As the massive space battle in the Axum System intensifies, Rollah Sendurran orders the deployment of Battlefleet Xek-Tek's secret weapon. Republic naval captain Gilad Pellaeon figures out a temporary countermeasure against the psychic attacks by the Imperial Navy's Astropaths, while Captain Terrinald Screed gets his KDY star dreadnaught destroyed through his own glory-seeking tendencies. Plo Koon and the Wolfpack team up with Shadow Squadron to take down the Imperial Navy's superweapon.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Abandon Ship: Terrinald Screed issues the order to abandon ship after his Mandator II-class star dreadnaught Bulwark of Duro is sheared in half and left heavily irradiated by the destructive power of the Death of Defiance's Wave-Motion Gun.
- Airstrike Impossible: Near the end of the episode's big space battle, Warthog and Jag perform a kamikaze attack on the Death of Defiance by piloting their Y-Wing bomber into the barrel of its kilometers-long fusion cannon as it charges up for another shot. Against all odds, their Y-Wing reaches the cannon's base without crashing into the sides of the barrel and detonates its entire payload of proton bombs, destroying the cannon and permanently crippling the Death of Defiance in the blast.
- Alliterative Title: "The Death of Defiance".
- Audience Participation: Prior to the release of Episode 39, the author held a YouTube poll
where he asked "Which one of these men is the shiniest hidden gem currently serving the Republic?" The choices were Octavian Grant, Terrinald Screed, Nial Declann, and Gilad Pellaeon, all of whom are Legends characters who served in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars. Pellaeon, being the most recognizable and well-known of the four, predictably won the overwhelming majority of votes while Screed came in at a distant second place. After this poll, Pellaeon and Screed would appear as POV characters in Episode 39 where they are each commanding one of KDY's Mandator II-class star dreadnaughts in the episode's big space battle. - Call-Back: This episode has a few call-backs to The Clone Wars episode "Shadow of Malevolence".
- When Plo Koon docks his starfighter inside the hangar of Spikes' Victory-class Star Destroyer to make some quick repairs, he is pleased to reunite with the clone pilot Broadside, who remarks that they have got to stop meeting like this and confirms that the rest of Shadow Squadron is also back to help Plo destroy the Ironclad.
- While inside the hangar of Spikes' Star Destroyer, Broadside reminds Plo of Shadow Squadron's motto "Minimum casualties, maximum effectiveness", which is what he assured Plo during their first meeting years ago.
- As they're getting ready to attack the Death of Defiance, Broadside assures Plo Koon that destroying superweapons is Shadow Squadron's specialty, referencing how Shadow Squadron had previously helped Plo, Anakin, and Ahsoka destroy the Malevolence's mega-ion cannons.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Imperial Ironclad Battleship Death of Defiance takes down the Republic Mandator II-class Star Dreadnaught Bulwark of Duro with just a single shot fired from its massive fusion cannon.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Plo Koon, who, after being Out of Focus for the majority of the Axum arc, finally gets his time to shine in the second half of this episode, where he personally leads the Republic's starfighter squadrons against the Imperial Navy and Aeronautica Imperialis.
- Lower-Deck Episode: Aside from the Villain Opening Scene with Rollah, the episode is told from the perspectives of very minor characters who had previously been either Out of Focus or uninvolved with the Axum arc like Plo Koon, Gilad Pellaeon, and Terrinald Screed.
- More Expendable Than You: During the big space battle, Plo Koon attempts to take out the Imperial Ironclad Battleship by ramming his own starfighter into the Ironclad's massive underslung Wave-Motion Gun, which he acknowledges would certainly result in his own death. However, he gets intercepted by his own wingmen, who disable Plo's starfighter and tow him away to safety. Plo's Number Two Wolffe refuses to let him throw his life away, claiming he's too important to die. Warthog and Jag instead take Plo's place and pilot their Y-Wing bomber into the Ironclad's fusion cannon, destroying the cannon and crippling the rest of the ship with their sacrifice.
- Old-School Dogfight: The latter half of the episode is all about this trope as the focus shifts to the starfighters fighting in the massive space battle above Axum. There are countless dogfights all happening simultaneously in close proximity as swarms of Republic starfighters and Imperial voidcraft go at each other like a scene from a WWII air battle. Plo Koon, the viewpoint character for this segment of the episode, is piloting his Jedi starfighter and experiencing all of this firsthand.
- Space Battle: Like Episodes 4 and 34, this is yet another episode that is entirely centered around the big space battle above Axum. The first half focuses on the capital ship combat aspect while the second half focuses on the starfighter combat aspect.
- Superweapon: During the Space Battle above Axum, the Imperials unveil a nasty surprise for the Republic Navy in the form of an Ironclad, an aging Imperial warship that was built during the Dark Age of Technology and is equipped with a massive fusion cannon capable of wiping out entire fleets in a single shot. Plo Koon identifies the ship as being a potential Planet Destroyer and immediately prioritizes destroying the vessel before it can fire another shot.
- Villain Opening Scene: This episode opens up with Lord Admiral Rollah Sendurran being displeased at the state of the Space Battle in the Axum System and ordering the deployment of the warship Death of Defiance. The rest of the episode then shifts its focus entirely to the perspectives of Republic and Jedi characters.
- We Gotta Stop Meeting Like This: Said by clone pilot Broadside to Plo Koon when they find themselves fighting alongside each other during the episode's Space Battle.
- With All Due Respect: Commander Wolffe to Plo Koon during this episode's space dogfight.Plo Koon: You and the remaining men must go ahead without us! We-
Wolffe: With all due respect General, I'm not leaving you or any of my men behind!
