My initial reaction was that the whole robot mystery subplot was kind of silly, and the confrontation with Axe Woves a little too pat. But on rewatch, there are a lot of things in this episode that I really appreciated.

Although Plazir-15 isn't one of the core worlds, I think it can be used as a template for them. The domed cities with elevated transparent tube trains are a standard sci fi trope, but this is a good rendition of the type.

What we saw on Mandalore was the bombed-out version of this.

Note also that under the dome, there were numerous waterways, possibly canals. And surrounding the base of the dome, tons of docks that could have been for waterborne ships, or starships.

And there are service levels, most likely underground, or at least below street level, like the "Utilidor" service corridors underneath Disney World.

There are numerous subcultures in play, from the pampered upper classes, to the uniformed professional class, to the Ugnauts, to the robot bar which, in an inversion of the Mos Eisley Cantina, doesn't serve humans. And of course, the Mandalorian mercs.

I don't particularly care for the "Morlock/Eloi" dichotomy we are seeing a lot of. There should be a bustling middle class as well. It's possible the neon-lit corridors they chased the battle droid through were supposed to be the commercial district. Or that could have been the red light district, it is hard to tell. If you want suburbs and shopping malls, it would be easy to pencil them in around the edges. There's also the argument that safe happy suburbs are not where the adventures happen, so the camera never goes there.

There were also a lot of things you can use for characters playing nobility. They would seem to enjoy a certain privilege, but there would be limits to their ability to boss people around. The Ugnauts seem to cope with unwanted upper class intrusions by ignoring them, and stonewalling them. If you don't know how to work with them, they won't really work for you.

I liked the Roman-style standards that Axe Wove had set up around his makeshift field office. It's a small detail, but they really got me thinking. Rome as a metaphor for Mandalore works pretty well for me. You've got legionaries, senators, even the underground cults. And now, after the fall of Mandalore, you have remnants of the culture, along with barbarians living in the ruins.

One thing the scenes with the mercs also made clear: they were never going to follow Mando, even when he had the Darksaber.

Anyway, I loved all the little details and world building in this episode. For me, they raised it above the level of the somewhat weak A and B plots.

IMHO, this episode had more world building in it than the entire sequel trilogy.

I'm not sure I have ever seen a Super Battle Droid haul it in quite that fashion.

The droid having a matchbook that led them back to a bar was more than a little silly. Any organic having a "spark plate" - I get that. But a droid? That's the GM pulling a clue out of his ass, on the spot.

The droid bar scene was good. I was really hoping for a "my friend doesn't like you!" bit but that might have been just a little too precious.

A droid morgue? CSI: Mando going on over here.

I thought it was kind of cool how untraditionally clean and spotless everything was (well, the above-ground stuff anyway). Just different.

What do we have, two more episodes?

Quote from: Thornhammer on April 08, 2023, 04:19:33 PM
A droid morgue? CSI: Mando going on over here.

My first thought was that a droid morgue was silly, it should be more like a garage than anything.

But, on second thought, what if they took the droid to the people morgue? I could see that, just to maintain the chain of custody of the evidence. And the lab equipment and ball droid would have been in keeping with a morgue for humans.

Quote from: Thornhammer on April 08, 2023, 04:19:33 PM
I thought it was kind of cool how untraditionally clean and spotless everything was (well, the above-ground stuff anyway). Just different.

If Captain Bombardier is ex-imperial, than the whole resort is probably brand new.

Quote from: Thornhammer on April 08, 2023, 04:19:33 PM
What do we have, two more episodes?

Yes, and they are both directed by Rick Famuwiya. My guess is, it will be a two-part season finale. They had Giancarlo Esposito doing promo interviews for this season, so I would imagine Moff Gideon is turning up. Could the Empire... strike back?

Quote from: Thornhammer on April 08, 2023, 04:19:33 PM
I'm not sure I have ever seen a Super Battle Droid haul it in quite that fashion.

The droid having a matchbook that led them back to a bar was more than a little silly.

Just a couple of reasons why I said that it felt like a badly written Scooby-Doo episode.

Season 3 Episode 7 has dropped.

No spoilers until Saturday.

I'll leave it at that.

I got through about fifteen minutes before I had to stop to attend to other matters.

They packed a lot into that first ten minutes.

Alright done. Middle dragged some, but the end had some hot shit going on.

Hurm. I liked the beginning a middle a lot. The end was... annoying. Specifics on saturday.

WE ARE NOW GO FOR SPOILERS ON MANDALORIAN SEASON 3 EPISODE 06
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Secret meeting with the Imperial remnants was good. I was reminded of the Death Star conference scene. Talky-talky infodumps like these aren't exciting, but I feel they're necessary sometimes to get the info to the watcher. Plus, they can be as entertaining without being a whizz-bang battle scene. We wouldn't have "I find your lack of faith disturbing!" without them.

I don't care about Thrawn. I'm not a fan of the EU, and all I know about Thrawn is that he's some blue dude from the EU who likes paintings and has/had a lot of ships, and he's supposed to be some kind of military genius guy. I've never heard one thing about him that's interesting.

Sequel bits in The Mandalorian. I love the Mandalorian when it's giving us new content. New places and characters and settings. I'm not as excited about cameos, but in moderation, they're ok.
Putting "setup" stuff for the sequels just makes me tired and annoyed. I consider this episode Strike One. At Strike Three, I'm out. the sequels are my Anti-Star Wars, and I have no time for that shit.

Anyone notice the Fang Fighters in Bo-Katan's fleet? I did.  I think we're going to get some sweet Fang on Interceptor action next episode.

The closeups of the Interceptors and Bombers. I love how detailed the ships are in Mandalorian.

The episode was great, I loved the landship and the surviving Manalores.

And now, Paz Visla. I hate "I'll hold them off" self-sacrifice scenes, unless they're done with some thought. I can't see why Visla had to do it, and his sacrifice felt cheap and manufactured. I just rolled my eyes when he died. Whatever, dude, ya drama queen.

Moff Gideon is back, and he's still up to his "baking some super-troopers" plot. Ok. Yeah. Expected that.

A good episode, with a couple of points that really annoyed me. Like I said, if they try to use The Mandalorian to explain the black hole of storytelling that is the sequels, I'm going to stop watching the show.

*edit* almost forgot IG-12. Anyone else find that kinda wierd. Like, they're using the "corpse" of a droid they considered a friend as a vehicle for Grogu. I found the execution kinda silly, but it grew on me a bit as the episode went on.

I found the Shadow Council scene to be a terrific way to quickly get across the facts of what is really going on. I like that Moff Gideon is running his own play, trying to take over in the absence of another strong leader.

Moff Gideon felt a lot less like a mid-boss in this one.

I'm pretty disappointed that they are including sequel material in The Mandalorian. I find the sequel trilogy unacceptable. I like the new characters well enough, but the idea that the New Republic gets destroyed off-screen is nonsensical and an abomination.

It is possible that they are setting up sequel plot points in order to knock them down once KK is finally gone, but that feels like wishful thinking on my part.

The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 06

Chapter 23 - THE SPIES

On Coruscant, Elia Kane, a.k.a. G68, furtively enters a dark alley where she meets an Imperial Probe Droid. After being scanned and providing her passcode, TK2755, the probe droid powers up and displays a holoprojection of Moff Gideon. She reports that the pirates on Nevarro have been defeated by Mandalorians.

"Which Mandalorians?" Moff Gideon asks keenly.

"According to the reports received by the New Republic, Bo-Katan Kryze led a squadron of Mandalorians alongside Din Djarin and his covert."

"This cannot be!" exclaims Moff Gideon in dismay, "Those two factions are sworn enemies."

"Which is why I contacted you with haste," replies G68.

"Continue your mission," orders Gideon, "I shall deal with our Mandalorian friends."

Notes:

1) Apparently the Imperials are behind the pirate attacks.

***

Striding through a series of deflector-barriers, and a lab full of tanks containing humanoid subjects, Gideon arrives at a holographic conference of the Shadow Council, the former Imperials working to reestablish the Empire.

Admiral Pellaeon is calling for caution, so as not to tip off the New Republic that they are a united enemy, instead of the scattered remnants they pretend to be.

An unnamed bald Imperial warlord argues that there is a fortune to be made plundering the hyperspace lanes.

A female warlord insists that there are citizens loyal to the Empire on every planet in the galaxy. They are already getting sick of the New Republic and its rules and regulations.

A bearded warlord says that a show of strength would rally the Imperial loyalists behind them.

Pelleon says that Grand Admiral Thrawn's return will herald in the reemergence of the Empire's military, and provide Commandant Hux time to deliver on Project Necromancer.

Gideon responds that he has not heard so much as a whisper of Thrawn's return anywhere in the galaxy. Perhaps it's time they looked for new leadership.

Commandant Hux says that Project Necromancer is in place for that. He asks what has become of Doctor Pershing and his research. The news of Pershing's capture by the New Republic and the destruction of his research is a setback to the project. Hux accuses Gideon of pursuing his own cloning research, but Gideon pooh-poohs this.

Moff Gideon criticises Hux and Pellaeon for amassing resources that they should be sharing.

Gideo has put in requests for three Praetorian guards, as well as reinforcements for his tie interceptors and bombers.

Moff gideon tells the Shadow Council about the resurgence of the Mandalorians, and gets his requests fulfilled.

Gideon says "We shall be rid of the Mandalorians once and for all. Long Live The Empire!"

"Long live the Empire!" shouts the Council.


Notes:

1) This is the first canon appearance of Admiral Pellaeon, a character introduced in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. In those books, Pellaeon was the supreme commander of the Imperial Remnant, and the right-hand man of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He is a competent baddie.

2) Commandant Brendol Hux is the father of General Armitage Hux from the Sequel Trilogy. He is played by Brian Gleeson, the brother of Domhnall Gleeson.

3) We see direct connections to the Sequel Trilogy. Disappointing!

4) Project Necromancer is clearly the project to bring back the Emperor.

***

Back on Nevarro, the Mandalorian fleet rumbles into sight above the city. Greef Karga recognizes them and goes to meet them.

On the ground, the members of the covert view the the fleet apprehensively. Paz Vizla orders Ragnar to take the children inside.

The two sides square off, and the mercs remove their helmets. The Children of the Watch do not. Mando keeps his helmet on.

The Armorer appears, welcomes the mercs, and invites them to make camp. "Let us prepare a feast for our guests."

Greef Karga appears and welcomes Mando back with a gift of booze from Coruscant. "That's not the only gift I have for you."

***

In Grief Karga's office, he reveals that IG-11 has been converted into IG-12, with his brains scooped out of his torso, replaced by a tiny cockpit for Grogu to pilot him like a mech. Grogu also has buttons that allow him to say Yes and No.

Mando isn't crazy about this, but Grogu loves it.

Grogu uses his new independence to act out, taking food from a street vendor, and grabbing a meiloorun fruit over Mando's objections, which IG-12's claws crush. 

"This isn't working for me," Mando grumps.

***

At that night's feast, the factions are split up and not mixing.

Bo-Katan announces that it is time to retake their home world.

Even though the planet is not cursed, it is still dangerous. Dormant species have been awakened by the bombings. Magnetic interference makes it impossible to scan the surface from orbit, or communicate between ships in orbit and the ground.

Her plan is to move the fleet into orbit over Mandalore, and send down a search party to locate the Great Forge and establish a safe perimeter around it. Only then will they bring down the others.

She requests volunteers from both tribes. Mando, Grogu, Koska Reeves, Axe Woves, Paz Vizsla, the Armorer, and others volunteer to go.

***

The fleet jumps into orbit over Mandalore, and the scouting party descends to the ground in Bo-Katan's ship.

The search party drops into the landing zone and secures it, and Bo-Katan lands her ship.

They begin searching for the Great Forge, and encounter a land-ship operated by survivors of the Purge who remained on Mandalore.

That night, the survivors from the land-ship discuss the fall of Mandalore, and how Mandalore was punished because they refused to surrender. Bo-Katan tells then that she did surrender, in the hope of saving her people after defeat was unavoidable. That is how Moff Gideon got his hands on the Darksaber. But Gideon went back on his word and bombed them any way.

The survivors ask how the Children of the Watch survived. When the Armorer responds that they were hidden on the moon of Concordia, they ask if the Children are Death Watch.

"Death Watch exists no longer," replies the Armorer, "It shattered into many warring factions."

"Our people have suffered time and time again from division and squabbling factions," says Bo-Katan. "Mandalore has always been too powerful for any enemy to defeat. It is always our own division that destroys us."

***

Leter, Mando and Bo-Katan meet on deck. Mando says that he had no idea that Bo-Katan had surrendered. They thought she was selfish and uncaring.

"I was selfish," Bo says, staring out into the desolation. "And this is what it wrought."

"We'll rebuild it," replies Mando. "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."

"I don't know if I can keep everyone together. There's too much animosity. And this blade is all I have to unify our people."

"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 Kryse. Your song is not yet written. I will serve you until it is."

Bo-Katan is moved, and seemingly reassured.

***

The Armorer is tending to the sick among the survivors. They are too weak to continue. They will return to the Gauntlet, and the Armorer will take them to the fleet in the morning. The remaining healthy survivors are invited to help them in the search for the Great Forge.

"We can do better than that," their leader replies. "We can bring you there."

***

By the light of dawn, the landship heads onward to the Forge, while the Armorer flies the sickened survivors up to the fleet.

The landship approaches the Great Forge, only to find the landscape... moving? It's a kaiju-sized monster, and it falls upon the landship and destroys it as the Mandalorians abandon ship. The survivors hastily lead the rest into the rubble, and down to the Great Forge.

The Great Forge is abandoned, its fires long extinguished, but it seems to be largely intact.

Suddenly the sound of jetpacks announces the arrival of white-suited Imperial troopers. They are Moff Gideon's soldiers, clad in Mandalorian-esque beskar armor.

Axe Woves flies out of a gap in the walls to go back for reinforcements.

Battle is joined, but it is tough going for the Mandalorians, as the enemy's armor is nearly as good as their own. Paz Vizsla's heavy gun begins to turn the tide, though, and they slowly push the Imperials back.

They pursue the enemy into an Imperial base, where the enemy springs an ambush, lowering bulkheads to trap most of the Mandalorians inside.

Caught outside, Mando is attacked by a group of enemy soldiers, trapped by grappline lines, and inexorably grappled into submission.

Moff Gideon arrives in a shiny new suit of Mandoesque armor, which he claims is the new improved Dark Trooper suit. It is made of beskar alloy, and best of all, he brags, it has Moff Gideon in it.

He orders the TIE Interceptors and bombers to "take the Mandalorian fleet off the board" while they still have the element of surprise, and has Mando dragged off to a debriefing room .

He orders Bo-Katan to surrender the Darksaber, but instead she uses it to cut a hole in the back door to allow the Mandalorians to escape.

Moff Gideon orders the front door opened so that his troopers can attack. The Mandalorians and Grogu escape through the hole in the back while Paz Vizsla covers their escape. Once the others are clear, Bo-Katan tells Paz Vizsla to follow them, but he replies that there are too many and closes the blast door behind him.

NO! cries Bo-Katan, but the blast door is down, and she can't get through it.

"THIS IS THE WAY" insists Paz Vizsla.

She escapes while Paz Vizsla fights the Imperial troopers.

Paz Vizsla fires until his heavy gun melts down, then takes on the remaining Imperial troopers hand-to-hand.

He defeats them, but at a high cost. Then the three Praetorian Guards close in on the exhausted Vizsla, and using their energized pole arms, slash and stab him, until, at last, the mighty warrior falls dead.

[end of episode]

***

Paz Vizsla's death scene hits hard.

He fought until he could barely stand, and then the Praetorian Guard moved in. On the one hand, it's kind of a cowardly strategy, but on the other hand, they were clearly expert with their weapons. They just slaughtered him. Reminded me of the ox getting killed in Apocalypse Now.

The name of the episode is THE SPIES. Plural. We see G68 at the beginning of the episode. Who are the other spies?
Perhaps the members of the Shadow Council?

Or is there a traitor in their midst?

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 15, 2023, 10:07:01 PM
Or is there a traitor in their midst?

That would be unexpected. Well, until you brought it up.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 16, 2023, 01:31:40 AM

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 15, 2023, 10:07:01 PM
Or is there a traitor in their midst?

That would be unexpected. Well, until you brought it up.

There has been a lot of speculation online.

I don't want any of the Mandalorians to be a traitor, I think that would undercut the "stronger together, let's not let our disagreements tear us apart" theme of the season. Plus, there are only a few named Mandalorians any way. It would have to be the Armorer, Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, or, what, Ragnar?

If there is another spy, I would nominate someone on Nevarro. It would make sense that the pirates/bad guys had an informant there.

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 16, 2023, 10:20:42 AM

Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 16, 2023, 01:31:40 AM

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 15, 2023, 10:07:01 PM
Or is there a traitor in their midst?

That would be unexpected. Well, until you brought it up.

There has been a lot of speculation online.

I don't want any of the Mandalorians to be a traitor, I think that would undercut the "stronger together, let's not let our disagreements tear us apart" theme of the season. Plus, there are only a few named Mandalorians any way. It would have to be the Armorer, Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, or, what, Ragnar?

If there is another spy, I would nominate someone on Nevarro. It would make sense that the pirates/bad guys had an informant there.

My first thought was Koska. She got a look going on.

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 16, 2023, 10:20:42 AM

Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 16, 2023, 01:31:40 AM

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 15, 2023, 10:07:01 PM
Or is there a traitor in their midst?

That would be unexpected. Well, until you brought it up.

There has been a lot of speculation online.

I don't want any of the Mandalorians to be a traitor, I think that would undercut the "stronger together, let's not let our disagreements tear us apart" theme of the season. Plus, there are only a few named Mandalorians any way. It would have to be the Armorer, Axe Woves, Koska Reeves, or, what, Ragnar?

If there is another spy, I would nominate someone on Nevarro. It would make sense that the pirates/bad guys had an informant there.

The most convincing theory I've seen online is that the spy is the captain of the land ship on Mandalore. He knew where the Great Forge was, but didn't know that an Imperial base had been built nearby?

Quote from: Lurkndog on April 15, 2023, 10:07:01 PM
The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 06

Notes:

1) This is the first canon appearance of Admiral Pellaeon, a character introduced in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. In those books, Pellaeon was the supreme commander of the Imperial Remnant, and the right-hand man of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He is a competent baddie.

Not the first.....In the final episode of Star Wars: Rebels, Thrawn is seen calling Captain Pallaeon by name on comms to find out what is going on with his fleet as the Purrgills attack. It is the first mention, if not the first appearance.


Personal theory - this is all an elaborate set-up conducted from Star Wars: Rebels onward, to allow the use of as much of the Thrawn Trilogy storyline as possible when they are finally able to.