Most powerful is he who controls his own power.
After the escape of Nute Gunray from Luminara Unduli's Jedi Cruiser, Jedi Master Kit Fisto is sent to track down the Trade Federation leader, tracking the signal from the stolen ship Gunray was taken away on to Vassek. Arriving, Kit finds his former Padawan Nahdar Vebb and a squad of clone troopers, also sent to capture Gunray. They find a remote base, and entering it, think they've found Gunray ordering some battle droids... only to turn the chair around and discover he's just a hologram, with the tracking device from the ship.
It turns out the base is the secret lair of General Grievous, and Count Dooku has arranged for the Republic forces to find it as a test for the cyborg, wanting to see if his top commander still has an edge against the Jedi he likes to kill. And when an unsuspecting Grievous returns home, a deadly showdown ensues...
Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Kit removes Grievous' legs when they ambush him coming into his lair. His many arms and waiting replacement parts means that he crawls away using the ceiling and walls anyway.
- Attack the Tail: Nahdar Vebb cuts off Grievous' pet roggwart's tail in order to free Commander Fil, who is trapped in the claw at the end of it. It is too late, however, as Fil has already been bashed to death by the beast.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Not only do the Jedi fail to recapture Gunray, Grievous successfully fends off their subsequent attempt to capture him and kills all but Kit Fisto, who barely escapes with his life. His victory is rendered hollow by Dooku remaining unimpressed, however.
- Blinded by the Light: Kit Fisto's plan for ambushing Grievous includes shining the bright lights from the clone troopers' helmets into his eyes in the dark lair. While Grievous does squint and raise an arm to protect himself from the light, it does not give them the advantage they were hoping for even if it does seem like they'll be victorious at first.
- Bring It: After Grievous escapes from the team's initial ambush he pauses while hanging from the ceiling to growl "Come and get me!" at the Jedi before swinging away. This is after Kit had just cut off his legs.
- The Cameo: Ahsoka and Luminara appear via hologram in the beginning, when Kit is heading to where they think Nute Gunray is hiding out.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Kit Fisto and his former Padawan Nahdar Vebb have a light-hearted exchange while dealing with the droids supposedly guarding Nute Gunray, obviously happy to see each other and work together again. This banter disappears as it becomes clear they've walked into an incredibly dangerous trap and their mission quickly becomes something out of the horror genre.
- Chair Reveal: Kit spins the chair that Gunray's voice is heard from around to discover that he's just a hologram and isn't there in person.
- Creepy Souvenir: Kit and Nahdar find a collection of souvenirs from various Jedi Grievous has killed, including Padawan braids.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb lasts about twenty seconds against Grievous before getting killed by him, showing that Grievous is pretty effective against "regular" Jedi.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Kit Fisto, who serves as the episode's protagonist.
- Decapitation Presentation: The first statue of Grievous, from prior to any of his cybernetic alterations, depicts him holding the severed head of an opponent.
- Destroy the Security Camera: Kit Fisto stabs a holo-camera with his lightsaber while he knows Grievous is watching him through it, ticking the cyborg General off.
- Diagonal Cut: A droid Nahdar bisects with his saber manages to get off two more shots before it falls in two.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: Nahdar says this to General Grievous word-for-word, but, naturally, it doesn't work out the way he'd intended.
- Dramatic Irony: Grievous wonders why Palpatine/Sidious and Dooku aren't sending him more competent Battle Droids like Commando Droids to gain victory over the Jedi, despite the sheer number of regular B1 Battle Droids as well as Super Battle Droids and both droids' various variants. Of course, victory over the Jedi would come from something else entirely...
- Dual Wielding: During the final duel against Grievous, Kit uses his lightsaber alongside Nahdar Vebb's to fight the cyborg General.
- Dwindling Party: Over the course of the episode, the dangers of Grievous' lair and the general himself kill off everyone except for Kit, who escapes in his starfighter.
- Evil Laugh: Nute Gunray gives out a hearty "AH-ha-ha-ha-ha" when Kit Fisto spins the chair he seems to be in and reveals that Gunray is elsewhere and using a holo-projector and the tracking beacon to lure the Jedi into a trap.
- Exploring the Evil Lair: Kit Fisto, his former Padawan learner Nahdar Vebb, and a squad of clone troopers wind up in General Grievous' secret base, all arranged by Count Dooku because he thinks Grievous has been losing his edge.
- Faux Affably Evil: Count Dooku politely apologizes for the Jedi's inconvenience in going so far out of their way to grab Gunray despite Dooku hiding him elsewhere, despite it all being a trap meant to get the Jedi involved and their squad brutally slaughtered by known Jedi killer Grievous.
- Fed to the Beast: Grievous sets loose his pet roggwart Gor to kill and presumably consume Commander Fil, Knight Vebb and Master Fisto (the only members of the group to survive the initial encounter with Grievous) while Grievous is being patched up by A4-D. He may have overestimated his pet, or underestimated Kit Fisto, as Gor only manages to kill Fil before Kit takes it out in self-defence.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Kit, Nahdar, and the clone troopers find several statues of a being who is gradually becoming a cyborg, and who has a clear resemblance to Grievous, before they find the General's spare-parts room and realize who the base belongs to.
- Foregone Conclusion: Naturally, the Jedi and clone troopers do not capture or kill Grievous since he is in Revenge of the Sith. Tied to this is the fact that Kit Fisto must survive the events in this episode as a result of being in Revenge of the Sith.
- Foreshadowing: Nahdar Vebb attacks an already dead Battle Droid before Kit tells him to stop, causing the former Padawan to apologize for his ferocity. This is a sign the Clone Wars are gonna have a dark psychological grip on the Jedi in later seasons of the series.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Commander Fil manages to survive the lava pit trap because he fires off his grappling line in time.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: After Kit cuts off Grievous' legs, he manages to pull in one of the clone troopers trying to hold him still with cables and then swings the man's body into the rest of the group while hanging from the ceiling.
- I Know You're Watching Me: Kit says this almost verbatim before informing Grievous that he's seen his trophy collection, then ends the conversation by plunging his lightsaber into the camera that Grievous is indeed watching him from. Grievous flips this back on him after killing Nahdar, turning to the nearest camera and roaring, "I will kill you all! Do you hear me, Jedi?!" to the watching Kit.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Grievous demands that Fisto surrender, promising him a swift death if he does so. To his surprise, Kit complies, and the moment of surprise that Grievous exhibits is all the time Fisto needs to regain the advantage and escape.
- I'll Kill You!: Knowing that Kit is watching him over the feed, Grievous declares this to him and all other Jedi after killing Nahdar.Grievous: I WILL KILL YOU ALL! DO YOU HEAR ME, JEDI!? DO YOU HEAR ME!?
- Little "No": Kit utters one when Grievous kills Nahdar.
- Malevolent Architecture: Once Grievous returns home and reactivates his lair's defenses the place proves to have been designed to be quite deadly to uninvited guests, with plenty of fatal traps.
- Mauve Shirt: Fil and Nahdar. Both of them get a bit of characterization, and then they die in the very episode they were introduced in.
- A Molten Date with Death: One of the clone troopers in Kit Fisto's group is unlucky enough to not pull out his grappling hook in time and ends up falling into a lava pit located under a trap door.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Kit senses Nahdar's death, falling to his knees with a Little "No".
- Neck Lift: Grievous does this to one of the clones before swinging the unfortunate trooper into several of his comrades.
- Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: Nahdar Vebb is killed when Grievous goes Combat Pragmatist and shoots him with a blaster after getting him into a blade-lock.
- No Badass to His Valet: EV-A4-D openly mocks Grievous for not being a better a fighter, and treats repairing him as an annoying chore that gets in its way of doing more important things. Why Grievous lets it get away with this, instead of just replacing it with another doctor droid, is unclear in the episode, but David Acord and Matthew Wood (respectively A4's and Grievous's voice actors, as well as a lead sound designer and the supervising sound editor of the series) suggested in the DVD commentary that Grievous was amused by the droid's attitude.
- Oh, Crap!: A4-D, Grievous' medical droid, when he realizes that Kit is right behind him just before the Jedi Master destroys him.A4-D: Wait... Where's the other Jedi? (Behind it, Kit Fisto ignites his lightsaber) Oh no. (Kit Fisto slices him in half.)
- Ominous Fog: The imposing entrance to the titular creepy hideout is hidden by a thick fog before Nahdar pushes it aside with the force. It's a hint that the mission is not going to go as smoothly as expected, and it does indeed turn into a horrifying experience with only a single survivor.
- Pet the Dog: Subverted. Gor is the closest thing to a Morality Pet (in addition to being an actual pet) for Grievous and he is understandably shocked and angry that he was killed. However, it was more out of anger that the Jedi have once again escaped his grasp, not to mention Gor being useful to him as a way to kill off intruders.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:Kit Fisto: You might have been a proud warrior once, but now you are just a pawn in Dooku's game!
Grievous: I wield great power, Jedi fool!
Kit Fisto: (cuts off the hand holding Nahdar's lightsaber, which he takes) That power will only consume you. - Rudely Hanging Up: Grievous does this to Dooku after discovering he deactivated his droids and allowed the Jedi to infiltrate his home, just to test him. As a cherry on top, he adds an insincere, "Oops" right after hanging up on the count.
- Say My Name: Kit yells "NAHDAR!" when the door closes between them as he argues with his old Padawan to try to convince him not to take on Grievous alone.
- Sinister Surveillance: It's quite expected that Grievous would have cameras throughout his lair, and he uses them to watch as the group of Jedi and clones are whittled down by his traps and other security while he is repaired from his initial confrontation with them.
- Sole Survivor: Barring R6, who mans his fighter and doesn't do much else, Kit is the only member of the entire strike team to make it out alive.
- Spoiler Title: Knowing this episode's title before watching it gives away whose base the Jedi have entered long before The Reveal when they find Grievous' spare-parts room.
- Start X to Stop X: Kit recounts to the rest of the Council that his former Padawan tried to fight Grievous' power with power, to which Yoda responds "To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not. In this war, a danger there is of losing who we are."
- Trap Is the Only Option: While technically they could have left after quickly coming to the conclusion that Dooku had set a trap and they had fallen for it, Dooku's wording makes it sound like perhaps the trap isn't set for them and they're just bait. The nature of the Jedi means it was quite unlikely they'd have left before seeing the true nature of the trap and so they continue further on into the lair to figure out what Dooku is up to, therefore ensuring they're stuck by the time they realize they are both bait and prey.
- Trophy Room: The Jedi and clone troopers find Grievous' trophy room, which is filled with items, including Padawan braids, taken from Jedi he's killed.
- Underestimating Badassery:
- Despite just viewing Grievous' creepy trophy room filled with things taken from Jedi he's killed, Commander Fil says they could take him "easy" since he doesn't know they're there. Kit disagrees and reminds them not to underestimate Grievous, but given that they cannot leave without alerting Grievous to their presence and that losing Grievous would (as Nahdar points out) be a major blow to the Separatists, Kit tries to come up with a plan to ambush Grievous that uses everything they have to their advantage. While they have the upper hand for a few seconds, things go south pretty quickly.
- While Nahdar Vebb is understandably frustrated when Grievous escapes their initial ambush and kills two of the clones, he has the audacity to say "The clones got in the way, I could have taken him!" despite him and Kit together being unable to defeat Grievous while the clones were restraining Grievous with cables. This ends up getting him killed.
- The Unreveal: The scene cuts just as A4-D begins to remove Grievous' damaged faceplate. Considering the way Grievous screams as it's removed and the amount of rebuilding he canonically went through, this is probably for the best.
- Wall Crawl: After Kit cuts off his legs, Grievous gets away by crawling along the walls and ceiling using his arms like a spider.
- The X of Y: "Lair of Grievous".
- You Won't Feel a Thing!: Grievous' medical droid says "There may be... some discomfort" before removing his damaged face plate. Given the way Grievous screams (the same scream he let out while burning to death in Revenge of the Sith in fact) and shakes when the thing starts to be peeled off, this is an understatement.
