The Battle of Anaxes is raging, and the Republic is not winning, though Clone Trooper Echo has a plan! Using his cybernetic augmentations, he will hack into the Separatist network and overload their droid armies all over the planet in one fell swoop! Escorted by the mutant members of the "Bad Batch", his friend and superior Captain Rex, and General Anakin Skywalker, they move covertly into the data vault of Admiral Trench's flagship to complete their mission, but discover a new, more serious threat waiting for them, a planet-cracking bomb!
Meanwhile, the Space Marines of Fireteam Tasleon continue their work securing the bridge and hacking into the ship's computers, seeking control of the bomb. Little do either side know that they are about to come into violent contact with each other. But when Sword Brethren clash with Jedi Guardian, when Powerfield meets Forcefield, when sinew and strength meet focus and Force, what can the result be, but war?
Tropes in this episode include:
- All for Nothing: Everything that Anakin and the Bad Batch went through in Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars to rescue Echo and sneak aboard Trench's flagship to shut down the bomb on Anaxes turns out to have been all for nothing as the Crimson Razors seize control of both Trench's flagship and the bomb, forcing the Republic to withdraw their forces from Anaxes, which is swiftly conquered by the Imperium.
- Big Word Shout: Brother Araknus instinctively roars out "WITCH!" when he sees Anakin use the Force to redirect the Bolter rounds that Araknus fired at him on the bridge of Trench's flagship.
- Bullet Dodges You: Anakin uses the Force to send the Bolter rounds that Araknus fired at him veering off course. It's the sight of this that causes Araknus to identify Anakin as a "witch".
- The Cavalry: Right as Hastus is about to overpower Anakin, the latter is saved by the arrival of reinforcements in the form of Captain Rex and the Bad Batch.
- Cool Versus Awesome: Anakin Skywalker vs. Brother Hastus. One is a prodigal Jedi Knight, legendary war hero of the Clone Wars, and The Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force. The other is a hardened, power-armored Super-Soldier hailing from a grimdark galaxy consumed by Forever War.
- Don't Make Me Destroy You: Anakin Skywalker to Brother Hastus right before their fight. Hastus doesn't understand a word Anakin says due to neither having a translator device handy, but he seems to understand the sentiment and gives a silent nod before attacking.Anakin: Trust me friend. [enters a fighting stance with his lightsaber] You don't want to do this.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The first time Anakin meets the Astartes is when he barges into the bridge of Trench's flagship expecting to fight Trench and his battle droids, only to find that an unknown faction (the Crimson Razors) has already beaten him to it and seized control over the ship's bridge as well. Outnumbered against a threat of unknown magnitude, Anakin wisely decides to book it and flees back down the ship's corridors to find his team and leave the ship. Considering how much of a challenge a single Space Marine posed to him in this episode, he likely would've died had he decided to engage Araknus's fireteam on the ship's bridge instead of retreating.
- Oh, Crap!: Anakin and the Bad Batch's reaction to the resilience and skill of a Space Marine.
- One-Word Title: The episode's title is a single word: "Warriors". This references both Anakin Skywalker and Brother Hastus, who engage each other in a climatic duel.
- Parrying Bullets: During Brother Hastus's battle with Anakin, Rex, and the Bad Batch, the Space Marine uses his power sword to swipe away incoming blaster bolts from the Clones. Hastus notes in his internal narration that he's only able to do this because blaster bolts are much slower in comparison to regular kinetic bullets.
- Rasputinian Death: Brother Hastus has half his mouth burnt by Anakin's lightsaber, gets pelted by heavy blaster fire, has a frag grenade go off in his hand, takes a point-blank shot in the face from the blaster equivalent of a sniper rifle (reducing his face to a skull), and is finally decapitated.
