On That Day, Humanity Received a Grim Reminder… That Rath is Awesome!
Ben, Gwen and Kevin are on a mission to bring peace between two planets. However, their adventure gets a road bump when Ben gets a new transformation.
- Affably Evil: Two examples.
- Sangfroid assures Ben, Kevin and Gwen that blowing up their ship is Nothing Personal which he seems quite genuine about.
- Jarett of Pantophage maybe a casual Child Eater and warmongering monster but he's still polite enough to thank Rath and co for the trouble they went through in delivering his "peace offering."
- Answer Cut: After their ship's engine is damaged during a close call with an Incursean ship and a black hole, Kevin tells the gang there's a nearby planet where they can find the right fuel source. And when Rath asks what the fuel source is, we cut to a planet covered in…Rath: TAYDENITE?!
Gwen: (to Kevin) Told you he wouldn't like it. - Anthropomorphic Food: The baby Tiffin looks like a flying ice cream swirl, which to the Pantophage, he basically is.
- Balloon Belly: Defied by Jarett after he eats the Tiffin, since he's already so comically fat that that's just the normal size of his belly, and it's not like such a tiny snack would've given him one to begin with.
- Bar Brawl: Octagon bribes the patrons to help him and his brother getting the Tiffin leading to a fight inside the diner.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Jarett thinks he's a huge, intimidating threat, but it's Played With in that while he's mostly only the former, he is a genuine threat to the weaker Lewodan species who would not survive an invasion from his people. It's just that when it comes down to it, he himself is a obese, lazy coward who bullies people with less than him for food, and Rath is sufficiently threatening enough to get him to back off without a fight.
- Black Comedy: This episode ramps up this as several characters die in humorous ways like Octagon and Rhomboid getting thrown into outer space and Sangfroid and his men getting sucked into a black hole. Then there's the ending where the Tiffin is suddenly eaten by Jarett who reveals the whole mission was just to get him a rare delicacy.
- Blood Knight:
- When Ben turns into Rath, he'll accept a good fight.
- Sangfroid reveals that he and his race loves war. The love it so much in fact that they'll sabotage a peace treaty (which they're completely uninvolved with) purely on principle which is why he is after Ben and the Tiffin.
- The Bully: What Jarret ultimately is, threatening war with a planet that's weaker in terms of military strength unless he is given their crown prince to eat as a snack. The Tiffin's people are both too scared and too weak to properly fight back, and it takes a bigger bully, Rath, to put him in his place.
- Bullying the Dragon: When Kevin tries (unsuccessfully) to finagle Vulkanus for Taydenite, Rath interrupts and insists he should take Kevin's offer while he can because every time they encounter him, they kick his butt. As if this doesn't anger him enough, Rath claims "I should've said spank your butt, cause you're just a little baby in that big mechanical suit!" And for good measure, he says out loud that he's going to call Vulkanus "Baby Man" from now on. He says all this despite that our heroes are clearly outmatched by Vulkanus and that getting the Taydenite to fuel their ship relies on pleasing Vulkanus.
- Child Eater: Tiffins are just babies, but they're considered rare delicacies by Jarett and the Phantophage. His size leads to uncomfortable questions about just how many peace offerings he's had made to him.
- Continuity Nod:
- The last time Octagon and Rhomboid appeared, they were blown to bits. It's revealed that the two belonged to a long line of clones with the current ones being the latest batch.
- When Kevin reveals that he needs Taydenite to fuel their ship and there's a planet nearby full of them, Rath and Gwen are upset at this because anytime Taydenite is involved, Vulkanus shows up and tries to kill them.
- Can't Spit It Out: Kevin knew that the Tiffin is why Ben stays as Rath but keeps quiet about it. Ben transforms back into Rath to give him a beating. Here We Go Again!.
- Eats Babies: It turns out that the Tiffin is not only a peace offering, but also a rare delicacy on Jarett's home planet, something that shocks everyone.
- Everybody Has Standards: Rath is a massive jerk, but he's utterly horrified when Jarett devours the Tiffin and reveals what he considers a peace offering in the process.
- Evil Is Petty: Although understandably enraged by Rath jumping into his belly to save the Tiffin, causing him a great deal of pain, Jarret considers the absolutely tiny Tiffin a snack worth going to war over not getting.
- Extreme Doormat: At one point later in the episode, the Tiffin's mother tries to beg our heroes not to give over her son to the Panthophage. But when Ben/Rath declares they want to finish what they started, despite Gwen's insistence that they respect the mother's wishes, the Tiffin's mother simply rolls over and decides it's for the best.
- Fainting: Kevin surprisingly passes out when Jarett devours the Tiffin.
- False Friend: Gwen brings up the many times Argit has placed them in danger and deems him not a friend but Kevin doesn't believe it. The former turns out to be right as Argit immediately sells them out to the Vreedles.Kevin: Are you saying you don't like my friends?
Gwen: No, I'm saying he's not your friend! - Fat Bastard: Jarett is so fat he doubles in width when sitting on his throne, is willing to declare peace just to eat a tiny Tiffin, and is willing to declare war when said tiny Tiffin is taken from him.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: The Tiffin being placed on a pie with a servant in a clear chef outfit should tip off any viewer to what Jarett really wanted him for seconds before it happens.
- Foreshadowing:
- The visibly saddened expression the Tiffin's mother has whilst the ambassador is discussing the peace offering is a hint that he’s not giving the full details about what exactly will happen when the Tiffin is delivered to the Pantophage.
- After the Tiffin makes the Omnitrix spark the first time, Ben briefly refers to himself in third person, just like Rath does occasionally.
- Friend to All Children: Rath eventually warms up to the Tiffin and somberly apologizes as he gives him to Jarett, and quickly rescues him from his belly.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Despite being so tiny, the Tiffin is thankfully rescued from Jarett's stomach completely unharmed. Rath also comes out no worse for wear.
- Gilligan Cut: After Kevin mentions that he already has a power source for the damaged ship.Rath: TAYDENITE?!?!
Gwen: Told you he wouldn’t like it. - Good News, Bad News: After a close call involving an Incursean ship and a black hole, the bad news is that the engine of gang's ship is severely damaged. The good news is Kevin knows a planet close by with just the fuel source they need… although this turns out to not be very good news after all, as the fuel source in question is Taydenite.
- Idiotic Partner Confession: When Gwen asks how the Vreedles are still alive, Octagon says they're clones and is content to leave it at that. Rhomboid, however, goes on at length about how their parents made them from a defective, spoiled home kit that was bought on sale.Octagon: But all that falls under the category of personal-type business that we do not share with strangers... Boid!
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Rath makes a threat to the king that if he starts a war against the Lewodans, Rath'll be back and he'll and I quote, "Knit his intestines into a sweater".
- Infant Immortality: Thankfully, the Tiffin is saved mere moments after getting eaten by Jarett, but it's revealed that this system of feeding Jarett children as peace offerings has been going on for a long time.
- It Amused Me: Implied to be the reason why Kevin neglected to tell Ben and Gwen the Tiffin was the reason the former couldn't change back to normal. This comes back to bite him in the ass at the end.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Jarret initially declares war when Rath rescues the Tiffin from him, but when Rath reminds him that seconds ago he ripped through his insides to rescue the baby, and warns him he'll do worse the next time, the obese, lazy king decides it's for the best to let it go.
- Living MacGuffin: The Tiffin.
- Mook Horror Show: What Rath did to the Incursean soldiers is up to interpretation but it's safe to say it wasn't pretty.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Rath is none too pleased that Kevin flies them to a planet filled with Taydenite since that's always Vulkanus's MO. Gwen is displeased as well.
- Rath, Gwen, and Kevin are all mortified when Jarett suddenly devours the Tiffin, realizing they were glorified food deliverers.
- Kevin is terrified when Ben turns back into Rath. Justified because Kevin knew the entire time what was going on with the Omnitrix.
- Papa Wolf: He might not look like it but Rath clearly takes a shine to the little Tiffin. When Jarett eats the little guy, Rath is mighty pissed.
- Poor Communication Kills: Kevin knew the entire time that the Tiffin was the reason why Ben turned into Rath but stepped back.
- Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Rath does this twice; first in the above Papa Wolf moment, then when he calls out the Lewodan Ambassador for not giving them the full details about what would happen to the Tiffin.Rath: Never. Talk to me. Again.
- Serious Business: Jarret is so gluttonous (and tyrannical) that an absolutely tiny snack of a Tiffin (which for a human is the equivalent of eating a Tic-Tac) is worth threatening war over.
- Shapeshifter Mode Lock: The Tiffin being in close proximity to the Omnitrix sends out an electromagnetic interference that keeps Ben stuck as Rath.
- Shout-Out: When Rath rescues the Tiffin from Jarett's belly, he angrily declares, "surely you realize this means war!
- Sleazy Politician: The Lewodan ambassador didn't give all the details about what will happen to the Tiffin when he is given to the Panthophage. Near the end of the episode, Rath (disgusted he would throw the Tiffin under the bus just to avoid war) threatens the ambassador to never speak to him again.
- Sudden Downer Ending: Narrowly averted. After all the trouble throughout the episode, Rath still gives the Tiffin to Jarett, regretfully... and then Jarett eats the Tiffin since he considers him a rare delicacy. Rath doesn't take it lying down and rescues the baby and forces Jarett to stand down from his intent of war, reuniting the Tiffin with its' mother.
- Take a Third Option: Jarett of the Pantophage has threatened war against the Lewodans unless they bring him a peace offering, that being their crown prince. Evil, yes, but Rath and company figure he's going to keep the child as a glorified hostage and ultimately bring him the Tiffin due to the alternative being the war. However, when Jarett reveals the peace offering is just a way for him to eat the poor baby, Rath takes the third option of rescuing the Tiffen and threatening Jarett enough to back off.
- Taunting the Transformed: Vulkanus mocks Ben for being stuck as Rath, which goes about as well as you'd expect.Vulkanus: What happened? You set the Omnitrix to ugly?
- This Is Gonna Suck: Once Rath catches him, Octagon knew he and his brother are in for a world of hurt.
- Tsundere: While Rath starts off VERY annoyed with the Tiffin, he grows to be very fond of him.
- Villainous Glutton: Jarett of the Pantophage is an Adipose Rex that's on the verge of war with the Lewodans. They appease him with a peace offering, which on his planet means a rare delicacy to eat, in this case their crown prince. Heck his species name, Pantophage, basically means "eater of all". The fact that he is willing to declare either peace or war over an incredibly tiny Tiffin shows just how gluttonous he is, or just how good the Tiffin tastes.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Tiffin's presence is the reason why Ben is stuck as Rath. Ironically, this helped save the Tiffin's life.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: Rath is just so bad that Kevin wishes he transforms back into Ben.
- Would Hurt a Child: Jarett enjoys eating Tiffin's as "peace offerings", and he implies that he's been eating countless children as said peace offerings for his planet's entire history.
