WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the series premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, "Aftermath," now streaming on Disney+.
In the series premiere of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, the audience gets to see Clone Force 99’s quarters. While many viewers may overlook these quarters as just scenery, examining each of the team members’ spaces reveals more insight into their personalities and their relationships with their teammates. Even though the team is forced to abandon these quarters when they are declared enemies of the Empire, they still provide a snapshot of the team's dynamics before the fall of the Republic.
The space's ability to provide insight is acknowledged by the episode itself. Since the quarters predate Omega joining the team, she doesn't have a space in there, but she does travel with AZI-3 into Clone Force 99's room to learn more about them. She focuses in on the objects that seem the most personal to team members. Her interactions with the team's space shows her curious nature and her ability to read other people, which seems to extend to the objects they hold dear. Inspired by Omega's investigations, let's look at each Clone Force 99 member's space to see what it reveals about them.
Crosshair
When facing the main door of the quarters, Crosshair's bunk is on the far left. Crosshair's bunk is notably neater than many of his fellow team members' spaces, with neatly folded sheets or clothing on top of the bed. The main personal effects in his room are targets depicting battle droid anatomy, presumably from particularly good or memorable practices. These targets show Crosshair's pride in his work and in his abilities
He also seems to have the most boxes obscuring everyone's view of his space as well. During the team's introduction in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hunter reveals that Crosshair is a man of few words who prefers to keep to himself. By placing Crosshair on the far left, the art team shows Crosshair's withdrawn personality even before he comes under the effects of Order 66. This placement also foreshadows Crosshair's later separation from the team, albeit under heavy mind control.
Wrecker
To the right of Crosshair's bunk is Wrecker's space. Wrecker's bunk seems focused on items that he finds comforting. While his main personal item is Lula, his stuffed Tooka, he does have at least one other stuffed toy. He also has a blanket slung over a rope that looks softer than the standard fare. Because Wrecker finds joy in destruction, he has some grenades strewn about the space as well. Some weights complete his nook, showing an attention to honing his abilities.
Of all the members of the team, Wrecker's space is the one that seems most focused on making the space cozy -- at least by his standards. While the team does travel often, Wrecker's bunk reflects that he truly views Kamino as home. His distress when unable to find Lula is understandable under these conditions; while he is forced to leave home behind, Lula remains one part of the Kamino home base that he can take with him.
Hunter
Facing the door, Hunter's bunk is immediately on the right. Of the team, Hunter's bunk is the most sparse. The only decorations seem to be what looks like a canteen, three medals and an illustration of the team's logo on the wall. The space seems generic because Hunter wants to seem generic. His role on the team as leader is to be the liaison between his teammates and the rest of the world, and he seems to place a great deal of effort into being seen as the reasonable one.
While Hunter's bunk reveals less about him, his personal mission luggage shows his true focus. When investigating, Omega finds a photo of the team that seems a little banged up. Notably, this photo includes Echo as well, showing that Hunter has already accepted Echo as a true member of the team even though Echo has only been with them for a few months. The hidden photo shows that Hunter prefers to keep the depths of his feelings hidden even though his loyalty to his team is clear throughout the series. The fact that he keeps it with the gear that he takes on missions shows that he prefers to keep what is most important to him on him at all times.
Tech
Tech's bunk is to the right of Hunter's. He seems to take up the most space in the room, unable to be contained within the confines of just his bunk. The walls of his bunk are filled with diagrams illustrating new ideas and his projects are scattered throughout the room. There does not seem to be a clear organizational strategy for his components, but he does have a dedicated work table that he seems to use for some projects.
Tech's use of space shows that he sees the world as his workshop. While he is on the end, his use of the entire space shows a desire to be connected with his teammates even as he works on his gear. Thus, Tech is not a genius in isolation; he is more outgoing and willing to share his thoughts and analyses with his brothers.
Echo
Unlike the rest of the team, Echo does not seem to have a fully defined space in the room. The quarters were created with only the original four members in mind; Echo is a recent addition. Clone Force 99's quarters are a far cry from the sterile barracks that Echo is used to from his time before joining the team. Still, the team has strung up a hammock in the corner to the right of Tech's bunk to give Echo a temporary space. Interestingly, from some angles, it looks like Crosshair has set down one of his sniper rifles so that it is aimed at Echo's hammock. While this placement might simply be coincidental, Crosshair is the most standoffish member of the team and probably would be the least willing to welcome in a new member. However, the two do agree that the smell of the room is terrible, uniting them as the neater members of the team.
Echo's space, or lack thereof, highlights that Echo is still finding his place in Clone Force 99. While the team is making efforts to include him, they are still working out permanent ways to incorporate Echo into their fold. However, like Tech, Echo does not limit himself to the outskirts of the space. For the small amount of time we see the team in their quarters, Echo is seated at the table in the middle of the room, instead of keeping to himself. While he may not yet be used to the team's methods, Echo is actively working to integrate himself into the family. This position as an outsider may help Echo bond with Omega in the future since she has taken his place as the newest member of the team.
Overall, the artists and animators for Star Wars: The Bad Batch use the set design of Clone Force 99's quarters to emphasize their respective personalities. Each team member's interactions with the space also illustrate the group's dynamics -- or at least how the group functioned during the Clone Wars. While the team has left these quarters behind, as the series continues, new spaces will reveal new insights as Clone Force 99 grows and adapts to survive the Empire's rise.
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. The second episode airs Friday on Disney+.