"Chapter 23" represents the twenty-third installment of the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series. It also serves as the third episode within both Season Three and Volume Two. This particular episode was initially broadcasted on Cartoon Network on March 23, 2005.
Within his quarters at the Jedi Temple, Master Yoda is deeply engaged in meditation. Abruptly, he startles, employing the Force to raise the window coverings. A massive Confederate fleet, comprised of Vulture droids, tri-fighters, and C-9979 landing craft, thunders past the window. Mace Windu rushes in, declaring that Coruscant is under siege.
The C-9979s release their lethal cargo of battle droids and Armored Assault Tanks onto the city's streets. Saesee Tiin reports the continuous emergence of Confederate vessels from hyperspace. Windu instructs him to assume command of Coruscant's space defenses. The two Jedi then embark in their starfighters, engaging in the ongoing conflict.
On Nelvaan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, along with the Nelvaanian tribe, journey towards the village riding banthas. Skywalker observes that the village is solely inhabited by women and children. Led to the elderly village shaman, Kenobi interprets the Nelvaanian language for Skywalker. Skywalker's slaying of the horax had disrupted a young boy's coming-of-age trial. A significant evil plagues their land, and none of the champions sent from the village have ever returned.
Returning to Coruscant, missiles originating from Hailfire droids strike the 500 Republica. Padmé Amidala, recognizing the gravity of the situation, directs Captain Gregar Typho to evacuate her, a panicked C-3PO, and the remaining occupants of the building.
Mace Windu navigates through the city, obliterating numerous droid fighters. Upon flying into a dense swarm of Vulture droids, his starfighter is destroyed. Ejecting from the cockpit, Windu lands atop one of the droid fighters, which he breaches with his lightsaber and manipulates to traverse the sky. Three clone pilots in an ARC-170 witness in astonishment as Windu eliminates the trio of droid fighters pursuing them.
Saesee Tiin leads his squadron of fighters into Coruscant's upper atmosphere, where vast numbers of Trade Federation cruisers engage with a similar quantity of Republic Star Destroyers. After landing in the docking bay of a severely damaged Republic vessel, Tiin commands the ship's clone troopers on a spacewalk to seize control of the nearest Trade Federation cruiser. Assuming command, Tiin directs the ship to fire its cannons upon the closest Providence ship.
During a ritualistic ceremony, the Nelvaanian shaman, Orvos, informs Kenobi about the prophecy of "Ghost Hand"—a stranger destined to rescue their village. Kenobi presents Skywalker's prosthetic arm to them. Skywalker inquires about his role, and Kenobi responds that it is what he is currently undertaking.
Yoda confronts the advancing Confederate army. Employing the Force, he levitates hundreds of approaching droidekas into the air, causing them to collide with the droid starfighters. He then raises several C-9979s back into the sky, where they also crash into one another. Upon learning that their forces are losing ground in Sector 4, Yoda mounts his kybuck and hurries to provide assistance.
As part of the ritual, Orvos covers Skywalker with bruise-leech crawlers, which create painful geometric patterns across the young Jedi's body. Instructed to follow the "frozen tears of the Great Mother," Skywalker commences his arduous journey, an endeavor Kenobi describes as his ultimate trial.
Yoda and Windu reinforce the struggling clone troops as the droid army approaches the Senate building. Leveraging a combination of their combined Force abilities and combat prowess, the two Jedi Masters begin to regain control.
From his suite within the 500 Republica, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine observes the distant battle. Three Jedi—Shaak Ti, Roron Corobb, and Foul Moudama—arrive and implore the Chancellor to proceed to his secure bunker. As Palpatine declines, asserting that there is no immediate threat, General Grievous crashes through the window.
The clone officer briefly seen working alongside Tiin displays identical red markings to those of Captain Fordo.
The primary vessels of the Confederate fleet consist solely of Providence-class carrier/destroyers, rather than Lucrehulk-class battleships, Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships, Recusant-class light destroyers, or Munificent-class star frigates.
During the scene where Orvos discusses the "Ghost Hand," one of the red buttons attached to his hanging hair features the Japanese symbol that Samurai Jack (another series by Clone Wars creator Genndy Tartakovsky) occasionally displays.
This episode marks the debut appearance of a clone trooper pilot wearing Phase II clone trooper armor within the series. However, it incorporates an enclosed helmet resembling those used by V-wing pilots. Their subsequent appearance occurs in "Chapter 25."