History Recap / StarWarsRebelsTheSiegeOfLothal

* TheBadGuyWins: Vader, with the help of Kallus, manages to destroy ''everything'' the crew had accomplished on Lothal: the planet is further oppressed, the Rebels suffer heavy losses, and the crew is literally chased off Lothal.

* BigNo: Ahsoka, upon learning that [[AwfulTruth Darth Vader is her former teacher, Anakin Skywalker,]] screams this in horror.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Kanan is right that starting a war may cause unimaginable death and destruction, which he knows from personal experience. But Hera and Ezra are also correct that if they don’t fight the Empire head-on, nothing will change and people they could have saved will simply continue to suffer.
* BreakTheCutie: Ahsoka is '''devastated''' when she learns the truth about Darth Vader and literally faints from the simple shock of it.

* CharacterCheck: Much like his appearance in ''Film/RogueOneAStarWarsStory'' would later do, Darth Vader’s appearance here undoes years of VillainDecay in ''Legends'' continuity and reestablishes him as a chillingly unstoppable force of evil.

* DressingAsTheEnemy: Kanan "befriends" a stormtrooper and makes off with his armor.

* FalseFlagOperation: When Minister Tua tries to defect, Kallus bombs her escape shuttle then blames it on the rebels, giving the Empire the pretext to crack down with more brutal measures.

* TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne: Kanan and Ezra don’t so much as enter Lothal’s orbit before they can sense Darth Vader’s presence. Later, when Vader ambushes Phoenix Squadron in his custom TIE Fighter, Ahsoka, not yet realising who it is, says the trope name almost verbatim.

** Just before he [[MuggedForDisguise steals]] a stormtrooper's uniform, Kanan sarcastically addresses Hera as "General".

* HopeSpot: A really shitty one for the naval officer manning the tractor beam that catches Vader's ship. His commander says it's not his fault, and he wipes sweat off... his hat... in relief, [[BaitAndSwitchComment only for his commander to say]] "But Lord Vader won't know that."

* ItsAllMyFault: Ezra gets a big dose of this throughout the mission on Lothal, as the Empire’s devastation was instigated by the team’s actions. Especially when he sees the burnt remains of Tarkintown (which was Vader’s intent).

* MuggedForDisguise: Kanan knocks out a stormtrooper commander and takes his armor.

** Recurring lines “A presence I have not felt” and “IWantThemAlive”, both from ''Film/ANewHope'', get an appearance.
** When Kanan and Vader first cross blades, it's an accurate recreation of the Ralph McQuarrie concept art panel that helped define Vader's look in the first place (as well as informed his appearance in the show proper).
* MickeyMousing: The battle between Vader and Ezra/Kanan in the ActionPrologue has a touch of this, hinting at how he's JustToyingWithThem. Things get more serious after the title card.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** In the process of Ahsoka identifying Vader as the [=TIE=] pilot, she gives herself away to Vader, and now the Emperor knows there's another living Jedi (or ex-Jedi in her case).

* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Minister Tua frankly admits that she lacks the stomach for the brutal oppression that Vader has in mind. Unfortunately that means YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness as far as the Sith Lord is concerned.
* NoPeripheralVision: Two stormtroopers talking about the search for the rebels walk right into Zeb, who's standing in the middle of the hallway making no attempt to hide. Guess those helmets obstruct vision more than you'd think.

* OffhandBackhand: Vader does one to Ezra during their duel.

* PutTheirHeadsTogether: Zeb takes out two stormtroopers this way.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: The crew is right that Tua’s defection is a trap, [[UnwittingPawn just not one that]] [[YouHaveFailedMe she is privy to.]]

* ShellShockedVeteran: Part of Kanan’s resistance to join the Rebel war effort is that he is still haunted by the tragic consequences of the Clone War.

* TemptingFate: The city is under LockDown while Imperial stormtroopers search for our heroes.

-->'''Stormtrooper 1:''' We better. ''([[NoPeripheralVision bump right into Zeb]])''

* TrapIsTheOnlyOption: Played with. The Rebels don't trust Minister Tua, believing it to be a trap, but accept the risk anyways if it really meant getting more allies and helping their cause. Turns out the trap they ran into wasn't the obvious one; it ''was'' a trap, but was set ''for'' her, not by her, in an effort to ensnare both parties.

-->'''Minister Tua''': ''[fuming]'' Agent Kallus, I've exhausted every resource to find information about the rebels, but there is nothing to be found! What more does Governor Tarkin expect?
-->'''Agent Kallus''': He ''expects'' Lothal to be punished, Minister Tua. His own Star Destroyer was demolished by these rebels; he takes that somewhat...''personally''.
-->'''Minister Tua''': I've doubled patrols, set up checkpoints, established curfews; I honestly don't know what else to do.
-->'''Darth Vader''': ''[standing in the doorway]'' Perhaps ''that'' is the problem. You lack imagination, Minister, when it comes to producing results.

* WhamShot: Vader strolling in during the Rebels' attempted escape with an ignited lightsaber and a squadron of Stormtroopers.

* SmugSmiler: Agent Kallus spend the entire episode with an evil smirk. Presumably he's impressed by witnessing the work of a master.

* MinionWithAnFinEvil: Minister Tua frankly admits that she lacks the stomach for the brutal oppression that Vader has in mind. Unfortunately that means YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness as far as the Sith Lord is concerned.

* WhamEpisode: Maketh Tua is killed, Ezra's home and Tarkintown are destroyed, Lothal is effectively doomed to be an Imperial stronghold, Phoenix Squadron is in shambles, Ahsoka discovers that Darth Vader is really Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader knows that Ahsoka is alive, the Emperor plans on using her to find and kill other surviving Jedi, and a new Inquisitors is sent after the ''Ghost'' crew.

* WhamShot: Vader strolling in during the Rebels’ attempted escape with an ignited lightsaber and a squadron of Stormtroopers.