Fighting a war tests a soldier's skills, defending his home tests a soldier's heart.
On the Resolute, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Rex, and Cody watch an intercepted transmission between General Grievous and Asajj Ventress that details a planned attack on Kamino, home of the Republic's cloning facilities. The Jedi point out attacking the planet is a risk for the Separatists, given how heavily guarded it is, but the two clones point out that since Kamino is their homeworld, It's Personal. Unbeknownst to the Republic, Ventress has already infiltrated the planet and is hiding under its vast ocean with a force of aqua droids.
When Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive with news of the impending attack, Lama Su is skeptical, but Jedi Master Shaak Ti is less so. Clone troopers Fives and Echo, seeing their home again, reunite with maintenance clone 99 and tell him about Hevy's fate as well as what the Separatists are planning. Above the planet, as the Republic blockade waits, General Grievous' fleet arrives to do battle. But as Separatist ships are blown apart, the Republic forces are unaware of their foes' true battle strategy...
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: The Separatists have a clever plan that ultimately goes nowhere. The clones successfully defeat the attacking droids, all but wiping out their ground forces with General Grievous and Asajj Ventress leaving the planet empty-handed.
- However, Rise of the Separatists shows the Separatists themselves got a morale boost despite the failure of the attack, so it wasn't a total loss.
- Almighty Janitor: An almost literal case with 99. He helps to turn key parts of the battle by restocking clones across the base and using his knowledge to help keep them one step ahead of the droid army.
- Anachronic Order: This episode takes place after "Rookies" (1:05). This episode is also set after "Corruption", "The Academy", and "Assassin" (3:05-07).
- Batman Gambit: Grievous sacrifices his ships to the Republic attackers because they contain parts and vessels for Ventress' forces hidden underwater, so the debris falling to Kamino's surface is actually delivering the assassin's reinforcements.
- Call-Back: Some of the clone cadets introduced in "Death Trap" make their return in this episode through helping Fives and Echo fight the attacking Separatist droids.
- Call-Forward: Grievous says this upon forcing his way into the barracks:Grievous: All too easy.
- The Cameo: Broadside (a clone pilot who is introduced in "Shadow of Malevolence") is leading the Y-wing squadron participating in the battle.
- Chekhov's Gunman: An aiwha, a Kaminoan animal that can both swim and fly, is befriended by Obi-Wan early on in the water. It comes back to save him in the air in this episode's climax.Obi-Wan Kenobi: We've got to stop meeting like this!
- Chekhov's Skill: 99's knowledge of the clone facility comes in real handy when the clones need to quickly move about.
- Death of a Child: During the attack, towers of cloning tanks are destroyed. That's hundreds of babies dying onscreen.
- Death Seeker: The only thing 99 wants more than anything is to be a real soldier and honorably die on the battlefield like any clone. However, due to his physical defects, he has been stuck as Kamino's janitor instead. During the invasion, he finally gets the chance to join in the battle and dies the honorable death he always wanted.
- Disney Villain Death: Grievous assumes that this is what happens to Obi-Wan after he falls off the platform they're on towards the water below. It turns out to be a Disney Death as Obi-Wan is rescued by an aiwha.
- Force-Choke: Ventress does this to Commander Colt before she kills him with her lightsaber.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: 99 asks Fives and Echo where Hevy is, and is informed of his Heroic Sacrifice, but no mention is made of the other two members of Domino Squad, Droidbait and Cutup, who were also killed in the same episode.
- Hit-and-Run Tactics: The clone troopers, who usually stand and fight to the last man, employ instead guerrilla warfare tactics, retreating into the facility where they hide behind closed doors and in the barracks to ambush the droid army that comes after them.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Ventress kills ARC trooper Commander Colt this way through using the Force to pull him onto her blade.
- Improbable Infant Survival: While there are indirectly hundreds of clone infants killed (see Death of a Child above), none of the youngest of the clone cadets seen that are still children are killed in the battle of Kamino.
- It's Personal: Since Kamino, as the location of the cloning facilities, is the homeworld of all the clone troopers, Cody and Rex point out that an attack there is personal for all of them.Rex: With all due respect, General, if someone comes to our home, they'd better be carrying a big blaster.
Cody: I concur with Captain Rex, sir. This is personal for us clones. - Pietà Plagiarism: 99 is held this way after he dies by one of his fellow clones.
- Rank Up: At the end, Fives and Echo are promoted to ARC troopers for their valor in the Battle of Kamino.
- Reused Character Design: A clone trooper with identical markings to Mixer appears in the background of some shots, despite Mixer dying in his previous appearance.
- Rousing Speech: Fives and Echo give one to the cadets when they're uncertain about having to fight since they're Incompletely Trained. Cody and Rex help finish it, which is enough to encourage them to fight.
- Sacrificial Lion: 99 gets the opportunity to participate in battle, his birthright, after being introduced as a sympathetic character in the previous episode.
- Senseless Sacrifice: 99 dies in an attempt to get more grenades for the other clones. While it's certainly heroic that he was willing to help the other clones in their battle against the Separatist droids, the hallway was a deathtrap that even a Jedi would have had trouble running as a result of the attacking Separatist droids, so his death tragically accomplished nothing.
- Ship Tease: Between Grievous and Ventress (of all people), though it's mostly one-sided. Grievous expresses a desire to meet Ventress face-to-face as they're planning their assault, and they engage in some strangely flirty dialogue once they encounter each other in the Clone facility. Grievous even offers to give Ventress a "droid escort", only for her to retort that he has nothing she could ever want.
- Spoiler Title: Since the two previous episodes about members of Domino Squad ("Rookies" and "Clone Cadets") were titled after the clones' ranks at the time, knowing the title of this episode gives away that Fives and Echo are probably getting a promotion long before it happens in its final scene.
- Spotting the Thread: Obi-Wan, familiar with Grievous' style of command, realizes that something isn't right after Shaak Ti points out that the cyborg general is sacrificing his transports to protect his command ship. It turns out that falling starship debris actually contains warships and droids for Ventress's surface attack.
- "Take That!" Kiss: Asajj kisses Commander Colt as he dies from getting impaled on her lightsaber.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The bounty hunters El-Les and Bric that were overseeing the training of the clones in "Clone Cadets" are nowhere to be seen.
- You Remind Me of X: Rex says that Fives and Echo both remind him of himself when giving them the news of their promotion to ARC troopers.
