Lair of Grievous

General Grievous must prove himself worthy of the Separatists when Count Dooku leads Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his former Padawan, the Mon Calamari Jedi Nahdar Vebb to Grievous' villainous enclave.

Once alerted of Nute Gunray's escape, Jedi Master Kit Fisto and his former apprentice Nahdar Vebb follow the tracking beacon of his stolen ship to Vassek. The Jedi and their squad of clones find a secret door to the castle, and Fisto finds a way to open it. They attempt to sneak up on Viceroy Gunray, but all they find is a gloating hologram of the Neimoidian. It soon turns into a hologram of Dooku, who informs the party that although it can't get Gunray, he will offer an alternative prize. Dooku soon contacts General Grievous and warns him that his ongoing stalemate in the war has become unacceptable and that Darth Sidious wants more dramatic results, including more dead Jedi.

Upon discovering that the castle is the lair of Grievous, Fisto devises a plan to ambush Grievous as soon as he arrives. After landing his ship inside the castle, Grievous is confronted by the Jedi and the clones. A skirmish breaks out, and Grievous's legs are chopped off above the knees. As Grievous escapes, he kills two clones before retreating to his control room to undergo repairs from his medic droid, EV-A4-D, and order his MagnaGuards to lock down the perimeter. Meanwhile, Fisto, Vebb and the remainder of their clone squad try to retreat from the castle, but Grievous locks it down. Clone Commander "Fil" tells the clones outside, Niner and Bel, to contact the fleet at Bestine to bring reinforcements, but the MagnaGuards blow up the clones' transport to cut off their escape and to prevent communications with the fleet. They also attempt to destroy Fisto's starfighter and his droid, R6-H5, but Fisto tells the astromech to get out of the area, and R6 pilots the fighter away from danger.

As they explore the fortress, a trapdoor on the floor opens beneath them, and one of the remaining clones is killed in the molten incinerator vat below. Fisto and Vebb jump in time to avoid it, and Fil uses a cable to cling to the side of the pit and climb up. After being taunted by a hologram of Grievous, they meet Grievous' pet roggwart, Gor. In a short battle, Fisto kills Gor, though Fil is also killed during the fight, an event that makes Vebb vengeful.

After Grievous is repaired, he decides to check if Gor has killed the Jedi, only to find that Gor is dead. He is then contacted by Count Dooku. This time the count confirms to Grievous that this is a test for him since his defeats by the Jedi has shaken Dooku's faith in the general. He decides to play along, and he and his guards go hunting.

Fisto and Vebb soon find the entrance to Grievous' control room, but as they try to sneak in, Vebb chooses to confront Grievous instead, despite Fisto trying to convince him otherwise. In the midst of their argument, EV-A4-D locks Fisto away from Vebb, and the Mon Calamari Jedi skillfully defeats four of Grievous's guards. Since Fisto is locked in the control room, unable to help Vebb, he finds EV-A4-D and cuts him in half. Vebb attacks Grievous, but the general shoots and kills the young Jedi. Fisto calls for R6-H5 to meet him at the south landing platform.

After an intense lightsaber duel with Grievous, Fisto starts to gain the upper hand, but some of Grievous' MagnaGuards arrive, which turns the odds against him. As R6-H5 arrives with his starfighter, Fisto escapes and returns to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Meanwhile, Dooku contacts Grievous, who tells Dooku how he has beaten the Jedi. Dooku already expected victory over the young Jedi and the clones, but says to best a Jedi Master is a worthy accomplishment. Grievous then clarifies to Dooku that Fisto got away. Dooku, disappointed, tells Grievous that there is room for improvement on his part, angering Grievous.

Back at Coruscant, Kit Fisto reports to Yoda and Mace Windu the events of his mission. He tells them, "Nahdar's heart was in the right place, but he tried to match Grievous' power with his own." Yoda says that "in this war, a danger there is of losing who we are."

Dave Filoni, director of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, addressed concerns of contradictions with established material from the Star Wars Expanded Universe in an interview with TheForce.net.

The Episode Guide reveals a couple of lines not shown in the episode's TV broadcast. In addition to a joke made between battle droids regarding killing Jedi, another usage of the famous line "I have a bad feeling about this," by the Jedi Nahdar Vebb, was cut due to time constraints. These deleted scenes were restored for the "Director's Cut" version of the episode that appears on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season One DVD and the Disney+ streaming service.

The captured lightsaber Kit Fisto examines in Grievous' castle belonged to Jedi Master Neebo.

As Grievous is being repaired, when his mask is removed, his death scream from Revenge of the Sith can be heard.

This episode won a Golden Reel Award for best sound editing in television animation.

The story "The Dueling Monstrosities," told by Vaneé in the 2021 film LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, took inspiration from this episode and the 1931 film Frankenstein.