Anakin and his hidden group attempt a more...direct approach to their mission, and encounter the unexpected...and the unthinkable...
This episode includes the following tropes:
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Most of the episode is told from Anakin's perspective until near the end, where the POV switches to R2-D2 as the droid sneaks around the Luminous Reign in search of Anakin after the Jedi Knight is captured by a Sister of Silence.
- Bavarian Fire Drill:
- How Anakin and the Bad Batch manage to infiltrate Tahr Whyler's warship in this episode. After removing any symbols on their uniforms which identify them as being from the Republic, the group proceeds to casually walk through the crowded hallways of the Imperial ship while doing their best to give off the impression that they are the ones in charge. This actually works because Anakin's Jedi robes just so happen to look similar to the Black Cloak worn by the Inquisitor who commands the ship, causing the crew to mistake Anakin for their superior. Given how much fear the Inquisition evokes from the common Imperial citizenry, no one among the ship's crew dares to stop and question Anakin at any point.
- Later, Anakin finds the entrance to a restricted area of the ship blocked off by a trio of guards who, unlike the rest of the crew, can immediately tell that Anakin is not the Inquisitor. Luckily, Anakin is a smooth talker and is able to improvise a new cover story for himself on the spot, claiming to the guards that he is Tahr Whyler's Torture Technician after hearing one of the guards mention that there was a prisoner being held aboard the ship that the Inquisitor was planning to interrogate. The ruse works and the guards are convinced to escort him to the ship's secret prison.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Sister of Silence overpowers Anakin without much difficulty. No surprise given that her presence completely removes the Force from him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Lampshaded during R2-D2's POV narration as he opens the door to the Inquisitorial prison cell where a Sister of Silence imprisoned Anakin alongside an unknown prisoner (later revealed to be Iskandar Khayon).And as R2 reached up and began to manipulate the door's controls, he truly could not help but wonder: What kind of creature was considered a criminal by an empire that would make the cruelest Hutt green with envy?
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Anakin uses his lightsaber to kill a female prison guard aboard Tahr Whyler's warship by slicing her in half after she and her comrades discover he's a psyker/Force-user and realize he isn't one of Tahr's underlings.
- Hey, Wait!: R2-D2 has gotten separated from Anakin and is wandering alone through the Inquisitor's ship while disguised as a servitor. He finds Anakin's lightsaber on the ground, picks it up, and places it inside his storage compartment. This catches the attention of some nearby guards, who give chase to the droid and corner him in a hallway. R2-D2 freezes, thinking he's just been found out, only for one of the guards to try to open up his chassis so she can dispose of a broken lasgun, revealing that the guards saw R2 place the lightsaber hilt inside himself and took this to mean that he was some sort of robotic trashbin.
- Jedi Mind Trick: While infiltrating Tahr Whyler's warship, Anakin uses the Jedi mind trick on a servitor, which Wrecker eventually nicknames "Trashy", to lead him and the Bad Batch to the ship's central computers.
- Kill the Lights: At the start of their duel, the Sister of Silence uses her power sword to strike at the fluorescent lights illuminating the hallway she and Anakin were standing in, bathing the entire area into pitch-black darkness. This was primarily to prevent Anakin from being able to see and pick up his lightsaber from where it was lying on the floor after he had dropped his weapon from the shock of suddenly being unable to feel the Force due to the Sister's Anti-Magic field. This also served as a psychological tactic intended to unnerve Anakin and cause him to be more prone to making mistakes out of panic and fear.
- Mistaken for Servant: R2-D2 winds up getting mistaken for a garbage servitor by two of the Sister of Silence's guards.
- Mistaken for Special Guest: It's revealed that Anakin and the Bad Batch snuck aboard Tahr Whyler's personal warship on the exact same day that the Inquisitor had a meeting scheduled on the ship with a Sister of Silence, who was waiting for Tahr to return from Axum's surface so they could interrogate a captive prisoner together. Due to Anakin's Jedi robes resembling Tahr's Black Cloak, the crew of the ship mistake Anakin for the Inquisitor and act deferential/submissive towards him.
- The Reveal: It's revealed at the end of the episode via Voiceover Letter that the entire Axum occupation is one big Uriah Gambit by the Imperial Guard's higher-ups to purge their ranks of those they deem "non-compliant" for a yet unrevealed reason.
- Sigil Spam: Exploited by Anakin's group in this episode. The Inquisitorial warship they are sneaking through is filled with so many of the Imperium's sigils and symbols everywhere that they are easily able to fashion a Paper-Thin Disguise for themselves by simply removing some of the plentiful Imperial sigils from the walls and wear them as fake badges and pins to fool the ship's crew.
- Wham Episode: Anakin is now a prisoner of the Inquisition with only R2-D2 being his only hope for escape. Additionally, it's revealed that the entire Axum occupation was part of an elaborate Imperial Guard conspiracy to purge their ranks of undesired regiments.
- Worf Had the Flu: The Sister of Silence defeating Anakin with relative ease is this since not only was Anakin cut off from the Force, but he was also already disarmed of his lightsaber at the start of their duel.
