Every time an episode of The Mandalorian lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the twenty-third episode – Chapter 23: The Spies. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.
Dan Lo
“I will deal with this Jedi slime myself.” Big words from General Grievous, but a threat that ultimately rang empty. After getting soundly beaten in lightsaber combat by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith, the cybernetic Kaleesh warlord scampered off to his wheelbike, drove off with a varactyl-riding Jedi master in pursuit, and crashed onto his ship’s landing platform where he engaged in a final showdown that led to his fiery and uncivilized demise. Classic cartoon villain stuff.
The latest chapter of The Mandalorian kicked off with an incredible shot of Coruscant, where a hologram Moff Gideon uttered a fairly similar line: “I shall deal with our Mandalorian friends“. I had barely noticed what came across as a throwaway line, but before the end of the episode we would be reminded that Gideon is no cartoon villain.
From that point, the episode wasted no time with kicking things into gear. We were immediately treated with incredible visuals of Gideon striding along an energy shielded walkway guarded by troopers that we’ve never seen before. His destination was a meeting with the shadow council. With the New Republic already in a mismanaged and complacent state, the Imperial remnants were hard at work crafting a resurgence. Thrawn is yet again teased on the show, this time courtesy of a name drop by Gideon. I have read the Thrawn trilogy, but it was nearly 30 years ago and well, I admit I don’t remember a whole lot. Consequently, the name Gilad Pellaeon had completely failed to ring a bell, and I would not be at all surprised if other Thrawn easter eggs have completely gone over my head as well. Surely Project Necromancer referenced Palpatine’s eventual return? I won’t call him Shirley.
Meanwhile on Navarro, we got a spectacular view of the Mandalorian privateer fleet. With Gideon’s former light cruiser operating as the flagship, the fleet looked formidable enough to do some serious damage if needed. It was slightly difficult to take IG-12 seriously (how on earth are LEGO going to make THAT minifigure??) but I also found it amusing. Grogu is still not particularly mobile aside from his vaguely awkward-looking force jumps, so I suppose an IG suit takes care of the issue in a pinch. Before the halfway point of the episode, a united team of former enemies have been assembled, bound for their shared home world of Mandalore.
Were we in The Volume again? After another spectacular jetpack drop landing scene, we’re back in a strangely small-looking environment that is the surface of Mandalore. I get that the season was all shot ahead of time so there’s no sense in me griping about it again, but I think it’s fair to say that Mandalorian landscapes are much too large to portray with this method (if it was indeed the case). Fortunately, the subsequent night scenes on board the Mandalorian survivors’ wheeled land ship looked a bit more realistic. It was a cool vehicle too, and reminded me of Jabba’s skiffs with really short sails and gigantic training wheels. Too bad it got smashed by a giant monster the next day. Perhaps slightly unnecessary in the context of the story but it’s nonetheless another visual effects exercise, which I never mind. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Bo-Katan confessed to surrendering to the Empire in order to save Mandalore. Due to a limited familiarity with The Clone Wars show, the full magnitude of the confession was likely lost on me. It didn’t appear to have any lasting consequences so far, though.
Now underground, the team of Mandalorians arrived at the former site of the Great Forge. There, they were attacked by “Imperial armored commandos” according to Wookieepedia. While both sides suffered casualties, the Mandalorians appeared to have the upper hand as they chased the retreating Imperials but it turned out to be, well I wanted to say “trap” but Din Djarin called it an “ambush”. A crazy-looking Dark Trooper/Mandalorian hybrid armored figure arrived, complete with a Gar Saxon-looking horned helmet. Of course, it was Moff Gideon, who made good on his threat by not only trapping the Mandalorians but also capturing Din Djarin. We also now know how TIE Interceptors are docked. Was there an audio glitch? Did Gideon mean to say “return the Darksaber to its rightful”? In a bid to allow his fellow Mandalorians escape, Paz Vizsla sacrificed himself by eventually facing off against three vaguely familiar-looking crimson-armored Praetorian guards. They made relatively quick work of the big Mandalorian, but it still took all three to bring him down. Chapter 23 ended much like the penultimate episode of the first season: A shot of a downed hero.
Wait, so who were “The Spies” according to the title? I guess there was Elia Kane, although she barely got two minutes of screen time and only in the opening sequence. Who else?
Jen Sopchockchai
But who are the spies?!
Chapter 23’s title, “The Spies” actively generates a mystery that has not yet been answered. I might even go so far as to call it a cliffhanger, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an episode title create a cliffhanger before. We open with Elia Cane ducking into an ally to check in with Moff Gideon, so she is clearly a spy to which the title could allude. But the episode title is the spies, plural. WHO ARE THE OTHER SPIES????? There are actually several suspects with motive and opportunity:
1.) The one that would break my heart the most is The Armorer. I would much prefer her to be good and wise, prioritizing the unification of all Mandalorians above the interests of her own tribe, but she conveniently volunteered to take the wounded back to the fleet while the rest of the recon party walked right into a trap. Other critics have been suspicious of her all season long because of her cryptic behavior and the resemblance her horned/spiked helmet has to those worn by the Mandalorian Supercommandos who were loyal to Darth Maul during the Clone Wars. I thought that was a reach before, but it’s possible I’ve just been in denial. If she has been manipulating Bo-Katan this entire time, it may be because she promised Moff Gideon she would deliver Bo-Katan and the Darksaber in exchange for a place for The Children of the Watch on the new, Moffed-up Mandalore.
2.) Axe Woves also makes a convenient exit before Moff Gideon arrives on the scene; he volunteers to fly back to the fleet and get help immediately after the ambush begins. And he insists that he should go, even though Bo tells him it’s too far. Mandalorians are noble and loyal to someone as long as they have the credits. He could easily have been bought by Gideon.
3.) My first thought, though, in light of the pluralization of “The Spies,” went to a group that I would describe as the Mad Max Mandos; they’re much more ragged looking than other Mandalorians we’ve seen because they’ve been on the ruined planet since The Purge, struggling to survive. If they’ve been there all along and Moff Gideon has been there all along (or at least since someone — maybe our spies? — busted him out of the prison transport), then it stands to reason that they have only been able to survive because Moff Gideon allows it. Their desperate situation could make it very easy for them to be bought off with food or other supplies.
This bleak situation will make Bo-Katan’s rise from the ashes all the more triumphant, I hope. The dramatic core of this episode, for me, was Bo finally telling everyone what happened when the Empire destroyed Mandalore, explaining why Moff Gideon had the Darksaber at the start of the series. It was not her warrior grit refusing to bend that brought defeat, but her attempt to save her people through bad faith negotiations with Moff Gideon, who reneged on the terms of her surrender.
This reveal adds a lot more emotional weight to the struggle Bo has had with leadership all season long. We now know exactly why she acts so bitter and cynical, brooding alone in her castle at the beginning of the season. And we now know exactly why she acted like she was so undeserving of a leadership position last week. Considering what happened all those years ago, it is miraculous, or, perhaps, a testament to her strength that she was able to return to Mandalore, the site of her greatest shame, at all.
While Bo views her attempt to barter the Darksaber for the safety of the Mandalorian people as a weakness or point of shame, Din sees it as proof of why she should, in fact, lead Mandalore. He doesn’t see the loss of Mandalore as Bo’s fault; rather, it’s just a part of their history. He says, “We’ll rebuild it. Isn’t that our history? For thousands of years we have been on the verge of extinction. And for thousands of years we have survived.” When Bo expresses doubts about her ability to keep everyone together, citing The Darksaber as the only power she has, he says, “I only know of this weapon what you taught me. To be honest, it means nothing to me or my people. Nor does station or bloodline. What means more to me is honor. And loyalty. And character. These are the reasons I serve you, Lady Kryze. Your song is not yet written. I will serve you until it is.” Reader, my heart fluttered.
Part of the magic of Din and Grogu, especially in Season 1, is that the writing for them strikes a chord with my experience as a parent, perfectly capturing the absurdity of interacting with a small child who is at once adorable, infuriating, brilliant and yet immature. The whole “children are all id” sentiment rings so true with Grogu. He can in one moment be a peacemaker, breaking up the fight between Paz Vizsla and Axe Woves, and then, in another moment, he can stuff his face with food for which he has not paid. Din’s concern for Grogu’s safety followed by his complete exasperation when he says, “This isn’t working for me” was as authentic as it was hilarious. Laughs aside, Grogu did get a more substantive character moment in this episode. When he steps in to stop Paz and Axe from fighting, it wasn’t just an excuse to bring the “No. No. No” gag back. It showed how invested Grogu is in The Mandalorian Project. He wants them to put aside their differences and unite as much as Bo-Katan and The Armorer (assuming she’s on the up and up) do.
When Bo-Katan compliments Din on teaching Grogu to broker peace, he says, “He didn’t learn that from me.” And while Grogu could have learned to deescalate conflict in his early days in the Jedi Order, it’s much more likely — and so much more beautiful — that he learned it from Luke. I’m looking forward to Grogu showing his own leadership skills more.
To go back to the central mystery of this episode, we know that there’s at least someone in their ranks who is actively working against them. Definitionally, a spy is someone who is a traitor to those around them; someone pretending to be on your side but secretly working against you. And so this anxiety over which of these Mandalorians — and it’s likely they are Mandalorian because of the beskar fragment left behind at Gideon’s jailbreak — would betray their own kind is actually the perfect theme for this episode and this season more broadly. It reflects the very fragile formation of the Mandalorians as a people.
Bo-Katan has commented several times now that the main weakness of Mandalorians is their infighting; their inability to unite behind a common cause. Historically they have been self-interested traitors and spies. Who is the Mandalorian now? Someone who can eschew ulterior motives and work towards a greater good? We shall see what kind of an answer we get in the finale.
(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)
Eric Onkenhout
Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian, The Spies, was a good time! And it did not waste any time dropping references to Legends and other canon material, which makes fans very happy. First, there seems to be a pattern in Star Wars when a mixed-opinionated episode drops, it’s near guaranteed the next one will be a massive hit. And that’s what happened again this week. The Spies was met with mostly positive reviews, including this one.
I had good reason to have reservations about Elia Kane. In the opening scene, she is seen skulking through the alleys of Coruscant, where she meets up with a Viper probe droid. Through the droid, Kane speaks to Moff Gideon about how two warring Mandalorian groups have teamed up, which could give the remnant Empire lots of problems. Kane is good at what she does, but she needs to realize that Carson Teva is likely keeping one eye on her.
The next scene definitely perked up the eyes and ears of Legends and Canon fans. After speaking with Kane, Gideon turns and walks down a hallway to join a meeting of the Shadow Council. The Shadow Council first appeared in Chuck Wendig’s novel Aftermath: Life Debt (2016). This was the second book in the Aftermath trilogy. The Shadow Council was formed by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax five after the first Death Star’s destruction as a secret advisory council to govern the Empire from behind the scenes while supporting an official figurehead as Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. Rax secretly planned to eliminate the Shadow Council during the Battle of Jakku, except for Commandant Brendol Hux, whom he regarded essential to revitalizing the Empire.
While the council did meet its end on Jakku, though Sloane, Hux, and Grand Moff Randd survived, it had been reorganized. Four years later. Hux, once again a member, was joined by other Imperial loyalists, such as Moff Gideon and Captain Gilad Pellaeon. Pallaeon, most fans know from the Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire (1991). However, he made his first canon appearance in the Star Wars Rebels series finale (2018). He also appeared in Zahn’s novel, Thrawn Treason (2019). Pellaeon has always been a favorite of mine because he wasn’t out for number one. For an Imperial, he was respectful, loyal, and a good guy (again, for an Imperial). His death in Legends is vastly underrated and angered many fans at the time.
Anyway, where there’s Pellaeon, there is Thrawn. And although he wasn’t seen, he was mentioned, and with Thrawn’s reveal in the new Ahsoka trailer at Star Wars Celebration Europe, there is a lot of buzz that he could be in the season finale of The Mandalorian. Brendel Hux (Brian Gleeson), the father of Armitage Hux, seen in the sequel trilogy, is obsessed with creating another clone army. Something which Armitage Hux would later be entirely against in The Force Awakens. Apparently, Hux is working on Project Necromancer, which is new, and its aim is to introduce new leadership to the Imperial remnants.
The rest of the episode involved getting the two Mandalorian factions to work together. Bo-Katan and Din return to Nevarro with Axe Woves and his crew to meet the Armorer’s Tribe. It’s a tenuous relationship, but they agree to work together out of respect for Bo. Bo leads a team to retake Mandalore, and once they arrive, they are greeted by a third faction that has been living there since the Purge. During the Purge, the Empire bombed Mandalore into dust for refusing to surrender. However, Bo reveals that she did surrender on Gideon’s word that he would let them live in peace. And that is how he possessed the Darksaber. Why Bo trusted Gideon shows how desperate she was.
The three groups fly underground to find the Great Forge but soon get ambushed by Gideon’s Imperial Armored Commandos wearing beskar armor, and Gideon arrives wearing a Dark Trooper suit. Gideon needs to eliminate the Mandalorians once and for all for his Empire to have no more obstacles. The Mandalorian groups get separated, with Din getting captured, and while Paz fights off several Commandos, he succumbs to three Praetorian guards wearing Mandalorian-type helmets. I only wish they looked exactly as they did in The Last Jedi because I loved that fight scene with Rey and Ben.
The Spies was a great episode, and I can’t wait for the season finale next week! Grogu driving the new IG-12 was cool, but it felt awkward. The walking looked jilted, so I’m unsure how useful he could’ve been in battle. I love getting more connections to the sequel trilogy as that gap closes. There has been some talk that the Mandalorian now refers to Grogu and not Din, as we all assumed. What if it refers to the people as a whole? This is their story, not the story of one person.
Ross Hollebon
This was a fun, oftentimes random, entry into the narrative of The Mandalorian. I enjoyed the star cameos of Lizzo (the Duchess), Jack Black (Captain Bombardier), and Christopher Lloyd (Commissioner Helgait). They provided a wow factor, seemingly embraced by some and abhorred by others in the fandom, that may have distracted from the important messages I recognized in the episode.
I saw privileged individuals living in a literal bubble with no real concern for the outside world and how they could eventually be impacted by what happens elsewhere. I was reminded of The Emperor’s (not Palpatine’s) New Clothes as the Duchess and Captain Bombardier glossed over droid issues facing the planet, Plazir-15, not realizing someone like Commissioner Helgait could be behind it.
Helgait, in his critical role in the command center, provides some information to Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin, but quickly suggests they visit the Ugnaughts in the lower levels. The pair of Mandalorians execute their roles like a CSI: The Mando’s on Plazir-15 episode, exposingHelgait as a Separatist loyalist causing unrest in the city. This earns them the right to visit Axe Woves and his crew of privateers.
In the Mandalorian way, Bo-Katan challenges Axe to reassert her claim to leadership and wins the fight. Afterward, Din explains how she rescued him on Mandalore and presents her with her earned Darksaber. It all seems a little too easy.
In addition, we get to visit a droid bar (The Resistor), see a B1 battle droid and rogue B2 in action, and watch Grogu enjoying treats and helping the Duchess cheat at lawn games. More importantly, we see Bo-Katan and Din both show each other different ways to navigate an issue and interact with other beings.
Sander de Lange looks at all the reveals and easter eggs in The Mandalorian – The Guide: Chapter 23: The Spies.
Mark Newbold and Mark Mulcaster discusses Guns For Hire on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: The Mandalorian S3 Eps 6, 7 & 8 – The Pirate, Guns For Hire, The Spies.
Coming to Fantha Tracks Radio soon
- Hardcover Book
- Scott, Cavan (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 448 Pages - 06/29/2021 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
