Ive been thinking some messy thoughts about Rex’s mindset at the beggining af season 7, when Echo’s arc comes up and Rex is absolutely adamant on going on a wild hunt on some hunch he had, which is a bit uncharacteristic of him. Rex, as the rest of the 501st and their general, is prone on going on difficult suicidal missions and coming up with reckless ideas that eventually work out, but he is arguably pretty level headed and by-the-book. He believes in the GAR, he believes in the chain of command, and he is often wary to challenge it. Most importantly he believes in Anakin and that trust is reciprocated, so he has really no reason to go against this mindset.
He talks about this to Cut Lawquane in season 2, and later on with Fives on the Umbara arc on season 4. Rex believes in the system, not because he’s been engineered to believe in it, but because it means something to him.
By season 7 however... the system has failed Rex one too many times.
(this got super long and rambly so im putting it under a cut)
He saw Pong Krell decimate his men for no reason, while he could only grit his teeth and impart orders he knew were wrong. He went along with Krell because he felt it was his duty and because so far, the system had worked. He was constantly challenged by Fives, and then almost loses him and Jesse because of this (and yes, he did try to get punished on their behalf, but only after directly telling them that if they were caught he would be powerless to help them), they lost Hardcase, and then he tragically lost his brothers and had his men kill Waxer's men because Rex went against his instincts and followed orders instead. He was forced into a mutiny, and even at the very end when he has to execute Krell, he is unable to do it. (Even three seasons later, when Order 66 forces his to turn against Ahsoka, Rex' hands physically shake when they are being pointed against someone he feels he needs to be loyal to.) We see a glimpse of Rex's struggles a the very end of the Umbara arc, but it's never really brought up again.
On season 5, when Ahsoka is framed for murder and tried, we see Rex constantly telling Fox that she would never do the things she is blamed for, but ultimately he still follows Anakin to try and retrieve her, and while he knows Anakin trusts Ahsoka, Rex never really does anythign to actively help her. I know the narrative only focuses on Anakin at this point, but by season 5 Rex and Ahsoka's bond has been firmly established and we know that being ordered to chase his friend must have been as painful to Rex as it was to Anakin.
And then season 6 happens. Fives is also framed for attempted murder, against the Chancellor of all people. I can imagine how that conversation with Anakin went, after Kix told Rex about his encounter with Fives at 79s, and it musn't have been easy. Anakin was Palpatine's close friend after all, and I figure Rex must have had to practically beg Anakin to let Fives make his case before they brought him to the Chancellor. And Anakin tried but he's not level headed and he's not nice to those who threaten his friends, and Rex had to stand, powerless, and watch how Fives was killed for it. Fives dies in Rex's hands, telling him how he was only trying to do his duty, and Rex knows. He knows because he knows Fives like he knows himself, and again he chose to follow orders, and he saw yet another friend fall through the cracks. But, what changes here, and we don't get to see this until season 7, is that Rex still files a grievance report, even tho he knows it will fall on deaf ears. At this point, I think, Rex's autonomy starts to really take off and is what ultimately allows him to fight Order 66's command long enough to tell Ahsoka about it. He is expecting something to happen because his trust on the system has been broken.
Which brings me to season 7. Rex is sure he's going to find Echo, despite everyone's doubts, including Cody's. I think he struggles with this certainty, for he is very used to do as he's told, but choses to go with it, and is rewarded when he turns to be right. Rex is unwavering in his faith for Echo when they finally do find him. He has learned what true loyalty means: not the system, but the people. And it really breaks my heart that Echo chooses to stay with the Bad Batch at the end, but I think at this point Rex understands better than ever the importance of making choices based on your instincts and what you feel, rather than on an imparted sense of duty.
Furthermore, what I loved about the mandalorian arc of season 7 is that Rex follows Ahsoka not because she is her commander, because at that poinst she isn't, but because he trusts her and he is loyal to her out of his own volition. Rex is there, waiting for Ahsoka when she comes back, with their men and their painted helmets, and he looks so fondly at her when showing her them. Ahsoka is Rex's friend outside of any form of hierarchy or military order. He chooses to be loyal to her, he chooses to follow her even after she disables his chip, when it would have been much easier to just turn Ahsoka in instead of fighting an entire garrison of his brothers to get her out, because at that point Rex has seen too many friends fall to understand that blindly following orders and real loyalty are two very different things.
My point is that Rex's arc was one of self liberation and breaking out of a mandatory mindset and finding the courage to trust his feelings, and we see it play so beautifully through the seasons.
Dave Filoni: Alright, here's Cody getting hurt. Alright, here's Echo being tortured by Separatists. Alright, here's Cody almost getting killed. Alright, here's Captain Vaughn dying. Alright, here's Order 66. Alright, here's Maul killing clones. Alright, here's Ashoka being forced to kill clones. Alright, here's Rex crying over the deaths of his brothers. Alright, here's Ashoka and Rex's escape from the star destroyer while fighting the rest of Rex's brothers. Alright, here's the clone graveyard. Alright, here's Jesse's helmet to show you he's dead. Alright-
And we keep rolling on. I have plans within plans.
Part One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Four
AO3
Anakin managed to get himself under control before anyone could come check on him, letting Rex take the datapad and look it over. Kitster Banai. His closest friend on Tatooine, lost in the whirlwind of the Jedi Order, and their restrictions on communicating without the outside world. Had the Force brought him here to find his friend? Was this something that needed to happen? Why?
“Are you all right?” Rex asked softly.
“Yeah,” Anakin said, “just surprised. I hadn’t realized they would include them.”
“What do we do?” Rex asked.
“Take them with us,” Anakin said, “cut out the transmitters, find them someplace safe.”
“Is that safe?” Rex asked, “Keeping them, I mean?”
“I can’t leave them,” Anakin protested softly.
“Kin, we have two dozen of our brothers on an island because they haven’t yet accepted freedom,” Rex said gently, “what if they’re the same?”
Anakin scrubbed his face with his hands, thinking through the problem. “I can tell, with the Force, but I’d have to question them first.”
“Then it’s a good thing we have the Pathfinder waiting for us,” Rex said after a long moment of his own. “We put them in a pod until you can sort them out.”
Anakin clenched his hands, “I don’t like it Rex. Slaves are always segregated, why would they believe they’re free if the first thing we do is the exact same thing?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Rex said. “We just have to keep working at it.” He cautiously put his hand on Anakin’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll figure it out, Boss.” Anakin nodded slightly, fighting the urge to shrug off his usual reaction to touch. “Now, what about the ships?”
Anakin smiled a little, because he didn’t need to think about this one, it was a contingency he’d already considered. Jesse was very good at coming up with complications that needed to be planned for when given the opportunity.
“We need Artoo, Oddball, Matchstick, and Striker. You and Artoo can handle the shuttle together, I can fly one of the YT’s, and Oddball can fly the other. Matchstick and Stricker can take the other two. They’ve got the training for it.” He stood up and stepped to the door of the lounge looking around.
The Weequay approached, “Master Naberrie?”
“I need to send for more pilots,” Anakin said, “but I’m taking the entire inventory.” He paused, “I still want to sell the shuttle, but perhaps it would be better if I acquired a proxy to handle the work and keep the shuttle secure.”
“We can arrange that,” the Weequay said. “Will you be in need of a comm system?”
“We’ll use the shuttle,” Anakin replied. “I want to secure the assets as soon as I’ve completed my call.”
“Of course,” the Weequay said, “we’ll arrange for them all to be held until your arrival. Directions are on the datapad. Please return it when you depart.”
“I will,” Anakin said.
Anakin led Rex out of the central office and back to their shuttle, where Anakin dropped onto one of the benches in the passenger section with a groan. “I’m going to make sure nothing was tampered with,” Rex said, sitting the datapad down beside Anakin.
Ten years. Anakin had been forced to push away everything personal about Tatooine in favor of being a Jedi. Now, he was being thrown right back into those last days on Tatooine. He’d left his mom behind forever, he was about to meet his best friend again, and they were going to be doing something crazy with ships. Anakin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and cradling his face in his hands, trying to hang onto his control with teeth and nails.
Anakin reached out, unthinking, and the Force responded with assurance, not words, just comfort. He actually felt settled as he adopted the breathing techniques he’d struggled to master. The Force slid over him, reassuring him that his actions were right in a way they hadn’t been in the past. Anakin leaned into the Force, letting it steady him and prepare him for the insanity that was about to begin.
This, Anakin remembered. He remembered being six, seven, eight, and nine, listening to the Force without knowing its name. It had been what had pushed him to fix that first droid, what had made him dare to get on that swoop bike when nobody else would. For years, Anakin had listened to his Guide, doing what he needed to do, to survive. He’d never floated pears or anything, but Anakin could remember now, the minute nudges he’d used to fix repairs as he went, things that had been so easy, that had become so difficult when he tried to do it the Jedi way.
Anakin shook his head, easing away from the Force and heading for the comm system to call the Pathfinder. First, he lifted the lock down that had been instigated by the would be thieves and then he got the system activated.
“Pathfinder, this is Shuttle Trifecta.” Anakin said.
“Trifecta, this is Pathfinder,” Crys said after a moment.
“Pathfinder, we had a bit of an incident here at the port, and we need pilots.” Anakin said, “We’re not dead or hurt.”
“What happened?” Crys asked.
“Someone broke port security and attempted to take the Trifecta,” Anakin said, “in recompense, the administration has offered us the thieves’ assets on record. Which includes four ships. We need pilots, and Artoo.”
“Four ships, sir?” Crys repeated.
“Four ships,” Anakin confirmed, “but that’s not the difficult part.”
“What’s the difficult part?” Crys asked.
“The slaves.” Anakin said, “The other assets on record are thirteen slaves.”
“Are you taking them with you?” Crys asked.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that,” Anakin said pointedly. “Get me Oddball, Matchstick, and Stricker with Artoo on a shuttle headed here. Rex and Artoo can pilot the Trifecta, we can handle the rest solo long enough to get to the Pathfinder. And connect me to Kix while you do that.”
“Yes sir,” Crys replied.
Moments later, Kix was on the comm, “Crys said you needed me?”
“I’m bringing thirteen slaves back with me,” Anakin said, “it’s a long story. I need you and a security team standing by when we get up there to see about containing them until the transmitters are pulled. I hate to say it, but we’ll house them in a pod.”
“Why?” Kix said, “They shouldn’t be separated from us, we’re not going to scorn them for being slaves.”
“No,” Anakin said, “but their former owners are Nemoidians. We can’t take a chance that somebody there is more loyal to the CIS than they are attracted to the idea of freedom. After all, the ship they tried to steal is a certified Republic military shuttle. I can determine the difference, but it takes time and I’ll have to question them.”
“I’ll get everything settled,” Kix said.
“Thanks,” Anakin said.
Kix glanced away, hearing something Anakin couldn’t. “Crys says shuttle Double Trouble is launching in five. They’ll be there in two hours.”
“Then plan for us to be back between five and six hours from now,” Anakin replied. “Shuttle Trifecta out.”
“Pathfinder out,” Kix replied and they cut the connection.
Anakin bowed his head slightly and took a steadying breath. Next was his inspection of the assets, and he’d need his best impassive face for that to work out. He thought of Padmé’s face at the image of Kin Naberrie, and smiled as he turned to find Rex.
