Senator Padmé Amidala and her allies Onaconda Farr, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Farr's aide Representative Lolo Purs are in her office toasting a speech she gave to the Senate in support of a bill Farr proposed. After a brief, unwelcome intrusion by the unpleasant Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni, they drink, only for Farr to suddenly drop dead moments later. Everyone is in shock, and Lolo is promoted to Senator, while Ono's body is sent back to Rodia.
Senator Farr's death is determined to have been murder, and Lieutenant Tan Divo of the Coruscant Security Force is called in to investigate. He rubs Padmé the wrong way, though, on top of apparently making little to no progress. Padmé learns from Umbaran Senator Mee Deechi, who was having Ono watched, that he had a meeting at the docks the night before his death. She and Bail go to investigate, and are attacked by a hooded assailant, who eventually escapes. Padmé and Bail, on returning to the Senate office building, go to Deechi's office to confront him, believing him to be the assailant, only to discover he's been stabbed.
Lieutenant Divo tells them off for attempting their own investigation, and reveals that the autopsy concluded that Ono was slipped a Rodian-specific poison made by the Kaminoans. On this evidence, Senator Burtoni is arrested for the murders. Padmé though, spots a thread: If the poison only affected Rodians, why wasn't Lolo killed as well? She was also poured a glass, so the only way she could have avoided being poisoned was if she didn't drink ... so why wouldn't she drink ... unless she put the poison there to begin with.
Lolo is revealed to be the killer, and she attempts to take Padmé hostage but is eventually arrested. Her motive is that she thought that Farr was "weak" and didn't deserve to be Senator anymore after he briefly sided with the Separatists. She had tried to threaten him at the docks to get him to resign, but he refused, so she decided to kill him. She's duly taken away to jail.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: All of Ono and Padmé's efforts to stop the clone production prove to be fruitless, leaving his death a senseless act that didn't even accomplish anything.
- Anachronic Order: This is the only episode in the first two and a half seasons that takes place after the Time Skipnote that occurs in the middle of the third season.
- Call-Back: Onaconda Farr was murdered because of his brief alliance with the Separatists back in "Bombad Jedi".
- Chair Reveal: Padmé and Bail go to confront Mee Deechi in his office, believing him to be the murderer — only to turn his chair around to discover him dead with a dagger in his chest.
- Discreet Drink Disposal: Lolo only pretends to drink the beverage being served at the beginning because she spiked it with a Rodian-specific poison. This ends up being what gets her caught.
- Easily Forgiven: Subverted in Lolo's case. She couldn't forgive Ono after he sided with the Separatists back in the first season and ended up killing him for it.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As Padmé keeps Pulling the Thread, her voice gradually goes from confused to horrified as she realises Lolo must be the killer.
- False Reassurance: When Lolo insists that keeping everyone in one place just means they'll all be killed at once, Lieutenant Divo reassures her.Divo: Don't be ridiculous. Even if they somehow got past my security, they couldn't possibly kill all of you.
- Foregone Conclusion: It's pretty much a given that Padmé was going to fail in her efforts to slow down clone production.
- Foreshadowing: When they initially toast to Padmé's speech, Ono gives his drink a brief glance as if noticing something odd about it.
- He Knows Too Much: Lolo kills Senator Deechi because he had found out about her meeting with Ono at the docks. It's implied that this is also why she attempted to kill Padmé and Bail when they went to investigate.
- Hostage Situation: Lolo attempts to take Padmé hostage upon being exposed as the killer.
- Innocuously Important Episode: Senator Mee Deechi's death would result in Umbara withdrawing from the Republic and joining the Separatists. Had he not been killed, the entire Umbara Arc in Season 4 would not have happened.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Lieutenant Divo gets this twice:
- First off, he's right that Padmé and Bail are working outside the law by trying to investigate the case themselves.
- He announces that he believes that all politicians have something to hide, and then remembers he's in a roomful of politicians. The politicians in question: Padmé Amidala, secretly married to a Jedi Knight; Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith and mastermind behind the war; Mas Amedda, who is in on Palpatine's plan to use the war to subvert the Republic; Lolo Purs, the murderer; and Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, who don't currently have anything to hide, but will in a few years: Bail will be raising Padmé's daughter and both of them will be building the Rebellion.
- Never One Murder: First Senator Farr and then Senator Deechi.
- No Biochemical Barriers: Averted. The poison that is used to kill Ono only affects Rodians. This ends up being the vital clue to the murderer's identity.
- Police Are Useless: Lieutenant Divo's investigation moves far too slowly for Padmé and Bail's taste.
- Red Herring:
- Yes, the poison that killed Ono was made by the Kaminoans. No, that doesn't mean that Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni was the murderer.
- When Padmé and Bail confront Deechi and Burtoni, unusual focus is given to the drink being poured for Burtoni and she's seen glancing at her cup before the scene changes. Given it's just been established that Ono was poisoned, you'd think she'd be the next senator murdered, but no, it's Deechi.
- Senator Deechi is an even more obvious one. He looks evil, complete with Villainous Cheekbones that would put Grand Moff Tarkin to shame; he sounds evil complete with Evil Laugh; his office is red and filled with shadows; and he gets a brief but significant reaction shot during Padmé's speech at the beginning, as if to say, "Hey, this guy's suspicious!" So of course, he ends up with a knife in his chest, courtesy of Lolo.
- Spoof Aesop: Palpatine tells Padme that the most important thing for the Republic right now is to help the clones get more of their "brothers" onto the front lines, and that their victory, not diplomacy with the Separatists, will win the war.Palpatine: Hmm. Actually, given recent events, perhaps it is for the best. For how can we justify fortifying our security here in the Senate if we don't also provide reinforcements on the front lines? You see, the victory of the clone army, for now, is the only thing that can lead us to peace.
- Spotting the Thread: Padmé points out that if the beverage they were all drinking was spiked with a Rodian-specific poison, then by all rights Lolo should also have died, not just Ono, unless she didn't drink. And the only reason why she wouldn't have drunk was if she knew the drink was poisoned to begin with...
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Padmé's first suspects are Farr's political rivals. Said rivals immediately point out that his death actually hurt them because their supporters disliked him so much that their own fundraising spiked whenever he said something quotable.
- Traitor Shot: Briefly, when Lolo is exposed as the killer, you can see Palpatine smiling. While there's no indication he's actually responsible for it, it's clear Darth Sidious is probably loving all this chaos.
- Villain Has a Point:
- Deconstructed. Palpatine says that democracy must stand after Padmé's efforts to stop the production of clone troopers fails, and while normally that would be true, Palpatine is using democracy to eventually turn it into an empire, which causes his words to ring hollow.
- Lolo murdered Ono because she thought he hadn't paid for conspiring with the Separatists and bringing a horribly destructive war to Rodia, which is, if not exactly reasonable, an understandable motive.
- Worthy Opponent: Senator Deechi saw Ono as this, although it didn't prevent him from trying to get dirt on him. Averted with Senator Burtoni, who cheerfully admits she had no respect for him whatsoever.
