Summary
A somber episode explores the Empire’s mistreatment of children with Emerie as a POV character.
“Identity Crisis” is a fun and jovial animated exploration of child abuse and trauma under a totalitarian regime. Fun! Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3 has made no secret of the Empire’s rather callous approach to youth thus far, but Episode 10 takes it to a whole new level, focusing both on their efforts to capture children with high M-counts via Class One Bounty Hunters — hello, Cad Bane! — and what happens to them back on Mount Tantiss courtesy of Dr. Royce Hemlock.
The episode starts with a young kid being ratted on by a neighbor, his only crime being “special”. A bit later, he’s picked up by Cad Bane, who unfeelingly murders the kid’s mother and takes him away in a floating crib like the one from The Mandalorian, flicking the snitch a paltry cut for his tip. Hope it was worth it.
Emerie Gets A Promotion
On Mount Tantiss, Emerie informs Dr. Hemlock that Nala Se’s confinement has stalled progress in the lab, and suggests that things could move a little more quickly if she was promoted to Chief Scientist and given a new security clearance. She gets her wish, and Hemlock gives her — and thus the audience — a quick run-down of Project Necromancer‘s current progress.
This means Emerie gets access to the vault, where there are currently three test subjects being housed. All were selected for their high M-counts and all, distressingly, are children. Hemlock explains that since M-count can’t be replicated at the source, Omega’s blood, the only sample that has thus far been compatible with the subjects’ DNA to replicate their M-count, is a crucial, one-of-a-kind binder. This is why she’s so integral to the project and why the Empire is so keen on retrieving her.
Emerie is warned not to become too close to the “specimens” and to consider them simply as scientific assets, which she struggles with immediately. The “Identity Crisis” of the title is hers — is she the kind of person who imprisons and coldly experiments on innocent children, or is she someone who, as intimated by Nala Se, has the power to change things?
Hemlock Is Under Pressure
Hemlock gets a call from Tarkin, who is concerned about how much of the Empire’s funding Mount Tantiss is getting without producing any actionable results. Hemlock tries to give it the old “it’s classified” routine to try and shut Tarkin up, but he knows that isn’t going to work long-term and Tarkin makes it very clear he isn’t one to be smugly manipulated by a boffin.
Increasingly under pressure, Hemlock calls the Shadow Trooper who survived Episode 7, “Extraction”, and may or may not be Commander Cody. He’s getting closer to tracking Omega down through Phee Genoa. Hemlock implores him to do so quickly — and he’s on his own, since his potential compatriots aren’t ready for the field yet.
A New Specimen
Emerie insists on going with Scorch to pick up the latest specimens from Cad Bane, and she’s immediately taken aback by how young the child is. Despite asking Bane a bunch of questions, she nonetheless returns the child to Mount Tantiss, where Eva is sulking about Jax being punished for his earlier escape attempt, despite Emerie having assured her he wouldn’t be.
Emerie continues to carry out her duties, but she’s visibly beginning to soften. The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 10 ends with her leaving a toy for Eva and one suspects that won’t be the only favor she does these kids. It’s a somber end to a contemplative episode highlighting the cruelty of the Imperial regime.
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