That Mandalorian Praetorian Guard ending explained
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Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian chapter 23, "The Spies."
Bo-Katan Kryze continued to do a bang-up job of uniting Mandalorians all of creeds, clans, shapes, and sizes on the latest episode of The Mandalorian, "Chapter 23: The Spies." Unfortunately for her, Moff Gideon was back and ready for them, and it led to a brutal ending with one key character captured and another seemingly dead.
The episode began with the return of Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon, who met with other Imperial offices as part of a Shadow Council. And there were indeed some intriguing characters in that Shadow Council, including Captain Gilad Pellaeon (played by Xander Berkeley), introduced in books and then Star Wars Rebels as a right-hand man to Grand Admiral Thrawn. In fact, Pellaeon referenced Thrawn in the meeting, with Gideon then voicing that they should move on from the blue-skinned Grand Admiral due to him being MIA for so long. (Sign of a potential Gideon vs. Thrawn feud?)
ILM/Lucasfilm The Praetorian Guard in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'
Pellaeon was not the only Shadow Council member of note. Also part of the group was one Commandant Brendol Hux. The father of future First Order General Armitage Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), this Hux was played by Domhnall's brother Brian Gleeson and was accused by Gideon of being the one who was obsessed with cloning as part of his Project Necromancer. The necromancy reference and Gideon's own interest in cloning would seem to be connections to the cloning project that led to Snoke and the eventual reveal of the cloned Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
Gideon argued to Pellaeon, Hux, and company that he needed more reinforcements to take on the Mandalorians trying to reclaim their home planet, and he got them, leading to an action-packed ending that pitted the two forces against each other in deadly fashion.
As Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) led divergent groups of Mandalorians into the underground bowels of the Great Forge, they were engaged by jet-pack-equipped troopers. And that was the least of their problems. Gideon jet-packed down himself, bragging about the Dark Trooper suits he had crafted from beskar. He also bragged about his science experiments and combining the best from cloners, Jedi, and Mandalorians as he captured Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal).
But the fighting — and surprises — were not over. Before leaving with his prisoner prize, Gideon instructed his soldiers to kill the remaining Mandalorians. Paz Vizsla sacrificed himself to save the others, instructing his allies, "Go! There are too many. This is the way." Paz then took on, and defeated, the Imperial forces all by himself. However, then came the reinforcements. And not just any reinforcements, but elite red-armored Praetorian guards.
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP/Getty Images The Praetorian Guard of 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'
Originally seen as badass bodyguards for Supreme Leader Snoke (before being killed by Rey and Ren) in The Last Jedi, the Praetorian Guard are fearsome warriors trained in martial arts and wielding melee weapons. Those weapons proved to be too much for the outnumbered Paz Vizsla, who was seemingly killed by the fighters (who appeared here almost as a link between the Emperor's Royal Guard of the original movie trilogy and the Praetorians of the sequel films).
Of course, you never know in Star Wars when someone is truly dead (Boba Fett or Cobb Vanth, anyone?), although this did feel like a somewhat definitive end for the character voiced by show creator Jon Favreau.
The episode — which also featured Grogu piloting a retrofitted version of IG-11 (now dubbed IG-12 and once again voiced by Taika Waititi) — raises many questions going into the season 3 finale. Is a conflict brewing between Moff Gideon and Grand Admiral Thrawn (who will be played by Lars Mikkelsen on the upcoming Ahsoka)? What does Gideon plan to do with his prisoner, Din? What role will the Praetorian Guard play moving forward? And how much more will the Shadow Council — including the elder Hux — play into the future of the Empire? We must wait for those answers, for this is the way.
To hear interviews with the cast and creators of The Mandalorian as well as full episode breakdowns, listen to EW's Star Wars podcast, Dagobah Dispatch.
