‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3, Chapter 22 “Guns For Hire” Recap

Spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 22, “Guns For Hire”

The Mandalorian just bowled a double. Ten pins down again. Bryce Dallas Howard directed the pivotal chapter, “Guns For Hire,“ knocking the headpin in a Holdo maneuver that destroyed the entire alley. The story played hokey at first in a rope-a-dope that knocked viewers down before the opening titles even rolled. These aren’t mixed metaphors. The season’s plot arc progressed in a lurch that can only be described as a blunt assault. The Mandalorian: Chapter 22 used a bowling ball to knock us out of the ring.

We get a look inside a Quarren ship where a Mon Calamari Romeo is on board, and the Montagues want him back. They share a planet, but they don’t share a healthy friendship. The Nite Owls is now a freelancing group of Mandalorians headed by Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) hired as privateers to return the Mon Calamari prince to his home. They, along with Koska Reeves (Sasha Banks), collect their bounty without incident. The reintroduction of Axe Woves lets us know he’s a strong leader to be feared and respected, but he’s not without heart or honor.

Since the character of Axe Woves barely spoke in previous episodes, there is a moment we are teased. With the sight of an Imperial Cruiser and the sound of his voice, until we saw his face, we thought we might have been getting an introduction to Thrawn in live action. Precisely because this tease was so obviously played, we won’t be let down in the later episode when it actually happens. It may be a sudden appearance without the chance for us to expect it.

Once the fleet is aground again on Plazir-15, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) arrive like a pair of missionaries looking to spread the word of The Way. Bringing the Nite Owls into the fold would more than double the population of Mandalorians, but it’s something only the Mand’alor can accomplish. To be Mand’alor, you’d need to wield the Darksaber legitimately. More below. But first, Side Quest!

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If it’s filler, it’s the kind that fully entertains. At the risk of distracting us with major celebrity cameos, “Guns For Hire,” like most Mandalorian chapters, refers to more than one person or group. It’s far from a Canto Bight break, and the cameos are not only entertaining. They’re each perfectly cast and executed. Mando, Bo, and Gro- are whisked from their automated landing pad to the leaders of the city on a droid-operated transportation system. It’s Wall-E World, if you will. The droids have most of the jobs, and very few organics need to work.

Enter Captain Bombardier (Jack Black) and the Duchess (Lizzo). They run the planet AND the “Juice.” It’s about damn time, too! The New Republic hoops they had to jump through to be a sovereign planet were aplenty. Bombardier is a former Imperial, but in name only. He’s a passive leader who only wants his Duchess Lizzo and an entourage of happy Star Wars Cantina action figures to keep him company. Unsurprisingly, Grogu is smitten with the Duchess, so despite Lizzo serving as a babysitter for the episode, she keeps the ball out of the gutter. She’s “Good as Hell” in the role—last one. I promise.

Captain Bombardier and the Duchess hire the Mando duo on a side mission to get to the bottom of a string of droid “malfunctions” that leads to a more nefarious plot. Without fulfilling this task, they won’t be granted an audience with Axe Woves and the Nite Owls, charged with protecting Plazir-15. So who’s in charge of security for the Plazir and the droid workforce? None other than Christopher Lloyd as Commissioner Hellgait. Yes, his nomenclature is apropos. Lloyd is not your everyday cameo.

The Mando duo is sent by Hellgait to talk to the Ugnaughts below the city. Luckily for Din Djarin, he knows how to deal with Ugnaughts because of his friendship with Kuill; may he rest in peace. They go looking for specific droids in the city who’ve all been to Plazir’s version of a droid bar after finding a spark pad on a rogue battle droid. They do serve their kind there. “The Resistor” also serves Nepenthé as its refresher of choice. A certain batch of space lubricant acts as a vehicle to implant nano droids into unsuspecting life-size droids.

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Once back at the Plazir Scooby lab, they isolate the sub-particles from the bad batch to find an unexpected Chain Code that leads them back to the head of security. Commissioner Hellgait is illegally purchasing droids outside of the standardized procedure. What’s your game, Lloyd? When confronted, the Separatist Hellgait, a Count Dooku loyalist, quickly confesses, thanks to Bo-Katan’s quick draw.

Grogu and his babysitters are having a grand time winning leisure sports with some help from the Force when the Mando duo return with their culprit. Hellgait is exiled while Din and Bo are granted permission to approach the Mandalorian security detail outside the city. The team gathers Sir Grogu to… oh, yes, the Baby Yoda has been granted knighthood by the royal Duchess… the team gathers to pay a visit to Axe Woves and the Nite Owls so Bo-Katan can reclaim her fleet.

Axe reminds Bo-Katan that the fleet is now his, so she issues a challenge for command. After the ensuing duel, Axe is defeated, but he never actually yields. Note this for future reference because technicalities come into play in what comes next. Axe then reminds Bo that she doesn’t wield the Darksaber and, therefore, cannot rule the Mandalorians.

At this point, I’d like to refer you to the recap of Chapter 18. In the paragraph fourth from the bottom, we speculated about the right to ownership of the Darksaber based on that very technicality. “Since the mysterious creature [in the Mines of Mandalore] defeated Mando by capturing him, the saber would belong to it [Din’s captor]. If Bo-Katan was able to use it [the Darksaber] to defeat the temporary owner, does that give her the right to claim Mandalore?”

That turn of events may still be contested, but not today. Through a simple exchange of words and reasoning, Bo-Katan is, as far as we can tell at this point, the Mand’alor. Now that that plot point is settled, we need a bigger enemy. Maybe one with blue skin and red eyes? A Chiss, perhaps? Expect “Chapter 23” to bring us a live-action Thrawn or reintroduce Moff Gideon. Who are we kidding? Giancarlo Esposito returns next week. Book it. It’s still going to be a Turkey.