The wise benefit from a second opinion.
Fives and Rex arrive on Kamino escorting the afflicted clone trooper Tup in order to try and find out why he abruptly killed Jedi General Tiplar in the middle of battle. As Tup is taken away for examination, Jedi Master Shaak Ti orders Fives to get examined in case a virus is the cause, while Rex has orders from General Skywalker to report back to battle. Seeing Tup in pain from one of the tests, Fives grows concerned about his friend. But tests confirm that Tup doesn't have an infection, and would seem to be in perfect health... so what's wrong with him?
Tropes:
- Call-Forward: The Jedi are concerned that more clones could be turned against them after what happened to Tup, unaware that he was only a premature activation.
- Clark Kenting: "Tyranus" wearing his hood is enough to conceal his true identity from the Kaminoans.
- Continuity Nod: Fives intends to go to Shaak Ti with whatever he and AZI-3 find in Tup's biopsy because she helped him once as a cadet.
- Destroy the Evidence: Nala Se suspects the true cause of Tup's ailment and wants to "terminate" him in order to hide the fact from Shaak Ti and by extension the other Jedi.
- Downer Ending: Fives has the tumour removed, but Tup dies anyways.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Unaware of the Sith's involvement in the creation of the clone troopers, it's only natural that Shaak Ti assumes the Separatists are somehow behind Tup's orders to kill Jedi. She's certainly right that there's a psychiatric element, however. It's also worth noting that Tup went missing for five rotations at Ringo Vinda, only providing more "evidence" for the Separatists' apparent complicity in the incident.
- Foregone Conclusion: The Jedi will not get to examine Tup with the Force and find out why he killed Tiplar, since they can't know about Order 66 as a result of the events that occur in Revenge of the Sith.
- Foreshadowing: "Tyranus" mentions Sifo-Dyas' role in the creation of the clones, which will become important later this season.
- In the Hood: Count Dooku wears a hood when contacted by Lama Su in order to conceal his identity, since the Kaminoans know him only as "Tyranus".
- Locked Out of the Loop: The Kaminoans are unaware that "Lord Tyranus" is actually Count Dooku, instead believing him to be a Jedi assigned by a pre-mortem Sifo-Dyas to oversee the clones.
- Missed Him by That Much: Fives manages to stay out of Nala Se's sight when she enters Tup's room by hiding behind medical devices before slipping out.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Nala Se thinks the best way to find out what's wrong with Tup is to "terminate" him and do an autopsy. She has an ulterior motive for doing so.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Following on from the previous episode, Dooku is genuinely agitated and concerned when speaking to the Kaminoans, pointedly asking if Tup's malfunction will disrupt the ability to execute Protocol 66.
- One-Word Title: "Conspiracy".
- Plausible Deniability: The Kaminoans think that the inhibitor chips and Clone Protocol 66 are a safeguard against rogue Jedi and it's indicated that's what the late Sifo-Dyas intended it as — but then the Sith hijacked the project...
- Preemptive Apology: AZI-3 says sorry to Fives before giving him an injection in the neck. He's not too appreciative of this.
- Recurring Dreams: Dying, Tup talks about "the mission" in his dreams that never ends, something that the reactions of the other clones in the room imply all clones have.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Fives decides to break the rules to try and save his friend, talking AZI-3 into doing the brain scan on Tup by pointing out that his primary programming is to save the patient at all costs.
- Spanner in the Works: Fives and AZI-3 block both the Kaminoans' plans to terminate Tup and the Jedi's plans to take him to Coruscant and examine him with the Force by going ahead and performing the atomic brain scan on their own.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Lama Su acts far more unscrupulously than his debut appearance, ordering the death of a clone to find out if there was a mechanical fault in his chip.
- We Need a Distraction: Fives has AZI-3 hack into the mainframe and set off an intruder alert, forcing Nala Se and Lama Su to head for shelter just as they were about to terminate Tup and giving Fives and AZI-3 the opportunity to get in and do the biopsy on Tup's "tumour".
