Crosshair is turning a lot of heads in the latest episode of the animated Star Wars show “The Bad Batch.” This is a spoiler warning for the first season of “The Bad Batch”, and S2E3 “The Solitary Clone.”

Crosshair is a very interesting character in the Star Wars universe. His first appearance was in the seventh and final season of the animated show “The Clone Wars,” where he and his enhanced squad of clone brothers carry out a mission to save a clone from the evil Separatists. They save Echo, the clone, and he later joins the Bad Batch.

Crosshair is set up as the quiet yet snarky sniper. Almost an antagonistic character, in fact, one who starts several fights and arguments throughout these episodes. Despite this, he is loyal throughout the mission and helps save Echo.

In 2021, “The Bad Batch” got their own series by the same name. The first episode shows us that Crosshair still has his inhibitor chip in, something placed into the clones so they would be forced to follow orders without question. He follows the orders and after some fights, the Batch escape the Empire while Crosshair’s chip is strengthened and is forced to stay with the evil regime. Over the course of the season, Crosshair is tasked with hunting down the Bad Batch. They end up being forced to work together to survive in the season finale. which ended with Crosshair’s rejection of the Batch’s offer for him to go with them.

Season 2 offers a time skip, where Crosshair has been cleared for missions with the Empire, and seems to be loyal to them and their ideals. But there are a few moments that can lead one to think that he might not be as comfortable with his place as it might seem…

So now for the big question: is Crosshair redeemable and will he return to the Batch, or is he stuck as the villain with the Empire?

Personally, I think that Crosshair is still redeemable, and I am hopeful that he will return to his brothers.

One reason could be the inhibitor chip. Crosshair claimed that his chip was removed, but he could have easily been lied to to ensure loyalty. It seems very unlikely that the Empire would take away the power to control him, and in the season 1 finale Crosshair is still seen grabbing his head in the way that so many other clones under the influence of the chip have. Again, the time skip can mean that things have changed, but it seems a smarter move on the Empire to leave the chip in.

Another reason is the parallels between Crosshair’s actions and character arc to that of other characters in Star Wars. Several of Crosshair’s solitary moments are framed in similar ways to shots of another character, Agent Kallus from the animated show “Star Wars Rebels.” Kallus is truly devoted to the Empire, until over time he sees how little he means to them and defects to the Rebels. Crosshair is in a similar spot. He is noticing more of Admiral Rampart’s degrading comments about him and other clones. He was able to work with Commander Cody, but with Cody going AWOL, he has no one around him who truly cares about him or sees him as more than a number.

Anything could happen, but I’m hoping for Crosshair to see that the Empire doesn’t have his best interests in mind and consider leaving, maybe even back to the Batch.

“He’s a great antagonist for the bad batch, because he’s like the only competent threat they’ve faced so far. He has a cool snake-like voice and personality and is a unique character as a clone who’s loyal to the Empire from his own beliefs,” said Zan Naqvi, ERHS senior. “[Crosshair should] stay the villain, because he’s a menacing presence and is best portrayed as one… Being a loyal remaining clone in the Empire is a cool concept because he believes in his role as a soldier in a larger machine, be it the Republic or the Empire.”

“I think Crosshair is a good antihero. His personality would match up nicely to play both the hero and the villain, which is what he does in some episodes. I do think he has the chip. You can see little changes in his expressions when Rampart or others speak of his brothers, or the clones that disappear around him. He also doesn’t have the same aim as he used to. He misses a lot once the chip activates,” said @logan_price_art on Instagram. “I would love to see Crosshair be redeemed. I think it would be a great episode if he dd. But I’ve got the feeling that’s when they would kill him off… There’s so many scenes that would be great to see if/when he does get redeemed. It’d be great to see Wrecker smack him in the face with Lula again.”

So what do you think? Is Crosshair redeemable and will he return to the Batch? Or should he stay the villain alongside the Empire? New episodes of “Star Wars : The Bad Batch” every Wednesday on Disney+!