The Mandalorian Recap: ‘Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes…’
!['The Mandalorian' Recap: Season 3 Episode 7 — Paz Vizsla [Spoiler]](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/matt_mitovich_final_v3.jpg?w=250&h=250&crop=1)
This week on The Mandalorian, a familiar face returned… a name from the sequel trilogy was heard… and Grogu said his first words. (A lot.)
Oh, and someone died.
Season 3’s penultimate episode opened with Elia Kane aka G68 skulking around Coruscant, to meet up with an Imperial probe droid that, after scanning her face, spat out a hologram of Moff Gideon. Elia reported to Gideon that the pirates’ storming of Nevarro was foiled by a buncha Mandalorians — namely, Bo-Katan and Din Djarin.
An irked Gideon, wherever he is, slipped off for a holo-meeting with the Shadow Council, which is comprised of Captain Pellaeon (played by 24‘s Xander Berkeley), the cloning-obsessed Commandant Brendol Hux (Brian Gleeson, brother of the sequel trilogy’s Domhnall “General Armitage Hux” Gleeson) and others. Gideon scoffed when Pellaeon spoke loftily of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s imminent return, and countered that maybe new leadership is needed. Gideon said that with the Mandalorians plotting to retake their home world — something that would “hamper” the council’s plans — he needs the resources he deserves, in the form of bodyguards, TIE fighters and bombers. With that request promptly approved, he declares, “We shall be rid of the Mandalorians once and for all! Long live the Empire!”
Meanwhile on Nevarro, Bo brings the Mandalorians that she rounded up to meet the Armorer, Paz Viszla et al, and share in a feast. Din meets with Greef, who reveals a rejiggered IG-11, now known as IG-12 — and which is now piloted by an Anzellan… and then, a moment later, by Grogu! Din has a bad feeling about this, saying, “Maybe when he’s older,” but Grogu makes his own stance known by slapping at the voice control to say, “No.” And then, when Grogu gets to test driving his new ride with a few steps around the room, eluding Dad, he hammers at the button to say, “Yes, yes, yes, yes….”
Back at the lava flats, Bo offers to lead a small recon party to the surface of Mandalore, to scout things out before bringing everyone else down to make camp. Reaching out to both sides, she is able to recruit Koska, Din, Paz, Axe, the Armorer herself, and others. Upon landing on their bombed-out home world, Bo & Co. are met by a long ship carrying three survivors of the Purge (played by The Last Ship‘s Charles Parnell, Breaking Bad‘s Charles “Skinny Pete” Baker and someone else). At dinner that night, Bo heard from those survivors of how she is believed to have bailed on her people ahead of the Purge. She made clear that she in fact negotiated a peaceful surrender with Moff Gideon — that is how he came to acquire the Darksaber — but the he betrayed her. Later, in private, when Bo voiced doubt about being able to unite their people, Din said that she has more going for her than any blade, bloodline or station. She has honor, and character. “Your song is not yet written,” he said. “I will serve you until it is.”
The next day, everyone made tracks for the site of the Great Forge, which unsurprisingly is a shell of its former self. ut Bo, Din et al found much more in the cavern than they bargained for — stormtroopers, arriving via jetpacks and clad in beskar! While Axe jetted off for reinforcements, the others blasted and slugged it out with the troopers, to the point that they gained the advantage and started chasing the stragglers through the cavern, to… a quite out-of-place docking bay stocked with TIE fighters. An ambush followed as a blast door slammed down, cutting Din off from everyone else. Din put up the best fight he could against troopers, but ultimately he was tied up with cables. Moff Gideon then floated down on his own jetpack, and clad in black, Vader-ian beskar. He taunted Bo and Din for gathering all of the Mandalorians in one place. (Whoops.) He then boasted of creating the next gen Dark Trooper suit that he is sporting, and his plan to “create an army to bring order to the galaxy.”
Gideon deployed the nearby TIE fighters to take on the Mandalorian fleet orbiting Mandalore, saying that “in a few moments, the Purge will be complete.” When Bo hissed that she should have killed Gideon when she had the chance, he suggested that it is time for her to give back the Darksaber. Instead, she used it to saw an escape through the blast door behind her and the others. Paz Viszla and his repeater provided cover as she did so, and as everyone escaped. When even more commandos arrived, Paz insisted on holding his post, saying, “This is the way.”
Paz, impressively, fended off said commandos, but the arrival of three Praetorian Guards wielding plasma weapons was more than he could bear, and despite starting to choke one of them out, Paz lost the fight and was left for dead on the docking bay floor.
What did you think of Grogu’s new ride, Paz’s heroic death and the rest of the episode “The Spies”? And any predictions for next week’s finale?
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Wow! Amazing episode!
Long Live Paz. What a death scene.
Paz stood his ground and damn near held off all of Gideon’s commandos. THIS is the badass Madalorian action that’s been teased since Boba Fett first debuted.
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But after what happened to Reva during OBI-WAN KENOBI, I’m not mourning Paz and his repeater until he’s officially cold and in the ground. It’s all just a flesh wound until you lose a limb. And even then.
Called it on the Beskar armour for the Dark Troopers :-)
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Love that they’re taking a lot of inspiration from Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy (Thrawn and Pallaeon coming in to live action, plus the cloning aspects) and clearly building up to Thrawn appearing in Ahsoka.
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Also wondering why the title was “The Spies” (plural) when, unless I wasn’t paying attention, we only saw Elia Kane.
I think maybe The Armorer is the 2nd spy
I did kinda get that vibe too, all the lingering shots of her.
This was a fantastic episode. Katee Sackhoff was fantastic. The way she admitted to surrendering to Gideon during the Night of a Thousand Tears….
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This is the way.
Yes! Yes! Yes! This episode had all the feels. Best birthday present ever!
The Armorer is the other spy. She luckily was able to get off Mandalore? She convinced Bo Katan to unite both factions of Mandalorians and get them all together in one place?? Re-watch all her scenes, there is something off.
Yes. She’s a very suspicious character 🤔.
It was a fantastic episode on so many fronts.
1. Hats of to Katie Sackhoff.
Ditto to Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito.
Fantastic that it brought yet more of the EU characters in with pellaeon.
The Manalorian cutures/factions really felt more relistic for some reason in this episode.
The Death of a character also seemed fitting and heroic.
Well done all, so looking forward the next weeks season final.
1. If Bo’s ship was used by the Armorer to take the wounded/weak Mandos back to the fleet, how does anyone communicate with the fleet for reinforcements?
2. Your Bo, you go the forge and are immediately attacked by a well prepared enemy. That enemy puts up token resistance and flees, less than 10 minutes into the fight. You really don’t suspect it is a trap? It doesn’t occur to you that they were there before you and knew you were coming? Advancing is the dumbest most ridiculous thing you could do. It is terrible writing to allow Bo to be that unprepared and reckless.
3. It never dawned on Bo to use the dark saber on the dark troopers? It cuts through Beskar, and the enemy is using Beskar. Also she stands around watching as Din is fighting and never uses the saber to open the door and help him. What is wrong with the writers?
#2 is a valid point, but #3 seems like an incredibly dumb idea.
Open a hole in the front door so the dozens of troopers, most of whom have weapons pointed at you, can blast you to smithereens? What, as you enter the hangar one by one?
I don’t think you’re ready to join the Mandalorian writing staff, Jeff.
Either you open the hole in the front or the back. As you saw, the armor allowed Paz to absorb a ton of punishment. The back allows a retreat, but sacrifices Din. Going in the front allows you a chance to try and open the rear door and organize a formal retreat while also killing Moff (who they didn’t know about yet.) Finally, the enemy can open the front door at will, so it isn’t protecting you, only restraining you.
P.S. She could have cut a much larger hole if she doesn’t waste so much time watching Din fight alone. Or carve small blaster holes to shoot into the enemy and buy him a little more breathing room if nothing else.
The dark saber doesn’t cut through Beskar (see Din’s duel with Moff Gideon in S02E08 for example) but I agree it would have been a sensible choice to use by going for the joints between the Beskar plates for example.