The search for truth begins with belief.
At Fort Anaxes, Anakin, Rex, and Hunter are waiting for permission to leave for Skako Minor on a mission to rescue the previously thought dead ARC trooper Echo, who the Separatists have apparently been using to steal a strategy algorithm created by Rex. Anakin insists that he has time for "that thing" — a private holo-call to his wife — although Rex would rather leave ASAP. Obi-Wan, however, isn't fooled for a moment by Rex's unconvincing explanation about what Anakin is allegedly doing in the barracks, and hopes he at least told Padmé he said "hello".
Leaving for Skako Minor on the Bad Batch's shuttle, the Havoc Marauder, the team doesn't technically have permission from the Jedi Council, not that Anakin cares. Hunter is reluctant to reveal who exactly he and his team ultimately answer to. After landing on Skako Minor, the team must contend with primitive locals who are unhappy about war being brought to their planet.
After negotiating with the Poletecs, the strike team heads for the city of Purkoll, where Tech has tracked Echo's signal to. However, Techno Union leader Wat Tambor, who claims "corporate neutrality", has been warned of the likely arrival of Republic forces by Admiral Trench, and merely getting to Echo will be difficult enough...
Originally released as part of an unfinished story reel, the completed episode premiered on February 28, 2020.
Tropes:
- And I Must Scream: Echo has been trapped in a stasis pod since his capture, reliving his last moments at the Citadel over and over.Echo: We have to get to the shuttle... escape the Citadel... No! I'll go first...
- Badass in Distress: Just after the Havoc Marauder lands on Skako Minor, the team is attacked by a keeradak-riding Poletec who aerially abducts Anakin, leaving him unarmed as he drops his lightsaber and is carried away too quickly to retrieve it.
- Bad Liar: Rex's attempt to cover for Anakin when he makes a private holocall to Padmé. Obi-Wan sees right through it, but thankfully doesn't call him on it.
- Berserk Button: Crosshair dismissing Echo as just another "reg" and insinuating he was left behind at the Citadel deliberately because he's just another Expendable Clone makes Rex lose his cool and attack him.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Before they enter the village to rescue Anakin, Rex orders everyone to shoot to disarm only. Several Poletec warriors are then subjected to this in the ensuing scuffle.
- Blatant Lies:
- Before setting off on the mission, Anakin makes a private holocall to Padmé and asks Rex to turn people away. When Obi-Wan asks Rex what exactly Anakin is doing in there, Rex comes up with a half-assed explanation that Anakin is spot-checking his gear for him... without Rex. It's implied that this is actually their standard excuse in this situation as Anakin has Rex give him his helmet before he goes inside and returns it to him when he comes out with the line "And try not to break it again." After Anakin is done, Obi-Wan tells him that he hopes he at least told Padmé he said hello.
- Wat Tambor claims that the Techno Union has "corporate neutrality", which prevents the Republic from legally taking action against him or trespassing on Techno Union territory. This is despite the fact that he is a Separatist Council member, the Techno Union owns most of the tech firms that build weapons for the Separatists, and he once led a brutal campaign to subjugate Ryloth in their name.
- Body Horror: Echo is emaciated, covered with implants, and several of his limbs have been replaced.
- Call-Forward:
- Anakin and Padmé discuss the Outer Rim Sieges, first mentioned in Revenge of the Sith.
- Before ending their call, Padmé places one hand on her belly. Since this episode (as well as season), takes right before Revenge of the Sith, it's an reminder that she is pregnant.
- This is not the last time that Rex will have reason to quip "So Much for Stealth" on a mission.
- Captain Obvious: Ordered to scout out a room that's obviously a turbolift, Crosshair responds with snark:Crosshair: Yeah. It's a lift.
Tech: Well we already knew that. - Cliffhanger: While Anakin, Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker hold off waves of attacking Separatist droids below, Rex and Tech enter the room where Echo's signal is coming from and begin to release him from the stasis pod he was being held in.
- Diplomatic Impunity: Wat Tambor dismisses Admiral Trench's warning that clones are on their way to Skako Minor, because the Techno Union has "corporate neutrality". Trench points out that these particular clones won't care about that.
- Double Take: Rex, when he sees Obi-Wan approaching the barracks.
- Expy: Bald, deathly pale, modified and imprisoned with technology, having extensive intel in one's brain that's being used by the enemy to turn the tide in the war... Echo, or Locutus of Borg?
- Facepalm: Impatiently waiting for Anakin to finish up with calling Padmé, Rex at one point puts his hand to his forehead in obvious exasperation with his general.
- Failed a Spot Check: Anakin fails to notice that Padmé's stomach looks a little larger than usual and that she's putting her hands on her womb. Padmé has to put two and two together for him months later in Revenge of the Sith.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: After Obi-Wan reveals he knows exactly what Anakin was really doing in the barracks, Anakin briefly looks both panicked and slightly angry, while Rex looks very startled.
- Hand on Womb: Just in case you weren't sure, Padmé resting her hand on her stomach confirms that she is in the early stages of pregnancy by this point in the canon, although Anakin clearly hasn't realized this.
- Human Popsicle: What's left of Echo has been kept on ice in a stasis pod by the Techno Union since his capture, while they mine his brain for tactical information.
- I Know You Know I Know: During the conversation where Rex is trying to keep Obi-Wan out of the barracks, both of them know exactly what Anakin is doing in there (talking to Padmé). However, as Obi-Wan is a Secret Secret-Keeper who's never explicitly been told about their Secret Relationship, Rex doesn't realize that Obi-Wan knows about it until the Jedi Master's parting remark to Anakin after he's come outside again.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: While waiting for permission to leave for Skako Minor, Anakin excuses himself and Rex from Hunter by claiming they have to do "that thing" (i.e. Anakin is going to call his wife and Rex is going to cover for him).
- I Resemble That Remark!: When Anakin tells Padmé that Rex is letting his personal feelings drive him too much, she sarcastically asks "I wonder where he learned that?"
- Irony: Anakin tries to counsel Rex to prepare himself for the possibility that Echo might be dead. This is despite his own problems with that.
- It's Personal: It's obvious to everyone that Rex has a personal stake in finding Echo.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Crosshair's dismissive remarks about Echo were uncalled for, but he has a point that the Separatists might be luring them into a trap, since they have no hard proof that Echo is alive and it could well be that Rex is going into a hypothetical trap based on nothing more than his Survivor Guilt. However, Rex's instincts about Echo's survival turn out to be correct.
- Kick the Dog: Crosshair expresses No Sympathy for Echo's presumed death, dismissing him as just another "reg".
- Leeroy Jenkins: Not ten seconds after Anakin reminds the team they're on a stealth mission, and must avoid blasters or explosions, Wrecker rushes into the first room they see, blasting and smashing the security droids on guard, followed shortly by the rest of the Bad Batch.Rex: So Much for Stealth...
- Meaningful Background Event: It has been pointed out that after Crosshair insults Echo and Rex goes to fight him, Hunter can clearly see what Rex is going to do, and yet doesn't lift a finger to stop him. Hmm...
- Neck Lift: Wrecker gives one to Rex when pulling him off of Crosshair after they get into a fight.
- No, Except Yes: When Anakin says he hopes no one is afraid of heights, all of the other Bad Batchers look at Wrecker, who denies that he's afraid of anything, instead saying that he has a "problem with gravity" when he's up high. So... he's afraid of heights.
- Non-Dubbed Grunts: Or more precisely, Non Dubbed Constructed Language. In the German Dub, all dialogue consisting of the fictional poletec language (spoken by both the Poletecs and Tech) remains undubbed. The fact that Tech's poletec lines remain undubbed in this episode is especially odd when you consider that his poletec lines in the very next episode actually were dubbed.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Rex tells Anakin that he has lost so many brothers in the war and learned to let go of them, but learning that Echo is likely still alive changes things, so he's determined to rescue him.Echo: Rex... you... you came back for me.
Rex: Yes. Yes, I did. - Oh, Crap!: Played for Laughs when Rex, keeping a watch outside the barracks while Anakin makes a private call to Padmé inside, sees Obi-Wan approaching in search of Anakin.Rex: Oh, great. [bangs on the door to warn Anakin to hurry up]
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Rex and Wrecker each get one in after Crosshair starts a fight between the Batch and Rex.Wrecker: Why don’t you pick on someone not your size!Rex: You’re going to be a whole lot shorter when I’m through with you.
- The Precious, Precious Car: When a keeradak carrying a Poletec warrior lands on top of the Havoc Marauder, Hunter's first thought is that he wants "that thing off of my ship!"
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Anakin, Rex, and the Bad Batch leave for Skako Minor despite not having official permission to do so. This is even pointed out by Trench when he tells Tambor that the clones who found out about the algorithm won't care about "corporate neutrality" and are certain to target his facility anyways.
- Secret-Keeper: There is no conceivable explanation for why Anakin is having Rex cover for his holo-calls to Padmé that does not involve Rex being let in on some of the details about their relationship. Especially since it's clear this isn't the first time he's been asked to do this.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Obi-Wan's reaction to the above situation implies he knows too and hasn't shared it with the rest of the Jedi."I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello."
- Shout-Out: To Metal Gear Solid with Anakin's "Remember, this is a stealth mission" line. Even better when you consider that Hunter kind of looks like Solid Snake.
- So Much for Stealth: In the turbolift on the way up to where Echo's signal is coming from, Anakin reminds everyone that this is supposed to be a stealth mission, which means no blasting. The doors open and the team is confronted by a room full of battle droids. As the Bad Batch leaps to engage them, Rex's response is the trope name, word-for-word.
- Stopped Dead in Their Tracks: Anakin secretly communicates with his wife Padme via hologram in the clones' bunker while Rex stands outside to serve as his lookout. Just as Obi-Wan arrives, Rex tries to stall him while Anakin wraps up his call. After Anakin emerges with the excuse that he was cleaning Rex's helmet, he and Rex begin to leave when Obi-Wan mentions that he hopes Anakin told Padme that he said "hello". This stops Anakin, whose face flashes with anger. He turns to face Obi-Wan for a few moments before leaving for his mission.
- That Liar Lies: Rex's response to Tambor claiming that Echo is dead:Tambor: Your friend is dead. His mind is ours.
Rex: Liar. - Translator Buddy: Tech translates between the clones and the Poletecs.
- Trap Is the Only Option: Wat Tambor used the algorithm extracted from Echo to predict the strike team's every move and sends waves of battle droids after them when they get to Echo, but, since the Separatists are using Echo to inflict heavy losses on Republic forces at Anaxes, there are some very good strategic reasons why they have to rescue him anyways. Rex even points out that any mission has the potential to be a trap when Hunter first suggests it earlier.
- Wham Episode: Our heroes rescue Echo, Obi-Wan seems to be getting an idea of how personal Anakin and Padmé's relationship is, and Padmé is in the early stages of pregnancy — meaning that we're only a few months away from Revenge of the Sith.
- Wham Line: This line from Obi-Wan to Anakin, given that it all but confirms that he's aware of the latter's Secret Relationship with Padmé.Obi-Wan: "I hope you at least told Padmé I said hello."
- Wham Shot: Tech opens Echo's stasis pod, revealing his emaciated, cyborgized body with wiring plugged into him.
