Hera calls the Bad Batch for help in freeing her parents.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question:
- Captain Howzer insists the shot that nearly killed Senator Taa could not have come from Cham Syndulla or his fighters. Rampart replies that if Syndulla's forces didn't fire the shot, then who did? Howzer admits he doesn't know and falls back in line, but Rampart's rhetorical question may have unintentionally made Howzer suspicious about the Empire's recent actions.
- Hunter tells Omega that they can't put themselves on the line for everyone who needs help. Omega convinces him otherwise with a simple question:Omega: Isn't that what soldiers do?
- Bittersweet Ending: The Syndullas are forced to flee Ryloth for the time being, but Howzer is able to turn some of his brothers against the Empire even though all of them are arrested for it, showing that the influence of the chips isn't totally pervasive among the clones.
- Character as Himself: As with the previous episode, Chopper is credited as playing himself.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Omega says that the Bad Batch are her brothers, Hera responds that she's lucky. Towards the end of Rebels, we learned that Hera had a brother who died when they were young.
- Like Rex’s Y-Wing from a few episodes ago, the Imperial shuttles in this episode appear to be halfway between their Clone Wars and Original Trilogy variations, appearing mostly as the Republic Rho-class, but with a short stabilizer fin on top of the craft, like the later Imperial Lambda- class.
- Cutting the Knot: When Chopper can't take the turrets offline by hacking, Omega steals a shuttle with Hera and the pair simply blow up the entire control system for the turrets.
- Doomed by Canon: Averted. Among the characters named in the two-parter, Eleni is the only one known to have died between now and Rebels. Despite this, she makes it off-world with her husband and daughter, meaning she doesn’t die yet.
- Drives Like Crazy: Hera's piloting still leaves something to be desired. She pilots the stolen shuttle so erratically that Tech says enemies and allies alike have no idea what she'll do next.
- Foregone Conclusion: Given that Hera, Chopper, and Cham are in Rebels, the audience knows that at least they will escape.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Howzer and 8 of his troops stand against the Empire, Crosshair only orders for them to be arrested, whereas the last time a trooper disobeyed him, he executed ES-01 on the spot. This sets up The Reveal about the removal of his inhibitor chip a few episodes later.
- Likewise, this hints that the inhibitor chips' effect on the Clones aren't permanent and that they are starting to rebel against the Empire.
- When Howzer and 8 of his troops stand against the Empire, Crosshair only orders for them to be arrested, whereas the last time a trooper disobeyed him, he executed ES-01 on the spot. This sets up The Reveal about the removal of his inhibitor chip a few episodes later.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: We finally get to see what happened to Crosshair after getting blasted by the ion drive back on Bacca. He's got a mottled scar on the side of his head.
- Heel–Face Turn: Howzer chooses to help Cham and his fighters to escape after becoming disillusioned with the Empire's methods, and even manages to persuade eight of his fellow clones of his position before they're all arrested for treason.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Howzer chooses to stay behind and try to talk some sense into his brothers, knowing he'll be arrested. It also buys time for the Batch to escape using Taa's shuttle.
- Indy Ploy: When Chopper can't hack the turrets offline immediately and is caught by security, Omega decides to improvise by stealing an Imperial shuttle, since Hera is a pilot.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Hunter is initially reluctant to help Hera, because the Imperial presence is too heavy for even them to overcome, especially after they're spotted by a probe droid. When Hera comes up with a decent plan, however, he comes around.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Had Rampart not been so dismissive of Howzer's concerns regarding the Empire's crackdown on Syndulla's supporters, as well as order him to help the refinery rather than leave him at the capital, the clone captain wouldn't have defied his orders and prevented the Bad Batch from walking into a trap set by Crosshair.
- Properly Paranoid: Crosshair correctly guesses that the refinery attack is a distraction and would have caught the Batch in a trap if not for Howzer.
- Rousing Speech: Howzer gives one to his squad, denouncing the Empire and calling on his brothers to resist their unjust ways. He even manages to persuade some of them to put down their weapons before the rest arrest them for treason.
- Saved by Canon: The Empire isn't lying about Senator Taa's still living condition since Taa is still Ryloth's Imperial Senator in Lords of the Sith, which takes place approximately five years later.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Howzer, disillusioned by the Empire's treatment of Ryloth, decides to help Cham and his followers. Later, he tells his men to put down their arms and disobey the Empire's orders because they are wrong. Surprisingly, several clones follow Howzer's example, though not enough to stop the rest of the loyalists from arresting them for treason.
- Slasher Smile: Crosshair sports a very small one when Rampart gives him the go-ahead to hunt down Clone Force 99.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Even though Hera does become an Ace Pilot in the future, here she's still just a preteen girl who's never flown any type of craft unsupervised and struggles to control the Imperial shuttle. She only succeeds at her mission because the Imperials are caught off-guard by one of their own shuttles being hijacked and she has a fairly large, stationary target to shoot. Tech notes her flying is erratic, and both ships flee before the Imperials can muster air support.
- To Be Lawful or Good: Howzer poses this question to his men at the episode's climax, pointing that they came to Ryloth to liberate the people from Separatists but are now targeting the very same people by the Empire's will. He and a few other clones choose to be good, despite knowing they'll be arrested for treason, while the rest continue to be lawful in spite of the Empire's hypocrisy.
- Underestimating Badassery: Rampart still doesn't think much of the Batch and orders Crosshair to stay on mission despite knowing they're lurking around the city. Seeing the devastation they cause in service of rescuing the Syndullas, however, convinces him of the threat they pose, so he gives Crosshair license to hunt them down.
- We Need a Distraction: Omega, Hera, Tech, and Wrecker attack the Imperial refinery, knowing that reinforcements will be sent to protect it if the local defenses are overcome. It succeeds in getting the majority of the Imperial forces out of the city, but Crosshair sees through the gambit and holds a squad at the Imperial base, hoping to ambush the Batch as they escape with the prisoners. However, Howzer foiled that plan.
