especially if that emotion is bottled up for too long). Though, there are some cultures that connect well with the realm of emotions and allow their people to be more emotional, irrational and expressive. This is especially true for cultures that have experienced suffering historically, where art, dance, music and literature are valued, and their museums mostly contain cultural artifacts (e.g. coins, statues, artwork, traditional clothing, armour and weapons) and natural artifacts (e.g. fossils, minerals, animal and plant specimens).

Like Zeus, the Empire’s domain is the sky, which is the realm of will and power. To rise upwards, one must “leave the earth” to see the forest not the individual trees. It is a highly competitive workplace and anyone who cannot keep up the pace will be left behind. Those who manage to reach the top ranks in the Empire tend to live in their heads and express themselves through power and words. They are cut off from their hearts, hence, they lack sympathy for others. They are also cut off from their emotions and sensuality. They see their bigger picture perspective as superior, hence, they view the people below them as expendables and are willing to sacrifice them to achieve their goals. However, the clones, being Poseidon, do not share such values. They instead value loyalty, brotherhood, teamwork, creativity and innovation. Unlike the people working for the Empire, the clones are supportive of each other, and they are unwilling to leave their own behind. The Empire looks down at such values, which may explain why they always plan on casting them out after Order 66 is carried out.

The inhibitor chip not just makes the clones to mindlessly kill the Jedi, it also strips away their individuality and values – which is like suppressing their Poseidon archetype. Furthermore, the decommissioning of clones and Project War-Mantle are carried out to replace the clones with Stormtroopers, which consists of people that are willing to strip away their individuality to serve the Empire. Finally, the aerial bombardment being carried out to destroy Tipoca City, the home of the clones, symbolizes the Empire raining down lightning (like Zeus) to destroy the realm of emotions and instincts, and the city being submerged underwater symbolizes the Empire’s values – the suppression of emotions, instincts, sensuality and connections with nature and other people. I also feel that the Empire destroying Kamino could serve as an allegory of the British Empire almost decimated the Māori people and culture because I find that the Māori people’s connection with nature, loyalty and caring towards community, the desire to preserve their traditions, creative arts such as carving, tattoos and performing arts evoke the Poseidon archetype.

On the other hand, Pabu serves as the haven for the clones. It is a remote island surrounded by the ocean, and there is an abundance of life and nature like the moon-yos, fish and fruits. The people living there are refugees who have fled from war and conflict. They understand each other’s sufferings and they treat each other like family. They are also welcoming towards the Bad Batch. The Archium is a museum built to store the people’s cultural artifacts that Phee has liberated. The people respect nature as they acknowledge the moon-yos as the island’s native animals and allow them to roam freely. Despite all its beauty and abundance, the island experiences earthquakes and tidal waves. The people have built an early warning system to alert them when there is a risk of a sea surge, and rescue ladders for evacuation. Although the tidal wave has destroyed Lower Pabu, rendering many people homeless, they are resilient and they work together to rebuild Lower Pabu (with the help of the Bad Batch). The residents on Pabu uphold the values of the Poseidon archetype, which are shared by the clones, making the island as the perfect place for the clones to settle down after the war.

Crosshair has enhanced eyesight. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul because the eyes reflect our emotions and thoughts. This means that his genetic modification not just intensifies his eyesight, it also intensifies his emotions and instincts. This also means Crosshair has an enhanced Poseidon archetype, which is why some fans think that he is the closest we can get to Jango Fett. As a deep-sea diver, Crosshair is an emotionally intense person. Even as he lurks in a corner and stays calm, his intensity leaks out and can make people feel uncomfortable around him. His eyes depict various emotions like anger, pain and sadness.

Since Crosshair feels intensely, this means that he tends to stay in one emotion for a long time and it takes time for the emotion to subside. This can become a problem, for example, if he is angry, he will stay angry for a long time. To make matters worse, he is likely to unleash his anger towards everyone, regardless it is his target or an innocent victim, just like the saying “get caught in the crosshairs” (hence, Crosshair is a fitting name for him). This is equivalent to the forces of nature destroying everything and everyone on its path without discrimination. Aside from anger and sadness, if Crosshair is in pain, he feels it more intensely than normal people. That is why Dr. Hemlock using the interrogation droid to torture Crosshair is extremely cruel (and it hints that he understands Crosshair well enough to find ways to break him). Normal people will feel intense pain from the torture method, but Crosshair feels it much worse and the pain lingers longer in his body and mind. It is remarkable that Crosshair can still talk, stand, shoot and walk after going through the intense pain.

Of course, the emotional intensity is not all negative – there are some positives. Since Crosshair is accepted and loved for who he is by the Bad Batch, he can be emotionally responsive and physically demonstrative. Besides, being surrounded by people who expresses themselves freely can help Crosshair to develop positive traits of being an emotionally intense person. There are headcanons that Crosshair laughs loudly, which I believe is in character for him – it is just that he only does it in private or with his brothers. I believe that he almost always shows his deep affection to his loved ones in private. In “Aftermath”, Wrecker says that he and Crosshair cry upon seeing the new armoury. Even though Crosshair does not want to admit it, it is in character for him to be so emotionally overwhelmed that he sheds tears. Besides that, Crosshair is extremely loyal and can develop long-lasting ties with other people, even those who are his opposites. He is fiercely protective of his loved ones and will resort to physical fights to protect them. With the access to the deep sea, which is the collective human emotional depth, Crosshair has the capacity to understand other people’s emotions, making him emotionally mature and intelligent. For example, if you feel intense pain from something that is normally not that painful to a normal person, Crosshair will not judge you and instead acknowledges your feelings as valid. If you have an unusual phobia, he will understand you and help you. I do believe that if Crosshair was with the Bad Batch in “The Crossing”, he would understand Omega’s grief of losing Echo and comfort her.

In a romantic context, Crosshair will fall deeply in love. His expressions of love will probably be rough, intense, passionate and dominating, and these may be done consciously or unconsciously. If you try to hide from him, he will still find you. If you try to downplay your beauty, he will still think you are beautiful. If he is in the mood but you are not, he will probably pull you into the same mood as him (as long as you are fine with it). It is like he drags you into the watery depths of his emotions and instincts, flooding your consciousness so you will share his feelings.

Though, it is not out of character for Crosshair to be soft and tender, and this requires him to develop the “dolphin” in himself. In Greek mythology, Poseidon saw the Nereid Amphitrite dancing and he fell in love with her. Jean Shinoda Bolen interprets the love is more than sexual desire, and that Amphitrite attracts his inner image of his beloved, which Carl Jung describes it as “anima”, the unconscious feminine side of a man. Poseidon courted her with how he was used to – dominating and overpowering her with his intensity. This frightened her and she fled to the Atlas Mountains to escape him. Delphinus (or Dolphin) found her, then pleaded his case charmingly, and she agreed to marry Poseidon. In gratitude, Poseidon made the Dolphin into a starry constellation.

It is essential for a Poseidon person to learn from the Dolphin, a creature at home in his own watery realm. Poseidon people must learn to give up the need to dominate, and instead focus on his relationships with others. By developing the “dolphin” in themselves, they can attune themselves to another person (like the dolphin can find Amphitrite although she is hiding), and be sensitive, caring and communicative at a deep level. Since emotions are naturally present in the watery realm, skills such as enhancing rapport, empathic understanding and emotional expressiveness can come naturally for Poseidon people. With encouragement and opportunity for development, they can master their feelings like how people master their artistic and mental skills. If a Poseidon person evolves with the help of the dolphin, their effect with their loved ones will be like “living in a beautiful undersea palace” where they share an emotional depth, which is a beautiful aspect of a relationship. This is a common theme for many soft Crosshair headcanons and fanfictions, and the romantic setting usually takes place at beaches.

The name Poseidon means husband of Da (posis Das), which is a name for the earth. He wields a trident, and he is symbolized by two animals: the bull and the horse (or more specifically, the stallion). The trident, bull and horse are abstract statements of his sexuality, fertility and sexual prowess. As the husband of earth, Poseidon strikes the earth with his trident to bring forth water, which brings life and fertility to the land. I have seen headcanons of Crosshair being a gardener or a cook, and these are surprisingly fitting for him as the life-giving Poseidon. Moreover, being the life-giving Poseidon also means that the clones can be great fathers. As the trident bearer, there are two sides that Crosshair and the rest of the clones have: they have multiple partners with no strings attached, or they are loyal and committed in a relationship. Like Poseidon, their partner preferences are diverse: smart and independent, emotional and sensitive, shy and obedient, quiet and mysterious, bratty and rebellious, funny and mischievous, calm and collected, tough and resilient, caring and loving, etc.

Poseidon is seen as an archetype of the wild man, which is a symbol of masculinity that is filled with instincts and is in touch with nature. Unfortunately, this archetype is disregarded and feared, hence, it is repressed by the patriarchal society. If this archetype is liberated and brought into the consciousness, it can be a source of strength and power, teaching a person to be courageous and loving. We are seeing a rise of male characters who are emotional and sensitive, which are now seen as positive traits. This leads to an appreciation and empowerment of this wild man archetype. The clones do exhibit this archetype to some extent – they are not afraid to fight and die in a war, yet they are loving and caring towards children.

Like Zeus and Hades, Poseidon is an archetype of the king. People who identify strongly as Poseidon desires to “be somebody important” and seeks power, control and respect. However, they lack the impersonality, strategic thinking, and force of will like Zeus to be successful. Due to their intense feelings associated with Poseidon, they are not good losers and can easily be enraged. In the myth, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades drew lots to divide the world: Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the sea, while Hades got the underground. Poseidon was not satisfied with his lot, so he competed with other gods for possession of cities. In one myth, Poseidon and Athena competed for the city of Athens. Athena presented the olive tree, while Poseidon used his trident to strike a rock, producing a saltwater spring. When Athena’s gift was judged to be more useful, the enraged Poseidon flooded the surrounding plains, which might explain why Athens was located next to three separate rivers at that time. Poseidon was also unsuccessful in claiming Argos from Hera, Aegina from Zeus and Naxos from Dionysus. There is also one myth where Poseidon unsuccessfully plotted against Zeus.

Having a strong Poseidon trait, Crosshair seeks to “be somebody important” as he sees himself and Clone Force 99 as more superior than the regular clone troopers. He is highly competitive and is unafraid to challenge for authority. For example, in “The Bad Batch”, Rex decides to take charge of the mission after Cody is injured, and Crosshair questions the legitimacy of Rex’s authority since Cody has called in Clone Force 99 for this mission, which means the authority to carry out this mission should be under Clone Force 99. Moreover, Crosshair is the only one who challenges Hunter’s leadership skills in “Aftermath”, “Return to Kamino” and “Kamino Lost”. He even wants to remove Hunter’s role as a leader and possibly taking the leadership role for himself in “Aftermath”. Crosshair being given the Clone Commander rank by Admiral Tarkin, which is higher than Hunter’s Clone Sergeant rank, probably satisfies his desire of having more power than Hunter.

Poseidon is known as the implacable enemy in Greek mythology. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s one-eyed Cyclops son Polyphemus and escaped from being eaten. This resulted in Odysseus facing Poseidon’s wrath, leading him to spend 10 years trying to return home. This eye-for-an-eye justice is vengeance that takes nothing else into consideration, even going so far as “He who is not with me is against me” (very similar to what Anakin Skywalker tells Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Revenge of the Sith” because Anakin is innately Poseidon). In addition, Poseidon is a grudge holder, and with his emotional intensity, he can hold it for a long time and innocents are not spared from his wrath. This is depicted in one myth where Poseidon and Apollo had an agreement with King Laomedon to build the walls of Troy in return for payment. When the construction was completed, the Trojan king refused to pay, and Poseidon avenged himself “unto the second and third generation”, dragging Priam (King Laomedon’s son), Paris and Hector (King Laomedon’s grandchildren) to face his wrath.

The archetype of Poseidon as the implacable enemy is present in Boba Fett, Dogma and Crosshair. After Boba witnesses Jedi Master Mace Windu kills his father Jango Fett, he becomes obsessed with seeking revenge against the Jedi. He and his mentor Aurra Sing attempt to assassinate Mace Windu, which results in the destruction of the Star Destroyer Endurance and the deaths of many innocent people (though he does not want to hurt others and he does these things reluctantly). Even though his plan fails and he is sent to prison, he still refuses to forgive the Jedi. When Dogma realizes that Pong Krell has betrayed the Republic and the clones, even taking advantage of his blind loyalty, he becomes enraged and kills the Jedi to avenge his brothers. After the Bad Batch leaves Crosshair behind in “Aftermath”, Crosshair holds a grudge against them for the entire Season 1. At the beginning of “Bounty Lost”, the vengeful Crosshair pursues the Bad Batch relentlessly even though he is severely burned by the ion engine. In “Return to Kamino”, Crosshair wants them to join the Empire to have a purpose again, but they refuse. This prompts Crosshair to warn them not to make the same mistake twice and not to become his enemy. In “The Outpost”, Crosshair gets revenge of Mayday’s death by killing Lieutenant Nolan, who refuses to provide medical help and causes Mayday to succumb to his injuries.

Although Poseidon is known for his anger, destructiveness, and otherwise stormy disposition, he also has a peaceful and merciful aspect to his personality. In his calmer moods, he visited his Ethiopian worshippers, who gave him rich sacrifices, and he forgot his pursuit of Odysseus for some time. In an act of mercy and an earthquake, he turned Thessaly, which had been an enormous lake, into dry land. He also changed Ino and her son into sea gods when they threw themselves into the sea, and appointed Castor and Pollux as protectors of sailors who could calm the storms. Moreover, the Ancient Greeks gave Poseidon various titles such as “Saviour of Sailors”, “Averter of Earthquakes”, “The Creator and Tamer of Horses” and “The Leader of Nymphs”. They prayed to Poseidon even in cities where the god of sea was not the city’s patron god to ensure the sailors and fishermen would have a safe journey. With that, it is possible for Crosshair to be peaceful and merciful, though, this is a rare occurrence. The one time we see Crosshair briefly showing his calmer side is in “Aftermath”, when Omega tells him that it is not his fault that he feels angry and that he cannot help it.

Poseidon is treated as a shadow of Zeus because the emotional aspect of the father archetype is being repressed or buried. Hence, this archetype becomes undeveloped and inaccessible to those who have severed their emotionality. This can lead to emotional instability and the tendency to react out of proportion to whatever sets them off. In the social context, there is a need to control how much emotions one can show that is deemed appropriate. Poseidon people can be emotionally expressive, but they can reach to the point when their emotions “take over”. A person who is taken over by their fluctuating subjective feelings, who takes no one else and no situation into consideration is described as self-centered and emotionally inappropriate. They are also viewed as emotionally immature or unstable, and even “out of their minds”. If they resemble a resentful, angry Poseidon, they are likely to be violent and abusive, especially when alcohol further loosens their controls. Based on my observations and my readings of various headcanons, I see that Crosshair can be both emotionally immature and mature depending on how well he controls his emotions.

Poseidon’s mythology emphasizes his resentments and retributions. He represents the dark aspect of the father archetype that seeks revenge – “an eye for an eye”. As a negative emotional complex, Poseidon vengeance can become all-consuming and destructive to one’s personality as well as towards whom the hostility is directed. A person who obsessively fantasizes about seeking revenge is also consumed by this powerful negative aspect of Poseidon.

If a Poseidon person is constantly criticised for being “too emotional” or “not rational enough”, they may internalize the criticism and continue to judge themselves negatively even when the external criticism has ceased. This can lead to poor self-esteem and they are likely to repress their emotionality. Their wellbeing and worthiness will be adversely affected, especially if they harbour powerful negative feelings such as resentment or the desire for revenge. This is common among men, but it can also happen on women.

Poseidon is the bringer of tidal waves and earthquakes. These two natural disasters represent powerful emotions that topples rationality and swallows up reality, causing a person to “go mad”. New construction or reconstruction can only begin after the waters recede or the earth becomes stable again. The calmness for the observing ego comes, allowing the person to understand the experience and reconstruct themselves and the relationships they have at least destroyed temporarily. The “tidal wave” can be interpreted as an amplified version of one’s usual emotional nature. For example, a person may react to a current pain by opening the floodgates to more grief and rage. These feelings are not new, only greater. The “earthquake” can be interpreted as one’s emotions being kept underground. The introverted feelings are like underground water that follows fault lines, and as pressure builds up underground, some mild tremors are felt but they are usually disregarded. Only after a major quake we remember the previous “rumblings” that hinted at the instability and emotionality below the surface. The earthquake represents primitive rage in which a person may irrationally attack others, which may devastate not only others but also (and even more) themselves.

Crosshair has shown to unleash his “tidal waves” and “earthquakes” a few times. In “Aftermath”, Crosshair is angry that Hunter refuses to execute Order 66 and that he let Caleb Dume escape, even lying that he stuns the Padawan and causes him to fall to his death. This causes tension to rise between him and Hunter, but it is eased temporarily by Echo, Tech and Wrecker. Things do not go well for Crosshair, especially when his meal is ruined during the food fight, prompting him to unleash his rage by hitting two clones with his tray. When Hunter disobeys orders for the second time by letting Saw Gerrera and his people go, Crosshair’s anger grows and he begins to challenge Hunter’s authority. Crosshair becomes more annoyed when Hunter decides to believe Omega’s warning and go back to Kamino to save her. As he has expected, the Bad Batch gets arrested for treason and is thrown into the brig. Crosshair’s anger becomes greater as he blames Hunter’s leadership for getting the team into trouble, and that every decision he has made since Kaller has been wrong. Realizing that Crosshair’s inhibitor chip is slightly working, Tarkin asks Nala Se to intensify the chip’s programming. I believe this operation not just intensifies Crosshair’s loyalty to the Empire, it also intensifies his feelings of anger, loss and betrayal towards his teammates. These amplified feelings are eventually unleashed like a tidal wave when Crosshair fires first at Hunter, leading to a gun battle between the Bad Batch and the clones loyal to the Empire.

In “Return to Kamino” and “Kamino Lost”, Tech, Echo, Wrecker and Omega go to Kamino to rescue Hunter, who is captured by the Empire. Kamino is dark and stormy, representing Crosshair’s turbulent emotions towards his old teammates. He is still angry at them for leaving him behind, but he has no intention to kill them despite they are branded as traitors to the Empire. He proves it by killing all four Elite Squad Troopers who refuse to obey his command and stand down. He offers the Bad Batch to join the Empire but they refuse, which angers him. When Crosshair reveals that he already has his inhibitor chip removed a long time ago, and that he willingly pledges loyalty to the Empire, Hunter and the rest of the team are shocked. Crosshair claims that this is who he is, but Hunter refuses to accept it and stuns him. Even though Crosshair is unconscious, his rage has probably reached its boiling point as he remembers his teammates refusing to join the Empire and refusing to accept that he willingly joins the Empire.

As Tipoca City gets bombarded by the Empire, the Bad Batch is forced to flee into the depths of the sinking city. As the city sinks into the ocean, the compartments get flooded, which represents Crosshair’s amplified feelings of rage, disappointment and betrayal finally bursting open, threatening to drown the Bad Batch, including Crosshair himself. Crosshair’s amplified emotions are shown when he rejects Omega’s help to free him, and when he pushes her away after she rescues him. Even as the Bad Batch manages to escape from the flooded compartments, water bursts through the cracks on the tunnels and the Kamoradon Sea Dragon further damages the tunnels as it tries to eat the Bad Batch. These represents Crosshair’s emotional tidal wave still moving to unleash its destructive force towards himself and the Bad Batch. This is evident as Crosshair is bitter that his team has thrown away their legacy, and he blames Hunter’s failed leadership for causing them to end up in a situation where they are going to die. He also blames his teammates for letting Omega (“the kid”) to call the shots and accuses Hunter for taking things personally. Crosshair’s emotional tidal wave finally subsides as daybreak comes, represented by the placid ocean and the clear sky of Kamino.

In “The Outpost”, Crosshair is reassigned to the Imperial depot on the snowy planet Barton IV. When he, Lieutenant Nolan and the clone troopers land there, it is snowing and strong winds are blowing. The snow and strong winds represent Crosshair’s inner emotions. Ever since Commander Cody tells Crosshair that they all make their own choices and they have to live with them too at the end of “The Solitary Clone”, Crosshair is unable to sleep and eat well. Moreover, he is lonely as other regular clone troopers do not want to associate with him, and that Cody later deserts the Empire. Although he seems to be disinterested of the fate of the clones because he views himself as more superior than the regular clone troopers, his inner emotions show how he is really feeling. He is fuming when Rampart refers to Cody by his designation number and he mocks the loyalty of the clone troopers due to the increasing rate of desertion. He probably also feels that the passing of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill is unfair because it forces the clones into retirement, which is being protested by many clone troopers. Crosshair supresses these feelings and his questioning of the Empire’s actions because he just wants to be “a good soldier”, which is all that matters to him. This is why he is unbothered by the snow and strong winds of Barton IV because his Imperial armour has shielded him from the harsh environment literally and from his inner emotions metaphorically.

Crosshair starts to open up slightly when Commander Mayday extends his warmth and kindness to him. When Mayday gives him a tour of the Imperial depot and its surroundings, the strong winds have subsided and there is less snowfall. This change of weather indicates that this companionship has helped to ease Crosshair’s inner emotions albeit temporary. Moreover, this meeting can be interpreted as Crosshair’s subconscious is calling for help because “mayday” is an internationally recognized radio word to signal distress. When Crosshair steps on a pressure mine that is hidden underneath the snow, it serves as a warning sign to him that his inner emotions and questioning of the Empire’s actions have become a ticking time bomb. The pressure is building up and it will explode any time. Before Crosshair steps on the mine, the tunnel above him and Mayday rumbles, which can be interpreted as an early warning sign of Crosshair’s destructive emotions. Thankfully, Mayday disarms the pressure mine and by slowly lifting his foot, Crosshair is able to escape from danger for now. When facing an overwhelming number of raiders, Crosshair shoots at a power generator, which causes an explosion that takes out the raiders. However, the explosion also creates cracks on the mountain and causes rocks and snow to fall onto the raiders’ hideout, in which Crosshair and Mayday have to escape from. The cracks on the mountain indicates that Crosshair’s inner emotions and questioning of the Empire’s actions are starting to leak out. It is like water starts to leak out from a cracked bottle due to the pressure. Though, Crosshair and Mayday think that the cracks are mild and ignore them, just like most people ignore the mild tremors coming from the earth.

When they go to recover the stolen cargo, they discover that the cargo contains stormtrooper armour for the new Imperial Military. Mayday is upset that he and his brothers are being treated horribly despite their combat service, loyalty and sacrifices. His sentence “We’re good soldiers, we followed orders, and for what?” finally hits Crosshair and intensifies his inner feelings and questioning of the Empire’s actions. Then, loud rumbling sounds can be heard and the ground begins to shake. This indicates that Crosshair has reached his breaking point and he can no longer contain his inner emotional turmoil. An avalanche comes running down towards Crosshair and Mayday. The avalanche (which can be seen as an icy tidal wave) represents Crosshair reacting to his current emotional turmoil by opening the floodgates to more turmoil. The avalanche buries Crosshair and Mayday, which causes Mayday to get injured and Crosshair to lose his helmet and expose himself to the cold. This disaster symbolizes Crosshair’s destructive emotions have devastated Mayday and Crosshair himself. Now, Crosshair, with his helmet off, is forced to face the aftermath of his actions and emotions. Since the emotional floodgates are opened, strong winds and snowfall, which also represent Crosshair’s emotional turmoil, appear as Crosshair brings the injured Mayday back to the Imperial base. They are forced to endure the icy and freezing conditions without proper equipment and supplies. The strong winds and snowfall only subside when Crosshair and Mayday finally arrive at the Imperial base. The clear weather indicates that Crosshair has let go of his ego and his emotional turmoil as he is only focused on making sure Mayday gets medical treatment.

Across the world, many people live in places that are prone to natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Some people choose to move away from these places, but many choose to stay. They learn to read the weather or seismological reports. From experience, they learn what to expect, how to prepare, and what to build that is likely to survive a potentially destructive wave or quake. People whose Poseidon emotionality can overwhelm their egos must become conscious of their own susceptibility and must learn as much as possible about its conditions and warnings. They must develop ways to live with this powerful part of them. Similarly, people who are affected by the destructiveness of Poseidon, as lived out in someone else, must learn to detect the warning signs.

In “Pabu”, Hunter is able to sense the incoming tremor before it hits the island, just like the moon-yos quickly retreating before the rumbling comes. He tenses up, and before he suggests that they retreat, a small tremor rocks throughout the island and sea. The residents of Pabu, especially Shep and Lyana disregard the small tremor because it is a common occurrence on the island. Not long after, a larger tremor comes, which concerns everyone. This scene shows that Hunter is extremely sensitive to changes of pressure, and a slight change is enough to prompt him to take quick, decisive actions. By interpreting the tremors as powerful and destructive emotions, it can be said that Hunter is able to detect the warning signs given out by Crosshair’s inner emotions. This is evident in “Aftermath” when Hunter is able to sense that Crosshair is staring at him intensely despite his eyes are closed and Crosshair is wearing his helmet. He probably already knew that Crosshair is going to ask him about the Padawan when he asks “what?” to Crosshair. Thanks to his enhanced senses, Hunter can quickly pick up changes to Crosshair’s emotions. He takes action when he senses even a slight increase of intensity of Crosshair’s emotions.

In the Hyperspace Stories #10, the Bad Batch is sent to Hylanth, a moon in the Outer Rim for a mission involving battle droids. This mission seems to frustrate Crosshair as the words “battle droids” are written in bold, indicating a greater emphasis of these words. Hunter senses his frustration and tells him that they have their orders. Crosshair then explains that he is not questioning the orders, but he just feels that this mission can be carried out by the regular clone troopers. After Tech explains that the battle droids they are sent to investigate have been modified, Crosshair says that “maybe there is hope for this mission yet” because he likes to be challenged. This causes Hunter to tease Crosshair for sounding grumpy. I feel that Hunter does not tell Crosshair to shut his mouth when his words irk Jesse and Rex in the Clone Wars episodes because Hunter does not sense any increased tension from Crosshair’s words and that it is just on brand of his dark, twisted sense of humour. However, in “Aftermath”, when Crosshair starts shooting at Caleb Dume, Hunter quickly orders him to stand down. Furthermore, in “Return to Kamino”, tension rises between Hunter and Crosshair due to the reveal that Crosshair already has his inhibitor chip removed and that he willingly joins the Empire. Before Crosshair can shoot, Hunter stuns him, indicating that his quick, decisive actions are meant to dilute Crosshair’s intense emotions. Hunter’s Dionysus archetype enables him to sense changes to Crosshair’s emotions like the mysterious and uncontrollable tides that flow and ebb in nature, and his Demeter anima motivates him to care for Crosshair’s emotional needs. His Zeus archetype helps him to take immediate action to calm Crosshair down, though, this tactic does not always work because he may not fully understand how and why Crosshair feels that way, which is evident in the comic and the episodes stated earlier.

Besides Hunter, the rest of the Bad Batch have their own ways to handle Crosshair’s emotionality. Wrecker, who has a strong Aphrodite anima, is drawn to Crosshair’s intense emotions. He attends to Crosshair’s emotional needs by annoying him and shifting his focus so his emotions can subside faster, which is shown in the Hyperspace Stories #10, “The Bad Batch” and “Aftermath”. Even when Crosshair reacts angrily at him, he remains loving towards him. Moreover, Wrecker encourages Crosshair to be emotionally expressive, which is evident in “Aftermath” as Wrecker corrects Crosshair that they both did cry seeing the new armoury. Besides that, Wrecker is an explosive expert, which means that he can handle Crosshair’s destructive and explosive emotions as he knows how to disarm it.

Tech, who is Hades the Good Counsellor, accepts that Crosshair is severe and unyielding, and that nobody, not even Crosshair himself can change that. Tech’s subjective understanding enables him to accept Crosshair’s decision to join the Empire and let go of the emotional pain inflicted by him as seen in “Kamino Lost”. In “Pabu”, after a larger tremor rocks throughout the island, Tech warns that the island is vulnerable to a sea surge with the risk ranging from highly probable to imminent. His prediction comes true when the island’s early warning system later comes to life. By interpreting the tremors and sea surge as powerful and destructive emotions, it can be said that Tech is well-prepared in predicting and handling Crosshair’s intense and destructive emotions, like he is the head of the emergency or disaster management. When Crosshair’s inner emotions begin to leak out or show its cracks, Tech takes notice of it and expects the worst outcome. With that, motivated by his Athena anima and his Hermes archetype, he raises his defence and diverts others away from Crosshair before his emotions are unleashed. Once Crosshair’s emotions subside, Tech assesses the aftermath, carries out the recovery process, and implements better preparations to mitigate its destructive forces.

For Echo, who has the Hephaestus archetype, handles Crosshair’s emotionality by being stubborn and being the family peacekeeper. In “Aftermath”, when Echo senses the rising tension between Hunter and Crosshair, he questions why the clone troopers turn on their general Jedi Master Depa Billaba despite they have been serving her for years. This causes Tech to explain about the regular clones’ programming, which distracts Hunter while Wrecker distracts Crosshair. With that, Echo is able to ease the tension temporarily. Later in the episode, Echo takes on a more assertive approach in dealing with Crosshair’s intense emotions. When Crosshair grumbles about the team debating their choices and they need to complete the mission of eliminating the insurgents, Echo tells him to wake up and see that the Empire has sent them to kill innocent civilians. Then, when Crosshair demands Hunter to explain why he has gone soft, Echo tells him to stop it as there is no use of fighting and they should focus on escaping the prison. Moreover, since Echo has a strong Hestia anima, he is usually unaffected by Crosshair’s emotionality, and he is not judgemental towards Crosshair.

Omega, who is highly perceptive thanks to her Persephone archetype, can sense that Crosshair is angry. She reaches out to him and sits beside him. She then pleads with him not to do what he is going to do. She tells him that it is not his fault that he is feeling angry and that he can’t help it, which briefly softens him. In “Kamino Lost”, Omega once again approaches Crosshair and observes that he never liked Kamino. She understands him as she has spent most of her life inside Nala Se’s private laboratory alone until the creation of the Bad Batch, which is why she is determined to find them all again. Her receptive personality makes her kind and compassionate, and it gives her the ability to try to see things from Crosshair’s perspective, so she can reach out to him from the emotional level.

Besides the Bad Batch, Cody and Mayday have shown the ability to handle Crosshair’s emotionality. In “The Bad Batch”, after Crosshair’s words incite anger in Jesse, Cody reminds him that they are all on the same mission and he needs to cut his attitude. In “The Solitary Clone”, Cody specially requests Crosshair to be part of the mission and he chuckles at Crosshair’s humour. Cody’s no-nonsense attitude and authority gain Crosshair’s respect. As for Mayday, he shares a heater with Crosshair and starts a conversation with him, which helps Crosshair to open up. He also gives Crosshair a tour of the Imperial base so he can be familiarized with the new place and the planet’s harsh environment. He even encourages Crosshair to humour him as he disarms the pressure mine that Crosshair has stepped onto it. Although Mayday does not have any proper tools and equipment to disarm the mine, his experience and creativity help him to save Crosshair. I have interpreted that the pressure mine represents Crosshair’s emotionality as a ticking time bomb, and with Mayday’s ability to disarm it without proper equipment, it can be said that Mayday is highly experienced in handling people with intense emotions like Crosshair.

Although Crosshair is cold and rude, he is fortunate to be accepted and loved for who he is by the Bad Batch, Cody and Mayday. His relationships with them, especially with the Bad Batch, help him to develop his “dolphin”, allowing him to have a better understanding and control of his own emotions. It is believed that Crosshair has the habit of pushing boundaries to test people – to see whether they can handle his emotionality and stay, or become disgusted and run away from him. He probably knows how his intense emotionality scares most people away, and he does not want to waste time on people who do not appreciate and accept him for who he is. He also wants to spare himself from the hurt and betrayal. Crosshair is grateful that the Bad Batch chooses to stay with him, and in return, he gives his loyalty and respect to them. Unfortunately, that all changes with the issue of Order 66.

When Order 66 is issued, Crosshair’s inhibitor chip is somehow activated. He becomes adamant in carrying out orders without question. Influenced by the order, he tries to shoot Caleb Dume down. Hunter keeps telling Crosshair to stand down but to no avail. Crosshair later gets angry that Hunter has allowed Caleb to escape and has lied that the Padawan has been eliminated. His anger intensifies when Hunter defies orders to eliminate Saw Gerrera and his people. When the Bad Batch is thrown into prison for disobeying orders, Crosshair blames Hunter’s leadership for getting the team into trouble. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo do not understand what is wrong with Crosshair. They never have an issue with disobeying orders because they do it all the time. Crosshair also does not understand what is wrong with himself. The inhibitor chip has “tampered his access to the emotional realm” (for regular clones, the chip “inhibits their access to the emotional realm”), thus, hampering his emotional control. Crosshair probably feels frustrated that nobody, not even himself can figure out what has gone wrong. To make matters worse, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo are more focused on trying to escape instead of taking care of Crosshair, which may have frustrated him further because he thinks that they are indifferent towards him. Omega, who notices his anger, is the only person to reach out to him, and she is able to comfort him for a brief moment.

After Crosshair’s operation, the effects of the inhibitor chip are intensified, along with his anger towards his teammates, especially Hunter. His amplified rage is eventually unleashed towards his teammates when he fires the first shot, starting a gunfight. When the Bad Batch manages to leave Kamino, Crosshair feels bitter that they have left him behind. They have always stay by his side no matter how intense his emotions can get, but this time, they run away from him – like Amphitrite fleeing from Poseidon, and some people moving away from places prone to natural disasters. Crosshair feels betrayed by their actions.

The Bad Batch later finds out about the inhibitor chip, and they suspect that it has caused Crosshair to betray them. In “Replacements”, Hunter is angry at himself for leaving Crosshair behind. Omega comforts him and says that they will find a way to bring Crosshair back. Even though they now have the knowledge about the inhibitor chip and how to remove it, they are actively trying to avoid Crosshair, who is hunting them down because they are traitors to the Empire. Due to their last gunfight, they probably think that Crosshair is trying to kill them. When Crosshair manages to catch up with the Bad Batch in “Reunion”, Hunter and Omega try to snap him out of the effects of the inhibitor chip but to no avail. Tech already predicts that Crosshair will not be convinced due to his severe and unyielding nature, so he has prepared an escape plan for the team. After barely escaping from Crosshair’s relentless chase, the Bad Batch is probably aware of his wrath and decides to stay away from him for some time. In “Rescue on Ryloth”, when the Bad Batch spots Crosshair in the city, they step back to discuss their plans for they do not want to be noticed and hunted down again. However, a probe droid hovers above them and Crosshair is alerted to their presence. The team wants to abandon the rescue mission, but Omega manages to convince them to continue on. After the Bad Batch successfully carries out the rescue mission, Rampart realizes that he has underestimated them and gives Crosshair permission to hunt them down. Crosshair’s eyes and smile show his conflicting emotions – he is happy to have a chance to approach his teammates again, but he still harbours anger and sadness towards them.

In “Return to Kamino”, Hunter explains to Crosshair that they did not have a choice when they left Kamino without him, in which Crosshair counters “and I did?”. He probably feels angry and betrayed that Hunter tries to justify his actions for leaving him behind. When Tech, Wrecker and Echo walk into a trap set up by Crosshair, Hunter keeps thinking that Crosshair is going to kill all of them. Although Crosshair is angry that Hunter has betrayed everything they once stood for and is not loyal to him, he is willing to give them a chance because he believes they can be brothers again. He proves his loyalty towards them by killing his own Imperial squad (he even has it planned out by placing the reflecting mirrors to make the trickshot). He offers them to join the Empire, but they refuse. Hunter even counters that Crosshair does not get who they are, which angers him once more. Crosshair’s anger intensifies when Hunter refuses to accept that he already has his inhibitor chip removed and he willingly joins the Empire, even claiming that this is who he is. Even though Crosshair is still mad at the Bad Batch throughout “Kamino Lost”, he still follows them and saves Omega from drowning. However, he notices that Wrecker, Tech and Echo aiming their blasters at him because they think he is going to shoot Hunter. From there, Crosshair knows that no matter what he does, their trust has been broken and there is nothing he can do to regain that trust. Perhaps in the past, he can express his trustworthiness through action (because he finds it difficult to express it through words), but now, it does not work anymore. Hunter offers a chance for Crosshair to return to the team, but this will require him to give up the Empire and his identity as a soldier. Perhaps in the past, Hunter gives unconditional love to Crosshair, but now, his offer is seen as conditional to Crosshair. This may have caused Crosshair to question whether the love he gave in the past was even truly unconditional. Crosshair probably feels betrayed and bitter that Hunter does not fully understand him, which strengthens his decision to not return, making the fallout more severe and tragic.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost for Crosshair. We know that nature is both generative and destructive, just like Poseidon who can bring life and fertility, or death and destruction. After a natural disaster, given the time and space, nature heals itself and the survivors of the disaster become stronger. With that, it is possible for Crosshair to return – we just need to give him time and space. Omega understands this well, thanks to her Persephone archetype. Persephone is the symbol of spring, representing new life appearing after a brutal winter. Before Omega leaves with the Bad Batch, she tells Crosshair that he is still their brother and that he is her brother too. She holds onto hope that he will return, but it must be done according to his time – nobody cannot force him to come back now.

Although Crosshair is still angry at them, he is saddened to see them leave him on the Kamino platform. Throughout season 1, Crosshair laments how Hunter has thrown away their past achievements and missions. Those memories are of great importance to him and he finds it difficult to let go. People who are like Poseidon are more focused on the past and present, and accompanied with their intense emotions, they may replay their memories constantly or become entranced by what is happening right now. It is likely that Crosshair contemplates his memories with the Bad Batch as he waits for 32 rotations for the Empire to rescue him. With Tipoca City, the home of the clones, have sunk into the ocean, all the memories the clones share have become part of the collective emotional realm. Crosshair likely takes on the archetype of the deep-sea diver as he ventures into the collective emotional realm and reminisces about his time with the Bad Batch.

In the collective emotional realm, Crosshair probably replays all the good and bad times they have shared, including the times where his emotions got the better of him and everyone had to clean up the mess he had caused. There might have been bitter feelings, but they all learned from their mistakes and moved on. Perhaps from here, Crosshair finally understands Hunter’s actions and feelings. He may realize that Hunter feels awful for leaving him behind, and that he blames himself for losing him. After losing Crosshair to the Empire, Hunter is determined to keep the remaining teammates safe, and becomes overprotective towards them (which is motivated by the negative Demeter anima). This may explain why they never try to go after him and get him back. Moreover, Crosshair may also realize that his intense rage has influenced Hunter’s overprotective tendencies. Hunter thinks that Crosshair is trying to kill them, which causes him to prioritize in rescuing his remaining teammates from Crosshair’s wrath. When the Bad Batch and Crosshair reunite in Bracca, Crosshair’s wrath remains intense, which causes the Bad Batch to run away again and attempt to hide.

Furthermore, Crosshair may come to understand why Hunter refuses to accept that he willingly joins the Empire. Hunter wants to believe that Crosshair is being “held captive” by the Empire (like Persephone being held captive in the Underworld) and that they can free him by removing his inhibitor chip. When that belief turns out to be untrue, Hunter’s overprotective tendencies return. He believes that this is his only chance to get Crosshair back, and he is determined to do anything to achieve that. He keeps trying to reason with Crosshair but to no avail. He offers Crosshair a chance to return but this requires Crosshair to give up the Empire and the soldier’s life. Crosshair is disappointed that his love has become conditional, thus, he rejects the offer.

As Crosshair comes to see things from Hunter’s perspective, he learns to understand why Hunter has acted this way, even though he does not agree with him (like Tech’s quote “Understanding you does not mean that I agree with you.”) This helps Crosshair to let go of his rage towards Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch. He also comes to take responsibility for his actions and emotions. After he gets rescued by the Empire, he lies in his report that Clone Force 99 have perished in the bombardment because his loyalty to his teammates remains strong and he wants to protect them from afar. I do believe that Crosshair still holds onto some hope that he can still reconcile with the Bad Batch despite his belief that they will not come back for him. He probably still believes the unconditional love they gave to him in the past is real, and it can happen again. This is hinted in “Tipping Point” when Crosshair sends Plan 88 to tell the Bad Batch to hide as the Empire is after Omega. His message is then discovered by Tech when he checks the team’s old comm channels. If Crosshair believes that the Bad Batch has given up on him and there is no possibility of reconciliation, he will not have sent Plan 88 using his old code and expect that they will find it.

In “The Solitary Clone”, Crosshair seems to have calmed down and becomes slightly mellow. He even tries to join the regular clone troopers for breakfast, which is something the old Crosshair will not do. This change of behaviour makes me believe that Crosshair has made contact with the collective human emotional depth during the 32 rotations on the Kamino platform. However, the Empire rejects the values of Poseidon, and Rampart even taunts the clones for having these values. Crosshair feels unappreciated and lonely, and to make matters worse, Cody does not take his loyalty well. Many people believe that Crosshair only carries out Governor Grotton’s order to execute Tawni Ames because Governor Grotton threatens Cody with the consequences of not carrying out his order, and Crosshair wants to protect Cody. Just like his action of saving Omega was met with hostility from the Bad Batch, Crosshair’s action upsets Cody and causes him to desert the Empire. Losing Cody may have worsened Crosshair’s loneliness and the feeling of being unappreciated, and this causes him to shut himself off from everyone, which is represented by him putting on his helmet and walking away by the end of the episode. His shields are up, and he becomes emotionally detached. By doing so, he is actively ignoring and suppressing his emotions. He loses his connection with his innate archetype until he meets Mayday in “The Outpost”. Mayday’s kindness opens the floodgates and helps Crosshair to truly be himself once more.

After “The Outpost”, I find myself relate to Crosshair immensely, especially on the emotional level. That episode helps me to discover that Poseidon is my main animus, which is the unconscious masculine side of a woman. I am emotional and sensitive. I like to go to museums and learn about history and geography. I am always fascinated by marine life and underwater beauty (especially coral reefs). I have always been drawn to natural disasters because I am fascinated by their destructive forces and the aftermath (a hint of my intense yet destructive emotions). My anger or sadness tend to hold on much longer. I used to hold grudges and they could last for years (I try not to do that anymore). Since I am the only emotional one in the family, I constantly get criticized for expressing my emotions – when I laugh loudly, I am “impolite”; when I start yelling angrily, I am “rude”; when I burst into tears or scream out of fear, I am “weak” and “pathetic”. My family expects me to be level-headed, and every time my intense emotions leak out, I am told that “I cannot survive in this society”. My aunts prioritize being level-headed so much that they cannot comprehend real people and fictional characters acting on their emotions, even going so far as to calling them “stupid” for letting their emotions to flood their rationality. I also do not find comfort in school as I constantly get bullied by others. I remember crying a lot, but nobody came to help me or comfort me. Until one day, I snapped and resorted to anger to defend myself from the bullies. Since then, I became hot-tempered and this is something I am not proud of (genetics may have played a part because my maternal grandfather and mother are both hot-tempered). I remember one teacher described me as “manipulative” because “I constantly cry to get people’s attention”, and I end up feeling that it would be best if nobody cares about my venting so as to not being labelled as “an attention seeker”.

The constant criticisms and judgements received have caused me to develop a habit of bottling up my emotions. I keep ignoring and repressing my emotions until I can no longer hold back. My intense emotions get unleashed in a destructive manner, which hurts everyone, including myself. This has damaged my friendships and relationships. Even some of my friends who allow me to express my feelings and vent my troubles are taken aback by my intensity. Once, they have to remove me from the friend group temporarily and give me a timeout. I do take responsibility for my actions and appreciate the second chance they have given me. To stop myself from further damaging my relationships, I decide to shut myself off from everyone when I find my emotions have become unstable. However, this causes some people to inquire my emotional state and pressure me to tell them. When I refuse to share my feelings, they call me “ungrateful”, “rude” or “selfish”. But when I share my feelings, thus, unleashing its intensity and destructive force, they are taken aback and get hurt. They either become distant and cold towards me or judge me harshly for being emotional. This only make me feel that it is best that I keep my emotions and troubles away from other people, and that I should not share my burdens with others since they usually do not understand me. I isolate myself further from people and resort to carry a heavy burden on my shoulders. I can’t help but to internalize these criticisms and judgements. I feel ashamed to be emotional and I tend to judge myself harshly when I show emotions. I have been rejecting my Poseidon animus until I finally see myself in Crosshair. I am learning to accept that “this is who I am” like Crosshair. I also find it heart-warming that Crosshair is surrounded by people who love and accept him despite his intense emotions. I would love to be part of the Bad Batch because I would feel safe to express my emotions and be myself.

Since Poseidon people are susceptible to be taken over by strong emotions, they need to develop abilities to observe, reflect and think objectively. One method is to develop an observing ego. In Jungian psychological terms, the ego is the consistent, observing, remembering, and deciding element in the psyche—what you mean when you say, “I.” A complex is an archetypal pattern that has become charged with emotion. When an emotional complex has more power or energy than the ego, it can temporarily “take over” or “possess” the personality. For example, a father may become “like a man possessed” and bent on vengeance when his child is hurt. He may become like Poseidon in relentless pursuit of Odysseus – he is so consumed with rage and revenge that he is not available to support or comfort and help heal his child. This same complex may be activated by the same situation in another man with a stronger ego. He may have vivid fantasies of retribution, but realizes that he must struggle with the hatred that threatens him, knowing that his child’s wellbeing is of greater importance.

When an emotional complex takes over, the “I” is put out of commission. The Poseidon person may be unconscious or blind to what is happening, while people around them react in different ways. They may be humoured, avoided, or feared. The emotional complex they are possessed with may provoke an equivalent unconscious complex in others. The Poseidon person may also struggle with the complex, feeling themselves overreacting or behaving in ways that are “out of character”. By learning to observe a complex, the focus and energy are shifted from the complex to the ego. The “I” sees what is happening and resists being taken over by the complex. The complex loses energy and influence, and it recedes. During this process, the Poseidon person and their relationships can grow in depth when compassion is given to themselves and to others who are affected by the complex. Two archetypes can be developed to help Poseidon people to deserve an observing ego, which are the Zeus archetype that enables them to see circumstances objectively and dispassionately (which is an archetype Hunter has), and the Hades archetype that enables them to recognize that their emotions are often connected to archetypal images, which are patterns that exist in the collective unconscious (which is Tech’s innate archetype).

Instead of expressing their emotions in a destructive manner, Poseidon people can channel their emotional depth and intensity into creative work such as drama, poetry, literature, music and art. With that, the Hermes archetype (which is an archetype Tech has) must be developed. As the Messenger God and Guide of Souls, the Hermes archetype can bring forth the potentially disruptive emotions hidden in the depths and turn them into emotionally expressive works. Besides Hermes, the Hephaestus archetype (which is Echo’s innate archetype) can also help Poseidon people to transform their emotions into creative work. Hephaestus, the God of the Forge, is a rejected god; but instead of erupting like a volcano, he channels his intense emotions to create beautiful and useful objects. He expresses his emotions in a creative manner. This difference is shown in how Echo and Crosshair react to the Empire’s mistreatment to the clones. Echo channels his anger through constructive means by joining Rex’s resistance network, rescuing the clones from the Empire, and turning Trace Martez’s repair shop into a refuge for the rescued clones. On the other hand, Crosshair channels his anger through destructive means by killing Lieutenant Nolan to avenge Mayday’s death.

It is important for Poseidon people to learn how to dilute the effects of this powerful archetype. The first method involves them to give up the need to dominate and learn from the “Dolphin” as previously stated. The second method involves the development of other archetypes, specifically those that have the ability to think of the consequences, to become objective, and to achieve some distance. Zeus and Athena are the archetypes commonly developed to dilute Poseidon’s effect, but the most common archetype to be developed is Apollo, which serves as Crosshair’s other main archetype.

#thank you for the support #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #tbb #sw tbb #the bad batch analysis #tbb analysis #the bad batch meta #tbb meta #crosshair #crosshair bad batch #tbb crosshair #crosshair meta #jungian archetypes

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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Crosshair's Innate Archetype (Part 2)

Part 1 | Part 2

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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Just a quick note...

I would eventually post my full character analysis of Crosshair.

I also have a few more analyses about the Bad Batch, the most important is the Clone Wars arc analysis.

None of these analyses would contain any season 3 stuffs, so you can read them just fine.

Just letting you all know this.

#the bad batch analysis #tbb analysis

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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I love that you have given many great points here.

I have many points to add about Omega's Heroine's Journey based on my understanding on Jean Shinoda Bolen's "Goddesses in Everywoman". She has discussed additional information regarding the Heroine's Journey in the last chapter of her book, "The Heroine in Everywoman".

Jennifer Corbett and Brad Rau did discuss that Omega is going to encounter a few female characters in season 3. Asajj Ventress is one of them, which I believe she is going to be the Hecate to Omega's Persephone. After Persephone emerges from the Underworld, Hecate becomes her guide to and out of the Underworld. It is possible that Ventress would help Omega to transition from the Kore (maiden) to the Queen of the Underworld. Though, this is likely to be one episode. After this encounter, Omega would have the confidence to navigate this journey by herself, like Echo does with his Persephone anima.

I do agree that Emerie serves as Omega's Shadow. From the interviews, Emerie is created by Nala Se but is "raised" by Hemlock. Hemlock is the patriarchal father who molds Emerie into a compliant and emotionally withdrawn medical assistant - two traits that define a "successful" woman in a patriarchal society. Emerie is stuck as Persephone the Kore, unable to be assertive as she is resigned to her fate given by Hemlock and Nala Se. She is the non-heroine because she views herself as a victim, and everything she does is only because other people tell her to do - she has no autonomy. She also does not consider escaping (and tries to persuade Crosshair not to attempt an escape) because she views this defiance would be a death-bringer, like Hades abducting Persephone. Emerie could serve as a warning to Omega like "this is what would happen to you if you do not grow beyond the Kore".

The psychopomp is the "guide of souls", and it is mainly used to refer to Hermes (and sometimes Hecate) in Greek mythology. I interpret Tech as the psychopomp because he has the strongest Hermes archetype. Though, Hermes is present in one's journey to the Underworld, which all the Bad Batch members are going through now. They all would benefit from Hermes to get out of the Underworld and undergo change. Crosshair does has a strong Poseidon archetype that helps him to link with his emotions and instincts - the unconscious realm, while his strong Apollo archetype links to his consciousness. Jean Shinoda Bolen proposes the Poseidon man to develop the Hermes archetype so he has a "guide of souls" to express his emotions in a creative manner. I also think Crosshair's Apollo archetype would benefit from Hermes so he could be willing to take risk and break free.

In Jean Shinoda Bolen's book, there are two versions of non-heroines: one who goes along with other people's choices (she becomes a self-made victim), and one who stays at the crossroads (unable to make decisions or take action). Emerie is the self-made victim because she follows whatever Hemlock tells her to do. Omega may experience being victimized because of Hemlock. She becomes a medical assistant but her choice is made half-heartedly because she is planning to escape with Crosshair. However, since Mount Tantiss is heavily guarded, Omega is forced on stay at the crossroads, unable to make decisions or take action to escape. She can only see her life passing her by. Hemlock is reducing her to become a victim.

However, Omega refuses to become a victim. She keeps clinging onto hope, despite the physical toll can be too much for her to bear. Her choice to stay hopeful makes her a heroine. Like Psyche's first task of "sorting the seeds", Omega is now at the crossroads and she must sort out her priorities. For now, she knows she cannot escape on her own, so she has to wait for the opportune time. She works as a medical assistant but it's an act to not raise suspicion. Besides, she wants to escape with Crosshair, but he is hopeless and unwilling to help her. With that, her main priorities would be to cling onto hope, take care of Crosshair and put on an act of compliance.

According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, there are a few stages a woman must encounter in her heroine's journey.

"to reclaim the power of the snake" - Many statues of goddesses have snakes entwining them, and the snake is interpreted as "the power held by the goddess". A woman who reclaims the power of the snake means she reclaims her power over her life. Everyone on Mount Tantiss is bringing down Omega, including Crosshair (whose voice is like a coiled snake) who thinks escaping is hopeless. Omega is unwilling to give up hope, and she is unwilling to let Crosshair give up hope as well. Right here, she is "reclaiming the power of the snake" or "reclaiming Crosshair" because she is his brother.

2. "to resist the power of the bear" - The bear is interpreted as maternal instincts that may turn the heroine into a captive of her instincts. The heroine must honor its importance to her, but must also exercise conscious choice to resist its power because archetypes exist outside time and are unconcerned with our realities. The interviews stated that Omega would take on a caretaker role, especially towards Crosshair. It is possible that Omega must learn that as much as she cares about Crosshair, she cannot force him to hold onto hope or to trust others - she must let him learn in his own accord. Moreover, as much as she wants to rescue the clone prisoners on Mount Tantiss, she must "resist her maternal instincts" as she and Crosshair make their escape. She can later plan a way to go back and rescue them.

3. "to fend off death and destruction" - In the journey, the heroine must face enemies or demons that represent something destructive, primitive, undeveloped, distorted or evil in the human psyche that seeks to overpower and defeat her. The enemy or demon may be a shadow element, a negative part of her psyche, or psyche of other individuals who want to hurt, dominate, humiliate or control the heroine. Omega must fend off many enemies or demons: Hemlock, Emerie, Nala Se not being a good mother figure to her, Crosshair's venomous and hopeless words, any threat to give up hope, and the thought that her presence is constantly putting the Bad Batch on peril.

4. "to survive loss and grief" - The loss and grief can be loss of a relationship or loss of an aspect of ourselves. For Omega, she grieves the destruction of her home, the broken relationship with Crosshair, Echo leaving the Bad Batch, losing Tech, and now separated from Hunter, Wrecker and Echo. She would also have to grieve the loss of her innocence as she grows to become mature and assertive. However, she is unwilling to give into her grief, and by choosing to go on, she chooses the path of the heroine.

5. "getting through the dark and narrow passage" - The Bad Batch is currently in the Underworld. Without Tech as their navigator, they are fractured and lost. They do not know how to keep on moving, to have a clear passage and to stay hopeful. They have to learn to activate the Hermes archetype within themselves, which usually involves an instinct coming in suddenly. It is possible that Tech would come back to guide them through the dark and narrow passage - to represent hope has returned. Once they get out of the Underworld, vitality and light return.

6. "evoking the transcendent function" - When the heroine finds herself in an unclear situation or in a dilemma, with every path seems disastrous or a dead-end, she has to stay true to her principles and loyalties until someone or something unexpectedly comes to her aid. To stay with the situation, with the expectation that an answer will come, sets the inner stage for what Carl Jung called “the transcendent function” - meaning something from the unconscious will arise to solve the problem or show the way to an ego (or heroine) who needs help from something beyond itself (or in herself).

In the myth of Eros and Psyche, Aphrodite gave Psyche four tasks that required more of what she could do. Each time, she was initially overwhelmed, and then help or advice came - through ants, a green reed, an eagle and a tower. In the myth of Atalanta, Hippomenes loved her and entered the race to win her hand in marriage. He knew he couldn't win the race, so he prayed for Aphrodite, who helped him to win the race and Atalanta.

The transcendent function can also be expressed through synchronistic events - “coincidences” that turn out to be meaningful, unforeseen “accidental” happenings that lead us somewhere we couldn’t have known we would go and that yet turn out uncannily right. The Hermes archetype is the one who opens up these moments (as stated in her book "Gods in Everyman"), giving emotional clarity and symbolic insights to help resolve a problem. This makes me believe that as the Bad Batch gets overwhelmed by their unclear paths and perils, they must learn to stay true to their principles and loyalties (Hunter, Wrecker and Echo stay true to their commitment to find Omega; Omega stays optimistic; and Crosshair remains loyal to Omega). As long as they stay true to themselves, the transcendent function would come in perhaps a "miracle", giving them a different approach to solve their problems. I speculate this "miracle" to be Tech's return from the Underworld - like Hermes has come to the team's rescue.

A creative insight is similar to a transcendent function: when there is not-yet known solution to a problem, the creator has faith that an answer exists, and stays with the situation until the solution comes. The creator is often in the state of heightened tension, and trusts the process of incubation, out which something new can emerge. I interpret this creative insight to come from the Aphrodite archetype for she is known to be the archetype of a creative woman, and an alchemical goddess (Hermes is the alchemical god). Wrecker has the Aphrodite anima, so he may take on this method to help himself and his team.

7. "from victim to heroine" - The heroine's journey is an individuation quest. In this path, the heroine may find, lose, and rediscover what has meaning to her, until she holds on to these values in all kinds of circumstances that test her. She may repeatedly encounter whatever threatens to overcome her, until finally the danger of losing her selfhood is over. For Omega, she must hold onto her kindness, optimism and compassion, as she constantly gets threatened by the evils, cruelty and pessimism around her. She must not lose her Self throughout her journey. The individuation journey is not limited to just heroines. Heroes also go through it, especially if they strongly identify as the divine child archetype (associated with the Dionysus archetype - the innate archetype of Hunter). Since the Bad Batch are divine children, they all go through this journey - to become true to themselves. Jean Shinoda Bolen also talks about this in "Gods in Everyman".

Life presents us with repeated opportunities to face what we fear, what we need to become conscious of, or what we need to master. It is a cyclic journey to go through a dark place at peace and in harmony with our deepest values, and not be negatively affected at all. The Bad Batch will go through this journey to further individualize themselves - they move from "victims" trapped into the roles they are "made to be" to become heroes in their own stories - moving beyond their archetypes and becoming more human.

So what is the end of the heroine's journey?

In the myth of Eros and Psyche, they both reunited. Their marriage was honored on Mount Olympus and Psyche gave birth to a daughter named Joy. In the myth of Atalanta, she chose to take the gold apples thrown by Hippomenes, which meant she lost the race and married him. After proving her courage and competency, many heroines do not end with her becoming a conquering hero or riding off the sunset like a cowboy hero. Instead, her journey ends with union, reunion and home.

The individuation journey—the psychological quest for wholeness—ends in the union of opposites - the inner marriage of "masculine" and "feminine" aspects of the personality. The journey ends with the person having the ability to be both active and receptive, autonomous and intimate, to work and to love. These are parts of ourselves that we can come to know through life experiences, parts that are inherent in all of us. This is the human potential with which we start. For Omega's heroine's journey, she would unite the "masculine" values of the clone troopers and the "feminine" values of herself and other feminine figures in her life.

The individuation journey has occurred in the Bad Batch arc back in the Clone Wars, where the Bad Batch guides Rex on a psychological quest to individualize himself. This means the Bad Batch already has gone through this individuation journey, and they are going through it one more time with the rise of the Empire. Since the final episode is called "The Cavalry Has Arrived", which is the first quote said by Wrecker when the Bad Batch first appeared in the Clone Wars, it is highly possible that the series finale would mirror the Clone Wars arc - it's like poetry, it rhymes.

The end of the individuation journey is seemingly unspectacular for it usually parallels real life - like after defeating evil and you return to your seemingly normal life. This may explain why the ending "may not give Omega a possibility of being the larger narrative of the Star Wars saga" because the writers probably chose to focus more of the emotional impact. It is possible that all 6 Bad Batch members survive and they choose to stay together - symbolizing union, reunion and home. It would be bittersweet because they have to go through so much pain, grief and trauma to finally make it out and be together once more. The ending may not be "huge" by Star Wars standards, but it would be emotionally impactful and hopeful - teaching us the journey we must take, and that we write our own stories.

Omega's Heroine's Journey prediction

Here's my current prediction for Omega's story from season 1 to season three using the Heroine's Journey as a model.

Separation from the Feminine. Omega leaves Kamino behind, and with it her central mother figure, Nala Se, a woman who is Creatrix of her many brothers, benevolent and ruthless, Creator/Destroyer. Nala Se represents an ambivalent figure to Omega. She is loved by her, but she lived in a cloistered lab, and likely saw Nala Se's ruthlessness, as well as her love. In Murdock's Heroine's Journey, the heroine is unhappy in the world that represents her feminine origins.

Identification with the Masculine and Gathering of Allies. Most of our story of the Bad Batch, is Omega's journey with her younger big brothers. They are aspects of her animus, the masculine side of her, and she identifies with them, learns from them. They are the Muscle Man [Wrecker], Hunter [Literally, the Hunter], The Professor [Tech], and eventually, the Psychopomp [Crosshair]. Allies include Cid, Echo (a Reg brother), Phee, and many more.

Road of Trials, Meeting Ogres and Dragons. Many stories of rancors, dragons, scoundrels, battles. Season 1 and season 2.

Finding the boon of success Pabu. After many trials, (we see bits of vice in Omega at the start of season 2, a little of the potential for avariciousness we see in Jango and Boba, mostly ameliorated with influence of her brothers and the old Serennan man). But Pabu is the success, the utopia well-earned, a life with her brothers.

Awakening to feelings of spiritual aridity; death The life of adventure with her brothers, brings Omega the absence of one brother striking off independently, the other brother dead (maybe). Season 3, Omega will realize that her life with her brothers that she emulated and desired leads to their danger. She will question herself and what she means to them.

Initiation and Descent to the Goddess Omega will meet a Dark Shadow of herself--Emerie, the version of herself raised by a malevolent father figure, Dr. Hemlock. He is neither the benevolent paternal figure of Hunter, nor the neutral Creatrix like her mother. Dr. Hemlock is a malevolent Creator/Destroyer and perversion of that mythic figure. Omega will come to understand her Shadow in Emerie, and what could have been an aspect of herself down another path. In addition, she will also meet the Goddess that can help reconcile her place in the galaxy, and her place. This could be represented by Asajj, a woman who has been raised and tutored by multiple people, kind [Jedi] and dark [Sith], and found her own way, her own power, not completely defined by simple dichotomies, embracing what she has learned of Jedi, Sith, Witches.

Urgent yearning to Reconnect with the Feminine Omega will revisit what it means to be Nala Se's Creation and Daughter, to be Emerie's sister. That Feminine is represented in this story by cloning itself, and Omega's former (and current Mt. Tantiss) life of medical research of being assistant and aide to Nala Se -- the life that had been intended for Omega. This does not mean Omega will be Nala Se's assistant in her future adult life. But it does mean reconciling with her Mother Figure's legacy of the clones, and how she can help them herself, using her own knowledge gleaned from working on Kamino and on Mt Tantiss.

Healing the Mother/Daughter Split We have never seen Omega and Nala Se hold a conversation with each other. It will be time for a maturing Omega to confront her Creatrix, to understand or reconcile her ambivalent feelings towards her. This may also be represented in having EMERIE, Omega's Shadow, reconcile with Nala Se, the Mother figure she might perceive as having abandoned her to Dr. Hemlock.

Healing the Wounded Masculine This was always going to be Crosshair. He represents the psychopomp, the final state of the Animus, the masculine that is the guide, who has gone to death, and out of it. He has been symbolized by the Ice Vulture [remember the sacred symbolism of the vulture], and Joel Aron talked about the "angelic" lighting above Crosshair in his cell. Angels and vultures are all psychopomps. Omega will heal her inner psychopomp, the masculine guide, the part of her broken masculine, and in need of flying again, soaring above with sharp eyes.

Integration of the Masculine and Feminine Omega's final stage in the Heroine's Journey. She will combine and integrate the positive Masculine in her life (of which there is much!) of her warrior brothers, that have helped her to reach out in the world and fight, with the Feminine of her origins, the clever clone, assistant to the Creatrix of them all. Like Nala Se, she can be clever creator and destroyer (she was trained to do Nala Se's work after all), but she will destroy what harms her Mother's creations. She is the Omega, the last Clone. She is the Legacy of Jango Fett, a man who gave his own blueprint to create millions of doomed boys that will destroy and be destroyed in turn, and the Legacy of Nala Se, the woman who used that DNA to create them. Jango and Nala were always mirror characters in the story--both seemingly dispassionately, created millions of doomed children for a war machine. Yet neither were wholly evil, both loved fiercely and were/are honorable. Both loved one clone (the Alpha, and the Omega, respectively). Omega will embody the positive aspects of both these complicated legacies.

#the bad batch #star wars #The Heroine's Journey #tbb #the bad batch meta #tbb meta #the bad batch analysis #tbb analysis #the bad batch omega #tbb omega #goddesses in everywoman #gods in everyman #the bad batch season 1 #the bad batch season 2 #the bad batch season 3 #tbb season 1 #tbb season 2 #tbb season 3

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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Crosshair's Innate Archetype (Part 1)

Part 1 | Part 2

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archetypesanalysis · 2 months

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I guess I have to split it...

Unfortunately, since my semester has started and I have assignments to do, I do not think I can complete my character analysis of Crosshair before The Bad Batch Season 3 premiere. However, I did manage to finish about two-thirds of it.

Since Crosshair's character analysis is the longest, I think it's alright for me to release the analysis in parts, so you all can read it without getting overwhelmed by information.

The first part would be released, and it's about 18 pages long!

#star wars #the bad batch #sw the bad batch #tbb #sw tbb #the bad batch analysis #star wars the bad batch #tbb analysis #the bad batch crosshair #tbb crosshair

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archetypesanalysis · 3 months

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Why I believe Tech is alive

For this analysis, I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” and “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen. I will be talking about the Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer. I will also refer to the titles of Season 3 episodes for this analysis. I will make some predictions for Season 3, so if you do not want to read into it, you can just scroll away.

We know the traumatising scene in “Plan 99” – Tech severs the connection between the cable cars and he falls. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega mourn for their fallen brother. However, many fans believe that Tech is alive, and he will return in season 3. I am one of those people. After watching the Season 2 finale, I mourn for the loss, but I also want to cling onto any possible hints that he is alive. With that, I delve deeper into archetypal psychology (while I was ill at that time), and I have discovered many interesting clues that make me believe that Tech is alive.

To the people who do not believe that Tech is alive and do not want him to return in Season 3 due to personal reasonings like finding meaning in death and dealing with grief, I understand and respect all your opinions. I just do not like the excuses of “we need more suffering” or “I like suffering” to “justify” why Tech should not come back in Season 3.

With that said, I am mainly using my understanding of archetypal psychology to explain why I believe Tech is alive. Some points have been discussed in my analysis of the 3 seasons, but I am going to expand these points here.

1. Voluntary descent into the Underworld

In the myths, most people descend into the Underworld involuntarily. This is done either through death or abduction. In psychological terms, people involuntarily descend into the Underworld when they go through a traumatic experience, or they lose meaning, hope or purpose in life. However, there are myths where people descend into the Underworld voluntarily.

Some heroes take on this journey with love as their motivation. In the myth of Eros and Psyche, Aphrodite ordered Psyche to enter the Underworld with a small box for Persephone to fill it with beauty ointment. This was Psyche’s fourth and final task that she must do if she wanted to reunite with her husband Eros. In the myth of Orpheus, he went to Hades seeking his dead wife Eurydice. In one myth of Dionysus, he entered the Underworld to resurrect his dead mother Semele. Besides love, some heroes are motivated by wisdom. In the myth of Odysseus, he ventured into the Underworld to seek help from a blind seer named Tiresias, so he could find his way home. In Roman mythology Aeneid, Aeneas entered the Underworld to seek the shade of his father, and he had a prophetic vision of Rome’s destiny. The journey to the Underworld is part of a heroic task. For example, in Greek mythology, the twelfth and final labour of Heracles was to capture and bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. He was able to overpower the beast with his bare hands and bring it out of the Underworld, thus completing his twelve labours.

By enacting Plan 99, Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld – and he is the only one to do so in Season 2. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bad Batch involuntarily descend into the Underworld through grief or abduction. Tech’s sacrifice is described as “heroic” and “intentional”, which are keywords for a voluntary descend into the Underworld. Besides, Tech is motivated by love and wisdom as he makes this descent. He wants to seek out information about the whereabouts of Crosshair and Omega, so they can finally reunite with Hunter, Wrecker and Echo.

However, voluntary descents are done at great risks for there is no guarantee of a safe return. As Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld, his fate becomes uncertain, which will explain why ambiguous wordings are used to describe his fate: “he’s gone”, “he’s not coming back in this episode at least”, “sort of sacrifices himself”, “my life as a soldier has come to an end”, “it’s kind of a loss, it’s complicated (with averted eyes)”, “plummeted out of sight”, etc.

2. Broken goggles indicate dismemberment

As the Bad Batch mourns for their loss, Dr. Hemlock arrives to capture them. He throws a pair of Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter, saying that this is the only thing they could salvage from the wreckage. Judging from the state of the goggles, it seems that the goggles were smashed on impact and were later removed. Moreover, some fans see this as mirroring the last time we saw Echo after his apparent death in the Citadel, in which we saw Echo’s charred helmet being left behind.

The goggles have always been a part of Tech’s identity. He is the most recognizable for wearing it. Cid even gives him the nickname “Goggles”. Besides the goggles, his eyes also formed part of his identity. When Phee first meets Tech, she calls him “Brown Eyes”, hinting that she is drawn to his eyes despite all clones have brown eyes. Losing the goggles means that Tech has lost part of his identity, which is a form of psychological dismemberment. In Jungian psychology, anything that has been “dismembered” is thrown into the Underworld and it becomes part of our Shadow, which consists the parts we have deemed as unacceptable, shameful or even traumatic. I have seen fanarts about Tech being alive but he loses his sight, which can be considered as a form of physical and psychological dismemberment.

We have seen 3D models of Tech without his goggles, and he looks different from his usual look. When he wears the goggles, he looks friendly and approachable. Without the goggles, he looks serious and intimidating. We know that the goggles records everything, and in addition to giving Tech a friendly and approachable look, it enables him to get close to anyone and gather vital information. This is useful most of the time, especially during the Clone Wars as Tech acts as the bridge between Clone Force 99 and other people. However, this will become difficult during the rise of the Empire as the galaxy becomes more dangerous. A friendly look will likely draw unnecessary attention and people are more likely to pick on you. This may have been a problem for Tech in some mercenary jobs. For example, when Phee brings the Bad Batch to a cantina to purchase an artifact, Tech stays in the Marauder to provide them a getaway. I think Tech being assigned to this role is not just due to his piloting skills, but the fact that he looks “too friendly” to blend in with the crowd that mostly has questionable morals. Instead, Hunter and Wrecker are chosen as Phee’s muscle as they can blend in with the crowd so Lanse Crowder and his henchmen will let their guard down (as for Omega, she acts as Phee’s young apprentice).

If Tech needs to sneak in and acquire confidential Imperial files, an intimidating look will help. Without his goggles, Tech can easily take on the serious and intimidating look to blend it with the Imperials and/or scare off the low-level Imperials. This new look can also be useful for Tech to blend in with pirates, smugglers, mercenaries and bounty hunters – to show that he is someone you should not mess with.

I do believe that we may see Tech taking on a different look (and a different identity) in Season 3. I once imagined his new appearance to resemble a figure wearing black armour (quite similar to the one shown in the official Season 3 trailer). His different look may indicate that “the old friendly Tech is gone”, but this does not necessarily mean that Tech will be brainwashed by Hemlock and become a clone assassin. It will just mean that he has to suppress his friendly side in order to find Crosshair and Omega.

3. Tech’s archetype combination: Hades, Hermes and Athena

In my two-part character analysis of Tech (innate archetype and anima), I identify Tech to have three main archetypes: Hades (the God of the Underworld), Hermes (the Messenger God) and Athena (the Goddess of Wisdom).

Since Tech is innately Hades, this means that he is used to the Underworld as his exceptional mind already serves as his Underworld. Based on the footage shown in the Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer, I can see that each member of the Bad Batch is in their own versions of the Underworld: Hunter is loss of purpose, Echo is loneliness, Wrecker is monsters, Omega is abduction, and Crosshair is hopelessness. This leaves me a question: what is Tech’s Underworld? The answer is… I do not really know. His mind already resembles the Underworld and he can easily spend long hours by himself – as if he is familiar with this dark and mysterious territory. If you try to subject Tech with the Underworlds experienced by other members of the Bad Batch, he will most probably be unaffected by it. He is probably aware of these aspects of the Underworld, and he is not afraid to face them. Since the writers intended to bring the Bad Batch into the Underworld and keep them there for some time by the Season 2 finale, it would explain why they had to take Tech out of the picture. Tech would have made their journeys to the Underworld at least bearable and he would have brought them out of their dark places quickly. Without Tech, the Bad Batch would have to struggle for months (since there is a time jump hinted in the trailers). Moreover, Tech’s disappearance resembles Hades wearing the cap of invisibility – Tech has become Hades the Unseen One, “invisible” to everyone.

As Athena, Tech is a powerful strategist that gears towards practicality and pragmatism, which enables him to get an upper hand over his enemies. His craftiness and emotional distance can lead him to “do whatever it works” to accomplish his goals or defeat his enemies. With this in mind, I believe that Tech already has a strategy in mind when he decides to enact Plan 99. Although he is well-aware that his action will hurt his teammates, he does it because “it is the only way” he can succeed in his mission of finding Crosshair (and later Omega). In Greek mythology, Athena is the ally and guide of many heroes. When Heracles is tasked to capture Cerberus, Athena and Hermes act as his guides to the Underworld, helping him to complete his final labour. In orphic theology, Athena is depicted as a rescuer of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Ecstasy. In this myth, she managed to save the heart of the infant Dionysus that had been torn into pieces. She then gave the heart to Zeus, who sewed it to his own thigh, allowing Dionysus to be reborn. By taking these two myths into consideration, Tech takes on the guide and rescuer of the Bad Batch, who are heroes.

Among his archetypes, I find that Hermes is the strongest in Tech. As the messenger, Tech can easily travel through different places to gather information, just like Hermes who can swiftly travel between Olympus, earth and the Underworld. As the trickster, Tech can sneak around, make an escape, steal data, hack into machinery and break through confidential files with ease. As the alchemist, Tech can create new things and strategies to help him and his teammates.

Hermes is known to be the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. As a psychopomp, he accompanies the souls of the dead to the Underworld (psychologically, he is the archetype that helps people during significant life transitions). In his myths, Hermes has rescued Ares who was trapped in the bronze jar, has brought Persephone out of the Underworld, and has saved Dionysus at least twice. These two roles have been present in Tech since his first appearance. It is highly likely that these roles would become more prominent in Season 3. I believe that Tech would lead Hunter, Echo and Wrecker to rescue Crosshair and Omega. Once the team is reunited, Tech would become the guide of souls as he helps the Bad Batch (and himself) to find meaning in their sufferings, to integrate all aspects of themselves, and to be transformed by their journeys to the Underworld: Hunter would learn to embrace human seasonal changes and become a hero; Echo would learn to become more assertive and be unafraid to revisit his trauma; Wrecker would learn to think before he acts; Crosshair would learn to be vulnerable and let love be his motivator; Omega would become more mature and assertive as she guides others through dark times; and Tech would learn to be more in touch with his emotions.

According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, Hermes has the innate potential to become a guide of souls and a seeker of meaning. This potential can be unleashed by venturing down into the depths of the Underworld, which will lead a person to undergo a spiritual evolution. They will gain valuable insight from this journey and will return to pass down what they have learned. This is similar to Hermes bringing Persephone (the soul) out of the Underworld and back to her mother Demeter. This myth became the basis for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was the most sacred and important religious rituals of Ancient Greece that celebrated the return of Persephone from the Underworld. The ancients believed that those who were initiated into the mysteries would gain a reason to live in joy and die without fearing death.

In Season 1, Tech is more focused on monetary gains to support the Bad Batch after they defect from the Empire. They start to work for Cid by taking up mercenary jobs. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders, which is the right thing to do, and according to Tech, they can earn a decent amount of credits. In “War-Mantle”, when the team discusses whether they should deviate from their job and rescue Gregor, Tech reminds them that Cid will not compensate them if they choose to deviate, and they will go hungry without the money to buy food.

I believe Season 2 is when Tech starts to undergo a spiritual evolution. In “Spoils of War”, the Bad Batch agrees to Cid’s promise to free them from their debts if they succeed in retrieving one of Count Dooku’s war chests. Although Tech’s left femur is fractured during the mission, he is determined to retrieve the war chest and use the fortune for the team’s benefit. However, I believe Tech’s meeting with Romar is what changes him, which initiates his spiritual evolution. Romar has survived the bombardment of Serenno City, and he now lives in the woods alone. He is not interested in Dooku’s war chests, and instead, he is more interested in persevering his Serennian culture, which gives him meaning in life. When Tech manages to fix the datacore and restore data about Serennian culture, Romar is overjoyed because his life now has meaning once more – as if his soul is rescued from the Underworld. This may have initiated him into the Eleusinian Mysteries, giving him the reason to continue living in joy and gaining the bravery to help Tech and Echo to find Omega before the Imperials do. Before the Bad Batch leaves, Romar tells Tech that he is staying behind as he is a survivor, which seems to have impacted Tech. I believe that Romar has acted as a wise elder that sends Tech on the spiritual journey, making him realize that helping others is more meaningful than carrying out mercenary jobs to make ends meet. Even though Tech gains nothing from helping Romar, he finds it meaningful.

However, Tech is not as vocal as Echo because of his loyalty to Hunter (motivated by his Athena anima). Hunter wants the team to lay low and not get involved in the fight against the Empire. Tech knows Hunter has the team’s best interest in mind, so he does not object. Though, it is possible that Tech is starting to become frustrated. In “Faster”, Tech complains to Cid that giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. He also does not want to follow Cid for another mission, but he goes for it because of Wrecker and Omega. When they must win the race to free Cid and her debt to Millegi, Tech reminds Wrecker and Omega that Cid’s dealings with individuals of questionable integrity have caused her to repeatedly use the Bad Batch to solve her problems, which has become a problematic pattern. It does seem that Tech is starting to get tired of Cid and he begins to find this current life as meaningless. He probably wants more of this life but he cannot.

After Echo leaves the Bad Batch, Tech turns all of his energy to work, which is his way of dealing with the loss. I also believe that Tech becomes intensely focused on work because he is determined to fully pay off the team’s debt so they can be free and do whatever they want in life. Since Echo leaves to join Rex’s resistance network, which gives him meaning in life, Tech may have become more motivated to achieve that goal for the Bad Batch (and himself). However, by focusing intensely on work, Tech has become emotionally withdrawn, which leads to tensions and misunderstandings. In “The Crossing”, Omega thinks that Tech is unbothered by Echo’s absence and that he is unsympathetic towards her grief. When Tech realizes that his intense emotional withdrawal has inadvertently hurt his loved ones, he learns to understand himself better and learns to grow.

In “Retrieval”, the Bad Batch goes to retrieve the stolen Marauder in Mokko’s factory. Tech points out that Mokko appears to be using his power and means as a leverage over his workers, which consist of adolescent miners. He finds Mokko’s operation to be similar to the Empire. After the Bad Batch manages to free the miners from Mokko’s oppressive rule, Omega realizes that there are other threats besides the Empire. Tech reassures her that there are many good people out there like them. Their actions of liberating the miners have helped them to reconnect with their souls – they once again find what gives them meaning in life.

Since Cid refuses to help the Bad Batch after they lost the Marauder during the mission to acquire ipsium, the team begins to keep a distance from her. They probably begin to feel that Cid is taking advantage of them and she would never release them from their debts. In “Metamorphosis”, when Cid provides intel about a downed ship that they can scavenge for parts, the team demands a higher share of the cut and threatens to not return. Tech knows that their agreement with Cid is not mutually beneficial, but they cannot sever ties so easily because Cid knows compromising information about them. Hence, Tech proposes to treat this mission as their last for Cid – which means they are going for a strike. Perhaps Tech hopes that the strike can teach Cid a lesson, and it can give the Bad Batch alternative options to earn credits like working with Phee.

It does seem that all goes well once the Bad Batch teams up with Phee – they are taking on more meaningful jobs (which involve retrieving artifacts that are mostly culturally significant to the people on Pabu), and they now have the option to stay permanently on Pabu. However, in “Tipping Point”, Tech realizes that Crosshair is being held captive by Dr. Hemlock and that Crosshair has sent Plan 88 to warn them that they have been targeted by the Empire. Tech now probably realizes the severity of the situation faced by the Bad Batch. He is probably well-prepared for the possibility that he has to carry out Plan 99 if anything goes wrong. Surprisingly, Plan 88 is called “The Seeker”, which makes me believe that this serves as an initiation for Tech to become Hermes the Seeker of Meaning. After all, Tech is now motivated to seek out Hemlock and his base in order to find Crosshair.

When the mission to Eriadu goes horribly wrong, Tech realizes that he must venture down into the Underworld (the Empire) so he can seek access to the mysteries hidden in the forbidden depths of the Empire (since the location and purpose of the Advanced Science Division led by Hemlock are hidden). With that, Tech carries out Plan 99, which is equivalent to him being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries as he “no longer fears death”. Before Heracles descended into the Underworld to capture Cerberus as his twelfth and final labour, he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries to ensure that he would be able to safely return. He was also accompanied by Hermes and Athena on his journey. Since Tech is innately Hades, he is no stranger to the depths of the Underworld. Moreover, his Hermes and Athena archetypes are powerful enough to act as his guides to the Underworld. With that, it is highly possible that Tech survives the fall as he undergoes a full spiritual evolution, and he would return wiser than ever in Season 3.

4. The Abduction of Persephone: Hecate, Helios and Hermes

In the Greek myth, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades with the approval given by her father Zeus. Her mother Demeter heard echoes of her cries and rushed to find her. Demeter spent 9 days and 9 nights searching for Persephone across the earth (Coincidentally, 9 days and 9 nights can sound like 99 – Clone Force 99, Plan 99). At dawn on the tenth day, Demeter met Hecate, the Goddess of the Dark Moon, Crossroads, Witchcraft and Ghosts. Hecate told Demeter that she had heard Persephone screaming for help but did not know what happened to her. She suggested that they both go to Helios, the God of the Sun who shared this title with Apollo. Helios, who had witnessed the incident, told Demeter what had happened. Feeling betrayed and grief-stricken, Demeter ceased functioning as the Goddess of Grain, plunging the earth into an eternal winter that threatened to wipe out the human race. No gifts or honours could appease Demeter as she made it clear that she would not allow anything to grow until Persephone was returned to her. Zeus finally gave in and sent Hermes to bring Persephone out of the Underworld and restored her to Demeter. After the mother and daughter reunited, Demeter restored fertility and growth to the earth.

At the end of “Metamorphosis”, Lama Su (Zeus) tells Dr. Hemlock (Hades) that he needs to capture Omega (Persephone) if he wants to control Nala Se (Demeter – though not as strong as Hunter) and force her to carry out a project for the Empire. At the end of “Plan 99”, Hemlock successfully kidnaps Omega, and Hunter (Demeter) is too late to stop him. Despite not knowing where Omega is taken to, Hunter is determined to get her back and he will not stop searching for her. Since the trailers show Omega’s hair has grown longer to resemble Emerie’s hairstyle, and that Hunter’s hair has also grown slightly longer, this means that Hunter has sent months searching for Omega. His armour becoming more worn out with colours fading away indicates that he has not stopped to rest in his frantic search for he does not want Omega to wait for another day – like Demeter did not eat, sleep or bathe as she searched for Persephone.

In the Celebration Europe trailer, Rex tells Hunter “That kid (referring to Omega) may be the key to whatever is happening on Mount Tantiss”. I believe this scene is from “A Different Approach”. We know that anything about Mount Tantiss and its experiments are confidential. When the ships heading to Mount Tantiss encounter problems such as extensive damage of the ship or hijacking, the Imperials will erase the databanks to prevent anyone from discovering the destination and the purposes of the experiments. The Imperials will also commit suicide, taking all confidential information to their graves. The databanks are also heavily encrypted, which provides extra protection for anyone who manages to retrieve them before deletion.

Based on Rex’s sentence, it seems that someone has provided him the information about Mount Tantiss and the experiments being conducted there. However, Rex only suspects that Omega may be related to the experiments on Mount Tantiss – which means they are still uncertain about her precise location (even though the audience knows that she is there). So, who could have sent such confidential information to Rex? I do not think it is Scorch or Emerie because if it was either one of them, they would have confirmed that Omega is on Mount Tantiss. Perhaps it could be one of the undercover clones working for Rex’s resistance network? It is possible, but any information about the Advanced Science Division (Hemlock, Mount Tantiss, cloning experiments, clone prisoners) are heavily encrypted and Hemlock is certain that nobody can break through these safeguards. However, there is one person proven to have the capability to do so – Tech.

I believe that Tech would take on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. As the Goddess and Protector of the entranceways, Hecate was worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the household, alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes and Apollo. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she was depicted as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth and sea. By the fifth century BCE, she has taken on a darker depiction as the Goddess of Witchcraft, Ghosts and the Dark Moon. Some sources represented her as the guardian of the gates to the Underworld, or as the keeper of keys to the Underworld. As the Goddess of the Crossroads, she took the form of a triple-goddess or a triple-faced goddess. Due to her association with being ‘between’, she is depicted as a “liminal” goddess that has the ability to cross from the Underworld to the physical world with ease. She also acted as a mediator between the Olympians and Titans, and between the mortals and the divine. Her liminal role is reflected in a number of her cult titles: Apotropaia (that turns away or protects); Enodia (on the way); Propulaia/Propylaia (before the gate); Triodia/Trioditis (who frequents crossroads); Klêidouchos (holding the keys).

Tech may have taken the role of Hecate when he finds out that Crosshair is being held captive by Hemlock but he does not know where Crosshair is. This sends him on a journey to find him. It is possible that Tech would have come to know that Omega has been kidnapped by Hemlock. This would push him further to locate them. Like Hecate, Tech would stand on the crossroads between the Empire, the pirates and smugglers, and Rex’s resistance network. He would sneak into the Empire (the Underworld) to find any information regarding Hemlock and the Advanced Science Division, and then he would send that information to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. I believe that Tech found out information regarding Mount Tantiss and the cloning experiments being carried out there. He would have related this information to the Bad Batch’s discovery of a downed ship in “Metamorphosis”, in which the ship contained Kaminoan technology and a cloned Zillo Beast, which was later captured by the Empire. This discovery led Tech to theorize that the Empire destroyed the cities of Kamino to take control of its cloning technology for nefarious purposes. With that in mind, Tech would suspect that Hemlock is associated with these cloning experiments on Mount Tantiss, and that Crosshair and Omega are being held captive there. This information would give Hunter, Wrecker and Echo a different approach to find Crosshair and Omega.

Of course, suspicion would not be enough for Tech. He would need confirmation that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would also need the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss so he could precisely locate where Crosshair and Omega would be held captive. By studying the security measures of Mount Tantiss, Tech would be able to find the best infiltration point, devise the best method of escaping, and prepare for any traps that could hinder the rescue mission like the poisonous gas created by Hemlock in “Tipping Point”. He might gain this information through confidential databases or through a secret communication with Emerie and/or Scorch (though Emerie might be more likely). I believe “The Return” is when Tech reveals to the Bad Batch that he is alive. This time, Tech would take on the role of Helios as he could definitely confirm that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would provide the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss, allowing Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to plan out a rescue mission. I believe that “Infiltration” and “Extraction” would be the rescue mission, and Tech would take on the role of Hermes, or more specifically, as the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. Tech would lead Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to infiltrate Mount Tantiss, and they would successfully rescue Crosshair and Omega.

When I analyse the Bad Batch arc in the Clone Wars, I discover that Tech has taken on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. In “The Bad Batch”, the Bad Batch, Rex and Jesse manage to infiltrate the Cyber Center on Anaxes, which the Separatists are using it to receive Rex’s battle strategy algorithm to predict the Republic’s tactics. When Tech hacks into the computer system, he discovers that the algorithm is not stored inside the center’s memory banks. Instead, the algorithm is being broadcasted from another planet called Skako Minor. This discovery is shocking to both Tech and Rex. Right here, Tech has taken on the role of Hecate as he is now at the crossroads between Anaxes and Skako Minor, and he is providing Rex a different approach to stop the Separatists from winning. Tech then takes on the role of Helios as he digs deeper and finds an audio signal that sounds like a human voice. Under Rex’s request, Tech sends a transmission requesting the person’s identity, which turns out to be “CT-1409” – Echo’s identification number. Tech also drops the voice’s masking so they can clearly hear that it is the voice of a clone trooper.

In “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech takes on the role of Hermes. As the guide of souls, Tech brings the Bad Batch, Rex and Anakin to Skako Minor, which serves as the Underworld to Echo (and Rex). He flies into a storm but manages to safely land on the planet’s surface. When Anakin is captured by a keeradak, Tech gives the coordinates so Crosshair can shoot a grappling hook at the flying reptile, which allows Hunter to use it to track down Anakin. After rescuing Anakin from the Poletecs, Tech becomes the translator (or Hermes the god of speech) that helps the team and the Poletecs to understand each other. When Tech loses Echo’s signal, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Anakin begin to fear that Echo is actually dead and the Separatists are using him to lure them into a trap. However, Tech does not believe in that, and neither does Rex. This can be interpreted as Tech helping Rex to hold onto hope. After Tech and Rex manage to find Echo in a stasis chamber, Tech uses his expertise to safely disconnect Echo from the computer. Then, as droids begin to surround Anakin and the clones on a long narrow pipe, Tech uses a recording to summon several keeradaks, allowing all of them to escape using an alternate route. Thanks to his powerful Hermes archetype, Tech ensures that the rescue mission will be a success. As Hermes the rescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on rescuing Echo, who has the Persephone anima. I believe that he would do it again for Omega and Crosshair.

5. Tech vs Hemlock

Tech and Hemlock share the same archetype combination, but they take on different sides. Tech is the good Hades as he is willing to share his inner riches to others (as Hades the Plouton) and he is able to understand and respect other people’s decisions and subjective values (as Hades the Good Counsellor). Hemlock is the evil Hades as he takes on the archetype of the abductor and the shadow of the father archetype (or the Shadow of Zeus). The Empire and Palpatine, with all their might, power and control, represent Zeus. Imperials like Tarkin and Hemlock take on the Zeus archetype as they are prominent figures of the Empire (even having a meeting on the Summit, which is where Zeus resides on his throne). The Empire announces that the clone troopers will be sent for retirement, but they are acting out a terrible secret in the shadows. Hemlock represents the Shadow as he is the one requesting the Empire to send him dissident clone troopers for his inhumane experiments as he believes that eliminating them will not root out the problem of rogue clones within the Empire. Hemlock is abducting these clone troopers into Mount Tantiss, which is the Underworld. He even abducts Omega, who is innately Persephone, so he can force Nala Se to carry out an important project for the Empire. He even threatens to torture Omega for Nala Se’s defiance and failures.

Tech is the good Hermes as he is the guide of souls, the seeker of meaning, and the rescuer of the child. On the other hand, Hemlock is the sociopathic Hermes as he takes on the negative side of the trickster. This is evident when Hemlock pretends to be Hermes the rescuer of the child as he tells Omega that he is here to return her to Nala Se (like Hermes restoring Persephone to her mother Demeter). Although he is right to some extent, Omega does not want to go back to Nala Se because she does not want to be separated from her brothers, and she does not want to be turned into an experiment by the Kaminoans. Hemlock is aware of her resistance, so he resorts to kidnap her. Hemlock does restore Omega to Nala Se, but he actually traps both of them in the Underworld, preventing them from escaping and forcing them to do whatever he wants from them.

In the trailers, we see Hemlock walking beside Palpatine as he commences a project for Nala Se. It does seem that Hemlock has become Palpatine’s right-hand man, making him Athena the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. He upholds all of Palpatine’s commands no matter how horrible they are. Tech has this Athena archetype on him as he is loyal to Hunter, but he also has a tendency to deviate from Hunter’s orders when he thinks it is necessary. Besides, Hunter being a good leader also influences Tech to take on more positive traits of Athena.

Hemlock seems to know how to psychologically break the Bad Batch: he tortures Crosshair with an interrogation droid; he throws Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter and points out his failed leadership; he imprisons, restrains and tortures Omega until she starts to lose hope. Since Tech and Hemlock represent the opposite sides of their archetypes (good vs evil), I feel that Tech is the best candidate to take down Hemlock.

6. Tech’s wrath

I have seen headcanons describing Tech’s wrath as the scariest, and I agree. Although Tech is calm and collected, there are times we can see Tech holding back his anger and frustration. His exceptional mind is one factor why you should never hurt Tech or his loved ones, but I believe there is another factor – his Hades archetype.

In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous both wanted to marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen of Troy while Pirithous chose Persephone (despite she was already married to Hades). They both enter the Underworld and become trapped there. One version of the myth stated that they sat on the rocks and snakes coiled around their legs, which turned their bottoms and legs into stone. Another version stated that Hades had prepared a feast and invited them to sit, and they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were ensnared by chains or snakes. Heracles later encountered them when he was on a quest to capture Cerberus. Heracles managed to release Theseus, though some of his thigh and bottom are left attached to the rock or chair. However, the earth shook when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, serving as a sign that he was doomed to stay behind because his desire to have the goddess for himself was extremely insulting. Taking this myth as reference, I feel that Tech would psychologically torture anyone who dares to hurt him or his loved ones – giving them trauma and possibly ruining their entire lives.

We know that Tech is very protective of his loved ones. In “Aftermath”, when a clone shock trooper whacks Hunter in the stomach with a blaster, Wrecker and Tech are angry and ready to square off with the shock trooper. I believe that Tech loses his cool when he is unable to prevent a regular clone trooper from knocking Echo out with a tray. He may have become violent, causing Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega to stop the food fight, restrain Tech, and bring the unconscious Echo to the medbay. I do believe that the Bad Batch knows that it is the end of the world when Tech loses his temper.

I believe that Tech would play a vital role in rescuing Crosshair and Omega from Mount Tantiss. I suspect that this would happen in the mid-season 3 episodes, which are “Infiltration” and “Extraction”. This rescue mission could be interpreted as Tech’s wrath was upon Hemlock. Once the Empire realized that the Bad Batch managed to infiltrate Mount Tantiss and break out two clone prisoners, this would indicate that the security and confidentiality of the Weyland facility had been severely compromised. Hemlock would lose his job, high status, respect and reputation. He would also lose funding and support for his experiments. If Emerie Karr did secretly help Omega and Crosshair to escape, it would rub salt into Hemlock’s wound because she was his assistant and he trusted her. This rescue mission would ruin Hemlock’s life forever, stripping away his purpose and meaning in his life – as if Tech had dragged him into the Underworld and chained him there as punishment.

7. Tech already knew Plan 99 has to happen

This is my theory of what happened to Tech: he uses Plan 99 to fake his death and uses Hemlock’s overconfidence to his advantage.

As the Messenger God, Hermes can travel across the sky, earth and the Underworld with ease. As an archetype, he helps a person to be aware of the past, present and future (the sky is associated with the present and future; the earth is associated with the past and present; the Underworld is timeless). Since Tech has a strong Hermes, he is able to make connections with the past and present to predict the future, which makes him an excellent strategist.

In “Tipping Point”, Echo seeks Tech’s help in decrypting data from a file aboard an Imperial ship carrying clone prisoners. After Tech manages to decrypt the data, he discovers that the Imperial ship was assigned to the Advanced Science Division, but there are no records of its location and purpose. He also discovers that the Advanced Science Division is headed by Dr. Hemlock, who has been expelled from the Republic Science Corps for his unauthorized and unorthodox experiments. Although Tech does not understand why clone prisoners are sent to Hemlock, but he is shocked to find that Crosshair is one of them, which indicates that Crosshair has turned against the Empire. Tech also checks all comm channels and finds a recent distress signal from Crosshair’s old code, which states “Plan 88 – the Seeker”. Tech believes that Crosshair is warning the Bad Batch that they have been targeted by the Empire, or more specifically, Hemlock.

Since clone prisoners are being sent to Hemlock, Tech probably believes that the Advanced Science Division is carrying out cloning experiments like cloning the Zillo Beast as they have discovered it in “Metamorphosis”. The Empire is now replacing Clone Troopers with Stormtroopers, so why would Hemlock need clones for? Tech would suspect that it has something to do with Clone X, a clone trooper with his identifying markings removed and is brainwashed to become an assassin. If that is the case, why would Hemlock be targeting the Bad Batch? Tech would suspect that Hemlock is after Omega because she has the unaltered genetic template of Jango Fett, which is why a bounty is placed on her head in Season 1. He may think that Hemlock wants the genetic template for his cloning experiments.

Moreover, previous records of clone prisoners reveal that Crosshair has been sent to Hemlock a few rotations ago. Then, the Plan 88 signal is sent recently, possibly from Hemlock’s base. Tech would suspect that Crosshair has heard that Hemlock is after the Bad Batch (especially Omega) and he manages to send them a warning. This would mean that their attempts to lay low have been futile. It is possible that their missions to Serenno, Coruscant and the downed ship with the Zillo Beast have caught the Empire’s attention. To make matters worse, they have left AZI with Cid, and AZI is a Kaminoan medical droid, which will attract Hemlock’s attention. Since they have crossed Cid by refusing to work for her, it is only a matter of time before she sells them out to Hemlock. It would be dangerous for them to step foot on Ord Mantell or to carry out any mercenary jobs because the Empire is now after them.

Since Hemlock is a high ranked Imperial, his base of operations would have tight security, and Tech may find it surprising that Crosshair managed to send the Plan 88 signal to them. Tech probably begins to wonder if Crosshair’s actions would serve as proof to Hemlock that the Bad Batch is alive, and he is now waiting for them to come and rescue Crosshair. This would serve as a trap as Hunter has suspected. Although Tech is determined to rescue Crosshair, they would have to do it in secret. Echo reports that Hemlock will be on Eriadu, and they can plant a tracking device on his shuttle so they can locate his base and Crosshair. It is a risky plan, especially with the knowledge that the Empire is targeting them, so everything must go smoothly. At this moment, Tech is probably preparing for the worst-case scenario. If the plan goes wrong, their position would be compromised, and Hemlock would suspect that they are involved in this because they have received Crosshair’s distress signal. Hemlock would have known about Clone Force 99 by now, and he would tighten all security measures, which would make it more difficult for them to locate and rescue Crosshair. Furthermore, a failed mission may result in all of them getting captured by the Empire, which is not an ideal outcome. With that, Tech is well-prepared to carry out Plan 99 if the mission goes wrong.

Surely enough, the mission does go wrong and Tech carries out Plan 99. Being the smartest one in the team, he would find a way to survive the fall. He also left his broken goggles at the wreckage to make Hemlock assume that he is dead and the Bad Batch did come back to retrieve his body (but they forgot the goggles). After all, clones do not leave their own kind behind. As the cable car speeds up and carries Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega away, Tech probably would have predicted that Omega would get injured because she is not wearing any armour. This would prompt the team to bring her to Ord Mantell because AZI would know how to save her life. They would not have the time to search for Tech. Besides, with Hunter’s pessimism, he would assume that Tech did not make it, and as the leader, he would convince others that Tech is dead.

Now that the team is back in Ord Mantell, Tech would have predicted Cid’s betrayal. He also would have predicted Omega being kidnapped by Hemlock, which would force Hunter to join Rex’s resistance network for he needs all their help to rescue her. As Hemlock sees the grief on the team’s faces, he is convinced that Tech is dead. With the smartest team member ‘dead’, Hemlock thinks that he has won, and he is now unstoppable. He now has Omega, and he firmly believes that the rest of the Bad Batch will not be able to find out Mount Tantiss, where he has imprisoned her and Crosshair. After all, all data associating the Advanced Science Division is heavily encrypted and he believes that no clone can break through his security measures. This explains why he is not worried about the loss of an Imperial shuttle carrying clone prisoners and he disregards the possibility that the clones will have access to the confidential data. However, we all know that Tech is able to bypass his security measures.

It seems that Hemlock is overconfident of his abilities, and this would be his downfall. He certainly has underestimated the clones, especially on how paternal they can be. I believe that he also has underestimated Tech’s intellect. After using Plan 99 to fake his death, Tech would go on an undercover mission. He would take on a new identity and a new appearance. He would venture deep into the Imperial files as he searches for Crosshair and Omega. Once he found any information linking to them, he would deliver it to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. For now, all Tech needed was time and patience as he waited for Hemlock to become so overconfident that he finally slipped, allowing Tech to take advantage of it. Right now, Tech is playing a game of chess, and everyone has taken their designated positions, just as he has intended them to do. After all, he is the mastermind.

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archetypesanalysis · 3 months

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The 3 Seasons: The Myth of Persephone

For the overall series analysis, I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” and “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen. I will be talking about the Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer. I will also refer to the titles of Season 3 episodes for this analysis. I will make some predictions for Season 3, so if you do not want to read into it, you can just scroll away.

I view the overall theme of the series from the Persephone archetype. Persephone is the innate archetype of Omega, and we mostly view this series from her perceptive. In my character analysis of Omega, I have stated that the Persephone archetype is an “anima woman”. The anima is described by Carl Jung as “the unconscious feminine side of a man”. With that, I interpret that Omega is the “anima” to all clones. Since all clones (except the unaltered clones Boba Fett and Omega) are genetically modified to be more docile and compliant to ensure that they follow orders without questioning, this means that their Persephone archetype resembles the Kore (“nameless maiden”). Though, after going through traumatic experiences, their Persephone can transition to Queen of the Underworld, becoming more mature and assertive. This is what happens to Echo as stated in my character analysis of him. What Omega goes through can be a shared experience for the clones.

After looking from a wider perspective, I interpret each season as a transition period taken by the Persephone archetype. Season 1 is about life-changing choices. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, the Persephone woman is “a good girl” that wants to please her Demeter mother. She is obedient, compliant, cautious and often sheltered. She is too attached to her mother that she lacks assertiveness and independence. She often waits for someone or something to transform her life. When the Persephone woman falls in love with a man, she may go through the stage of being Persephone “the pawn”, in which she becomes the object to be possessed in a power struggle between a man and her mother. This man usually has a typical “bad boy” personality, or he may come from a different social class or culture. He may be the first person who has not treated the Persephone woman as a pampered princess, and will not put up with her “princess” act.

The Demeter mother will view this man as Hades, the god of the Underworld that kidnaps Persephone in the Greek myth. He is different from “the nice young man” she has envisioned. Since the Persephone woman is a usually compliant daughter, her mother may feel confident of attacking her choice of men. Her mother may strongly disapprove the man’s personality, character or background. She may occasionally question her daughter’s judgment, competence and morals. However, the man’s ability to resist her mother is one reason why the Persephone daughter is attracted to him.

The Persephone woman may be, for the first time, at odds with her mother and her standards of good girl behaviour. Her mother or family may forbid her to see the man she loves. She may agree to their decision, but later sneaks off to meet him. Alternatively, she may try to convince her mother of his good qualities. Soon, the man usually demands that she confronts her mother or give up trying to get her mother’s approval. He may propose her to live with him, marry him, leave the area with him, or cut off contact with her mother. In this struggle, the Persephone woman has two choices: she goes back to her mother and becomes the restored compliant daughter, or she takes her chance and runs away with him.

If the Persephone woman chooses to rebel and run away, she may begin her journey towards becoming a separate, self-determining human being. She may be exposed to new experiences that shapes her identity. However, she does so at the risk of trading a dominating mother for a dominating man. If she chooses to return to her mother, she will continue to be “the good girl” but she risks losing her sense of identity. Regardless of her choices, there are no easy outcomes, and her decision will lead to life-changing consequences. By defying her mother, the Persephone woman has changed and is no longer the compliant person she once was. She cannot ever go back to the old ways. Fortunately, reconciliation with her mother can come later, after she has gained emotional independence.

Order 66 and the rise of the Empire put the clones in this struggle faced by the Persephone archetype. They can choose to be loyal to the Empire, or run away from the Empire. Omega chooses to leave Nala Se and run away with the Bad Batch. Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo choose to run away from the Empire. Rex, Gregor, Howzer and some of his men also choose to rebel. However, their rebellion comes with a downside: they are branded as traitors to the Empire. Rex has to be careful in building up his resistance network. Gregor tries to escape but he gets recaptured, and the Bad Batch has to come to save him. Howzer and some of his men are thrown into prison. The Bad Batch becomes mercenaries that work for Cid, who is unreliable and has questionable morals. On the other hand, Crosshair and the majority of the clones choose to stay with the Empire and be “good soldiers”. Though, Crosshair is secretly rebelling the Empire as he never plans to kill the Bad Batch. Instead, he tries to convince the Bad Batch to join the Empire so they can have a purpose. When the Bad Batch still refuses to join the Empire, Crosshair lies to the Empire that they have perished during the bombardment of Tipoca City as he tries to protect them.

Regardless of their decisions, there are life-changing consequences with no good outcomes. Project War-Mantle is actively carried out to replace the Clone Troopers with Stormtroopers. Nala Se is taken to Mount Tantiss as the Empire needs her skills and expertise for nefarious purposes. Tipoca City, which serves as the home for the clones, is destroyed by the Empire. The Clone Wars have truly ended. The clones cannot go back to their old ways. Moreover, the Bad Batch is not the same anymore as Crosshair refuses to rejoin the squad. Although they cannot go back to what they were once before, reconciliation is possible in the future, just like Omega believing that Crosshair will return because he is still their brother and her brother.

Season 2 is about the slow descent to the Underworld. Throughout Season 2, the Kiners have made cryptic tweets by inserting tiny texts underneath the sentence “made by mematic”. These texts form this poem:

“Can you hear me?

I’m down here at the bottom.

My words cannot reach you.

And you can’t reach me.

But you are with me.

Here at the bottom.

At the end.”

I interpret this poem as “the descent to the Underworld”. In Greek mythology, Persephone is gathering flowers in a meadow with her companions. She leaves them as she is drawn to a beautiful narcissus. When she picks the flower, the ground splits open before her, and Hades comes in with his gold chariot pulled by black horses. He seizes the terrified maiden, who screams for her father Zeus. However, Zeus ignores her cries because he has given Hades the approval to abduct her and make her his unwilling bride. Hades plunges down to the abyss, carrying Persephone deep into the Underworld. Then the earth closes over, as if nothing has happened.

The Underworld is separated from all the realms. Hence, nobody can hear Persephone crying for help. She is “down here at the bottom” – in the Underworld. Her words cannot reach anyone above the Underworld, and nobody from other realms can reach her. I interpret the words “But you are with me. Here at the bottom” as Hades telling Persephone that he is with her in the Underworld – he is telling her to accept her fate of becoming his wife, and that she would never see her mother Demeter and the sunlight again. The words “At the end” may be a depiction of the Underworld as the realm of the dead and as the archetypal image of depression.

In the myths, most enter the Underworld or meet Hades involuntarily. The most common method is through death, or more specifically physical death. Facing probable or certain death can lead a person to experience the descent to the Underworld. In “Ruins of War”, Rampart shoots Captain Wilco, causing him to fall off a cliff as if he has descended to the Underworld. We have also seen the clones being sent to die in heroic deaths or unnecessary deaths. In “The Outpost”, Mayday breathes his last when he gives up living due to the realization that the clones are nothing more than expendables to the Empire despite their loyalty and sacrifice, and that Lieutenant Nolan refuses to give him medical treatment.

The other involuntarily descent is caused by victimization – being abused, feeling helpless or experiencing terror. This causes the person to be “abducted” to the Underworld, just like Persephone’s fate. In “Tipping Point”, Howzer and two of his men are being shuttled off-world by the Imperials. Thankfully, Echo, Gregor, Nemec and Fireball manage to intercept the shuttle and rescue them. Howzer does not know where they are being sent to, but he does recall that several clone troopers were transferred off-world in rotations, and they never came back. It is later revealed that these clones are sent to Mount Tantiss for Dr. Hemlock.

Mount Tantiss is created by Timothy Zahn for the novel “Heir to the Empire”. The name “Tantiss” is intended by Zahn as a reference to Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology who cooks up his son Pelops in a stew and serves it to the gods to test their omniscience. The gods immediately know something is amiss, but Demeter, who is grief-stricken by the loss of her daughter Persephone, absentmindedly eats part of the boy’s shoulder. The gods then put Pelops back together and resurrect him. He gets an ivory prosthetic shoulder made by Hephaestus to replace the missing part of his shoulder. As for Tantalus, he is thrown into Tartarus, and made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reaches for the fruit, the branches raise from his grasp. Whenever he bends down to drink, the water recedes below his level.

Tartarus is the darkest, deepest part of the Underworld where the Titans are imprisoned after the Olympians successfully overthrow them. In the later myths, mortals who go against the gods are sent to Tartarus for punishment. Using this analogy, the clones who disobey and question Imperial orders are sent to Mount Tantiss (their version of Tartarus) for Dr. Hemlock to carry out inhumane experiments on them. Furthermore, Crosshair also ends up on Mount Tantiss for killing Lieutenant Nolan. On the other hand, Omega is kidnapped by Dr. Hemlock and is trapped on Mount Tantiss, mirroring the abduction of Persephone. Emerie Karr, who is Hemlock’s medical assistant, believes that it is futile to escape from Mount Tantiss.

Hades and Dionysus, the God of Wine and Ecstasy, are connected to the Underworld. The Underworld is “the Shadow world” where anything that is unacceptable or too painful are dismembered and thrown here. Dionysus, being the dismembered archetype, knows this feeling of descending into the Underworld all too well. In “The Clone Conspiracy”, Rex manages to save Senator Riyo Chuchi from an assassin, who is revealed to be a clone trooper. The identity of Clone X is unknown as his identifying markings have been removed. It is widely believed that Dr. Hemlock has been brainwashing clone prisoners and turning them into Clone X. It is as if these clones have their identities “dismembered” and “thrown into the Underworld” – they have become mere shadows of their true identities. This is similar to the dead inhabitants of the Underworld that exist as ghostly shades forever. They are required to drink from the river of forgetfulness (Lethe) to forget their earthly life. Once they forget their earthly life, they may be reincarnated with no memory of their previous existence.

In psychological terms, the descent to the Underworld is a sign of depression. Incidents such as losing a loved one, being abused, losing the way of being, surviving a traumatic accident, losing a job, or going through a breakup or divorce can cause a person to lose meaning, purpose or hope in life. They feel cut off from everything that used to give them meaning and joy. They become Hades the recluse as they shut themselves off and may withdraw from reality. After losing Tech, Hunter, Echo and Wrecker involuntarily descend into the Underworld. Wrecker loses his joyful personality and weeps. Hunter gives up the possibility that Tech may be alive. He gives up continuing the mission to find Crosshair and decides to settle down on Pabu with Omega. Echo grieves by himself on the Marauder. Coincidentally, if you take the first letter of the last four tracks of Season 2, which are “Plan 99”, “The Sacrifice”, “Standoff” and “Don’t Stop Searching”, you get “PTSD”, which is the short form for post-traumatic stress disorder. The Bad Batch (and the audience) suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after losing Tech – an involuntary descent into the Underworld.

Hunter, who has the Demeter anima, is taking on the negative aspect of this archetype after losing Crosshair to the Empire. He is determined to keep his remaining teammates together. He wants all of them to keep a low profile and find a place far away from the Empire. He refuses to get involved with Rex’s resistance network because he feels that it is futile to fight back the Empire. From his perspective, the Empire is a powerful monster who has snatched Crosshair away from him, and he blames himself for the loss. After they lose Tech in a failed mission to locate Crosshair, Hunter becomes more depressed and he blames himself for the loss. He gives up the mission to find Crosshair and decides that they should settle down on Pabu since he believes that Tech has made the sacrifice so they can live. I believe that Hunter would become overprotective and overcontrolling if they managed to settle down on Pabu. He probably would not let Omega out of his sight, and he probably would not allow Wrecker to try anything new. He would probably try to convince Echo to abandon his fight against the Empire. Of course, his plan is ruined when Omega is kidnapped by Hemlock.

In various myths, some people enter the Underworld or meet Hades voluntarily. Examples of notable figures like Orpheus, Psyche, Odysseus, Aeneas, Heracles and Dionysus descend into the Underworld as their heroic tasks. However, voluntary descents are done at great risks as there is no guarantee of a safe return. By enacting Plan 99, Tech is the only one who descends into the Underworld voluntarily, and his fate is uncertain for now.

People have complained about the pacing and shifting tone of Season 2. One side we are in a colourful world of Riot Racing or going on a treasure hunt, while on the other side we are looking into the evils of the Empire and their cruelty towards the clones. I think the drastically opposing tones have something to do with fantasy and nightmares. The Underworld is the realm of the unconscious, in which we enter through imagination, dreams and nightmares.

When Persephone becomes depressed (possibly being dominated and limited by people who keep her bound to them), she bottles up her negative feelings and withdraws into the shadowy world of an imagined life. She may spend too much time by herself or retreat to her imaginary world to get away from people who are abusive or intrusive towards her. She cuts herself off from people with her imaginary world, turning it into a safe haven when the real world seems too difficult or too demanding. However, this sanctuary may become a prison. By constantly withdrawing from reality, Persephone people may slip into psychosis. Some choose to avoid the harsh reality by staying psychotic. Some may use their mental illness as a metamorphosis, as they become more aware of themselves and break free from constrictions.

Many clones are confining themselves with their fantasies. After spending 6 months of laying low since “Kamino Lost”, Hunter thinks he and the rest of the Bad Batch are free. Cid warns him that the Empire is expanding their control and they will soon turn their attention to her operations on Ord Mantell and the Bad Batch will be in trouble. Cid sends them on a mission to retrieve one of Dooku's war chest so they can pay off their debt and be truly free. Hunter wants to give Omega a safe place to live, so he agrees to the mission, with the intention of using the fortune to buy their freedom and move somewhere far from the Empire. However, Echo wants to use the fortune to help Rex's resistance network because the Empire is growing in power, and they should be doing more. Hunter keeps trying to run away from reality and holds onto the belief that they all can be safe from the Empire. He does not want to get involved with the clone rebellion because he does not want that kind of life for Omega. His fantasy almost comes true when Phee introduces him to Pabu, and he wants to settle down there with Omega. However, his fantasy turns into a nightmare when Omega gets kidnapped, and he now faces the harsh reality.

The clones who are loyal to the Empire keep holding onto their purpose as soldiers. They are willing to follow orders and make sacrifices for the Empire. However, their fantasy is shattered when the Empire passes the Bill to force the clones into retirement and replace them with Stormtroopers. Crosshair keeps trying to ignore all the warning signs, believing that his loyalty and superiority will keep him around for the Empire. His mindset is completely shattered in “The Outpost”. On the other hand, Riyo Chuchi thinks that she can prevent the Bill from being passed, and actively does everything to expose Rampart's involvement in the bombardment of Tipoca City. She is successful with the help of Rex and the Bad Batch, but Palpatine manages to twist their efforts for his benefit, and the Bill is passed, which shatters her fantasy.

The events of “Plan 99” have sent the Bad Batch into the Underworld. I believe that season 3 would show the Bad Batch in the Underworld and how they would get out of there. This would mirror the myth of Demeter and Persephone, which is used to describe seasonal changes, specifically from winter to spring. Coincidentally, the Bad Batch Season 3 will start at February 21 (winter) and will end at May 1 (spring), and this was once a possibility that I have thought about after the announcement of Season 3 last year (and it came true!). I have only seen the low-quality Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer, but based on the scenes, I can see that the Bad Batch is suffering in their own versions of the Underworld. Even their clothing only consists of black, white, grey or fading colours. The official Season 3 trailer seems to confirm my findings further.

Omega now wears the uniform of the medical assistant, like her sister Emerie Karr. She is shown in two hairstyles: one is her Season 2 hairstyle, and the other is a longer hair that resembles Emerie’s hairstyle. The change in hairstyle indicates the passing of time. Initially, she has a hopeful and innocent glint in her eyes. However, as time passes, Omega becomes tired and depressed – she is losing hope. She is also shown to be experimented on. Hemlock has warned Nala Se that her failure and defiance will lead Omega to be tortured since Nala Se cares about her. Moreover, troopers are seen to escort her wherever she goes and she is locked in a tight cell – she is bound and limited by Hemlock’s orders. Omega’s Underworld resembles what Persephone has experienced when she is abducted by Hades – she does nothing but sit, and thinks that she will never see the light of day, pick a flower, or see her mother Demeter again. She does not eat, drink or smile at all.

Crosshair looks absolutely defeated. He knows Omega is with him now, and he probably has heard about what happened to Tech. In “Tipping Point”, Crosshair sends Plan 88 to warn the Bad Batch to hide because the Empire is after Omega. He expects them to do what he says. Instead, they try to find him, which leads to them losing Tech and Omega being kidnapped by Hemlock. Crosshair is devastated and disappointed at his brothers. He becomes hopeless that they would come to rescue him and Omega. After all, they have disappointed him for disobeying his orders, and he can no longer see what is ahead of him accurately. After his prediction has been proven wrong, Crosshair probably starts questioning whether he knows himself and his brothers well enough. His identity and ego have been damaged by the harsh realization of the Empire’s cruelty towards the clones in “The Outpost”, and now, his identity and ego are further damaged by this incident. It is worth noting that the Underworld being the realm of the unconscious is where the ego dissolves and a person may be overcome by irrational fears. With his ego damaged, Crosshair may be overwhelmed by anxiety and depression. This would explain why Crosshair angrily yells “I am not them!” to Omega when she tells him that she is not giving up on him because he is her brother. Crosshair no longer identifies himself as part of the Bad Batch. He is no longer confident with his abilities and his teammates’ abilities. He is also consumed by rage and grief, and he lashes out at Omega. His Underworld resembles a broken Apollo and Artemis, an enraged Poseidon, and a depressed Hera.

Hunter and Echo are seen on a snowy planet. The wintery environment represents Hunter’s grief and rage at his loss. He is determined to find Omega and he is not going to let her wait for another day. His Underworld resembles a grieving Demeter, who sits in her temple and refuses to function as the Goddess of Grain. The earth is plunged into an eternal winter, and famine threatens to wipe out the human race. No gifts and honours can appease her as she refuses to allow anything to grow until her daughter Persephone is returned to her. In the official Season 3 trailer, Hunter’s bandana no longer has the skull symbol that represents Clone Force 99. He probably covers up the symbol because the family is fractured, and he feels that he has failed as their leader. Right now, he resembles a broken Zeus. Moreover, Hunter’s pessimism has consumed him and has affected others. Although they do not go back to find Tech, Hunter just assumes that Tech did not make it, and weeps for him. Echo and Wrecker are convinced by Hunter that Tech is gone, though Omega takes a while to be convinced. His pessimism gets stronger when Hemlock throws Tech’s broken goggles at him, and psychologically attacks him about the crushing weight of the leader upon losing a teammate. He now resembles Dionysus being trapped in the Underworld, consumed by grief and rage, and he does not know a way out. The Season 3 poster shows Hunter’s battle-worn helmet in a position that resembles the helmet-marked graves of clone troopers from “Victory and Death”. I interpret it as Hunter has been “buried in his grave” and he is currently in the Underworld, which matches his Dionysus archetype because Dionysus has a grave in Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi.

Echo is barely present in both trailers. I interpret it as Echo withdrawing from his teammates and investing all his energy into his work for the rebellion. In “Truth and Consequences”, Echo does not like the loneliness due to his traumatic experiences back on Skako Minor. However, we see him grieving by himself on the Marauder, looking sadly at the empty seat where Tech once sat on. Losing Tech has caused Echo to experience loneliness once more, which is his Underworld. Echo is like a depressed Persephone, who fades away and withdraws from everyone because she feels (often inappropriately) guilty, blameworthy and powerless. This makes sense because Echo is the one who introduces the Bad Batch to Cid, who ends up betraying them to the Empire and causing Omega to be kidnapped by Hemlock. Moreover, Echo is also the one who gives Tech the data to be decrypted, leading them to discover that Crosshair has turned on the Empire and is now being held captive by Dr. Hemlock. He proposes the team to travel to Eriadu so they can plant a homing beacon on Hemlock’s ship, which will help them to find Hemlock’s base and Crosshair’s location. However, their plan goes awry and they lose Tech. Echo probably feels guilty about everything that has happened. He probably blames himself for introducing Cid to the team and for proposing the plan to Eriadu despite none of these are his fault. He feels powerless to prevent these tragedies from happening. His loneliness, self-criticism and feelings of inadequacy cause him to withdraw from Hunter and Wrecker. Since Echo struggles to express his feelings with words, he ends up channelling his grief and rage through work, like what Hephaestus does. However, this will cause Echo to withdraw further and risk suffering from a burnout – like his inner “fire” may be put out as he becomes unbalanced and risks losing connection with his Hestia anima.

As for Wrecker, without Crosshair, Tech and Omega as his Apollo, Hermes and Athena (“the voices of reason”), he may become more reckless and impulsive. This may explain why he complains about encountering and taking down monsters repeatedly in the Celebration Europe trailer – perhaps he accidentally wakes them up. It is possible that his recklessness and his tendency to act before he thinks have gotten him into many troubles that almost cost his life. His Underworld resembles a disgraced and broken Ares, like a hero, whose ego and worth are identified with success, experiences death through a major defeat on a competitive battlefield. Wrecker is once a hero who always has everyone’s backs, but after losing Tech, he probably blames himself for failing to hold onto the falling cart long enough for Tech to get back up (even though he is not his fault at all). This major loss probably damages Wrecker’s heroic attitude and sense of immortality, dragging him to the Underworld. Monsters are usually the manifestations of our fears in our unconscious, and using this analogy, Wrecker is facing his fears as he fights the monsters.

What about Tech? Tech is currently in the Underworld with an uncertain fate. According to Hemlock, his broken goggles are the only thing he manages to salvage from the wreckage. The goggles (and his eyes) are part of Tech’s identity, which is evident with Cid calling him “Goggles” and Phee calling him “Brown Eyes”. Now that Tech has lost his goggles, he has lost part of his identity. He is also now all alone, separated from his squad. This is called psychological dismemberment, where anything being “cut off” is thrown deep into the unconscious (or the Underworld).

Each member of the Bad Batch is in their Underworlds. I view the Bad Batch as the complete psyche (or mind) as they complement each other perfectly. The loss of a member means they lose something important – as if the mind is going through a breakdown. Losing Crosshair means they lose the ability to see the bigger picture that the Empire is going to expand their control to the point that they have nowhere to run (Apollo), the willingness to fight for what is right (Artemis), and the importance of loyalty and brotherhood (Hera and Poseidon). Losing Echo means they lose their sense of Self (Hestia), the ability to channel their emotions through creative means (Hephaestus), and the ability to make sense of their loss and guide others through difficult times (Persephone Queen of the Underworld). Losing Tech means they lose hope (Hermes) and wisdom (Athena), and they end up in the Underworld without the ability to make sense of their suffering (Hades). Losing Omega means they lose compassion, optimism and receptiveness (Persephone). If they lose Wrecker, they would lose the ability to express their emotions (Ares), and the fun and vitality (Aphrodite). If they lose Hunter, they would lose valuable leadership (Zeus), unconditional love (Demeter), and the ability to embrace their uniqueness (Dionysus).

Based on the scenes shown in the Celebration Europe trailer, I believe that they are from episodes 1 to 4 because their productions were done or almost done before April 2023, where the Star Wars Celebration Europe took place. I believe episode 5 did not make it to the trailer due to incomplete production before April 2023 (and possibly being a spoiler-filled episode) or they only included very few scenes of episode 5 for the trailer. Joel Aaron (or joelaron on twitter), who is the Director of Cinematography Lighting & FX for Star Wars animation, including the Bad Batch, made a tweet on April 2023 saying that he is “sitting here after reviewing dailies just now, for a mid-season 3 episode”. Dailies are the prints of film scenes before editing. It is now confirmed that episodes 6 and 7 are the mid-season 3 episodes. He also said that the fans “will be very, very fulfilled” and “if you only knew who is on my screen as I type this”. This made me believe that mid-season 3 is when Crosshair and Omega get rescued because this would be very fulfilling for the fans. Since the official Season 3 trailer shows scenes of Omega riding a ship to escape with Crosshair, and scenes of Crosshair wearing his old armour (the Clone Wars era), this means that their return to the Bad Batch is not considered a spoiler. Many fans, including me, suspected that Joel Aaron was referring to Tech being on his screen because the Bad Batch reuniting as six members would indeed be very fulfilling for the fans.

Three episodes will be released for the Season 3 premiere, and their titles are “Confined”, “Paths Unknown” and “Shadows of Tantiss”. I believe these episodes would show the Bad Batch in the Underworld, so they will be depressing. Their decision to release these episodes in one day is a good idea because it will spare us from three weeks of depressive episodes. I think “Confined” would take place shortly after Season 2 finale, and this would be when Nala Se begins working on the project Emperor Palpatine has given to her, while Omega becomes a medical assistant. “Paths Unknown” would likely have a time jump, and it would show Hunter and Wrecker have been spending a long time trying to find any information about Omega’s whereabouts. Echo may or may not be with them. Hunter and Wrecker may seek out Fennec and Cad Bane since they used to hunt down Omega in Season 1. However, their search would come out empty-handed and they would feel lost. “Shadows of Tantiss” would show Omega’s hair has grown long, and she is now tired and depressed. She is also being experimented on. She is unwilling to give up on Crosshair but he lashes out at her.

Episode 4 is “A Different Approach”, and I believe this is when Rex tells Hunter “That kid (Omega) may be the key to whatever is happening on Mount Tantiss” (as revealed in the Celebration Europe trailer). It seems that they have gotten information about Mount Tantiss, which is supposed to be confidential. The clones may set off to gather more information, or to sought out the person who has provided the information. Episode 5 is “The Return”, and I believe this is when Tech reveals to the Bad Batch that he is alive, and he has figured out the precise location of Crosshair and Omega. Tech would lead the Bad Batch on a rescue mission in episodes 6 and 7, which are “Infiltration” and “Extraction”. In Greek mythology, Hermes is the one who brings Persephone out of the Underworld to be reunited with her mother Demeter. In my character analysis of Tech, I find Tech to have a strong Hermes archetype, which means he is crucial to the rescue mission.

In episodes 6 and 7, I believe that Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo would infiltrate Mount Tantiss, and then extract Crosshair and Omega. Based on the official Season 3 trailer, there is a scene of a shuttle leaving Mount Tantiss at night and it is being chased by TIE fighters. The atmosphere seems rather peaceful and lacks commotion. This makes me believe that the rescue mission is a covert mission, and not an all-out war as we have hoped for. The Bad Batch only goes to rescue Crosshair and Omega, but they leave the other clones behind. Since the trailer only shows one shuttle leaving Mount Tantiss and it seems to be flown by Omega with Crosshair (and a hound?) in the ship, I believe that Tech, believing in all of their abilities, has proposed all of them to take different escape routes in order to increase their chances of a successful escape. As the Empire’s forces chase down the shuttle where Omega and Crosshair are on (because they are the most important), Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo probably go around to distract and take down the Empire’s forces. This would help them to buy more time for Omega and Crosshair to leave the planet and enter hyperspace. Once they manage to enter hyperspace, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo would take alternative routes to escape. They would probably be reunited by the next episode.

With the Bad Batch whole again, Hunter is happy once more and vitality returns. This resembles the myth where Demeter finally reunites with her daughter Persephone, and she restores fertility and growth to the earth. I believe that Hunter only joins Rex’s resistance network to find Omega, and now that she has returned to him, he would probably decide to leave the resistance. He would want the Bad Batch to go back to a life they once had and could have – working as mercenaries, teaming up with Phee, and settling down on Pabu. He would want that kind of life to be completely restored to the Bad Batch. However, there is a saying that nobody comes out of the Underworld unscathed. In the myth of Demeter and Persephone, since Persephone has eaten the pomegranate seeds offered by Hades, she will spend half a year or two-thirds of the year with Demeter, and the remainder of the year in the Underworld with Hades. In the myth of Dionysus, he successfully goes into the Underworld and resurrects his dead mother Semele, turning him, as what Jean Shinoda Bolen describes, “from an eternal adolescent into a hero”. The journey to the Underworld is an important part of a hero’s or a heroine’s journey. When one comes out of the Underworld, they will undergo change and transformation.

I suspect that episode 10 titled “Identity Crisis” may focus on the Bad Batch struggling with this change after coming out of the Underworld, most evidently Crosshair and Omega. Crosshair may try to enjoy the comfortable life that he deserves to experience at least once in his life, but he may be tormented by Mayday’s death, which gives him the need to fight the Empire so Mayday would not die in vain. Omega, after experiencing the horrors during her captivity on Mount Tantiss, may want to fight the Empire as well. As the team struggles with conflicting interests, Hunter may try to convince them to settle down and enjoy a comfortable life.

With Omega escaping from Mount Tantiss and now safe with the Bad Batch, Nala Se would stop working on Emperor Palpatine’s project, and she would not be moved by any threats made by Hemlock. With the project being halted with failed results, Emperor Palpatine would be disappointed. Moreover, the fact that the Bad Batch is able to find out Mount Tantiss, infiltrate the base and successfully escape with Omega and Crosshair (who are prisoners there) is highly concerning. In “Tipping Point”, Tarkin is concerned that the loss of the ship that is supposed to transport Howzer and two of his men to Mount Tantiss will compromise the Weyland facility. He is also worried that the data inside the ship may be accessed by the rogue clone troopers who have hijacked the ship. Hemlock tries to reassure Tarkin that the facility will not be compromised because the clone prisoners do not know where they are taken to, and that the data is heavily encrypted. Yet, Tech is able to decrypt the confidential data. I believe that Hemlock’s overconfidence would be his downfall, and Tech would take full advantage of it. With the security and the secrecy of Mount Tantiss and the experiments being compromised, Hemlock would be in trouble. He would lose his job, high status, funding (and clones) for his experiments, respect and reputation. There may be a possibility that Hemlock would no longer be in charge of Mount Tantiss, and this position may be granted to Grand Admiral Thrawn (if they want to link it to the adaptation of “Heir to the Empire”). If Emerie is secretly going against Hemlock, and she has helped Omega and Crosshair to escape, it would add insult to injury for Hemlock. With his entire life and work being ruined, Hemlock may go insane and become determined to get revenge on the Bad Batch and all the clones. He may send all of his forces, including multiple Clone X to destroy them. This may explain why the Empire invades Pabu, and why CX-1 says (probably to the Bad Batch) that the Empire is coming for all of them.

I suspect that episode 11 titled “Point of No Return” may be the Empire invading Pabu as seen in the official Season 3 trailer. Pabu may or may not be destroyed. With their only safe haven being taken away, Hunter would come to realize that they cannot return to their supposed comfortable life. The Empire is expanding control to the point that nobody is safe from its oppressing rule and that nowhere is safe to hide. Hunter would finally lead the team back to Rex’s resistance network for their only choice is to fight the Empire. It is possible that the series finale would involve the Bad Batch and the clone rebellion attacking Mount Tantiss and taking down Hemlock once and for all. The series finale is titled “The Cavalry Has Arrived”, which is the first quote said by Wrecker when the Bad Batch is first introduced in the Clone Wars. This makes me believe that the Bad Batch would come to help Rex and his army of clones to face Hemlock and possibly to blow up Mount Tantiss, which mirrors the Clone Wars episodes where the Bad Batch helps Rex and the Republic forces to defeat Admiral Trench and blow up his fleet.

In the Greek myth, Persephone eventually becomes the Queen of the Underworld. Whenever heroes or heroines descend to the Underworld, Persephone is there to receive them and be their guide. Notable figures such as Heracles, Psyche and Odysseus have been guided by Persephone during their journeys to the Underworld. Hecate, the Goddess of the Dark Moon, Crossroads, Witchcraft and Ghosts, becomes the constant companion of Persephone to and from the Underworld each year. According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, once a Persephone woman descends into her unconscious, explores the deep realm of archetypes (which is the collective unconscious), and does not fear returning to reexamine the experience, she can become a mediator between the conscious and the unconscious. People who have been to the Underworld and back can become a therapist-guide who can connect others with their own depths, guiding them to find symbolic meaning and understanding of what they find there.

When I am analysing the Bad Batch arc in the Clone Wars, I find that the Bad Batch act as the guides and therapists to Captain Rex. At the beginning of the arc, Rex is depressed and he has lost his creativity in helping the Republic to win the Battle of Anaxes. The Bad Batch is called in to help Rex. The Bad Batch guides Rex to three different places that represent the unconscious realm: the wilderness of Anaxes (the realm of emotions, instincts and memories), Skako Minor (the Underworld), and Admiral Trench’s fleet (another form of the Underworld). This journey helps Rex to return to who he is, while breaking free from his identity as “just a soldier to the Republic”, which later helps him to survive Order 66. The Bad Batch (and Omega) may guide Rex and his resistance network to Mount Tantiss and defeat Hemlock once and for all. Omega may become an important guide to Mount Tantiss (the Underworld) because she used to work as a medical assistant when she was confined there, and she may no longer be afraid to go back and confront Hemlock.

It is possible that the Bad Batch would survive in the series finale. Season 1 finale titled “Kamino Lost” is described to be similar to “A New Hope”, especially with the scene of Omega watching sadly at the destroyed Tipoca City, which mirrors Luke Skywalker witnessing his home being burned down, and his uncle and aunt killed (this video mentions it from 51:43 to 52:38). Season 2 finale titled “Plan 99” is similar to “The Empire Strikes Back” as the Empire gains victory over the heroes. The team losing Tech, Cid’s betrayal and Emerie being revealed to be Omega’s sister mirror the heroes losing Han Solo (surprisingly Han Solo and Tech share the Hermes archetype), Lando’s betrayal, and Darth Vader revealing to Luke that he is actually Luke’s father. Following this pattern, it is possible that season 3 finale would be similar to “Return of the Jedi” with the heroes reuniting and working together to take down the Empire. Though, it is possible that the clone rebellion would sustain heavy losses even if victory is gained (after all, they probably have to take down the many clones who have been brainwashed by Hemlock), which may cause Rex to give up fighting. There may be more clone survivors by the series finale (this is hinted in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series where a clone trooper is seen begging in the streets), but with Rex disbanding the resistance network, they would be scattered across the galaxy, just like the Mandalorians after the Great Purge. Although it would be a great idea to see the Bad Batch settle down on Pabu and live happily ever after, I think this is not possible with the rise of the Empire and that the official Season 3 trailer shows that the Empire invading Pabu. Since Star Wars is about hope, it is possible that the ending would show the Bad Batch and Omega joining the Rebel Alliance in its early stages. This would contrast Omega and Boba Fett well: Boba Fett is a lone bounty hunter who works for Darth Vader to capture Han Solo, and he ends up in the Sarlacc Pit (but he manages to escape), while Omega works alongside her brothers to fight the Empire, and they probably live long enough to see the Empire fall.

It is said that after a person comes out of the Underworld and heals, they will gain greater wisdom and spiritual understanding. They gain the capacity to grow through suffering and they learn to embrace the human seasonal changes. Just like nature, there will be periods of joy and grief throughout our lives. We must learn to accept changing human experiences and do not lose hope because even spring can emerge from the worst periods of winter. This aligns with the message given by Jennifer Corbett, the Head Writer and an Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which are “even in the darkest times, there is hope” and “trust in family and fight for one another”. The Bad Batch teaching us to embrace human seasonal changes and to remain hopeful even in the darkest times are powerful and important lessons, making the series a modern-day myth added to the Star Wars catalogue.

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archetypesanalysis · 3 months

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Change in plans

With the Bad Batch season 3 trailer just released and the season 3 premiere being set on February 21, I have decided to change my plan on publishing my Bad Batch analyses.

I will publish two of my series analyses of the Bad Batch. One will discuss about the theme of the overall series, and the other will discuss why I believe Tech is alive.

I am still working on my character analysis of Crosshair, and I hope to finish it before season 3 premiere. His character analysis has surpassed the total number of pages used for my character analysis of Tech (this means over 25 pages)! I will also try to finish my analysis of the Bad Batch character dynamics, hopefully before season 3 premiere as well.

The other two analyses of the Bad Batch are about my epiphany about the Bad Batch, and the Clone Wars arc. I will try to publish them (especially the Clone Wars arc) before the series finale on May 1.

Anyway, I have to go now! More work must be done!

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb #sw tbb #star wars the bad batch #sw the bad batch

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archetypesanalysis · 5 months

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Yes, I am interested of what's coming next.

I started studying archetypal psychology after watching The Mandalorian season 2 finale. I found Din Djarin fitted the roles of the Warrior and the Lover. I predicted that he would learn to become a Magician and finally a King.

I published all my Mandalorian analyses after season 3 finale, because I wanted to summarize my thoughts about season 3 and my predictions for what is next. Unfortunately, all my Mandalorian analyses were getting little to no traction. I believed it was due to the disappointing season 3 run. Though, I still have faith that it can get back on track eventually.

I am very grateful that you love my analyses. I have spent more than a year studying archetypal psychology to make sense of this series. Even though I was disappointed of season 3 due to its poor execution, I was glad that they still hold onto Din's heroic journey in its abstract form.

I still have a few more Mandalorian analyses if you want to read about. Though, I have to finish my Bad Batch analyses first and I am currently studying Masters, so it would take some time.

The Mandalorian Season 4 Theory: The King

Season 3 finale seems to set Din Djarin up for his final trial – to become a King. Throughout 3 seasons, Din has become a good Warrior, a great Lover and a positive Magician. These 3 archetypes are necessary for Din to become a good and generative King. His journey to become King begins when he formally adopts Grogu as his son as the King archetype is also known as the Father archetype.

The King has two functions: ordering, and providing fertility and blessing. The Armorer sends Din Djarin off of Mandalore and take Grogu on a journey, just like his teacher has done for him. This journey requires Din to pass down everything he has learned to Grogu, just like a father passing down his wisdom to his children. This journey can only be taken if Din lives according to “the Way of the Mandalorian”. Since Din has bathed in the Living Waters beneath the Mines of Mandalore and has not taken off his helmet after the ritual, he has embodied the Way in his own person and is worthy to pass down the Way to Grogu (though, Din can take off his helmet now as the Armorer has become lenient with the helmet rule – maybe season 4?).

After leaving Mandalore, Din offers to work for the New Republic as an independent contractor to hunt down Imperial remnants in the Outer Rim. He also receives a deed to a new cabin by Greef Karga so he can use the cabin between adventures. The King owns his land and people, and it is his responsibility to bring peace, order and fertility to his land and people. Anything or anyone outside the realm of the king is full of chaos. In this context, the New Republic and any planets allied with Din Djarin and the Mandalorians are in the realm of the King, where there is peace and order. Meanwhile, the Imperial remnants are outside the realm of the King, where there is chaos and strife. Moreover, Din has provided a blessing to Grogu – a family and a home.

In many stories, a good King starts off as a humble servant. This is because the King, who is at the Centre, serves as a mediator between the mortal and the divine, the seen and the unseen, the physical world and the spiritual world. This is how the King, through a higher power, gives orders and blessings to others. Din Djarin has been a humble servant to Boba Fett, Bo-Katan and now the New Republic. One day, he might rise to become a King.

The King starts off as the Divine Child. The Divine Child is all powerful but vulnerable and helpless. His presence symbolizes something new and creative – he produces new enthusiasm for life, and brings great peace and joy. He often brings opposing sides and people together for a brighter, kinder future in a way that no one else can, creating a world-transcending order, which is a characteristic function of the King. These empowering qualities cause people to believe in them and in their vision for a better world. The Divine Child becomes the hope for the next generation, hence, people have expectations on him.

We have seen Din Djarin having the ability to unite opposing forces and grant blessings to others. Kuiil thanks him for restoring peace to his valley. He blesses Grogu with the love and care of a parent. He restores peace to the village on Sorgan. He unites Cara Dune, Kuiil, IG-11 and Greef Karga to liberate Nevarro from Imperial control, which turns the planet into a respectable trading place for various citizens. He helps Cobb Vanth to unite the people of Mos Pelgo and the Tusken Raiders to kill the krayt dragon, effectively ending the feud between both groups. He helps the Frog Lady to reunite with her husband, which blesses her to have children. He teams up with Ahsoka to liberate the city of Calodan from the control of Morgan Elsbeth. He recruits Cara Dune, Boba Fett, Fennec, Mayfeld, Bo-Katan and Koska to help him rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon. He helps Boba Fett to take down the Pykes in Mos Espa and he gathers the people of Freetown to fight. He indirectly unites the Tribe and Bo-Katan’s Nite Owls to retake Mandalore.

However, evil forces will try to destroy the Divine Child when its presence is known. Fortunately, the Divine Child can attract external forces to protect them, so they will be protected and spirited away until they are strong enough to begin their life’s work and until the forces that would destroy them have spent their energy. Throughout the series, Din Djarin has been rescued by external forces multiple times – Death Watch Mandalorian warriors, Kuiil, IG-11, Grogu, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, Luke Skywalker, New Republic Pilots, etc. It is as if the Force is constantly protecting him, pulling him out of situations where he would have died.

In “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”, Din tells Grogu that he is a special kid, and his ability to appreciate the specialness of a child can be reflected on himself – Din is as special as Grogu. Besides, Grogu is also a Divine Child as he is powerful yet vulnerable, and requires others to protect him until he can master his Force abilities. He is seen as someone who can unite opposing groups as it is possible Grogu would grow up to become a Mandalorian-Jedi like Tarre Vizsla.

youtube

This video by Generational Tech theorizes that Din Djarin was once part of the Disciples of the Whills, who are a group of Force worshippers. The Disciples of the Whills wear red robes, and they are seen on Jedha in “Rogue One”. If this is true, Din may be special and his meeting with Grogu can be seen as destined by the Force. I hope season 4 would show flashbacks of Din’s life before he was rescued by the Mandalorians, and his time with his teacher.

Aq Vetina, the homeworld of Din Djarin does have architecture (the domed buildings) that are similar to those in Istanbul and Jerusalem. In addition, “Din” means “religion, way of life” in Arabic, while “Jarin” (the 'd' is silent) means “cry of rejoicing, to sing, to shout, is full of joy” in Hebrew. Moreover, the artists depict the Death Watch warriors in Din’s flashback in a biblical and dreamy manner in some of the concept arts. One of the concept arts depict the Mandalorian warrior that rescue Din to be wearing white armour, as if he is an angel. I feel that the motifs and imagery are intentional to depict Din as the Divine Child.

Furthermore, it is strange that Din does not know about the significance of the Darksaber until he wins it from Moff Gideon. The Armorer and Paz Vizsla know about the Darksaber. This makes me wonder if foundlings are not told of the Darksaber, or that the information is kept away from Din. If it is the latter, it raises questions whether the Armorer knows something special about Din and that she is testing him by sending him on multiple quests, leading him to fulfil his destiny.

It is worth noting that the King has a bipolar Shadow: The Tyrant and the Weakling. The Tyrant is destructive as he hates and envies new life and creativity. He is threatened by new life so he exploits and abuses others to maintain his fragile position. The Tyrant also can become the Weakling as the Weakling is paranoid of someone would expose and overthrow him, hence, he has no inner peace. Who would take on the roles of the bipolar Shadow King is yet to be seen in season 4 (though I suspect it’s Grand Admiral Thrawn or anyone in the Imperial remnants since Moff Gideon is consumed by flames).

#star wars #the mandalorian #sw the mandalorian #the mandalorian theory #archetypes #archetypal psychology

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archetypesanalysis · 5 months

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I have detailed analyses for "The Mandalorian", "The Bad Batch" and "Moon Knight".

If I have to pick one, I would choose "The Bad Batch" because I have the most content to present.

mutuals do this

#analysis

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archetypesanalysis · 6 months

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I absolutely adore their brown eyes. Yes, eyes are the window to the soul.

Your interpretation for each character is accurate! They all fit with their archetypes.

Crosshair - his eyes show his intense emotions (Poseidon), mostly associated with anger, vengeance and pain (Hera). He is extremely determined and is intensely focused on his target, like an archer (Apollo and Artemis).

Echo - his eyes are warm and give the feeling of home (Hestia). They also show that his hope and spirit remains intact despite all the trauma and evil he has endured and seen (Persephone Queen of the Underworld).

Omega - her eyes are filled with childlike wonder, innocence and compassion. They also give the feeling of "please take care of me". (Persephone the Kore)

Wrecker - I agree that most of the time, his eyes are warm and friendly (Aphrodite). However, once he gets into battle, his eyes show his boldness, aggression and protectiveness (Ares).

Tech - You can see from his eyes that he has a lot of inner riches (Hades), which is something Phee notices it. His eyes are filled with wisdom and curiosity (Athena and Hermes). I agree that he sometimes gets lost in his thoughts (spending time in his inner world like Hades) and it is reflected in his eyes.

Hunter - I agree that his eyes always show the most emotions - intense and quick to switch around (Dionysus). When he is dealing with his enemies, his eyes are cold and calculative, like he is ready to strike them down as quickly as possible (Zeus). When he is with his family, he is warm (Demeter).

@giftober 2023 | Day 4: Eyes ↳ Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–)

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archetypesanalysis · 6 months

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This is an ingenious helmet design and it is fitting for Tech.

In my character analysis, I find Tech has a strong Hermes archetype, which makes him extremely friendly. Moreover, as Hermes, he is the Messenger. We must remember that his goggles record everything, so it is a device that he uses to gather information.

To make gathering information easier, Tech puts up a friendly design on his helmet and armour, so people would feel more comfortable being with him than other members of the Bad Batch. Besides, if anyone wants to approach the Bad Batch, they will choose Tech because he is the friendliest. This makes Tech some sort of bridge between his team and other people.

Why is Tech So Cute?

Why is Tech so cute/expressive, even when wearing his helmet?

I wondered about this a lot during S1. Part of it is his eyes, of course. But this little horizontal seam is part of it as well.

It reads, subconsciously, as a mouth. It's where his mouth would be, were he not wearing the helmet. It helps our brain to read his helmet as a true, living face, rather than just a cold, unfeeling mask.

Try Photoshopping the little seam off the helmet and note the difference.

I am sure it was a very well thought out design choice, and even though it's small, it's enough to make Helmeted Tech feel more comfortable and sympathetic than Helmeted Hunter, Echo, et al. Such a tiny thing can make a huge difference.

#star wars #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #tbb #sw the bad batch #sw tbb #the bad batch tech #tbb tech #tech bad batch #tech tbb #tech the bad batch #bad batch tech #the bad batch analysis #tbb analysis

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archetypesanalysis · 8 months

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Tech's Anima

This is the second part of the character analysis for Tech. You can read the first part here. I will be referring to “Gods in Everyman” and “Goddesses in Everywoman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Tech’s anima is Athena, or Minerva as the Romans called her, and she is the Goddess of Wisdom, War and Crafts. She is the protector of cities and the patron of military forces. She is also the goddess of weavers, goldsmiths, potters and dressmakers. Her values involve rational thinking, strategy, practicality, tangible results, and the domination of will and intellect over instinct and nature. Athena is often depicted with an owl, a bird associated with wisdom and prominent eyes, which are her traits. Tech has these two traits as well for he has the appearance of an owl. Besides that, Jean Shinoda Bolen views Athena women as “preppy” – their outfits are practical, durable, and not uninfluenced by fads. Many fans depict Tech to have a “preppy” look in the modern alternate universe, which is fitting for him.

The Athena archetype exists in people who are ruled by their heads instead of their hearts. This archetype can be an ally of other archetypes, like Athena is the patron of Greek heroes such as Achilles, Odysseus, Perseus, Heracles, and Jason and the Argonauts. Athena is the best strategist during the Trojan War, and her tactics and interventions have helped the Greeks to win many battles. People who are like Athena have their intelligence geared towards the practical and pragmatic, and their actions are not done out of emotions. They know what must be done and figure out how to get what they want. They thrive in business, academic, science, military or politics. Diplomacy, which involves strategy, power, and deception, is a skill that Athena excels in. Tech is the strategist in the Bad Batch who regularly gives the team an edge over their enemies. He is sensible, grounded and practical. The team, especially their leader Hunter constantly seeks his advice. Besides that, Tech regularly advises Wrecker to restrain himself, like in “Faster”, he warns Wrecker not to rescue Cid and take on Millegi because Millegi will seek retribution. Furthermore, in “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech uses his diplomatic skills to establish and maintain good relations between the Bad Batch, Rex, Anakin and the Poletecs.

As the Goddess of Crafts, Athena makes things that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing. She is well-known as a skilled weaver. Any activity that emphasizes foresight, planning, mastery of a craft and patience are all expressions of the Athena archetype. Tech sometimes builds useful tools like the inhibitor chip scanner, in which his hands and mind work together. There are many headcanons that depict one of Tech’s love languages is creating gifts that are practical and useful. There is also one headcanon where he takes up sewing, which is fitting for his Athena anima.

As the favourite child of Zeus, Athena is the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. Athena women are attracted to powerful men, especially those who resemble the patriarchal father or the “boss man”. These women usually form a mentor relationship with these men. Like Athena, they become “the right-hand women” of these powerful men once they give their allegiance. Being the father’s daughter may make Athena women defenders of the patriarchy. They usually support the status quo and accept the established norms as guidelines of behaviour. In the myths, Athena casts the decisive vote for Orestes, who has killed his mother Clytemnestra to avenge the murder of his father Agamemnon. She votes to acquit Orestes and uphold the patriarchal principles that the men predominate over the women. In another myth, Athena is furious that Arachne chooses to illustrate the amorous deceptions of Zeus on her tapestry. The goddess tears it into pieces, which drives Arachne to hang herself. Athena then takes pity on her and turns her into a spider.

In “Aftermath”, Tech briefly takes on Athena the father’s daughter when he initially defends Palpatine’s actions of wiping out the Jedi because the Jedi have attempted to take his life. However, when given the choice to follow the Empire’s orders or Hunter’s orders (both the Empire and Hunter have the Zeus archetype), Tech chooses to follow Hunter as they have been working together throughout their lives. The loyalty shared between them goes two-way – Hunter trusts Tech in carrying out his orders, while Tech trusts Hunter in prioritizing the squad’s interests. I believe that Hunter gives Tech the authority to look after Wrecker and Omega before he and Echo leave to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets in “Faster”.

People who identify strongly as Athena have a natural tendency to do everything in moderation. They live within “the Golden Mean”, which is the Athenian ideal. They usually monitor events, note the effects, and change plans once the initial course of action appears unproductive. Moreover, when Athena emerges from Zeus’s head, she is a full-grown woman, wearing flashing gold armour. People who identify as armoured Athena use their intellectual defences to keep themselves impervious to feeling pain from themselves or others. In the competitive world, Athena people have an advantage over Artemis people. Since Artemis the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt is unarmoured and only wears a short tunic, people who identify with this goddess archetype are likely to take any unexpected hostility or betrayal personally. They may become outraged and emotional. However, in the same scenario, Athena people stay cool and plan their next action.

Tech usually lives within the Golden Mean as most of his actions and words are not motivated by intense feelings or needs. In “Faster”, when TAY-0 asks whether Tech wants to challenge him, Tech humbly and calmly declines because he does not have enough information about the race to determine whether he will win against the droid now. When the plan goes awry, Tech can calmly and quickly change his course of action. This is most evident in “The Crossing” when Tech remains calm despite the mission has gone seriously wrong. Furthermore, Tech resembles armoured Athena as he seems to be unaffected by unexpected situations that are detrimental to him. For example, when the Marauder gets stolen, Tech deduces that the ship is unlikely to be recovered and the team can acquire a new ship. When the Bad Batch asks Cid for help and Tech reminds her that they have helped her settle her problems with Roland Durand in “Infested” and Millegi in “Faster”, Cid says that she can come in a few days, unconcerned about their wellbeing as they are stranded on a planet with limited resources to survive. Tech calmly accepts the truth that Cid is an unreliable ally and decides that they should find a way out by themselves. If Crosshair (who has the Artemis anima) was in this situation, he might harbour anger and react emotionally towards Cid once the team got back from the mission.

Work is important for Athena people, especially when the job requires strategy, logical thinking and practicality. Athena people not just excel in math, science, business, law, engineering, education and/or medicine, they also excel in domestic arts and/or craftsmanship. They prefer jobs that give them a challenge and where they can put their skills and talents in good use. This explains why in “Faster”, Tech thinks Cid giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. Besides that, Tech efficiently runs the Marauder, which serves as the squad’s household. Despite not having any secure support after they run away from the Empire, Tech takes it up as a challenge and does it well. In “Cornered”, he leads the team to Pantora so they can restock their rations, refuel the ship, sell some items for money, and adjust the ship’s signature key so he can scramble the ship’s signature to avoid Imperial detection. In “Aftermath”, Tech wants the ship to stay organized as he tells Wrecker that there is not enough room aboard for more ammunition and that he does not want a projectile near his rack. Though, the squad’s barracks is a mess and Tech is seemingly unbothered by it. It is possible that Tech sees the Marauder more like their home than their barracks since they do not stay on Kamino long. This is seemingly confirmed when Tech tells Wrecker to go easy with his ship, which kind of offends Wrecker since the Marauder is the squad’s ship. Furthermore, Tech likely focuses more on the things that ensure their survival as seen in “Replacements” when he is not bothered by the ship getting thrown out of hyperspace since it is not affecting life support. This may explain why he is also not bothered by the mess in their barracks because to him, survival and training take priority over comfort and enjoyment.

Athena people can be great teachers as they can explain things clearly. They are also probably demanding teachers that expect and get the best performance, and do not accept excuses. They do best with students who intellectually challenge them. If Athena people become parents, they are the ones who cannot wait for their children to grow up to the age when they both can have discussions and do projects. They may treat their children as miniature adults. Tech is a great mentor and teacher to Omega as he trains her to become a good soldier like him. Since Omega is intelligent and a quick learner, Tech has high expectations of her. Omega sometimes finds Tech to be highly demanding of her. In “Devil’s Deal”, she tells Hera that she can only start flying the Marauder once she can recite all of the ship’s specifications from memory. At the beginning of “Spoils of War”, Tech disapproves her from taking a study break as she tries to learn every ship in the Imperial fleet. In “The Crossing”, Tech tells Omega that he trusts her to extract the ipsium because he knows that she is fully capable of the task. This indicates that Tech treats her like an adult because her capabilities are almost on par with the rest of the Bad Batch, but he forgets that she is still a child and should be treated as such. Nevertheless, Tech does take on the best Athena trait by valuing Omega for thinking outside the box like in “Retrieval”, she suggests that they try to track Gonky to locate their stolen ship, and he praises her for the ingenious idea.

However, to identify as only Athena means to live in one’s head and to act purposefully in the world. They only live for work, seeking power and authority. This one-sided development may cause people to be cut off from the full range and intensity of human emotions, sensuality and instincts. They may lack the capacity to empathize with anyone’s deep feelings, to enjoy art or music, and be moved by mystical experiences. They usually look down on people who are imaginative, sensitive, emotional and kind. They are usually out of touch with their body to the point they are unaware of their physical health until they get sick or hurt. It is important for people to grow beyond Athena by developing other aspects of themselves. To do so, they have to be receptive to other people’s perspectives, and this can lead to a gradual growth. Sometimes this growth can come unexpectedly or traumatically through circumstances that flood them with feelings from the unconscious.

Tech’s Athena anima does not resemble the goddess purely. He does not seek power or awards. He accepts people who are sensitive, emotional and compassionate. It is highly possible that his Hades and Hermes archetypes have helped him to grow beyond Athena as they help him to connect with his sensations and instincts. For example, his connection with Hades allows him to find a weak spot in the wall using the sensations he feels from his fingers, while his connection with Hermes grants him the instinct to protect and rescue people.

Besides that, Tech is expressive like the rest of the Bad Batch. In “Aftermath”, he smiles when Omega chooses to sit with the Bad Batch and that she likes them because they are all misfits. In “Battle Scars”, he is delighted to find Wrecker awake from his operation. Tech is shown to have a temper when he gets annoyed at Wrecker’s whining. He expresses his anger and frustration by rolling his eyes, shaking his head disappointingly, giving the side-eye or squinting his eyes as seen in “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, “Aftermath”, “Cornered” and “Retrieval”. Although Tech is holding back his anger in “Faster”, he clearly becomes increasingly annoyed at TAY-0’s arrogance and the droid’s constant need to put down his intelligence and advice, and he expresses his frustration through exasperated sighs. I feel that Tech will be the scariest when he loses his temper, and this is due to his Hades archetype. In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous go to the Underworld to kidnap Persephone because Pirithous wants to marry a daughter of Zeus despite the goddess is already married to Hades. Hades imprisons them with chains of forgetfulness and/or by causing the rocks they sit on to grow into their bottoms. He then lets the Furies or Erinyes to torment them for eternity (Theseus is later rescued by Heracles, but his bottom is left attached to the rock, while Pirithous is left behind). With his intellect, it is possible for a livid Tech to be merciless as he tortures a person with various methods of punishment.

Tech sometimes can live in his head for so long that he becomes disconnected from other parts of himself, especially from his body. In “Replacements”, Tech is the only one who is not seen eating as he is focused on building the inhibitor chip scanner. He also views his work to be more important than helping Echo to repair the ship. As a virgin goddess, Athena has “focused consciousness”, which helps a person to concentrate their attention on their goals and exclude everything unrelated to their goals. Sometimes their focus can be so intense that they ignore the needs of people around them, and their need for food or sleep. It is probably a common occurrence that Tech does not sleep much, especially when he is focused on a task.

In “Ruins of War”, Tech’s left femur is fractured under a falling container. He is helped by Echo and Omega, and the three of them take shelter in Romar’s house. When Omega goes after Dooku’s war chest by herself, Tech and Echo go to find her before the Imperials do. Romar expresses his concerns about Tech’s injury but Tech insists that he can manage. He pushes past his excruciating pain and focuses on taking down the clone troopers. He even gets into a physical struggle with a clone trooper. He pushes all his efforts to the limit until his body and mind become so exhausted that he can no longer ignore the pain. The intense pain from his injury returns, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Thankfully, Romar arrives to help him up, and they both work together to save Omega and Echo.

On her breastplate, the goddess Athena wears a symbol of her power – the aegis, a goatskin decorated with the Gorgon’s head, the head of Medusa, a monster with serpents that can turn anyone who gazes on her into stone. The Gorgon is an aspect of the Athena people. Through their focus on facts and details, and their need for logic and rationality, Athena people can take away the spontaneity, vitality, and creativity of people who are not like them. They can be insensitive, demeaning, unempathetic, intolerant and critical. This is the Medusa effect. Usually this Medusa effect may bore or infuriate others in a social setting. However, when the Athena people are in the position of authority and judgment, they may go full on Gorgon Medusa to intimidate others.

Often the Athena people who is having this Medusa effect is unconscious of their negative power. They have no intention to terrify anyone – they just see themselves doing their job well – gathering facts, examining facts, challenging facts and using evidence for support. However, their objective mindset means that they damage any efforts to create a friendly, harmonious relationship, unknowingly killing the heart of the matter or the soul of the person. Moreover, Athena people tend to use their intellectual defences, their authority and critical gaze to create emotional distance from others. It is like wearing Athena’s armour with the Medusa aegis on the breastplate, showing no vulnerability. They end up giving a lifeless, numbing effect on other people, like Gorgon Medusa turning them to stone. Fortunately, the armour and aegis can be put on and be taken off. This means the Medusa effect will disappear once the Athena person takes them off.

Tech at times has the Medusa effect. He can look intimidating even with his helmet on or off, which is evident in “Faster” as he gives Millegi an intimidating look. Sometimes, Tech’s objective viewpoint makes him emotionally distant. For example, in “Reunion”, when Omega asks him what the war was like, he describes it as “a primary mission objective comprised of battles on various fronts”. She wants to know what the war felt like, but Tech’s objective mindset limits him from feeling the impact of the war. Furthermore, Tech’s Medusa effect sometimes scares Omega when he gives out facts and logic. At the end of “Cornered”, Tech tells Omega that she is the target of the bounty hunter they fought earlier, which scares her. In “Metamorphosis”, he deduces that the Zillo Beast is not hungry after it has eaten the ship’s crew, which terrifies her.

Tech’s most notable Medusa effect is shown in “The Crossing”. In this episode, Omega is unwilling to lose the Marauder like she loses Echo. She is devastated that Echo is not with them and that they are supposed to be a squad. Tech counters that the Bad Batch already existed before Echo and will exist after him, and asks what her issue is. His full-on Medusa effect takes away the emotions surrounding the conversation and damages his relationship with her. Omega feels numb by Tech’s words as if she has been “turned to stone”. She thinks that he is insensitive and unempathetic towards her grief, and walks away to be alone. When Tech defends that he merely told her the truth, Hunter explains that she is upset because she already knows the truth. Of course, Tech never intends to hurt her feelings – he just chooses to stay “above” his emotions when dealing with change. When he realizes how the Medusa effect has hurt his loved ones emotionally, he learns to be more careful of his words, effectively “taking off his armour and aegis”.

While Athena turns people into stone, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty turns a statue into a living woman for Pygmalion, which demonstrates her ability to bring spontaneity, vitality and creativity into a conversation or a relationship. Whenever Tech’s Medusa effect devitalizes the conversation, Wrecker, who has the Aphrodite anima, helps to reverse the Medusa effect and revitalize the conversation. In “Cornered”, when Omega is terrified to learn that she is the target of a bounty hunter, Wrecker tells Hunter, Tech and Echo to stop scaring her. In “The Crossing”, after Tech shuts Omega down with facts and logic, Wrecker tells him to talk to her so they can reconcile. In “Metamorphosis”, when Omega is terrified to learn that the Zillo Beast has eaten the ship’s crew, Wrecker places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and asks Tech how this fact is helpful.

When solving a problem objectively, Athena people can be crafty and “do whatever it works” in achieving their goals or defeating their rivals. This craftiness is a characteristic of the goddess Athena. In the climatic confrontation between the Greek hero Achilles and the more noble Trojan hero Hector, Athena uses “dirty tactics” to help Achilles win. When Hector faces Achilles, Athena tricks Hector into believing that his brother is at his side as his spear carrier. After Hector hurls his only spear, he realizes that he is alone and knows that his end is near. Athena does not care about fairness or morality as she only prioritizes on an effective strategy, which serves as the dark side of Athena people. They may also struggle to understand why people become outraged over unethical or immoral behaviour, especially when it does not affect them personally. Other people may perceive them as morally indifferent, when in true Athena’s nature, they are just not moved by the feelings of themselves and others.

Tech is a very crafty person as he likes to come up with effective strategies to help the team or accomplish a goal. His craftiness does put himself and the team in dangerous situations like in “Retrieval”, he proposes infiltrating the mine through the factory stack which puts them in the risk of being burnt alive. Besides that, Tech is capable of putting aside his moral code when carrying out mercenary jobs. This is helpful in “Common Ground” when he states that their client being a Separatist is irrelevant as they are here to do a job. However, his focus on finishing the job for a decent amount of credits can make Tech look like he is morally indifferent. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders. Tech seems to be more motivated by the credits, while Echo is more motivated by his personal values that slavery is wrong and the need to free the slaves. In “War-Mantle”, Tech reminds the team that they are in the middle of a job for Cid, and they will not be compensated if they deviate to help Rex to save Gregor, and that they need money to buy food.

Sometimes, Tech’s fascination on the workings of the Empire can make people mistake him as a supporter of the Empire. For example, in “Cut and Run”, Echo thinks that it is ironic that clones wanted names rather than numbers, but now people are signing up to be given numbers. However, Tech thinks that it is an ingenious idea as the Empire can create a database to identify anyone in the galaxy. Echo looks quite conflicted at Tech’s response, but he knows that Tech is a good person and that he can be impressed by the tactics used by their enemy while still holding onto his morals. We know that Tech does care about morality and ethics because he tells Cid that the Bad Batch leaves the Empire due to a fundamental difference in ideology. Besides, he does not mind changing the plans or going against the rules if that means doing the right thing.

There are three ways for Athena people to grow beyond the Athena archetype. One way is to turn inward. Athena people who are out in the world can get consumed by work and find their mind never rest. To balance it out, they can take on Athena the Goddess of Crafts to get their mind off work. They can take up weaving, sewing or making pottery as a form of therapy. In “Aftermath”, Tech seems to be tinkering with a machine in his barracks after he and his teammates return from their missions. This may be his method to get his mind off work and seek inner balance. Besides working on machines and devices, he checks on his datapad and plays strategy games (even against himself), which are all methods to help him turn inward. Moreover, his Hades archetype helps him to focus on his interior world and to appreciate the inner riches, which also helps him to relax and recharge.

In the Greek myth, Athena is born as an adult, and this metaphor is experienced by many Athena people as they learn to figure things out or they are smart about everything since young. They often lack subjective experiences that they may later want as adults. They need to recover their child self who can be confused or delighted by something new. To do this, Athena people must stop approaching new experiences like “sensible adults” and become wide-eyed children who are fascinated by everything. They may have to abandon their skepticism, labels and preconceived notion of what it should be. They have to allow themselves to imagine, play, laugh, cry and be comforted by others. Tech’s Hermes archetype balances out his Athena anima as Hermes is the archetype of the eternal adolescent. He is a sensible adult that is used to knowing everything, yet he is also a curious child who is excited and fascinated by new things. In “Faster”, Tech focuses wholly on Riot Racing like a wide-eyed child as he cannot determine who the victor will be due to the unpredictable nature of the race course.

In the Greek myth, Athena is a motherless daughter who takes pride in having only her father Zeus. She is unaware of her mother Metis, whom Zeus had swallowed when she was pregnant with Athena. Zeus swallowing Metis serves as a metaphor of the matriarchal feminine values being swallowed up by the patriarchal culture. Just like the myth, many Athena women usually have depreciated their own mothers, especially if their mothers do not resemble the goddess Athena. They need to discover and value their mothers’ strengths, and allow themselves to be mothered. They must connect with the Demeter archetype, which is the maternal archetype, so they can discover their femininity and the wise mother archetype Metis. Through his close relationship with Hunter, who has both the Zeus and Demeter archetypes, Tech develops paternal and maternal instincts, which makes him a great parent. Furthermore, his Hermes archetype helps him to unite his masculinity and femininity for Hermes is an alchemist, a guide of souls and the rescuer of the child.

Tech’s archetype combination is Hades, Hermes and Athena. His Athena archetype helps him to think objectively, while his Hades archetype helps him to think subjectively. His Hermes archetype helps to unite both his objective and subjective mindsets, allowing him to create something new like the art of alchemy that turns lead into gold. His archetype combination grants him a wide range of intelligence and transformative qualities, which makes him highly resourceful and adaptable.

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