The Bad Batch infiltrate Tarkin's fortress on his homeworld of Eriadu to get a lead on Dr. Hemlock, though a familiar face tries to kill Tarkin first...
Tropes:
- All for Nothing:
- Thanks to Saw's infiltration and bombing of the compound, the Batch's plan to track Hemlock back to his base was rendered inert since their tracking beacon was destroyed in the process, leaving them unable to find Crosshair and the other clones.
- Saw's own bombing was ultimately pointless, as the explosions didn't even scratch Tarkin and the other officials at the summit, which was supposed to be the whole purpose of the bombs in the first place.
- Assassination Attempt: Saw Gererra and the Partisans try to kill Tarkin, Hurst Romodi, Barton, Doctor Royce Hemlock, and Orson Krennic on the future Grand Moff's homeworld with bombs, though it obviously fails.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- Barton and Tarkin argue about the Clones, with the former saying that they were perfect soldiers who were loyal to the bitter end of the Clone Wars, even though they're now being decommissioned and replaced by Stormtroopers. Tarkin counters that while the Clones' unpredictably made them perfect soldiers against the Separatists and the Jedi, he didn't like the Jedi encouraging individuality for them since the Clones themselves were made to kill them on orders from Palpatine once Dooku and Grievous were defeated, also pointing out that he served with them as well.
- Saw Gererra is correct that the summit is a rare opportunity to wipe out the big high-ranking Imperials in one blow, and that such a loss — especially if Tarkin perishes — would cripple the Empire's ability to govern the galaxy with fear. Tech counters that while it may cripple the Empire for a time, it wouldn't be long before they find capable replacements and that the destruction of the compound would also destroy intel useful for other missions to resist the Empire. This was demonstrated earlier in the season when Rampart being exposed for his crimes didn't dent the Emperor's plans in the slightest.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Saw Gererra appears for the first time since the series premiere, and he even recalls his words to Hunter in that episode about choosing sides.
- Barton Coburn makes his first appearance since "The Wrong Jedi", now part of the Empire.
- Call-Back:
- Tech points out that Saw's plan to wipe out high-ranking Imperials is meaningless in the long run because the Empire will find replacements, replenish their depleted ranks, and continue like nothing happened. This alludes to Halle Burtoni's words that Admiral Rampart is just a cog in a machine, and how taking down a prominent Imperial didn't stop Emperor Palpatine from getting what he wants.
- Tarkin is once again subject to another bombing attempt on his life, this time by Saw Gererra and the Partisans, who try to cripple the Empire and its prosperity, rather than Separatists.
- Call-Forward:
- Orson Krennic is one of the Imperials at Tarkin's meeting, and is asked about the status of Project Star Dust.
- Tarkin is questioned by Barton, who points out the treatment of the clones could bring a colossal backlash from the Senate, just like how in A New Hope, Tagge will point out the flaws in Tarkin's fear-based doctrine and warn that dissolving the Senate will just create more problems in the long run. Tarkin will ultimately never learn his lesson from either Imperial and will be killed by the consequences of his own brutality.
- Saw doesn't care when Tech points out blowing the base will result in the loss of valuable intel, and that any slain Imperials will be replaced. In Andor, Luthen Rael will dare Cassian Andor to actually join the nascent Rebellion to work on effecting permanent, positive change as opposed to simply trying to blast anyone in his way just to make it another day like Saw's reckless Gotta Kill Them All approach.
- The Cameo: A young Orson Krennec, whose hair is starting to gray, is present at the meeting where Hemlock explains himself to Tarkin and other officers, prepared to give a report on Project Stardust.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the Batch trapped on a stalled railway car, still on Eriadu and well within reach of more Imperials.
- Crazy-Prepared: Tarkin's conference room is equipped with heavily armored doors in case of an attack or other emergency, which he uses as soon as the infiltration of the base by the Bad Batch and Saw Gererra and his partisans is uncovered.
- Didn't Think This Through: Saw Gererra and his Partisans have no real plan beyond "let's blow up some Imperials, it's all good". His actions result in the loss of valuable potential intel, and even if he had managed to kill the Imperial officers, they would have been replaced soon enough.
- Double-Meaning Title: The titular summit refers to both the Imperial conference and the mountain peak on which it is being held.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Saw Gererra and his Partisans wear the TK Trooper armor during their infiltration of Tarkin's home planet.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Barton Coburn, having served alongside Clones during the war, expresses concerns about betraying them, noting that the Clones are loyal and cunning soldiers, as well as asking if they volunteered to be Hemlock's guinea pigs, showing more concern for the Clones' individuality than almost any other Imperial in the series.
- Foregone Conclusion: The presence of Orson Krennic, Hurst Romodi, and Wilhuff Tarkin at Eriadu guarantees that Saw's plan to destroy the facility and kill everyone inside will fail. He and the Bad Batch are discovered before he can finish planting his explosives, and while he detonates them on the way out and wrecks a large portion of the facility, the meeting room containing Tarkin, Krennic, Hemlock, Romodi, and Coburn survives unscathed.
- Hero Antagonist: Saw shows up and his gung-ho desire to wipe out the Imperials present causes a massive blow to the Batch's plan, and he refuses to compromise or relent.
- Hero of Another Story: Echo notes that Rex is busy with another mission, explaining why he can't provide backup for the Batch's mission.
- Ignored Expert: Tech points out the flaws in Saw's plan (destroying the facility would mean a loss of intel, and killing the Imperials there just means that the Empire will quickly replace them), only to be disregarded by Saw who fanatically rambles about how sacrifices need to be made.
- Insecurity Camera: Averted. The fact that Saw disables several, very specific cameras causes an alert as soon as someone in the security station figures out they've been tampered with. By comparison, Tech engineers glitches in perimeter sensors and other equipment that can be reasonably chalked up to random malfunctions, precisely because blatant sabotage is cause for alarm.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- On the Bad Batch's part, their infiltration efforts caused enough of a disruption within the security systems for the garrison commander, Lieutenant Maylur, to notice Saw's sabotage and deploy security teams. This leads to both the Bad Batch and Saw Gererra's squad being detected, preventing Saw's efforts to plant more explosives closer to the meeting chamber to ensure the death of the the high-ranking Imperials therein.
- Likewise, Hunter's decision to spare Saw rather than kill him during "Aftermath" comes back to bite him and his squad in this episode.
- On Saw Gererra's part, in addition to contributing to the security disruptions that exposed both teams, his explosives ended up destroying Hemlock's shuttle and the tracking device placed on it. This ultimately does little more than kill some non-essential personnel and ensure the Bad Batch can't discover the location of Hemlock's facility, while also accidentally sabotaging their escape when the tram system goes offline.
- On the Bad Batch's part, their infiltration efforts caused enough of a disruption within the security systems for the garrison commander, Lieutenant Maylur, to notice Saw's sabotage and deploy security teams. This leads to both the Bad Batch and Saw Gererra's squad being detected, preventing Saw's efforts to plant more explosives closer to the meeting chamber to ensure the death of the the high-ranking Imperials therein.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Barton Coburn speaks on behalf of the clones and points out that if word gets out about the experimentation on the clones, the Senate will erupt into an uproar since there is still plenty of sentiment for the soldiers who delivered the Republic their apparent victory in the Clone Wars.
- Revealing Cover-Up: Saw disables the cameras in specific areas so he can plant explosives. As soon as the Imperials realize only those cameras have been disabled, an alert is sounded and his plan — along with that of the Batch — is ruined.
- Ship Tease: Although characteristically awkward, Tech is visibly tempted to go and speak with Phee before the team departs for their mission.
- Spanner in the Works: Saw Gererra shows up to destroy the entire facility, totally ruining the Batch's plan.
- Spotting the Thread: While inside the control room, Echo notices that many of the surveillance systems have been deactivated in several corridors, something that Hunter points out as very irregular, especially with the presence of senior ranking Imperial officers at the summit, and orders Tech to investigate. This leads them to uncover Saw Gerrera and his Partisans, and their plan to blow up the base with the Imperial officers inside.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When Omega asks what maneuver they'll be using to infiltrate the facility on Eriadu, Tech suggests the one they used on Raxus, but Echo reveals that the Empire has since changed their protocols to prevent such a maneuver from working; just because the Batch escaped, doesn't mean their tactics went unnoticed.
- Token Good Teammate: Barton Coburn is the only Imperial at summit who speaks on behalf of the clones, respecting their loyalty, efficiency, and even their autonomy. He also brings up concern of the Senate's reaction to the Empire's unethical actions regarding to the clones (as does Hurst Romodi, albeit in his case seemingly more out of Pragmatic Evil motives), but he is quickly overruled by Tarkin and Hemlock.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Neither the Bad Batch nor Saw are on the Empire's side, but their priorities totally clash; the Batch want to retrieve intel and track Hemlock so they can rescue Crosshair and the other Clones in his custody, while Saw just wants to blow up the facility to take out a number of important Imperial officers in one fell swoop.
- We Have Reserves: As Tech points out, Saw's plan to kill Tarkin and the other Imperial commanders won't amount to much in the long run, as the Empire will simply replace them. Saw doesn't really have a good response to it, a hint of the fanaticism that will define him throughout Rebels and up to Rogue One.
