‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3, Chapter 23 “The Spies” Recap

Spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 23, “The Spies”

The Mandalorian has entered movie territory. It’s not a surprise considering the recent announcement of Dave Filoni’s upcoming Star Wars movie, designed to be a culmination of the Mandoverse and its spinoffs. Budgets will grow, stories will get denser, and imagery will become more cinematic. The Mandalorian Chapter 23: The Spies brings us to the penultimate episode of the season. Without fail, the episode before the climax sets the table with nonstop action and Easter Eggs that should satiate all diehard fans.

If not for the neon Aurebesh signs in the scene, you might mistake the underworld city Elia Kane (Katy O’Brian) is sneaking about in to be Bladerunner’s Los Angeles. The late ’80s Industrial Music soundtrack reinforces the gritty feel. An Imperial Probe Droid appears in the alley with a FaceTime call for the double agent. It’s Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), and he’s stupefied about Nevarro’s liberation. It frustrates him to learn that the two known Mandalorian factions have united. It frustrates me to notice his holographic hand position doesn’t match his IRL hand position.

Reminiscent of the red forcefield barriers that delayed Obi-Wan while Darth Maul killed Qui Gon, Gideon walks through a corridor flanked by Beskar armored Death Troopers. The room he enters is distinctly Imperial, but stone walls imply it’s a base buried underground. He’s late for the holographic Imperial Warlords meeting but seems to have an edge in authority. They are discussing the imminent downfall of the New Republic and how to replace it with Imperial remnants.

In a casual mention of a certain missing Chiss Moff, Gideon wonders aloud when Thrawn will be participating in the Shadow Council. We already know from the Ahsoka trailer that the Heir to the Empire will play a big role in the future of the Mandoverse. Ears to the ground for the announcement of Timothy Zahn’s involvement in Filoni’s major motion picture. For now, we have Gideon talking smack about the cool and collected savage Moff because Thrawn will probably own him on his return.

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Gideon throws shade around equally at the council. Deflecting accusations about his failure with Dr. Pershing, he accuses another member of being obsessed with cloning and hoarding resources. He gathers the majority of the Shadow Council to his side, convincing them all to agree that unity means sharing. He’s a leader among them, but Thrawn will prove more cunning when he reenters the fold. For now, his named enemy is a resurgence of Mandalore, the strongest of the Imperial rejectors from the last regime. The council is with him.

Back on Nevarro, the Mandalorian commandeered Imperial Cruiser closes in to land the new population of Mandalorians. Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) exchange concerns about the two factions of Mandalorians working out their differences as they approach with the Nite Owls. Paz Vizsla (Jon Favreau) is the least convinced, but the Armorer (Emily Swallow) welcomes the newcomers and calls for a feast.

Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) shows up to ask Din and Grogu back to town for a surprise gift. Grogu can now operate IG-11 as an exoskeleton a la Ripley in a construction droid from Aliens. The assassin droid has been emancipated from his memory circuit and deemed IG-12. Grogu is the pilot with a control panel allowing him to answer yes/no questions. Unsurprisingly the semicentennial toddler abuses the device to comedic effect. Let’s not forget Greef said the memory circuit was removed. He said nothing about the myriad weaponry built into Grogu’s new vehicle. That may come in handy next week.

Later Bo-Katan rallies the Mandalorian factions to retake their home world. Members from both tribes reluctantly volunteer for the mission to secure the planet, but tensions are high. Once they reach Mandalore Bo-Katan recaps the mission to search for the Great Forge.

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It’s not long before they are confronted by a sailing ground ship on skis with a crew asking for food. They are survivors of the Night of a Thousand Tears. Mandalorians once faithful to the Lady Bo-Katan Kryze swear their allegiance once again. Kryze confesses that she surrendered to the Empire to spare the lives of off-world Mandalorians. The new group remains loyal, but this could bring dissent later. She foreshadows a future breakdown of Mandalore with the line, “It is always our own division that destroys us.”

Din swears his allegiance to Kryze in private before the new group leads the united tribes on their sail barge to the Great Forge. Paz Vizsla and Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) get into a scrap, but IG-12 Grogu stops them before they can do any lasting damage. That’s okay. That’s what giant monsters are for!

As if “The Spies” wasn’t packed enough, some ancient giant beast attacks from the forge location. The sail barge is destroyed, but most of the combined group gets away by retreating into a tunnel leading to the remains of the Great Forge. They are quickly accosted by jet pack-wearing Imperials in Beskar armor. Axe Woves escapes to alert the orbiting fleet, but the rest of the crew is outnumbered by the Imperial Troopers. The ambush overtakes the Mandalorians and Grogu, and the group is taken prisoner.

A Mysterious Dark Trooper in Beskar armor and a helmet resembling Death Watch descends on them and reveals himself to be Gideon! As villains usually do, Gideon proceeds to explain his plans to us. He intends to aggregate the best of the Mandalorians, cloners, and Jedi to build an army that will “bring order to the galaxy.” Wasn’t that Vader’s line?

Gideon demands the Darksaber be returned to him as the surviving group continues their firefight. Bo-Katan carves an escape route through the blast door behind them and urges the Mandalorians through the tunnel. Paz Vizsla heroically covers for them as they escape, and he sacrifices himself. After mowing down all the troopers in sight with his heavy artillery, he is confronted by three Praetorian Guards! The First Order’s beginnings are more apparent than ever. Paz is taken down in a heartbreaking defeat, but Bo-Katan and the other survivors have already escaped with Grogu. However, Din Djarin is already in custody.

The ancient society of Mandalorians is on a precipice, and the final chapter of The Mandalorian season 3 is all that can save them…unless they are destroyed by Gideon and his forces. Ironically, it may be Thrawn and his forces that end up saving them. Start counting down, Star Wars fans. If next week isn’t Live Action Thrawn Day, we rebel.