The path to evil may bring great power, but not loyalty.
After the remains of of Savage Opress' first victims are returned to the Jedi Temple, Anakin and Obi-Wan, sent to track down the mysterious figure behind the deaths of several Jedi, soon find themselves on the trail of the monstrous apprentice that Ventress has created: Savage Opress, who has been trained in the ways of the Sith by Count Dooku. Dooku sends Opress to Toydaria to capture King Katuunko. The monstrous apprentice clashes with the Jedi, and in the course of the battle he kills the king. Opress returns to Dooku's flagship having failed his Master. It is then that Ventress strikes, with Opress at her side, against Dooku. A three-way battle for dark side supremacy ends with Dooku triumphant, Ventress fleeing, and a disillusioned Savage abandoning his loyalties to the Sith. He returns to Mother Talzin, who gives him a new task: to search the Outer Rim for his long-lost brother...
Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The Jedi Order never learned Darth Maul's name back in The Phantom Menace, so many Legends works just referred to him as an unknown Sith. This practice, however, ignored the fact that Nute Gunray was arrested in the film and he knew Maul's name. In this episode, Obi-Wan refers to Maul by name and the episode guide confirms that Gunray was indeed the one to reveal it to the Jedi.
- Call-Back:
- Obi-Wan confuses Savage for Darth Maul on the security footage.
- Obi-Wan and Anakin assume that Dooku sent Savage to Toydaria to exact revenge against King Katuunko, who chose to join the Republic instead of the Separatists.
- Call-Forward:
- During their training duel, Dooku disarms Savage and crosses his and Savage's lightsabers at Savage's neck in a scissor formation, a position Dooku will find himself in in his last duel with Obi-Wan and Anakin above Coruscant.
- One of Dooku's lessons for Savage — to lift several stone pillars with the Force — is similar to Luke's attempt to raise his X-Wing with the Force; like Luke, Savage tries, fails, and deems the task impossible, which earns criticism from his master (though Dooku demonstrated that it could be done before telling Savage to do it, while Yoda didn't show this until after Luke had tried). Unlike Luke, Savage, after a bout of Electric Torture, does pull through and pass the test on a second try.
- The Cameo: Delta Squad briefly appears in this episode, returning the bodies of Master Halsey and his Padawan to the Temple.
- Curb Stomp Cushion:
- Savage and Ventress can't beat Dooku because of their poor teamwork, Savage's lack of fighting technique, and inability to defend against Dooku's Force Lightning and eventually it becomes into a Mêlée à Trois which turns the fight more into Dooku's favor than it already is. Despite this, Savage's incredible strength and powerful Force abilities allow him to push Dooku back a few times during the fight.
- Once Savage is out of the picture, Ventress is no match for Dooku whatsoever and gets quickly disarmed by her former master. She's still able to briefly incapacitate him by telekinetically pushing his lightsaber into a pipe that unleashes a gas that blinds him, allowing her to flee.
- Defiant to the End: King Katuunko doesn't go down without trying to fight, whipping out a knife when Savage takes out his guards. It naturally doesn't do much good against a lightsaber, but points for the effort.
- The Dog Bites Back: After suffering Dooku and Ventress' taunts and insults about his abilities, Savage finally snaps and turns on them both.
- Double Weapon: Savage receives his double-bladed lightsaber in this episode.
- Electric Torture: Count Dooku uses Force lightning on Savage constantly: firstly (and briefly) to end their training duel; then to allow him to tap into The Power of Hate and use the Force; then as a punishment for killing King Katuunko, whom he was supposed to capture alive; then several times over to keep Savage at bay while fighting him and Ventress. He later uses this on Ventress herself to finally subdue her.
- Evil Versus Evil: The duel between Dooku, Ventress, and Opress.
- Force-Choke: Savage telekinetically chokes King Katuunko while trying to subdue him, moving on to a Neck Snap when he can't shake off Obi-Wan and Anakin. Savage later turns the ability against both Ventress and Dooku when his rage boils over and he starts attacking both of them.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Savage asks how he can defend himself against Force lightning, Dooku refuses to tell him, saying that a wise master doesn't reveal all of his secrets at once. This saves Dooku's life in his duel against Ventress and Savage.
- A shaken Obi-Wan initially assumes that Savage is Darth Maul when he sees him on the security footage. Come the last scene, guess who turns up in Talzin's Crystal Ball?
- Gone Horribly Right: Ventress turned Savage into a hulking monster, and Dooku torturously trained him to connect with his hatred and grow stronger in the Force. Both ventures worked perfectly, turning Savage into a rage-fueled, very powerful, nigh-unstoppable killing machine... that quickly turns on both of his would-be masters.
- I Want Them Alive!: Dooku commands Savage to bring Katuunko to him alive. Suffice to say, Dooku isn't happy when all Savage comes back with is the king's dead body.Dooku: You ignorant beast! I told you I wanted him alive! (zaps Savage)
- Immune to Bullets: Downplayed; as in the previous episode, Savage's armor is resistant to blasters, but a constant barrage from all sides overwhelms him, forcing Savage to repel his attackers and flee, and when he arrives on Dathomir, he's limping and too badly hurt to even take a seat at Mother Talzin's table.
- Instant Expert: It might be a side-effect of the Nightsisters' magic that transformed him, but Savage is a frighteningly quick learner given that with only the first levels of his training complete, he is able to fight Obi-Wan and Anakin on equal footing and Force-choke Ventress and Dooku simultaneously.
- The Juggernaut: Savage is totally unstoppable in the latter half of the episode. Even being subjected to multiple rounds of full-powered Force lightning by Dooku can only temporarily paralyze him, and after the beating he takes from Dooku and Ventress, he is still able to force Obi-Wan and Anakin on the defensive. It takes being surrounded and repeatedly shot on the torso by about a dozen droids to force him to retreat.
- Manchurian Agent: Savage serves as Dooku's loyal attack dog until Ventress triggers him to remember who his true masters are.
- Mêlée à Trois: Count Dooku vs Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress quickly degenerates into Count Dooku vs Asajj Ventress vs Savage Opress when the latter grows fed up with his mistreatment by both of the former two. Meanwhile, the Jedi are after Opress and have to contend with the Separatist forces deployed against him by Count Dooku as well. This is without even mentioning Mother Talzin's nebulous loyalties throughout the episode.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Savage finally snaps after enduring both Dooku's brutal training and Ventress' constant insults, turning on both of them.
- Neck Snap: Savage uses the Force to break King Katuunko's neck to stop him from escaping.
- Never My Fault: When their combined efforts prove insufficient, Ventress keeps yelling for Savage to kill Dooku and insults him for not being able to, ignoring that she's hardly doing any better against the Sith Lord.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Dooku's reaction to Ventress first showing up aboard his ship and then revealing Savage was her puppet all along.
- When Savage snaps and starts strangling both her and Dooku, Ventress fruitlessly tries to talk him down in a panic.
- The Power of Hate: Dooku teaches Savage how to use his hatred to channel the Dark Side.
- Rage Breaking Point: Savage hits his after a combination of Dooku's abuse and Ventress' derision push him over the edge.
- Tempting Fate: Anakin and Obi-Wan prepare to challenge Savage, cautiously saying that they'll take him on together. The next shot has them being sent flying from Savage's Force-push.
- There's No Kill like Overkill: Almost every droid in the hangar opens fire on Savage when Dooku orders his death, to the point that Anakin notes that they're ignoring him and Obi-Wan in the process. The onslaught overwhelms and injures Savage, but isn't enough to kill him, as he summons a massive Force push to destroy the droids and disable the Jedi so he can flee.
- Took a Level in Badass: Savage goes from a thug with little knowledge of the Force to The Brute able to at least temporarily overpower Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker (although not all four at the same time).
- Training from Hell: Dooku puts Savage through this, using Force lightning as both encouragement and punishment. Unfortunately for Dooku, this trope is deconstructed when his torturous training not only makes Savage stronger than before, but also pisses him off enough to betray him.
- Training Montage: We only get to see two lessons of it.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Savage lacks the knowledge to defend himself against Force lightning, and doesn't have the training or experience to best more experienced swordsmen, but his overwhelming strength makes him a fearsome opponent against both Dooku and the Jedi.
- Weak, but Skilled: Dooku, especially compared to Savage; Dooku has the skill to outduel Ventress without much trouble, but he has to resort to frequent blasts of Force lightning to counter Savage's monstrous strength.
- Wham Shot: At the end of the episode, Mother Talzin shows Savage a face in her crystal ball, tells him it's his brother, gives him a magic amulet to help him track down his brother, and sends him on his way. We are then shown whose face it is — Darth Maul.
- Wild Card: Mother Talzin offers aid to no fewer than three opposing forces in this episode, which ends without revealing a hint of her true motives.
- You Have Failed Me: A non-fatal example; Dooku brutally tortures Savage for bringing him Katuunko's corpse after being ordered to capture the Toydarian king alive.Savage: Forgive me, my master...
Dooku: That is not the way of the dark side. (blasts Savage again)
