The Season 2, two-part finale of “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” aired, and it was a whirlwind. Heads up that this article will not be a full breakdown, but more of my take on the episode. SPOILERS FOR “PLAN 99” AND SEASON 2 OF BAD BATCH!!

Let’s just dive straight in to one of the biggest moments in this episode: Plan 99, and Tech’s sacrifice. Let me be the first one to say that this moment did not feel real. It seemed like just another daring feat by Clone Force 99.

They can’t track Hemlock’s ship, but surely they’ll find another way to save Crosshair. The rail car they are escaping on isn’t working after the explosion, but surely they’ll get it working. Between Echo’s scomp link arm and Tech’s brains, they’ll surely escape like they always do. Tech is out of the rail car, and there are Imperial TIEs trying to shoot them down. Suddenly the rail car is halfway off the rail, suddenly Tech doesn’t have time to get back in the car, suddenly he’s suspended in the sky by a grappling hook on the dangling edge of the rail car. But he’s climbing up, he’ll be okay!

And now any change in weight will send both of the cars tumbling into the abyss of a mountain below. Tech can’t climb up, and Wrecker can’t go down and save him, and the car is being ripped from the hinges. Tech says he is calling Plan 99, Wrecker doesn’t want to let him.

Tech slowly says, “When have we ever followed orders?” and he shoots the grappling line that is connecting him to the car. And Tech falls, down into the mist and the clouds.

This sacrifice hurt in so many ways.

The first one being that you would never expect Tech to die. Many fans walked into these final episodes thinking someone was going to die. My personal thoughts on this was that Hunter and Omega should be safe. They have so much potential and I don’t think they would be killed. If anyone was going to die, I would’ve said Echo or Crosshair. Both deaths would have been heart-wrenching, and many expected Echo to die, which would catapult Hunter into being convinced to fight against the Empire. I thought Wrecker and Tech would be safe, but knew there was a chance they could die, because no one would see it coming and it would be heart-wrenching.

And I was right. It was heart-wrenching, and no one expected Tech to be the one to fall.

The reactions of the Batch were horrible. Wrecker screaming as Tech falls, trying to hold together a whole rail car with his bare hands. Omega begging Hunter to go and find Tech. Echo sitting alone in his normal spot, glancing at Tech’s empty chair next to his. Tech’s cracked goggles being thrown at Hunter’s feet, Hemlock mocking him for being a failed leader.

Do I think Tech is alive?

That would be an interesting possibility, and it makes sense for him to be alive for so many reasons. Tech fell through clouds, so we don’t really know what he landed in. We are never shown his body, and by following the Golden Rule of Star Wars, if you don’t see a corpse then you can’t confirm the character is dead. Other characters were presumed dead and had gone through worse, so it is completely possible for Tech to have survived. Many people have pointed out some possible wing/ice vulture symbolism, going back to Mayday’s quote about survival, hinting that Tech could have survived.

Some people claim that Tech is dead, and especially because Hemlock had his broken goggles and tossed them to Hunter. But the broken goggles, as heartbreaking as it was for us and Hunter to see, doesn’t prove anything. Hemlock is a smart and conniving character who could nurse Tech back to health and keep him in his facility on Tantiss. He has the means and the ability to. And while being in the hands of Hemlock isn’t a comfort, being on Tantiss and possibly with the captured Crosshair and Omega is infinitely better than believing he’s dead.

Either scenario could play out very interestingly, both would make sense and bring different emotions, and I would enjoy seeing either. This is something that fans will have to wait to see in Season 3.

“Tech is my favorite batcher and honestly one of my favorite clones. I just relate to him so much. When he fell, when he was hanging from the line, I knew he was going to cut it and die for his family… I didn’t cry but I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My favorite boy sacrificed himself for his family,” said Abby (ajoy_draws) on Instagram. “I might just be in denial but I really think he’s alive… he’s stronger than he looks. I think Hemlock definitely has him locked away somewhere and is experimenting on him and just used Tech’s goggles to taunt Hunter. Overall I wasn’t a huge fan of the finale. They didn’t answer any questions and only opened more.”

“I was stunned, to say the least. I believe the soundtrack aided the emotions of the moment,” said Levi (@clone.ie) on Instagram. “I believe Tech could possibly be alive, just really wounded. I theorize he could have somehow gotten himself back into the cart before hitting the ground.”

“I honestly had no idea. I probably should have put two and two together knowing 99’s story, but I really didn’t try to guess what it was going to be, even though it sounded daunting and filled me with anxiety. I confess I was absolutely sobbing,” said Dory (@doodles.by.dory) on Instagram. “I HOPE he’s alive, and the more I think about it the more I believe that he is. But I also worry that Lucasfilm doesn’t want people to think they’re ‘cheap’ for bringing another character back from the dead, especially when they already have Echo on the crew and his story is very similar. But overall, I think he is alive, mostly because I can’t even imagine them writing a whole season without him.”

“I truly thought Plan 99 was going to be a rescue mission to get Crosshair back. Because their group is named 99, I thought they would be reunited,” said Grace (@that.artist.grace) on Instagram. “Personally, I don’t believe he is dead. Hemlock has been experimenting on the clones and already has Crosshair. Tech is a genius and I’m sure that Hemlock has him, after all, he has his goggles.”

Season 2 of “The Bad Batch” has come to an end, but Season 3 is set to release in 2024 on Disney+!