Cargo of Doom

"Overconfidence is the most dangerous form of carelessness."

- Moral

"Cargo of Doom" is the second episode in Season Two of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It is the twenty-fourth episode of the series overall. It was the first episode to be confirmed in belonging to Season Two.

Official description
Anakin and Ahsoka intercept Cad Bane's warship, hoping to recover the stolen Jedi Holocron, but the Jedi underestimate the bounty hunter's cunning tactics.

Plot summary
Anakin Skywalker's fleet arrives in the Devaron system, cutting off the Separatist fleet assisting bounty hunter Cad Bane. Unfortunately, clone trooper scouts tell Skywalker that Bane has already captured Jedi Master Bolla Ropal and the Kyber memory crystal. Taken hostage on one Munificent-class star frigate frigate, Ropal is held in energy bond. While on the frigate's bridge, Bane orders the droids to get clear to jump to hyperspace. However, his ship has been seen by the crew onboard Skywalker's Venator-class Star Destroyer, Resolute. The crew fires at Bane's frigate, crippling its hyperdrive systems. Captain Rex, Skywalker, and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, come up with a plan to infiltrate the frigate with three AT-TEs providing fire support.

Meanwhile, Bane tortures Ropal, and forces him to open the stolen holocron; however, Ropal defiantly refuses. Bane tells the droids to increase power of the energy bond, which electrocutes Ropal to his death. In need of another Jedi to open his stolen holocron, Bane returns to the bridge and notices Skywalker, Ahsoka, and their clones preparing to board his frigate through a viewscreen. Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray contacts Bane via comlink, and is angry at Bane for losing four of his ships and demands repayment; however, Bane promises that Darth Sidious will compensate once the holocron is unlocked, and tells the viceroy about the two Jedi that were about to infiltrate his frigate. Before leaving the bridge, Bane orders the droids to wipe navigation charts, trigger self-destruct and transfer ship functions to his wrist gauntlet. Skywalker, Ahsoka, and the clones storm the bridge and destroy several stationed B1 battle droids. Skywalker's astromech droid, R2-D2, then accesses the ship's computer to locate Ropal.

The group then make their way to the frigate's detention block, and Ahsoka finds Roppal dead inside a room. An explosion from Bane's frigate rocks the ship, which Admiral Wullf Yularen, who is onboard the Resolute, advises the Republic group to stay clear of. Soon, the lights go out, forcing the clones to switch to night vision mode on their helmets. The squad sees Bane running, and they follow him in pursuit to the frigate's gunnery room. Bane orders his battle droid forces to eliminate the Jedi, and turns off the artificial gravity. Ahsoka orders Artoo to reactivate the gravity. Attacking the bounty hunter, Skywalker kicks the holocron out of Bane's hands, but before he can grab it, Artoo reactivates the gravity, and Bane reclaims the holocron on the ground. In retaliation, Ahsoka chases after the fleeing Bane, despite her Master's warnings. Skywalker tries to cut through a closed blast door to rescue Ahsoka; however, a droid slips and shoots an artillery battery, which causes an explosion.

In a dead-end corridor, Ahsoka and Bane fight against each other. While Ahsoka defeats Bane in hand-to-hand combat, the Padawan tries to telekinetically retrieve her lightsaber, although Bane tricks her. The bounty hunter grabs her ankle and sends a paralyzing electric shock through her, which renders her unconscious. Sensing that his Padawan is endangered, Skywalker frees himself from the debris inside the gunnery room, and orders Rex and the clones to secure a ship for them inside the frigate's docking bay.

Placing her in stuncuffs, and pulling her silka bead Padawan braid, Bane mocks Ahsoka and electrocutes her with his wrist comm, while he waits for Skywalker to "rescue her". Immediately, Skywalker enters the room, and Bane threatens to void Ahsoka out an airlock if he does not unlock the stolen holocron. Skywalker is forced to concede to save Ahsoka. Once the holocron is unlocked, Bane inserts the crystal. Enraged, Skywalker then spontaneously summons his and Ahsoka's lightsabers. Bane responds by opening the airlock and escaping. Desperate to save his Padawan, Skywalker throws fragment of a B2 super battle droid, and closes the airlock door. Bane contacts Gunray to inform him of his success. Gunray asks him to transmit the information to him; however, Bane says that he'll deliver it to Sidious personally. However, his shuttle has already been taken by the clones. In a desprite attempt to capture Bane, Skywalker runs down a hallway, although Ahsoka forces the latter to return to Rex and the clones inside the hangar bay. The Jedi return, only to see the clones holding a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle.

On the top level of the hangar bay, troopers Denal and Koho engage Bane in a duel; however, the bounty hunter defeats the two clones and dresses himself in Denal's armor. Upon noticing that Bane might be dead, Ahsoka wishes to retrieve the holocron, although Skywalker claims that there wasn't any time to do so. Bane, who is wearing Denal's armor, enters Skywalker's ship. After leaving the frigate, Skywalker states that though they saw Bane fall to his death, he still feels Bane through the Force. When they return to the Resolute, Ahsoka apologizes to her master for letting Bane get the better of her; however, Skywalker corrects her, and says that the mission's failure was his fault, "from start to finish."

Cast

 * Corey Burton as Cad Bane
 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Clone troopers, Bolla Ropal
 * Tom Kane as Narrator, Admiral Wullf Yularen
 * Tom Kenny as Nute Gunray
 * Matthew Wood as Battle droids

Behind the scenes
A blooper appears in the episode at approximately 13:24; when Ahsoka falls from Bane's shock, her legs are seen as white, like her normal apparel, however she is wearing a red body suit during the scene.