Welcome to another Free Talk Friday. After Chapter 12 of The Mandalorian, I think we can see Moff Gideon’s endgame revealed. I’m clearly going to be getting in spoilers for Chapter 12 ‘The Seige’. Therefore, if you have not watched Chapter 12 of The Mandalorian yet, go watch that first and then come back to read this.
The Mandalorian Chapter 12 SPOILER‘s Live Below!
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I won’t go through all the events of Chapter 12 here, if you want a thorough analysis of the episode, Shockey already has a review up on the site. An addition Kyle Malone and I will be discussing the events of Chapter 12 in toady’s edition of The Cantina Podcast. So not only will Kyle and I get into what we thought of Chapter 12, we will also be touching upon the subject I am covering here.
Gideon’s Endgame
In Season 1 we know that Moff Gideon was after The Child, though for what true purpose was unknown. After Chapter 11 I think we can make a few deductions and speculate upon that purpose. My The Cantina co-host Kyle Malone and I theorized perhaps Gideon was trying to A. Give himself Force abilities, or B. Create a new Emperor who could wield the Force. Now, neither of us liked any of these options for a variety of reasons. However, it looks now like we were both wrong.
Instead it looks like Gideon’s plan is to create an Army of Darktroopers. Now the name has some variations, but essentially what I am talking about here is an army of super soldiers with Force abilities. These soldiers were glimpsed, or their armor was at the end of Chapter 12. There was also mention of using the blood of the child due his ‘M-Count’, clearly a reference to the dreaded word Midichlorians.
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The holo-message seen by the good guys clearly mentioned volunteers and complications causing death in some. To then be followed up by the shots of the black suits, and considering the old EU descriptions, I’m guessing Darktroopers or some variation of them. These troops will be completely loyal to the Empire, blessed with enhanced abilities and fancy armor. What’s the bet that those suits are made of Beskar by the way? Probably Beskar stolen from Mandalore itself during Gideon’s time there before the death of the Emperor.
So Moff Gideon’s endgame seems to be creating a vastly superior army of warriors to reinstate the Empire. However, he requires blood from Force users, and The Child is the only one he knows of. Well, I’m sure a man in Gideon’s position is aware of the Jedi Luke Skywalker. However, trying to capture the man who is rumored to have destroyed the Emperor might be a tricky task. Especially when Luke is such a prominent member of what is becoming the New Republic.
The Final Word
There is one other little Easter egg moment in Chapter 12 I want to discuss. It’s related to the whole Force cloning thing as well. When there was a shot of some failed clones in tanks, the music you will hear playing is the theme of Supreme Leader Snoke. Now, I certainly hope The Mandalorian doesn’t become a show used to explain the utter BS that was pulled off in the sequel trilogy. However, a small hint like this is actually pretty cool. I don’t think this is all leading to Snoke by any stretch, that’s years away yet. However it’s possible that this work became integral to the efforts to create Snoke much further down the line? Either way, that was Snoke’s music, but what was inside, was clearly nothing to do with Snoke. I guess make up your own mind on this one?
As for next week, I’ll make a guess. I believe Mando will arrive on the planet where he will find Ahsoka Tano. I also believe that since Mando’s ship is being tracked unbeknownst to him, Gideon will follow. It also looks like Gideon has at least some of his new troopers available for combat. Mando is going to need some serious help with this one. Good job he just pitched up next to a powerful former Jedi in Ahsoka Tano then right? I’ll guess after a brief intro Gideon is going to attack and Ahsoka’s skills will be revealed. As for where things go after that, harder to say? We still have three episodes to come after next week’s Chapter 13, so there is not going to be a resolution this quickly.
So what did you think of The Mandalorian Chapter 12? Is Moff Gideon’s endgame revealed? Leave your thoughts below as always.
