The penultimate episode of Disney+’s The Mandalorian season 3, “The Spies,” left fans on the edge of their seats wondering who the titular spies could be. Mandalorians may be stronger together, but a single spy could lead to the whole people’s ruin.
So, who exactly are the spies?
Could it be the Armorer’s attempt at taking command of the Mandalorian remnants? Could it be a disgruntled Axe Woves, angry at being shown up by Bo-Katan? Could it be the scavenger Mandalorians, forced to serve Moff Gideon, or else be killed? Or someone fans hadn’t even considered?
The answer
Somehow, the answer was none of the above.
Despite the episode being titled “The Spies” (as in multiple spies), the only spy was Elia Kane, the New Republic Amnesty officer who still serves Moff Gideon.
The Armorer leaving the surface to ferry scavenger Mandalorians was just her helping her people. Axe Woves piloted the captured Light Cruiser singlehandedly so that the Mandalorian gauntlet fighters could escape Gideon’s TIE Interceptors. The Scavenger Mandalorians do still believe in Bo-Katan and Mandalore, and showed that the planet itself was healing with the return of indigenous vegetation.
Subversion
Personally, I find this a refreshing change of pace. While Star Wars is ultimately a saga of hope and optimism, the constant betrayals, defeats, and deaths can make it feel like the galaxy is harsh, cruel, and out-to-ruin everything.
The final episode of season 3 completely subverting fan expectations by having all of these Mandalorians devote themselves completely to restoring their planet is a good change. It shows there may be a mental shift happening among the people; Instead of fighting each other or siding with a stronger enemy, Mandalore is genuinely united.
Getting to see a large group of varied Mandalorians, helmeted and unhelmeted, is honestly really cathartic after everything the planet and people have been through.
(It’s also hilarious to see all of these Star Wars fan channels come up with their theories about who was going to betray the Mandalorians, only for them all to be wrong).
The Future
Obviously, this doesn’t mean their problems are over. Grand Admiral Thrawn will be returning in the Disney+ Ahsoka show, and the Imperial Remnants already know that a united Mandalore is one of the greatest threats to their emergence.
But for the time being, Mandalore is whole, and that’s a victory worth celebrating.
