Emerie confronts the dark secrets behind Hemlock’s experiments.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question: Emerie quickly says that she doesn’t have the power to do anything to save the children, but Nala Se firmly silences her with two words.Nala Se: Don’t you?
- As You Know: As Emerie knows, Hemlock reminds her that a specimen’s M-count cannot be directly replicated by the cloning process.
- Asshole Victim: X-2 refers to "pulling information" out of Cid in a tone which implies that the interrogation was neither delicate nor painless.
- Ax-Crazy: Tarkin as usual can’t help himself and quickly threatens Hemlock’s life if Project Necromancer fails and the extra funds it’s been getting go to waste.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: At her own request, Emerie is promoted to take Nala Se's place as chief scientist on Project Necromancer, only to quickly find herself horrified by what the project entails.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Cad Bane and Todo return for the first time since Season 1's "Bounty Lost".
- Tarkin makes his first appearance since the Season 2 finale.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Emerie asks him how many children he’s procured for the Empire, Cad Bane snarks that all he can say is that he’s good at his job.
- Call-Forward:
- Ailish and Bayrn are Tarlafars, the species that Wamoth is part of.
- Bayrn is placed in a hovering, closable crib by Bane like Grogu will eventually be put into in The Mandalorian.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Bane as ever is very relaxed about his job and smugly boasts about how good he is at it.
- Continuity Nod:
- Bayrn is exposed as Force sensitive when it uses the Force in public view like Ahsoka in Tales of the Jedi and Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, though this time it was pure instinct due to only being a baby without realizing what it was doing.
- Cad Bane is once again in the business of kidnapping innocent Force-sensitive children on behalf of Palpatine after doing so back in early Season 2 of The Clone Wars.
- Cid is alluded to as having given Phee’s name to Clone X-2.
- Cryptic Background Reference: Without going into detail, Emerie alludes to having been "discarded" by Nala Se and accuses her of being willing to do the same to the children now being used as test subjects for Project Necromancer.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Emerie, as she's made chief science officer of Project Necromancer and becomes disturbed with its selection of test subjects.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Crossed with Evil Is Petty and Ax-Crazy. When Hemlock refuses to divulge Project Necromancer to Tarkin, the latter responds by quickly threatening his life if he fails.
- Friend to All Children: Emerie is immediately taken aback by Project Necromancer using children as test subjects, and Eva quickly begins whittling away at her with her innocent, friendly nature.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Nala Se prioritized protecting Omega over the other Force-sensitive children when questioned by Emerie. According to Nala Se, Omega's blood is what could generate the M-count necessary for Project Necromancer, so as long as Omega is out of reach from Hemlock, Project Necromancer is effectively dead in the water. It won't save the other children, but Nala Se figured it was too late for them.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Hemlock refers to the child test subjects as scientific matter for Project Necromancer and nothing more. He insists that Emerie not engage with them on a personal level, though she finds herself empathizing with them regardless.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Tarkin calls Hemlock to complain about the extra funding sent to him for Project Necromancer, evidently unaware of how Palpatine has personally shown investment in the operation. When Hemlock makes that interest clear, Tarkin still can't help trying to assert his authority by warning Hemlock of the consequences of failure.
- Karma Houdini: Bane suffers no comeuppance for his successful capture of Bayrn. The Aqualish villager who sold the baby out to Bane likewise goes unpunished, and even gets some credits tossed his way by the bounty hunter.
- The Last Dance: Nala Se is implied to realize her life is likely on the chopping block sooner than later now that Emerie is replacing her as chief scientist, so she makes sure to needle Emerie about the survival of the children for their sake.
- Locked Out of the Loop: It's shown that Tarkin is unfamiliar with Project Necromancer, and he and others out of the loop are annoyed with the extra funding Hemlock is getting.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Bane’s smug indifference to his job trafficking children for Project Necromancer only helps Karr’s increasing uneasiness with the operation.
- Out of Focus: None of the Batch themselves make an appearance in this episode, with Emerie Karr instead serving as protagonist.
- Pet the Dog:
- Surprisingly, Hemlock makes Emerie the new chief scientist with little hesitation when she asks for the position.
- Nala Se, even if she prioritized Omega's safety, did what she could for the children held by Project Necromancer and encourages Emerie to do the same, advice Emerie follows by giving Omega's makeshift doll to Eva.
- Despite Bane's greed, he genuinely thanks the Aqualish villager who tipped him off about Bayrn's Force Sensitivity by throwing some credits his way.
- Bane also takes a moment to warn Emerie when he picks up on her empathy for the children, telling her that her questions are giving away more than she thinks (in other words, to keep her trap shut or she'll get herself in trouble).
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- Bane doesn't kill Ailish, as stunning her accomplishes much the same goal.
- Todo-360 gives the abducted Bayrn his favorite toy to soothe him. Not out of kindness, but because a happy baby is less trouble to transport.
- The Reveal:
- The vault, which Hemlock and Palpatine were previously shown entering, is revealed to contain Force-sensitive children who are being used as test subjects for Project Necromancer.
- Omega's importance to Project Necromancer isn't just about her own M-count, but because she's the key to replicating M-counts, something previous cloning methods have failed to do.
- Spotting the Thread: Bane remarks that Karr’s question about where Bayrn came from lets on more about her than she thinks, catching on to her budding empathy for the children. Luckily for Emerie, Bane doesn't care enough to mention it to Scorch or the TK Troopers.
- Villain Episode: With Omega and the Bad Batch absent, this episode focuses on Anti-Villain Emerie Karr as she, like Crosshair before her, is exposed to the ugly aspects of Imperial service and finds herself increasingly uncomfortable with it.
- Would Hurt a Child: While the test subjects aren’t actually harmed due to being needed for the project, Scorch still stuns Jax mid-escape attempt to follow the spirit of this trope, insisting he was detaining the Mirialan boy despite him being a child he could easily have restrained with less effort.
- You Are Number 6: The children of Project Necromancer are referred to by specimen numbers to dehumanize them further.
- You Have Failed Me: Tarkin is quick to threaten Hemlock that his life is in danger if Project Necromancer turns out to be a bust, eager to regain the extra funding that’s been going to him. In response, Hemlock orders X-2 to not fail him again and to not return unless he has Omega.
