The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7 review: The Spies

“It is always our own division that destroys us.” Spoilers for The Mandalorian season 3, episode 7 follow.

The Mandalorian is truly alone no more as the two sects are on their way to merge together so they can do the unthinkable, and reclaim Mandalore.

But alas, the Mandalorians have one more obstacle to overcome before Mandalore is once again theirs. Moff Gideon himself.

The Mandalorian season 3 episode 7 review

Gideon returns

After a couple of episodes leaving the whereabouts of Moff Gideon up in the air, this episode wastes no time in establishing back in a position of immense power within the dwindling Imperial Shadow Council. Not only that though, he essentially scoffs at every bit of machination that they are attempting.

Whether it’s waiting for the arrival of Thrawn (which is setting up the Ahsoka series), or simply arguing about what they should do to wrest power from the New Republic, there’s so much disarray, which Gideon takes immediate advantage of. He simply convinces the rest of the Imperial Warlords to band together just with a casual mention of Mandalorians being a threat, as just that being mentioned immediately induced fear in every warlord.

As it turns out though, Gideon has been one step ahead of the Mandalorians this entire time as he has done one simple thing. He has reclaimed Mandalore for himself and the Empire, all the way down to outfitting his Stormtroopers with Beskar and jetpacks, obviously mirroring the Mandalorians themselves.

So, once we actually get to the inevitable confrontation between the Imperials and the Mandalorians, the fights feel very reminiscent of many later John Wick fight scenes with said Imperials wearing Beskar, thus forcing the Mandalorians to get more creative in how they take out the Stormtroopers.

Mandalorians together strong

Before they arrive at Mandalore though, Bo-Katan and Din arrive with the Mandalorian privateer fleet, finally joining the two sects of Mandalorians together for the first time. To the shock of no one though, tension is thick between the two groups, even if no one outright says anything to one another. Their lack of reaction to each other speaks louder than any word that a single person could say on either side.

But when Bo-Katan asks for help in reclaiming Mandalore, all it takes is for Din to say he will go with her for the floodgates of both sects to go as well. That’s what this entire season has been building toward. First, with Din and Bo-Katan building their friendship together, which then slowly building the openness of Din’s Covert, which now has led to this reunification. Everything regarding the Mandalorians this season has served a purpose and that purpose is this moment right here, as well as their willingness to follow Bo-Katan into the depths, and even die for her.

Along the way to the Forge of Mandalore though, we do finally find out how Gideon acquired the Darksaber from Bo-Katan in the first place. After the Night of 1000 Tears, she surrendered in an attempt to save Mandalore and its people. Yet, he still destroyed Mandalore. It’s a failure on Bo-Katan’s shoulders that she clearly has never let go of and now we know why she always feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. It’s because she does.

However, Din telling Bo-Katan, and even calling her Lady Kryze out of the immense respect that he has for her, that “her song is not yet written” is chilling in the best way. He directly says that he doesn’t care about the Darksaber’s symbolism or anything regarding bloodlines. He follows and trusts her because of who she is. It’s that simple. It’s a brilliant showcase of the relationship that these two have built throughout the past two seasons. And, on top of that, Paz Viszla sacrificing himself at the end wouldn’t hurt as much if the build between the two sects, which is all thanks to Din and Bo-Katan, hadn’t been a main focus of the season.

The Mandalorian heads into its finale in a fantastic fashion by building on every bit of groundwork that had been laid along the way.