Those who enforce the law must obey the law.
In response to Duchess Satine's request for assistance with the corruption plaguing her society, the Jedi Council sends Padawan Ahsoka Tano to instruct the cadets at the Royal Academy of Mandalore on the dangers of corruption, feeling that the students will best connect with the message if they're hearing it from someone their own age. But when the Duchess' nephew Korkie and his friends uncover corrupt dealings at the highest level of government, they're going to need Ahsoka's help in order to prevent an outright coup...
Tropes:
- Always a Bigger Fish: The corrupt police were able to take down Satine's personal guards offscreen, but this episode shows that even a Jedi Padawan, without a lightsaber, is leagues above non-Force users.
- Brought Down to Badass: Even without her lightsaber, Ahsoka is still more than a match for the Mandalorian police.
- Call-Back: As a result of Obi-Wan's previous visit to Mandalore, off-worlders, regardless of status, are no longer allowed to carry weapons on-planet, so Ahsoka has to leave her lightsaber with Anakin.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The cadets stand no chance against the corrupt police who try to capture them, who in turn stand no chance of their own against a saberless Ahsoka. She gives them an even more thorough beating at the climax of the episode, while wearing restraints no less.
- Dirty Cop: Almec has a whole squad of corrupt police willing to enforce his dirty dealings.
- Electric Torture: Almec has Satine tortured with a Shock Collar in an attempt to force her to sign a document confessing to treason.
- Enhance Button: Ahsoka uses a gadget to enhance Soniee's holorecording of the secret meeting to identify Almec as the cloaked figure.
- Evil Chancellor: Prime Minister Almec is running a large part of the black market, and he tries to overthrow Duchess Satine when he's in danger of being exposed.
- Fake Defector: Ahsoka pretends to be corruptible in an attempt to get close to Almec and unmask him.
- False Confession: Almec attempts to force Satine to sign one admitting to her "crimes".
- Foreshadowing:
- Prime Minister Almec is notably concerned about having Jedi come and instruct their children, since it turns out that he is up to no good.
- The opening Aesop also hints at who the real villain is.
- Glassy Prison: The secure cell Satine is held in is all-glass. Almec winds up in the secure cell at the end of the episode.
- Grievous Harm with a Body: Ahsoka Force-throws Almec into two of his own guards to take them down.
- Have You Told Anyone Else?: When the cadets go to the prime minister with their intel after Duchess Satine tells them they should stay out of it and focus on school, Almec asks them to specifically bring the intel and all the cadets who know about it, as he's planning to silence them. The one thing he doesn't count on is that Korkie also told Ahsoka about the situation, allowing her to rescue them. Korkie later realizes that Almec's thugs have gone after the duchess because he told Almec that he'd spoken with his aunt.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Ahsoka gets Almec to surrender by stealing the Shock Collar he was going to put on Korkie, putting it on Almec himself, and giving him a quick zap.
- I Kiss Your Hand: Anakin does this to Satine when greeting her at the beginning.
- Immune to Mind Control: The members of Almec's guards are trained to resist Jedi mind tricks.
- In the Hood: Almec wears a hooded cloak for a covert meeting in a warehouse, ensuring that the cadets don't realize who he is until Ahsoka enhances the hologram.
- Jedi Mind Trick: Ahsoka tries this, but, unfortunately, Almec's guards have been trained to resist it.
- Nephewism: Satine's first introduced relative is her nephew Korkie.
- Plot Hole: Although it's indicated that Almec and his forces don't completely trust her before she reveals herself, Ahsoka's Fake Defector ploy shouldn't have been as effective as it was since several of the secret police officers she beats up to rescue the cadets are seen running away afterwards with no one making any attempt to stop them. You'd think they would have reported what happened to the prime minister, but apparently not...
- Running Gag: It's cadet Lagos' turn to say "I have a bad feeling about this" when she and her friends are sneaking into a government warehouse.
- Shock Collar: This episode provides the trope image, when Almec gets put in the one he was going to use on Korkie.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The story is lifted from the Akira Kurosawa film Sanjuro, which was a sequel to Yojimbo (Which provided some inspiration for the original Star Wars film). A group of honest but inexperienced samurai discover corruption in their own government, and are dismayed when they bring it to the uncle of their leader and he seems disinclined to take any action. Deciding to go to another official since they assume their uncle must be complicit, it turns out he is the leader of the corruption and plans to have them all killed. Only the presence of a wandering ronin saves their lives and leads them to expose the corruption.
- With My Hands Tied: Ahsoka beats up about a dozen corrupt police officers and slaps Almec in that Shock Collar while in binders.
