The Rebels join forces with Hondo and Azmorigan's ruthless pirates to salvage a freighter full of weapons the Rebellion needs. However, the mission turns out way more dangerous than they expected.
Tropes in this episode:
- Big "NO!": Sabine, when Zeb and Ezra's winch cable is severed while they're halfway to the Ghost and they're both sent falling. She also gives a Futile Hand Reach.
- Breather Episode: While the tension does increase once the Sentry Droids show up and start complicating things, this is one of the more easygoing episodes of the season, with a lot of comic relief.
- The Bus Came Back: For Hondo, last seen in "Steps Into Shadow", and Azmorigan, last seen in "Brothers of the Broken Horn". Melch, one of the Ugnaughts rescued from Reklam Station in "Steps Into Shadow", also returns as part of Hondo's gang.
- Bus Crash: The other Ugnaughts rescued from Reklam Station besides Melch were apparently Killed Offscreen, presumably at the hands of the sentry droids.
- Call-Back:
- The crew (minus Ezra, who won't hate Hondo anytime soon) still don't like Hondo, especially because he ditched them (and nearly got Ezra killed) the last time.
- AP-5 has a major role again and the rebels board a freighter like the one from his debut episode.
- The rebels are still looking for proton bombs, as they expressed interest in them back in "The Last Battle", presumably to bomb Lothal's Imperial factories as stated in "Steps Into Shadow".
- Azmorigan notes that he still technically owns Hera from "Idiot's Array", and how she hit him with a tray. She's not amused and gives him a Death Glare.
- Zeb in a leadership role and in fact a former Captain of the Honor Guard was first brought up in "Legends of the Lasat".
- Ezra's attitude problems come back, after being explored in "Steps Into Shadow", "The Holocrons of Fate", and "The Antilles Extraction".
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: While Hondo doesn't actually do anything to kill Melch or Azmorigan, he's more than happy to leave them for dead if it means that he gets more treasure.
- Comically Small Bribe: As an apology for leaving him behind, Hondo offers to increase Melch's share from 1% to 2%. Subverted in that it works; Melch is delighted.
- Continuity Nod:
- Ezra notes that recently, the crew hasn't been trusting him (the mission to Malachor, the situation at Reklam Station, and so forth), and he wants to regain that trust by scoring them supplies they desperately need.
- Hondo kept the Sentinel-class shuttle he made off with in "Steps Into Shadow", having given it a new paintjob.
- Crazy Enough to Work: When asked why they'll succeed where the Empire failed in retrieving the transport's cargo, Hondo says they have something the Empire doesn't: desperation! Hera admits that he's right. The Empire would write off the cargo in a heartbeat, but they can't afford to.
- Crazy-Prepared: Melch puts himself in the treasure chest they're about to load next so Hondo and Azmorigan won't leave him behind.
- The Crime Job: "The Wynkahthu Job".
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Ezra gives Zeb the hint that he's mad about the latter being mission leader by calling him "Captain", fully aware that Zeb isn't comfortable with it.
- Elite Mooks: DT-series Sentry Droids are definitely a cut above regular stormtroopers in terms of posing a threat to the Rebels.
- Enemy Mine: Though Hondo is more on the ambiguous side of the spectrum, Azmorigan qualifies.
- Exact Words: As Ezra lampshades, Hondo didn't lie, he just didn't tell the whole truth.
- Face Palm: Zeb's reaction to Azmorigan panicking and complicating the mission for them.
- Funny Background Event:
- When Hondo is trying to convince the crew to work with Azmorigan, Azmorigan sticks a finger in his ear then wipes the result on the nearest bulkhead.
- When Hondo claims he would never abandon his crew, Ezra rolls his eyes. Obviously due to Hondo doing just that to him in the past.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you watch closely when Zeb first lands in the ship and looks around with his flashlight, you can see someone quickly pass by a corridor near him. We find out a scene later that it's Melch.
- Hats Off to the Dead: Hondo does this when it looks like Melch has bitten the dust while vowing to spend his share of the wealth wisely. Of course, Melch is still alive.
- Headbutting Heroes: Ezra is not happy about Zeb getting to lead the mission instead of him, and Zeb is not happy about Ezra bringing Hondo and Azmorigan back into their lives, so they spend most of the mission needling each other about it.
- Homage: The episode is one to classic pirate movies, with a misfit crew heading out to find abandoned treasure before it's lost to the maelstrom, patrolled by droids that look like living skeletons.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Hera puts Zeb in charge of the mission because she doesn't trust Ezra around Hondo, with her intention being that he learn that Hondo isn't a friend. Subverted when it turns out Ezra is completely aware of what kind of person Hondo is, but considers him a friend anyway.
- Hypocrite: When Zeb gets captured, Ezra snarks that this is probably the last time he'll be put in charge of a team for a while - conveniently overlooking the multiple times that he's been captured so far this season.
- I'm Standing Right Here: Hondo tells the crew they'd have to be blind not to see the opportunity they have, and then promptly remembers Kanan and starts apologizing. Kanan just snarks that he's actually interested in what he has to say, to which Hondo replies that he's glad someone is seeing things his way. Hondo then catches himself just as Kanan shoots him another "glare".
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Hondo. Despite his charisma, it is obvious that he does not care about his partners, and is willing to abandon them if he gets 100% of the treasure.
- Kick the Dog: For the entire episode, Ezra takes shots at Zeb's leadership for the mission, one of the prominent examples being calling him "Captain" — and since Zeb personally confided in him why he doesn't like being called that, Ezra's behavior definitely qualifies as this. What's jarring is that Ezra doesn't apologize for his behavior and instead tries a weak compliment to branch away from the entire incident, but it seems that Zeb isn't so quick to let it pass.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Azmorigan panics and fires at the Sentry Droid in this manner. It ends up complicating matters for everyone instead.
- Mecha-Mooks: The Sentry Droids.
- My God, You Are Serious!:
- Hondo laughs off Zeb's threat as a joke, then promptly asks Ezra if Zeb's kidding or not as soon as he's out of earshot. Ezra doesn't say.
- When Hondo mentions that he tried attacking the Imperial freighter (and losing), he notes how crazy it was. Ezra offhandedly mentions that they do it all the time. Hondo, being Hondo, tries to say he does it too, before realizing what he's saying and then asking if Ezra was actually serious. Upon confirmation, he immediately starts to "negotiate further jobs".
- Mythology Gag:
- Zeb threatens to tear Hondo's limbs off like Wookiees tend to do. (Fitting, considering that the Lasat species is modeled after concept art for Chewbacca, a Wookiee.)
- The Sentry Droids are deliberately modeled after the Dark Troopers from Dark Forces. Interestingly, the Dark Troopers were directly already canonized through Commander—which takes place shortly after the events of A New Hope—suggesting that the Sentry Droids may be predecessors to them. More advanced Dark Troopers would later appear in The Mandalorian.
- Never Tell Me the Odds!:AP-5: Estimating chance of mission success at 38.5%.
Kanan: 38.5%?! This is your plan!
AP-5: I have factored that in. Without me, your chances are almost zero. - Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Chopper restoring power also reactivated the Sentry Droids.
- Ezra impulsively cuts a hole in the cargo bay door when Zeb has already ordered Chopper to restore power, the latter rendering the former unnecessary. When trying to escape the Sentry Droids later, the giant hole in the door renders it an even less effective barricade, since they can still shoot through it before bashing their way through the door itself.
- Well, not a hero, but Azmorigan shooting down a sentry droid activates all the others. And he didn't even succeed in putting the first one down.
- Not Helping Your Case: Ezra wants to get the crew's trust back... by bringing in Hondo and Azmorigan, and getting them into pirate shenanigans yet again.
- Poor Communication Kills: The mission is made a whole lot more dangerous because AP-5 fails to mention that the transport has Mecha-Mooks as guards, and if one is attacked the others will automatically be brought online.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: During the firefight and with the cargo ship so close to destruction, Chopper yells "Every Man for himself!" and activates his thruster.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: For Hondo and Azmorigan, not the rebels. They were looking forward to a cargo filled with treasure, but the crew prioritizes getting the bombs out first and the awakening of the droids means they only have time to get one crate out. Which turned out to be Melch, hidden in the crate so the two wouldn't leave him behind.
- Spoof Aesop: In-Universe — when Hondo discovers Melch in the treasure crate instead of any of the goodies he was after, he tries to save face by claiming that "friendship is the greatest treasure". Not that anyone believes him.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Nobody on the Ghost (except Ezra) is happy to see Hondo show up. They're not happy about Azmorigan either.
- Vertigo Effect: When Ezra sees the rest of the sentry droids awakening.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: When Zeb gets angry with Hondo for lying to them, he points out that he didn't technically lie to them, but was limited to hiding information, and he says that in his case that is a great advance.
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Ezra asks this while on the freighter, and the question is naturally answered.
