Mistakes are valuable lessons often learned too late.
Ahsoka is helping Trace work on her spaceship, which Trace reveals she built from parts she saved up and bought herself, with some help from her sister, although Ahsoka isn't sold on Trace's name for the ship: the Silver Angel. Rafa, who mistrusts Ahsoka, believing there's no way she's doing what she's doing out of straightforward altruism, has a job for Trace, needing her after her former pilot backed out. Trace is insulted that Rafa would consider another pilot, but Ahsoka is suspicious about what kind of job Rafa has lined up. After Trace accidentally flies into military airspace, with the girls only avoiding arrest because the Jedi Cruiser they pass by is commanded by Anakin, who senses Ahsoka aboard the freighter and lets them go, the Silver Angel heads for a distant destination that Rafa doesn't want to tell Ahsoka about beforehand.
Ahsoka is concerned upon learning that Trace has never actually flown a starship before, which Rafa whispers is why she wanted a different pilot. When their destination turns out to be Kessel, home to the galaxy's most notorious spice mines, Ahsoka is even more concerned. And when Trace learns that Rafa intends to sell their cargo of spice to the notorious Pyke Syndicate, who might seize her starship, she panics and dumps their cargo, leaving the girls in debt to a dangerous crime syndicate and in even worse trouble...
This episode premiered on March 27, 2020.
Tropes:
- Anachronic Order: The episode guide explains that Anakin's presence at Coruscant sets this story arc before the Bad Batch arc that opened Season 7 as he hasn't yet left to fight in the Outer Rim Sieges.
- Bad Liar: When their ruse is revealed, Rafa lies to the Pykes about Kessel having cheated them. Fife doesn't buy it for a second.
- Beneath Notice: When Ahsoka points out that spice haulers are prime targets for pirates looking for a quick score, Rafa argues that Trace's relatively small ship isn't a typical hauler and thus less likely to be targeted as such.
- Call-Forward:
- Admiral Yularen's transmission to the Silver Angel after Trace accidentally flies it into military airspace is (for the second time in the series) reminiscent of Han Solo in the Death Star detention level, complete with Yularen demanding the number of her pilot's licence.
- Anakin sensing Ahsoka on the ship and allowing it to pass is also similar to Darth Vader sensing Luke aboard the Imperial shuttle in Return of the Jedi, complete with being asked for confirmation on whether to stop the vessel or not. It also acts as a contrast to the scene in "The Siege of Lothal" where Ahsoka and Vader recognize each other.
- The Silver Angel enters Kessel in much the same way that Han Solo and company will in his titular film.
- The Cameo: Anakin and Admiral Yularen briefly appear when Trace accidentally flies the Silver Angel into military airspace and past their Venator-class Star Destroyer.
- Character Name Alias: Of a sort. When Trace, noting that Ahsoka has clearly worked on starships before, wonders what kind of school she went to up top, Ahsoka bends the truth and says she went to the "Skywalker Academy".
- Cliffhanger: The Silver Angel is caught by the tractor beams of three Pyke patrol ships.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Rafa tries to keep Trace and Ahsoka in the dark about the particulars of the job until it's too late for them to object. This leads to her and Ahsoka arguing about the job mid-flight, causing Trace to freak out and dump the spice in such a way that it's impossible to recover.
- Trace ejects the spice containers for fear the Pyke Syndicate will steal her ship if they deliver it, Ahsoka having suggested as much would happen because they're ruthless gangsters. Now they have nothing to pay said ruthless gangsters except the ship, which Rafa points out.
- Exact Words: Rafa tells Trace and Ahsoka they're picking up "medicine". While Kessel spice can be used for medicine, it's usually refined into a drug, and Rafa is no doubt aware that the Pykes will do the latter.
- Facepalm: Rafa has this reaction when Trace decides to answer the call from the Republic warship despite being told not to.
- Finish Dialogue in Unison: Ahsoka and Rafa have the exact same reaction, word for word, to Trace dumping the spice cargo on impulse.
- Foreshadowing:
- Trace is rather sad when she mentions that she inherited her shop, and quickly cuts herself off after saying that her parents "split".
- When Ahsoka and Rafa tell her to pull up when flying past the Jedi Cruiser, and not to answer the transmission from it, Trace insists that no one tell her to do anything. When she has a similar reaction later, it leads to her dumping the spice in a panic and putting them all in jeopardy.
- Flush the Evidence: Subverted.
- As irrational as Trace's decision to dump the spice was, her reaction to the idea that she was unknowingly involved in drug smuggling and working for a galactic crime syndicate — and one that might take everything away from her if she screws up — late into the job, as well as her peers arguing over what she should do, is a realistic one for someone as young as her.
- After Trace dumps the spice in a panic — leaving the crew with nothing to pay the Pyke Syndicate — Ahsoka tries to improvise their way out by using a Jedi Mind Trick on Marg Krim to convince him to just let them leave with their payment. While the mind trick does work on Krim, Ahsoka can't mind trick his entire entourage at once, and not all of them are as weak-minded or unquestioning sycophants. Fife notices that something weird is going on with his boss — especially since Krim openly stated his distrust for contract workers before being tricked — and gets suspicious in no time. Upon realizing that they don't have the spice they were promised, Fife immediately calls for the Silver Angel to be locked down with tractor beams.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: This episode reveals that Trace is the dreamer to Rafa's boots on the ground criminal. In other words, they pass the foolish ball back and forth.
- Freak Out: Trace panics when Ahsoka mentions that the Pykes might take her ship, leading to her dumping the spice and getting them in even worse trouble.
- Giver of Lame Names: Both Ahsoka and Rafa agree that Silver Angel is a terrible name for a ship.
- Godzilla Threshold: Rafa reluctantly presses Trace into using her ship for the spice job when her original crew backs out of the deal, because reneging on the Pykes simply isn't an option. Ahsoka even notes halfway through that she can see why Rafa didn't want to involve her.
- I Can't Believe I'm Saying This: Ahsoka, when she tells Trace that she agrees with Rafa about dumping the spice being a bad idea.
- Idiot Ball: Trace grabs it hard when she takes Ahsoka literally, that the Pykes will actually take her ship, rather than that they're incredibly dangerous.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Trace is confident that the Pyke patrol ships won't be able to catch the Silver Angel. They grab the ship with a tractor beam seconds later.
- Jedi Mind Trick: Ahsoka uses this on Marg Krim to make him give up the payment without checking the cargo. Unfortunately, Fife notices how weird that is and checks himself, which Krim allows because Ahsoka's mind trick has made him completely passive.
- Naïve Newcomer: Trace may be used to life in Coruscant's lower levels, but she proves to know little about life elsewhere in the galaxy, being unaware of Kessel's full reputation and what exactly the Pyke Syndicate is, and assuming the slaves in the mines are initially droids. She also has no idea that she might need a pilot's license and flies right into a military air lane without realizing that could get her arrested.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Ahsoka mentioning that the Pykes might specifically take Trace's ship causes her to panic and dump the spice while Ahsoka and Rafa are arguing about what they should do with it, so neither of them can stop her in time. This leads to them being captured by the Pykes after they realize the girls are trying to scam them.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Ahsoka is shocked when she realizes that Admiral Yularen is onboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Trace has flown into the airspace of, because that means that Anakin is almost certainly onboard as well.
- Ahsoka and Rafa when they realize that Trace has dumped their cargo of spice into hyperspace, as despite their different opinions on what should have been done with it, losing the cargo of spice means that they now owe the Pykes big-time.
- Pet the Dog: Anakin senses Ahsoka aboard the Silver Angel and lets them pass despite Trace accidentally flying into military airspace.
- Properly Paranoid:
- Ahsoka suspects Rafa is up to no good with her delivery job, based on her evasiveness about the details and Rafa's pattern of behavior thus far. Her paranoia pans out when the cargo turns out to be unrefined spice, and the client is the Pyke Syndicate, who will definitely refine it into the narcotic version.
- Marg Krim openly states that he doesn't trust anyone who isn't a Pyke (whether it's Fantastic Racism and/or he's suspicious of people who don't work directly for the Syndicate isn't clear), which is why he won't immediately give Rafa the payment, leading Ahsoka to mind trick him. Sure enough, they are trying to pull a fast one on him.
- Psychological Projection: Rafa accuses Ahsoka of befriending Trace out of some ulterior motive, as she doesn't believe someone could act selflessly for someone they don't know, and thinks Ahsoka is trouble. Meanwhile, Rafa is, albeit reluctantly, pressing Trace into a job of dubious legality in the service of a criminal cartel that will definitely use the cargo for illegal purposes.
- Revealing Skill: Rafa catches on to the fact that Ahsoka is bizarrely well-informed for a supposed civilian, though Ahsoka deflects by claiming she just pays attention.
- Rule of Three:
- Trace makes three mistakes throughout the episode to highlight her Naïve Newcomer status. The first is when she flies into a military air lane, the second is when she leaves the air brakes on in hyperspace, and the one that costs the trio is dumping the spice cargo out of the ship.
- In a more humorous example, Trace keeps insisting that the Silver Angel is the fastest ship around, saying it twice before Kinash says it himself.
- Shadowland: The spice mines of Kessel, barren and smog-choked from mining and pollution, provide this contrast to the verdant area where the royalty lives.
- Shoot Out the Lock: Fife shoots the lock on the cargo containers when Rafa lies about having sent them the code already.
- Shout-Out: Rafa says that she's looking for "fortune and glory" just before attending a banquet in a jungle palace with unpleasant rich people who profit off of slave mining.
- Take a Third Option: Deconstructed. Instead of delivering the spice to the Pykes as Rafa initially planned, or changing course and donating it to make medicine as suggested by Ahsoka, a panicking Trace simply dumps the spice out of the cargo bay. As Rafa and Ahsoka immediately point out, this is an even worse course of action, because now they're on course to arrive at Oba Diah empty-handed, which will definitely incur the Pykes' wrath.
- Tractor Beam: The Silver Angel is caught in the tractor beams of three Pyke patrol ships in the cliffhanger.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The originally released synopsis, and the one listed on Disney+, is "Trace makes a rash decision upon learning what they are transporting is for the Pyke Syndicate." The Reveal that their clients are the Pykes comes about two-thirds of the way through the episode, and Trace doesn't make her "rash decision" (dumping the spice) until within the last five minutes.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Subverted. Ahsoka's last-minute plan to dupe the Pykes and escape them isn't explained beforehand, and it fails anyways.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Trace calls out Rafa for arranging a job behind her back and only admitting to it when she had no other option. Although Rafa won't admit it at the time, she has very good reasons for not wanting to involve Trace in this job.
