One must let go of the past to hold on to the future.
After hiding in the Galaxy for some time, Asajj Ventress, betrayed by her servant Savage, returns to Dathomir, to seek shelter with her kin, the Nightsisters. But Count Dooku hasn't forgotten her attempts to assassinate him, and sends General Grievous to the planet to exact his revenge.
Tropes:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Karis expresses a genuine pleasure to have Ventress back as a sister when she rejoins the clan. So naturally, she is one of the first Nightsisters to die during Grievous' attack, even getting the chance to have some last words with Ventress. Luce helps Ventress limp away after Grievous nearly kills her, only to be shot in the back and die in her arms. In both cases, Ventress is fairly devastated, and even the viewer may have their heartstrings tugged a bit. On the other hand, see Asshole Victim below.
- Almost Dead Guy: Karis, the Nightsister who shows Ventress a moment of camaraderie, is crushed by a falling statue during the initial droid salvo, but lasts long enough to tell Ventress to lead the attack.
- An Arm and a Leg: Grievous tears off the right arm of one of the zombie Nightsisters, and then stabs her with it.
- Asshole Victim: The Nightsisters are a culture of vicious misandrists who feel free to abuse, brainwash, and even kill the male Nightbrothers whenever they please. Given that, many fans rooted for Grievous and his Separatist droid army as they mercilessly killed them.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Naturally, considering the conflict of the episode is Evil vs. Evil; Grievous and his droids succeed in wiping out the Nightsisters (with the exceptions of Talzin, Ventress, and other survivors), saving Count Dooku's life in the process.
- Barrier Warrior: Mother Talzin briefly calls up a Deflector Shield out of magic during the battle.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: A supernatural example. Having conjured a Voodoo Doll of Count Dooku with the explicit intent of killing him, Mother Talzin then proceeds to painfully torture him instead of just snapping his neck, giving Dooku more than enough time to inform Grievous of what she's up to and send him after her.
- Call-Back: The Defoliator tank, first seen in "Defenders of Peace", is used by Grievous in the battle.
- Cavalry of the Dead: Old Daka can resurrect the dead Nightsisters to protect the coven. And this army is truly nightmare-inducing!
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Talzin does this to Dooku, with a Voodoo Doll.
- Combat Pragmatist: After Ventress defeats him one-on-one, Grievous orders his Separatist droids to continue the attack, despite (seemingly) agreeing to Ventress' terms of leaving in case she won.
- Cool Versus Awesome: Alien-witch-zombies vs battle droids? Natch.
- Downer Ending: For Ventress at least, because Grievous has wiped out all the Nightsisters, leaving a devastated Ventress with an uncertain future.
- Evil Versus Evil: Ventress, Mother Talzin, and Nightsisters vs Grievous and his droid army.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin:
- This episode is titled "Massacre", and that's exactly what Grievous and his army do to the Nightsisters.
- Also Old Daka, the oldest of the Nightsister clan.
- Eye Scream: At one point, Mother Talzin sticks a needle right where the left eye would be on her Dooku voodoo doll. Back on Serenno, the Count grabs his face and screams in agony.
- Fantastic Nuke: We finally get to see what a Defoliator Tank does in an actual battle when its shells aren't blocked by shields. It isn't pretty.
- Fantastically Indifferent: The MagnaGuards in Dooku's office don't respond at all when the Count starts writhing and screaming in pain for no apparent reason.
- Foregone Conclusion: Talzin's attempt to torture Dooku to death is naturally doomed to failure, since he's still alive at the start of Revenge of the Sith.
- Glowing Eyelights of Undeath: The Nightsister zombies have these.
- Guns Akimbo: Luce seizes two rifles from defeated droids and opens fire with both guns.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: While Mother Talzin seems to be on Ventress' side in this episode, she notably doesn't mention Savage's return to Dathomir, even though Ventress speaks of his desertion.
- Innocuously Important Episode: While this episode ends with a successful Separatist attack and Ventress being on her own, it would have ramifications for other survivors and their stories, such as Deathstick, Merrin, Jerserra, and Morgan Elsbeth.
- It's All My Fault: Despite her Never My Fault mentality with regards to Savage's betrayal, Ventress is quick to recognise that the Separatist attack on Dathomir and the resultant carnage are all her fault.
- Keystone Army: The undead Nightsisters are dependent on Old Daka's magic to remain animated. As soon as Daka is dead, the zombies collapse, and the living Nightsisters are severely outnumbered and outgunned.
- The Magic Versus Technology War: A clan of Force-sensitive witches and their zombified sisters versus an army of battle droids led by a cyborg general. The Nightsisters put up a good fight, but Grievous and his droids win the day.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Nightsisters, when they realise that the undead army has collapsed and that they are now hopelessly outnumbered.
- Necromancer: Old Daka can resurrect the dead Nightsisters with a "Chant of Resurrection".
- Never My Fault: Describing her duel with Dooku back in "Witches of the Mist", Ventress claims that Savage "rejected [her] guidance"; said "guidance" consisted of shouted orders to kill Dooku and insults over Savage's inability to do so until the monstrous Zabrak snapped and tried to kill both of them.
- No Ontological Inertia: The physical effects that Mother Talzin's voodoo doll have on Dooku disappear as soon as the spell is broken. Also, the undead Nightsisters collapse as soon as the one who raised them, Old Daka, is killed by Grievous (although in her case, it's implied her chanting, or at least her will, is required to keep the resurrection going).
- One-Word Title: "Massacre".
- Self-Serving Memory: Dooku refers to Ventress as "that traitor", conveniently forgetting that it was he who betrayed her (on Palpatine's orders) and sent her running back to Dathomir in the first place.
- Shock and Awe: Mother Talzin can use green Force lightning.
- Took a Level in Badass: Prior to this episode, Grievous was defeated by an army of Gungans, captured by the Republic, and was released as part of a prisoner exchange. Here, he makes up for that by matching Ventress in a lightsaber duel, singlehandedly wiping out a horde of zombies, and killing Old Daka.
- Undying Loyalty: Grievous is at his most loyal to Dooku in this episode, bowing in his presence, addressing Dooku as "Master", and ultimately forgoing his vendetta against Ventress in favor of saving the Count from Talzin's torture and attempted murder.
- Villain Episode: None of the characters in this episode are aligned with the "good guys".
- Villainous Rescue: In an example of a villain saving another villain, Grievous saves Dooku from being killed by Talzin.
- Villain Teleportation: Talzin uses it to escape Grievous.
- Voodoo Doll: Talzin uses a doll of Dooku containing a lock of his hair to torture him on Serenno while she's on Dathomir.
- Wicked Witch: Old Daka again.
