The Clones fight against death and faith, and find their flash learning and gene template truly tested. Nerva prepares for the fight of her life. Saphran contends with the best offensive duelist in the entire Jedi Order. And deep within Tahr Whyler's secret prison, a Herald of Darkness is about to be unleashed... by the hand of the Chosen One himself.
This episode includes the following tropes:
- Character Title: The herald alluded to by this episode's title is none other than Iskandar Khayon, aka the Herald of the Crimson Path.
- Forgot the Disability: Anakin tries to offer a handshake to his new ally Iskandar Khayon after they agree to help each other escape the Inquisitor's warship, forgetting that his newfound ally is both blinded and armless.Khayon: [amused] Did you… just extend your hand towards me?
Anakin: No! Obviously not! I was, uh, swatting a fly! - Imagine Spot: When Anakin first meets Iskandar Khayon, he takes note of the small details on Khayon's body indicating heavy Bio-Augmentation, leading him to conclude that the Astartes are less humans and more Living Weapons. This leads Anakin to briefly wonder whether the Astartes in front of him was even the product of a natural birth, giving himself the horrifying mental image of countless Space Marines being vat-grown in a dark lab. The thing that frightens Anakin about this image isn't that the Imperium is doing it, but rather how easily he could imagine the Republic deciding to imitate their enemy and try to create their own gene-enhanced super soldiers.
- Not That There's Anything Wrong with That: Right before Khayon tells Anakin his name, Anakin admits that he had honestly been expecting for Khayon to have a number for a name due to the Jedi's misconception about Space Marines being vat-grown in a lab like the Republic's clone troopers. Anakin then says this line verbatim to avoid offending his new ally.
- Obviously Evil: Lampshaded when Anakin frees Iskandar Khayon from his cell after finding him inside a secret Inquisitorial prison. The Jedi Knight is understandably hesitant to trust the heavily scarred giant with a deep, menacing voice who introduces himself as a member of the nefariously named Black Legion, and claims to follow someone called the Warmaster.Anakin cringed at those words. Crimson Path? Warmaster? Black Legion? None of those names inspired much hope in the Republic general, and the Jedi made a mental note in that moment. [...] "Black Legion? No offense, but that hardly sounds better than the Imperium of Man..."
- The Reveal: Iskandar Khayon was the prisoner being kept aboard Tahr Whyler's warship that the Silent Enforcer wanted to kill.
- Shatterpoint Tap: During Mace's fight with Saphran in this episode, he uses his shatterpoint technique to target the flaws in Saphran's power armor with his Force-enhanced punches. Being a 7000-year-old relic, Saphran's armor has many weak points caused by accumulated damage from over the millennia of combat.
- Some of My Best Friends Are X: After Anakin's Not That There's Anything Wrong with That remark about having assumed Khayon had a number for a name, he quickly adds on how some of the finest men he knows (the clone troopers) have numbers for names.
- Switching P.O.V.: The episode starts out being told from Leahandra Ordane's perspective as she enters the battlefield. Then it switches over to Nerva and Farnus's perspectives as they climb into the cockpit of the Faithful Flame. Next is the perspective of 84 as he is contacted by C-82 and plans his escape from his Inquisitorial prison cell aboard the Luminous Reign. After this, the episode moves on to Saphran's perspective as he duels Mace Windu. Finally, the episode shows Anakin's POV as he meets Iskandar Khayon inside Tahr's secret prison and frees him from confinement.
- Villain Opening Scene: The episode begins with Canoness Leahandra Ordane giving her prayers to the God-Emperor before entering into battle against the Republic's clone forces.
