"You could lead Mandalore."
Ursa Wren: And your father called me stubborn. Now I see it in you.
Sabine Wren: What do you see?
Ursa Wren: A warrior. Not the one I had hoped, but still.
Sabine Wren: Well, I am your daughter. How could I be anything less?
Sabine Wren: What do you see?
Ursa Wren: A warrior. Not the one I had hoped, but still.
Sabine Wren: Well, I am your daughter. How could I be anything less?
Hoping to get her family to help the rebels, Sabine returns home with Kanan and Ezra, and finds herself embroiled in her family's power struggle for Mandalore.
Tropes in this episode:
- An Arm and a Leg: Though it's not shown (as presumably it would be too much for a Disney cartoon), Sabine apparently cuts of Saxon's hand in their duel, reclaiming the Darksaber. Subverted in that, after the Bait-and-Switch Gunshot, Saxon is shown clutching his chest with what would be his missing hand.
- Armor-Piercing Question: During Sabine's fight with Saxon, Ezra attempts to help but is stopped by Ursa. She tells him that Mandalorian customs dictate that Sabine fight her battle alone. Kanan then asks if her customs are more important than her daughter's life. Ursa can't think of a good response to that, and proves which matters more when she guns down Saxon for trying to shoot Sabine in the back after losing. Although technically the duel was over by then and he broke custom first.
- Backstab Backfire: After losing the final duel, Saxon tries to shoot Sabine in the back only to be shot dead by Ursa.
- Bait-and-Switch Gunshot: After he's defeated, Saxon pulls a blaster on Sabine, who's walking away with her back to him. A shot rings out. Sabine pauses and simply stares forward (with the camera zoomed in on her face so we see nothing else). She then turns around to look behind her... and we see Saxon with a blaster hole in his chest, courtesy of Ursa.
- Big Damn Heroes: Rau smashing through the wall when Saxon and the Imperial Supercommandos have our heroes and Clan Wren at gunpoint.
- Big Entrance: Rau flying through the wall.
- Bilingual Bonus: For Mando'a. Notably, in Mando'a, not answering the question of "Me'vaar tigar?" is considered rude, which fits, considering the Wrens are giving Sabine the cold shoulder.Sabine: Su'cuy, aliit Wren. Ibic Sabine Wren. Ara'novor. Gedet'ye, me'vaar tigar? [Hello, Clan Wren. This is Sabine Wren. I am approaching. Please, how are you?]
Operator: Elek, Sabine Wren. Ke'pare. [Yes, Sabine Wren, please hold.] - But Now I Must Go: Sabine must tend to her duty to build the Mandalorian Resistance, with Rau accompanying her, so the both of them stay behind.
- Call-Back:
- A villain once again giving a False Reassurance with the promise that he'll "take care of" his ally who accepts without suspecting anything.
- A hero maiming their opponent's hand during a lightsaber duel, then holding both sabers crossed at the kneeling opponent's throat. The reverse grip Sabine uses is also reminiscent of Ahsoka. The difference, though, is that Sabine doesn't execute her defeated opponent like Anakin does.
- Canon Immigrant: While Mando'a had been confirmed in All There in the Manual to exist in new canon, this marks the very first instance of Mando'a being spoken ever in a story medium. note
- Chekhov's Skill: Sabine uses moves that were used by Kanan and Ezra against her in the previous episode during her fight against Saxon, such as spinning to dodge a strike from above like how Ezra did against her.
- Combat Pragmatist: During their duel, Saxon uses his jetpack to fly above Sabine and shoot at her (Sabine's was damaged when they fell out of the compound). She retaliates by using her flamethrower to blind him, then disables his jetpack with a taser dart, making it a fairer fight.
- Continuity Nod:
- Ezra draws his lightsaber the second an Imperial supercommando (Tristan Wren) lands in front of him and the others, because he and Sabine ran into them before.
- During the fight against the Imperial Supercommandos, Sabine can be seen using the repulsor in her vambraces, from the previous episode.
- Sabine finishes off Saxon with a Deadly Dodging move Ezra used on her in the previous episode.
- As in his first episode, all of Gar Saxon's men wind up dead. This time, he follows them.
- Rau once again subdues an Imperial supercommando while maintaining stealth by flipping them over and punching them while they're down to knock them out.
- A Crack in the Ice: Subverted. Sabine and Saxon end up fighting over a frozen lake. Though the ice cracks beneath them, it doesn't collapse.
- Defiant to the End: Saxon refuses to surrender even after Sabine has beaten him, mutilated his dominant hand and is holding two lightsabers scissored at his neck. When she refuses to deal the death blow, Saxon tries to kill her, and gets unceremoniously shot.
- Dynamic Entry: Rau smashing into the throne room through the glass wall.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Sabine ends the episode beginning to mend her relationship with her family and building the Mandalorian Resistance after a pitched battle with Saxon that she narrowly wins. However, it does mean she has to leave the rebellion.
- Evil Power Vacuum: Sabine's family isn't too malicious, but there's been a power struggle between the clans due to the Empire letting them do their own thing as long as they don't interfere in Imperial business. There is no longer a duchy, and the Mandalorian Civil War being abruptly cut off by Order 66 and the arrival of the Empire (who eventually placed Saxon in charge as a seeming puppet leader) means there's not really a true Mandalorian leader to lead them all. Starting with this episode, Sabine hopes to use the Darksaber to unite Mandalore and liberate them from the Empire. By the end of the episode Gar Saxon is dead, leaving Mandalore without even a puppet leader and ensuring they will once again descend into chaos.
- Exact Words: Gar Saxon promises that Clan Wren will be "well-taken care of". Then he declares Clan Wren a threat for harboring rebels, hence he will "take care" of them for it.
- Fantastic Racism: The infamous Mandalorian dislike for Jedi comes up again. Tristan seems very apprehensive around Kanan and Ezra and is shocked Sabine is working with them. (And the Mandalorian team almost shoots Ezra when he simply tries to greet Ursa upon meeting her, taking his sudden movement as a threat.) Ursa is also angry that Sabine brought Jedi to Clan Wren's home (saying she'll "tolerate" their presence) and doesn't think twice about handing them over to the Empire in exchange for Sabine's safety (a choice Tristan also agrees with).
- Fingore: Sabine severs the fingers of Saxon's right hand at the first knuckle when she disarms him.
- Give Me a Sword: Ezra tosses Sabine his lightsaber when she sees Saxon sneaking up on Ursa with the Darksaber. She uses it to defeat him in the ensuing duel.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Saxon's hand being mutilated is carefully hidden by the camera angles. Averted when he's shot and the wound is shown.
- High-Speed Missile Dodge: Sabine is forced to dodge Mandalorian Jet Pack missiles in the Phantom.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Ursa attempts to have Sabine understand that they chose the Empire out of strict pragmatic survival. She also avoided searching for Sabine because she believed it protected her daughter in the long run.
- I Have Your Wife: Gender-flipped. Sabine's father is kept as a prisoner in all but name to keep the rest of his family in line.
- I Lied: Ursa strikes a deal with Saxon to trade the Jedi and the Darksaber for her daughter's safety. As soon as he has both, he declares her clan traitors for "consorting with rebels" and opts to have them all killed. Ursa mentions their arrangement, which he simply dismisses. Thankfully, Fenn Rau anticipated a betrayal would happen, so he stole back the lightsabers and broke in when said betrayal happened.
- In the Back: Saxon attempts this twice.
- The first time, he sneaks up on Ursa with the Darksaber during the firefight in the throne room, but Sabine and Ezra see him, and Ezra tosses Sabine his lightsaber so she can stop him.
- The second time, he tries to shoot Sabine when she's walking away after she defeated him. Ursa sees him drawing his blaster and shoots him first.
- Just a Kid: Sabine's mother dismisses her and Ezra as children ignorant of the true circumstances they're in. Kanan calls her out on the former, saying Sabine is a woman now.
- Kick the Dog: Sabine's mother doesn't even speak to her daughter when they reunite, just telling the warriors escorting her to put her in a cell until the Empire comes to collect her for trial. She hesitates only because Sabine has the Darksaber (and further dismisses her because she didn't technically earn it).
- Mama Bear: Her name is Ursa, for Han's sake. Though she doesn't seem to act like it at first, she does prove it by shooting Saxon before he can shoot Sabine In the Back.
- Multi-Part Episode: It is the follow-up to the previous episode, "Trials of the Darksaber", with Sabine acting on Rau's proposition that she should convince her family first so that she'll have an easier time convincing the rest of the clans.
- My God, You Are Serious!: As the group approach Mandalore:Sabine: I should let them know who we are so they don't shoot us down.
Ezra: [laughing] That's funny, I— [stops laughing] Wait, you're not kidding, are you?note - Never My Fault: Ezra blames the Mandalorians for shooting at them first when Sabine calls him out, but he's the one who started it by drawing his lightsaber, and Sabine announced herself which led to them being shot out of the sky.
- No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: While physically recognizing her daughter isn't a problem, Kanan points out that Sabine has grown up quite a lot since Ursa last saw her and she's still treating Sabine as a child rather than the woman she's become.
- Offhand Backhand: Sabine does this to an Imperial Supercommando with the repulsor in her left vambrace.
- Put on a Bus: Sabine and Fenn Rau have to leave the Rebels and stay behind to rebuild Mandalorian space and liberate it from the Empire.
- The Reveal: We finally learn about Sabine's family, with them appearing in person. We also finally discover who Sabine's mother is and learn the current status of Sabine's father. See I Have Your Wife.
- Reverse Grip: Sabine holds the Darksaber and Ezra's lightsaber like this when she scissors them at Saxon's neck.
- Shout-Out: Ursa's painting is based off of the famous Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (aka, The Woman In Gold) by Gustav Klimt, his most famous art piece and the final piece of his golden phase series.
- Snow Means Death: Sabine's clan is based in a snowy environment. Of course, it means someone has to die, and it's Saxon.
- The Spartan Way: Because they're both Mandalorians, Sabine and Saxon both know how to wield blades and their duel is neither a contest of idiocy nor a Curb-Stomp Battle due to Sabine's training. However, a lightsaber is an Empathic Weapon, so it doesn't handle like a normal blade and Sabine's extra training with Kanan does win the day.
- Social Darwinist: When Fenn Rau notes that Mandalore will descend into chaos after word spreads of Saxon's death, Ursa counters that chaos might be necessary to make the clans reclaim their former strength and produce a true leader. This is necessary if they wish to show that they can be strong against the Empire.
- Super Window Jump: When the Imperial Supercommandos have Sabine, Kanan, Ezra and Clan Wren at gunpoint, Fenn Rau flies into the throne room through the glass wall.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: The other Mandalorians don't interfere in Sabine's fight with Saxon and prevent Kanan and Ezra from helping, because it's against their rules of single combat.
- Trial by Combat:
- When Sabine tells Ursa that she got the Darksaber from Maul, but didn't earn it through combat, Ursa dismissively says it's worth nothing.
- In the end, however, Sabine does win the Darksaber, by fighting against Gar Saxon while he wields the blade, and earns the right to claim the title of Mand'alor.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Saxon is clearly untrained with the saber and swings it like he's trying to bludgeon Sabine to death with it, but he still nearly overwhelms her defenses through sheer relentless assault.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: There were Imperial supercommandos that were still leftover from the throne room fight and watched the lightsaber duel, but none of the other characters make note of it. Presumably, Screw This, I'm Outta Here was in play or the rest of Clan Wren (who were also watching) dealt with them.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Sabine tells Ezra to be mindful of who he injures when the Mandalorian welcoming party lands, as they could be family. He ends up provoking them by drawing his lightsaber, earning a stern rebuke despite his insistence that they shot first. He even wings her brother Tristan, though luckily his armour absorbs the shot.
- Tristan calls out Sabine for abandoning the family and costing them their place in Mandalorian society.
- Your Tradition Is Not Mine: After disarming Saxon and failing to convince him to yield, Sabine refuses to execute him, openly stating that, while it may be "the Mandalorian way", it's not her way. She almost gets shot In the Back for this.
