Analysis of Phee and The Bad Batch
I know that this topic has been heavily discussed the last few days, so I apologize if any of these points are repetitive. I also am not discounting anyone’s differing opinions. I was a bit hesitant about shipping Tech and Phee together going into S2 E13, but five minutes in I was fully on board both with this amazingly sweet relationship and Phee being a straight up badass role model who I think is GREAT for the Batch as a whole.
When Phee is introduced I think we all were expecting a typical pirate a la Hondo Ohnaka–funny, charming, dangerous, but ultimately just out for themselves and the chance of financial gain. Phee has way more complexity to her than this.
Moral Compass: She’s a good person. She has a moral compass, and a great one at that. She spends most of her time traveling the galaxy both to explore history and natural wonders but also to restore artifacts (many of which don’t even hold monetary value) to refugees who have lost their homes and cultures due to war. And she often risks her own life to do so. For a pirate she’s pretty dang honorable. I think this is when Tech really starts to warm up to her, because he is intrigued by and respects her value of these other cultures and her efforts to give people who lost their homes a sense of belonging.
Intelligence: Phee is so smart both in intellect and emotional intelligence. She’s been around the galaxy for awhile and knows who to trust and who not to, even when she considers someone a friend (cough Cid cough). Her adventures require her to know and love history, science, and the appreciation of the art and cultures that she explores. While her mind works very differently than Tech’s, she has more than enough curiosity and learning to engage with his level of intelligence.
Bravery: Traipsing around the galaxy searching for lost treasure requires a lot of bravery and survival skills, especially when traveling alone. The Batch have pretty unique skill sets both as soldiers and survivors, and Phee is more than a match for all of them with both weapons and her ability to navigate dangerous situations.
Compassion: Her dynamic with Mayor Shep and his daughter Lyana, her help throughout the natural disaster the island faces, and the specific ways that she shows care for the Batch members and trusts them with her community, all speak highly of Phee as a person who adds safety and value to all of her relationships, something the Batch members desperately need.
PHEE BOTH SEES AND CARES ABOUT EACH MEMBER OF THE BATCH
Hunter: He trusts her now. We open with the Batch playing bodyguard as Phee is negotiating a tense deal. Hunter is absorbed in the moment and is fully prepared to defend Phee no matter what. It’s clear that his previous dislike/distrust of her in their first encounters is gone, and that he trusts having Omega around her even in a dangerous situation.
Phee has also softened towards him and talks with him quite a lot, both teasing him in a very sibling-like manner: “so why bring us?” “makes you wonder, doesn’t it”, but also quite seriously respecting him as the leader of the squad and the father of Omega. She directly voices her opinions and concerns to him and goes to great lengths to let him know she cares about Omega’s and their future, and he listens to her concerns. She knows that he wants to keep his family safe and settle down, and she wants to give him an example of what that could look like.
One moment that really solidified this for me is how Phee reacted when Hunter pushed in between her and Tech as they were watching the sunset. Someone less acquainted with Hunter’s skills and brooding nature might have thought that he was just cutting between them or dismissed his qualms about what he was sensing. Phee’s reaction proves that she takes Hunter seriously because she immediately knows something is wrong and isn’t at all offended that her moment with Tech was interrupted.
Wrecker: While their interactions are more sparse, it’s clear that Phee understands Wrecker’s motivations too–food, helping others, rest. She brings them to a place his hunger can be satisfied, where his physical strength is an asset but it’s not the only reason he’s accepted, and she convinces Tech to let him and the girls sleep a little longer when Tech is ready to wake them up. Her face here says it all.
Omega: In episode 5 we could have argued that like some other pirates we’ve had the pleasure of coming across (ahem Hondo again), she might have looked at Omega as just a little sidekick who she could impress and teach a few lessons. Here we see this is not the case. While she is impressed by her fighting skills, Phee is genuinely concerned about Omega’s livelihood and welfare as she gently suggests to Hunter that she needs friends and a stable place to grow up. By bringing them to Pabu she is able to introduce Omega to another girl her age, give her a chance to relax and be carefree, and show Hunter and Tech that there are sides of Omega that need to be nurtured, without dismissing their current life with Omega at all.
Tech: Alright. The main reason why this post is being written 🥹🥹🥹. This little romance is the sweetest thing to me and with how much character growth we have gotten from Tech this season, I think seeing how Phee interacts with him only continues to highlight that growth and social connection.
I cannot get over how sensitive Phee is towards Tech. She understands how his brain works and doesn’t shame him for it, but simply tells him what her thoughts are without invalidating his. She accepts him for who he is while also showing him other ways of viewing the world. The way she pushes lightly against his boundaries and social awkwardness (especially around physical touch), but in a very respectful manner, always giving him the space to pull away or say no. How she knows that he’ll hate an overly boisterous social gathering and lightly teases him about it. How she gets him to put the data pad down and experience the world through his other senses. And as other people have more eloquently mentioned (shoutout to the Star Wars Universe Podcast), how she makes him feel safe. Safe enough for Tech to feel fully comfortable being himself around her, and also to begin to get curious about who she is and her points of view. She is giving him the space to meet her. And boy is he.
We’ve already seen from previous episodes that Tech has a strong moral compass and cares about people suffering in the galaxy. Her sense of moral justice and care appeals to him and he respects it. Tech just watches her in awe and interest at how she deals with people. He is steadily falling for her. She shows him beauty. She shows him compassion. She shows him new ways of relating to others. She understands his family and how they all work together. She matches his level of interest and fascination about the world. And he’s melting in the face of it.
THIS SMILE??? THIS MAN SMIRKED AT HER. SMIRKED, I TELL YOU. 🤩
Putting this caring, sensitive, socially awkward, neurodivergent, nerdy genius of a man and this badass, independent, kind-but-takes-no-bs, intelligent woman of color together is so fun to see. I’m loving these two and can’t wait to see where this goes.
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