I Also Have Too Many Thoughts - Tumblr Posts

Okay okay this this!! I also wanna add that like the season almost sets it up to where we think Cid is going to change and start treating them better! The whole riot racing episode is a great example and honestly is what makes her eventual betrayal so much worse imo.

Like yes, they were trained to only be soldiers but they had a familial element to them that often gets extended to others thanks to Omega, like helping Cid out of her debt because well she thinks they should help her. A dangerous combo of Omegas want to help everyone and her (and the bad batches) inexperience with the world and how cruel it can be. Like I was so genuinely mad, because we got to see story beats of Cid maybe changing from her past only to prove Millegi right.

To be honest if they try to redeem her in season 3 I really hope they make her properly apologize and atone for what she did.

There's a sentiment I've been seeing a lot of in critique of The Bad Batch (especially season 2): why do the Batch keep returning to Cid when she's clearly taking advantage of them and treating them so poorly?

And yeah, I get the frustration. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be frustrating. I also agree that it causes some pacing issues with the show. But if you think it's out of character, implausible, or just a lazy way for the writers to maintain the status quo, oh boy do I strongly disagree.

Not only are these men genetically engineered and programmed since birth to be obedient, they've literally never been socialised outside of the military cult they grew up in. Sure they must have interacted with sapients other than the Kaminoans and the Jedi when they were on missions, but never without oversight or standing orders. Never long enough to learn the type of instincts and autonomy most of us develop as children. Of course they latched onto the first 'ally' who gave them orders. It's all they've ever known.

As much as this show explores the utter fucked-up-ness of how Order 66 and Imperial rule affected the clones, it's also showing us how fucked up their treatment was under the Republic and the Jedi Order. We're watching them deprogram and integrate into society for the first time, and we're seeing how vulnerable they are while doing so. Of course it's a bumpy road.