Things You Missed in The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 7: The Spies
Top 10 Things You Missed in The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 7
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Things You Missed in The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 7. For this list, we’re looking at the best subtle details, callbacks, and easter eggs in “Chapter 23: The Spies”. Consider this your spoiler alert! What little nods did you appreciate from the episode? Share them with us in the comments!
Meiloorun
This episode marked a return to form for the season, and we’re pretty sure Grogu agrees! While piloting IG-12, Grogu pilfers a favored fruit that first appeared in the animated “Clone Wars” series and featured in “Rebels”. In fact, it was a pivotal part of the “Rebels” episode “Fighter Flight”. Ghost crewmember Zeb went on to use “Meiloorun” as his alias. We saw the fruit again a few times in “The Book of Boba Fett”. It’s a small detail, but such background touches help keep the series feeling like they’re all part of the same world.
Death Watch
Din Djarin grew up believing that his orthodox religion, the Children of the Watch, defined the Mandalorian way. However, based on the name, fans suspected the group was related to Death Watch, a terrorist splinter group introduced in “The Clone Wars”. Episode seven confirmed that the Children of the Watch were one of several factions descended from Death Watch. This has special significance for Bo-Katan, who was once a member of Death Watch, fighting against the pacifist Mandalorian government headed by her sister, Duchess Satine Kryze.
Praetorian Guards
Moff Gideon is back at last in this episode, having set up a secret base on Mandalore. Wisely, he requests Praetorian Guards to protect him. And a lucky thing he did. Paz Vizsla’s last stand sees him decimate Gideon’s shiny new Jumptroopers, and for a moment, it looks like he’s beaten the odds after all. Enter the Praetorian Guards ... Recalling the Emperor's Royal Guards from “Return of the Jedi”, the Praetorian Guards were introduced as Snoke’s bodyguards in “The Last Jedi”. Evidently, they were already around decades before that. Like Snoke’s personal guard, the three that slay Paz Vizsla wield vibroblades with electro-plasma filaments, but their armor is much more Mandalorian in design.
Gideon’s Dark Trooper Armor
Do ‘clothes make the man’? Well, they can definitely make a man more formidable! Gideon is decked out in sharp new gear - Dark Trooper armor forged from beskar. His original outfit evoked Darth Vader’s, thanks to lights on the chest panel and a black cape. This new armor is more Mandalorian in style, but the horns on the helmet recall Darth Maul - which may even be intentional on Gideon’s part. During the Clone Wars, Maul took over Death Watch and Mandalore, and killed Bo-Katan’s sister Satine. For Bo-Katan, seeing those horns as another villain takes over Mandalore must be bringing back some pretty awful memories …
Cloning Projects
The Emperor’s return in “The Rise of Skywalker” felt like it came out of nowhere. However, the franchise has been backtracking to better set this up. “The Bad Batch” shows the nascent Empire scrambling to recover Kaminoan cloning technology. And in “The Mandalorian”, fragmented Imperial forces are pursuing similar projects. Presumably, all these experiments will eventually lead to the creation of a Palpatine clone - which could be Brendol Hux’s ‘Project Necromancer’. However, we also learn that Gideon’s own experiments were outside of the Shadow Council’s purview. And that he wants to draw together elements of cloning, the Jedi, and the Mandalorians. The cloning vats he passes suggest that he hasn’t given these experiments up.
The Shadow Council
After the Battle of Endor, the Empire’s forces scattered, losing ground to the newly founded New Republic. However, a secret advisory council, the Shadow Council, sought to govern the Imperial remnants. Introduced in the canon “Aftermath” novels, it presumably disintegrated after the Battle of Jakku, which marked the end of the Galactic Civil War. However, in “The Mandalorian”, we see that it’s re-formed. As of old, it includes Commandant Brendol Hux - father of the General Hux we meet in the Sequel Trilogy. Portraying Brendol is Brian Gleeson - the brother of Domhall Gleeson, who played General Gux! The episode also brings us the live-action debut of Captain Gilad Pellaeon, from the novel “Thrawn: Treason” …
Thrawn
Gilad Pellaeon urges the Shadow Council to hold fast until the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn - a major name-drop that foreshadows events to come. The fan favorite villain originated in the 1991 Legends novel “Heir to the Empire”, and was reintroduced into Star Wars canon in “Star Wars Rebels”. Gilad Pellaeon served as Thrawn’s loyal subordinate. Thrawn was last seen disappearing with Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger into hyperspace. Having promised to find Ezra, Ahsoka is on Thrawn’s trail, and his mention here sets up her upcoming miniseries, releasing in August 2023.
