Ignore your instincts at your peril.
After the capture of Nute Gunray on Rodia, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Anakin Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano are sent by the Jedi Council to escort the Separatist leader to Coruscant under heavy guard. But Gunray's Separatist allies aren't just going to sit idly by and let the Republic take him into custody considering how many dirty secrets he knows: Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku's personal assassin, has been sent with a Separatist boarding party. But will she rescue Gunray, or kill him?
Tropes:
- Air-Vent Passageway: Ventress travels around the Tranquility via the ducts.
- Asshole Victim: Argyus is rewarded for his treachery with a lightsaber strike from behind, courtesy of Ventress.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Tranquility is severely damaged and Gunray escapes with Ventress and Argyus' help.
- Blade Brake: Ventress uses her lightsabers for this when she jumps down the turbolift shaft.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Gree disarms Argyus this way when the traitorous Senate Commando is attempting to free Gunray from the detention block.
- Blatant Lies:Gunray: I am an innocent pawn in all of this!
Luminara: If you're merely a pawn, then who are you protecting? - Boarding Pod: The Separatist versions, first seen in this episode, use spikes to pierce holes in the Jedi Cruiser that are then sealed by the craft.
- Continuity Nod: Ahsoka and Ventress remember each other from their previous encounter.
- Devilish Hair Horns: Captain Argyus' ...interesting hairdo has small horn shapes at the back, foreshadowing his status as a traitor.
- Disconnected by Death: Two of the clone troopers fighting in the hangar of the Jedi Cruiser die while on the comms, one killed by a super battle droid and the other by Ventress.
- Escape Pod: Ventress disembarks from the Jedi Cruiser in one before being picked up by the ship stolen by Argyus.
- Explosion Propulsion: When preparing to escape the Tranquility, Ventress uses an explosion to propel her down an air vent.
- Eye Scream: Luminara gets steam in her eye when Ventress cuts open a pipe, leaving it red for the rest of the ensuing fight.
- Fighting Fingerprint: Luminara recognizes that Ventress fights using Dooku's style, but it's "undisciplined" and "sloppy".
- First-Name Basis: While fighting off Ventress in the climax, Luminara begins to call Ahsoka by her name, rather than "Padawan Tano" as she did before, symbolizing her newfound respect for the Togruta.
- Foregone Conclusion:
- As hinted at in dialogue in the previous episode, Gunray getting rescued by his fellow Separatists was bound to happen. Ventress won't kill him, either, since he's alive in Revenge of the Sith.
- Gree will live, since he, too, is in Revenge of the Sith as one of the two clone troopers who are decapitated by Yoda after Order 66 gets executed.
- Foreshadowing:
- En route to the Tranquility, Gunray attempts to talk an irritated Commander Gree into a bribe. It turns out that one of the soldiers guarding the Viceroy on the ship is, in fact, corrupt and taking money from the Separatists.
- Sidious is skeptical of how much responsibility has been placed in Ventress' hands when Dooku informs him that she's been sent to either capture or kill Gunray.
- During the fight in the detention block, Ventress deflects fire to kill the two Senate Commandos with Argyus, but deals with the captain himself by Force-throwing him into the controls. It turns out she has a good reason not to kill him (at least, right now).
- After Luminara leaves to fight Ventress by herself, Argyus is the one who encourages Ahsoka to go help, leaving Gunray unguarded by any Jedi.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Argyus explains that he defected to the Separatists because he wanted a life beyond "empty servitude". Gree calls him out over how idiotic of a reason that is to betray the Republic.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Luminara and Ahsoka end up unintentionally playing out this role while interrogating Gunray. Luminara, ever the ideal Jedi Master, tries to wear the Viceroy down by talking, but Ahsoka gets impatient and physically threatens him... which turns out to get more answers.
- Guns Akimbo: One of the clone troopers seen fighting the super battle droids in the hangar is doing this with DC-15s.
- Gun Struggle: Between Commander Gree and the traitorous Senate Commando Captain Argyus. Gree wins, but then Gunray knocks him out with another blaster from behind.
- Hates Being Nicknamed: A clone trooper is corrected for calling a droid "327" instead of "327T".
- He Knows Too Much: Ventress' orders are to either rescue Gunray, or kill him if that's not possible given how many secrets he knows.
- Human Shield: Argyus uses Gunray as one during his fight with Commander Gree, knowing that the clone trooper won't dare shoot such an important prisoner.
- Ignored Expert: Downplayed. While Ahsoka certainly is not an expert in the Jedi ways by any means, she certainly has experience with fighting Asajj Ventress, and tries to warn Luminara about facing her alone. Luminara dismisses Ahsoka's warnings, but later comes to realize how correct she was in regards to how dangerous Ventress is. She lampshades this at the end of the episode.
- In the Back: Argyus' fate when he makes the mistake of disparaging Ventress' skills.
- I Owe You My Life: Luminara to Ahsoka at the end, while thanking her for the rescue earlier.
- I Surrender, Suckers: When Luminara and Ahsoka corner Ventress in the detention block, she puts her lightsabers away and raises her hands when the Jedi Master demands her surrender... only for the bombs she planted earlier to go off.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: One of the clone troopers killed by Ventress."All units! There's a bald–!"
- Loud Gulp: Gunray gulps after Ahsoka suggests that the Separatists are there to kill him instead of rescue him.
- The Mole: Captain Argyus of the Senate Commandos turns out to have sold his services to the Separatists.
- Off with His Head!: Ventress decapitates the first clone trooper to see her boarding the Tranquility.
- Pistol-Whipping: Gunray knocks out Commander Gree from behind by hitting him in the head with a blaster.
- Properly Paranoid: Luminara orders Ahsoka to stay in the detention level and guard Gunray just in case the Separatists have sent someone elite to rescue him. Ahsoka protests, but then ends up having to fight off Ventress when she makes her entrance. Doubly so in that Captain Faro Argyus was actually a Separatist mole who takes advantage of Ahsoka's absence later on to kill several clones in an attempt to break out Gunray.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Argyus betrays the Republic and helps Ventress free Gunray, only to be literally backstabbed by her when he reveals his intent to take most of the credit for the operation.
- Sequel Hook: During the briefing at the end, it's mentioned that the Republic ship Gunray escaped on can be tracked, and Luminara says that she's already contacted Master Fisto with the coordinates since his fleet was near its last known position.
- Tap on the Head: Nute Gunray of all people knocks out Commander Gree from behind by hitting him in the head with a DC-15 blaster.
- Underestimating Badassery: Luminara is confident that she can handle Ventress alone due to her "undisciplined fighting skills". Ahsoka says otherwise, and Luminara apologizes after Ahsoka saves her life in the ensuing duel.
- Weapon Stomp: Commander Gree and Captain Argyus are circling a blaster lying on the floor. When Argyus goes for it, Gree steps on the gun and punches him out. Unfortunately, Gree is then knocked out from behind by Nute Gunray.
- We Need a Distraction: Ventress sets off explosions in the engine room and lures the Jedi there to fight her so that Argyus can spring Gunray free with much less difficulty.
- The X of Y: "Cloak of Darkness".
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Gunray is rescued, Ventress kills Argyus, though also because he makes the mistake of pissing her off.
