Ezra mobilizes all forces and assembles a motley troop to aid him in the seemingly hopeless fight against Pryce and her Imperial forces.
Tropes in this episode include:
- All There in the Manual: When Ryder contacts Governor Pryce to surrender, he uses her first name and speaks to her with a certain familiarity. The novel Thrawn shows she had a hand in Ryder's arrest for treason, and took his job as Governor of Lothal with the support of Grand Moff Tarkin.
- Back for the Finale: Kallus, Rex, and the Ghost return, along with Wolffe, Gregor, Ketsu, and Hondo (and Melch) as well.
- Base on Wheels: The clones have refitted the AT-AT into another mobile base like their old AT-TE, having named it Joopa Base. They've also grafted a landing pad on top of it, supported on what used to be the AT-TE's legs, as well as some other gadgets from the older vehicle, such as the crane and possibly the turret.
- Batman Gambit: Ezra banks on the fact that, while Thrawn would potentially see through Ryder's Fake Defector ruse, Pryce would fall for it and rush straight in without a second thought, luring her right to them. It works.
- BFG: Zeb grabs a mounted blaster cannon and uses it as a handheld weapon.
- Big Damn Heroes: The wolves proceed to tear into the Imperial troops near the end of the episode.
- The Bus Came Back: All of the team's ragtag allies come back. Hondo and Melch, Vizago, Wollf and Gregor, Ketsu, Kallus, Ryder...
- Call-Back:
- Ketsu is a rebel now, which was detailed in Forces of Destiny, including the starbird Sabine added to her shoulder armor in that short.
- Wolffe and Gregor moved into the AT-AT, which would've been seen at the end of "Relics of the Old Republic" though was confirmed by Word of God. And the name of their new home? Joopa Base.
- The loth-wolves emerging from beyond Ezra is reminiscent of Ezra summoning the mother fyrnock in "Gathering Forces", only this time he's in control.
- Canon Immigrant: Among the Imperial ships blockading Lothal are re-canonized versions of the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers from Legends, a class of ship that played a very prominent role in The Thrawn Trilogy.
- The Cavalry: First, the Ghost, which appears right as Pryce has the Rebels cornered; then, the loth-wolves, which Ezra summons to truly turn the tide.
- Chekhov's Army: With the Alliance not committing troops, the Spectres assemble a team of their own. See Back for the Finale above.
- Co-Dragons: Fittingly, Thrawn’s two Dragons Pryce and Rukh are dealt with in the penultimate episode of the season and series.
- Continuity Nod: Gregor references the Wolfpack, Wolffe's old squad, when they meet the lothwolves.
- Crazy Enough to Work: Hondo's plan to get past the blockade is to have the Ghost wait just on the edge of a hyperspace lane, knowing that Imperial supply ships regularly use it. Assuming the ship doesn't crash into them, it'll arrive close enough for them to mag-clamp onto the cargo crates using maneuvering thrusters, allowing the Ghost to run on minimal power and remain undetected.
- Deus ex Machina: Subverted. While the wolves are literally this as extensions of the will of the Force, their arrival is foreshadowed earlier in the episode.
- Disney Villain Death: Attempted on Rukh twice, first by Ezra kicking him off a cliff, and then again by a loth-wolf hurling him off the cliff. The first time, it's subverted, as Rukh manages to grab onto the cliff and stop himself; the second time, his fate is left ambiguous.
- Enemy Rising Behind: Inverted. The loth-wolves's eyes rise behind Ezra when they're preparing to attack, but they're allies to Ezra, not enemies.
- Enforced Method Acting: In-Universe, only Ezra and Ryder knew that Pryce discovering the base was All According to Plan, so the others' response to Ryder's fake betrayal is genuine.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all his faults (and they are many), Hondo genuinely cares about Ezra and is willing to risk his life for the boy.Hondo: Madam, for that boy, there is nothing I would not do.
- Fake Defector: In order to lure Pryce in to be captured, Ryder calls her and claims to want to turn on the Rebels in exchange for amnesty.
- False Reassurance: Hondo assures Hera he's done his hyperspace lane trick plenty of times. He then tries to count the number of times it has failed, gets to six or so, then just repeats himself rather than admit what the number really is.
- Foreshadowing: Ezra tells Ryder that he doesn't need an army to take the capital back from Governor Pryce, only "one man". Cut to Pryce who, after a short discussion, receives a transmission from Ryder...
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Ezra calls up nearly every friend he's made thus far to help with one final assault.Ruhk: Where's your army now, Jedi?
Ezra: [opens his eyes]
The spirit of Lothal: [literally sends in an army] - Gory Discretion Shot: The camera tends to cut away after a wolf gets a hold of a trooper, unless they're tossing one off a cliff.
- Gunship Rescue: Hera shows up in the Ghost to blow up Pryce's gunships.
- Insistent Terminology: Hondo is a pirate, not a mere smuggler.
- I Want Them Alive!: Once again said regarding Ezra, this time by Governor Pryce. She repeats it before sending Rukh and the stormtroopers into the cave.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: We still don't know if the loth-wolves are natural animals or manifestations of the Force. Either way, the Force is with Ezra, and he is empowered by Lothal.
- Mook Horror Show: The loth-wolves tearing apart stormtroopers, possibly literally.
- Oh, Crap!: The Imperials, when they see Ezra's wolf backup in the cave.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hondo is his cheery, chaotic self for most of the episode, but he grows uncharacteristically serious when he reveals that no, he's not going to be Playing Both Sides this time.Hondo: For that boy, there is nothing I would not do.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The remaining members of the Ghost crew, along with Azadi, Mart, Vizago and the other freed prisoners, Kallus, Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, Ketsu, Hondo, Melch, and the Lothal rebels all work together to make one last strike towards the Empire to save Lothal. Hondo is quick to lampshade this to ask how the reward money would be split.
- Ramming Always Works: To take out the last gunship, Hera does an aileron roll and smacks it with the wing at the end of the rotation. In this case, the Ghost has a significant mass and shielding advantage over the gunship, so the Ghost comes out of it unharmed while the gunship is sent plummeting to the ground.
- Rousing Speech: Ezra gives one to the others, assuring them that with Governor Pryce defeated, they can drive the Empire out of the rest of Lothal and prove to the rest of the galaxy that it can be beaten.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is a reference to Gandalf telling Pippin that Frodo and Sam only had "a fool's hope" of succeeding in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
- Imperialists chase a small seer into the caverns, where he seems eerily calm, before revealing a canine attacker(s) come to turn the tide which rip the imperials apart. Sounds an awful lot like the climax of Watership Down.
- Taking You with Me: Pryce fears Thrawn will have her executed for her failures and wants to capture the rebels to placate him. She then warns her lieutenant that if she is to suffer that fate for failing Thrawn, she'll make sure his head is on the chopping block too.
- Took a Level in Badass: As Kanan did a few seasons back, Ezra has become a Jedi Knight, and he shows it.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: The audience is given no details about Ezra's plan to take on Lothal, and so it initially seems that Ryder has genuinely betrayed them. It is not until the cavalry arrives that the rebels reveal to Pryce and the audience that this was their plan all along.
- You and What Army?: A variation. Rukh asks Ezra where his army is when he sees him in the cave, seemingly alone. Then Ezra grins as a pair of eyes rise from the darkness and he ignites his lightsaber, revealing the loth-wolf pack.
