Everyone's Favorite 'Mandalorian' Big Bad Is Making His Return (SPOILERS)
Published March 30 2023, 12:31 p.m. ET
Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5 of The Mandalorian.
In our humble opinion, there's no Mandalorian without Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). He's a perfect Star Wars villain — not only is the former Imperial officer truly despicable, but his plans are remarkably evil. Honestly, what more could we ask for in a big bad? Plus, it's so fun to see Gideon take a few hits from Mando (Pedro Pascal).
Sadly, we haven't seen much of him in Season 3 ... but that's about to change. At the end of "Chapter 21: The Pirate," New Republic pilot Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) encounters the wreckage of Moff Gideon's prison transport. While looking around, Teva notices that Gideon's body is nowhere to be found. Wait, where is he? Who broke out Moff Gideon? Let's find out.
Who broke out Moff Gideon?
At the time of writing, it's unknown who broke out Moff Gideon.
Teva discovered a report about a missing spacecraft in the Outer Rim and quickly realized that it was the New Republic prison transport taking Gideon to stand trial. Unfortunately, the rumors about Gideon never making it to the courtroom turn out true because the vessel was seemingly attacked en route — and he's disappeared.
OK, but how? Teva believes "this was an extraction," but who would risk their life to save the infamous war criminal? The only evidence Teva finds is a fragment of beskar alloy, implying that Mandalorians broke Gideon out.
Wait, was Moff Gideon taken by the Mandalorian?
In the few remaining episodes, Mando will channel his inner Larissa "Bootz" Hodge from Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School because we think someone is trying to set him up. We're sorry, but there's no way he or any other Mandalorians broke Moff Gideon out. Then again, many of them loathe Gideon due to The Great Purge of Mandalore.
Not only is Gideon responsible for the mass bombing that slaughtered most of the Mandalore population, but he also led the charge in stealing most of the beskar and leaving the planet a wasteland. So, there's actually a slight chance that a group of Mandalorians took Gideon to seek justice (aka they would rather see him dead than stand trial).
Speaking of the stolen beskar, we wouldn't be surprised if Gideon left a piece behind on the transport as a way to frame the Mandalorians and turn the New Republic against them. Luckily, several fans seem to agree with this theory.
"No, cause knowing Moff Gideon, he probably purposely left beskar behind to blame the Mandalorians for this kidnapping," one fan tweeted. "Not only is this gonna be a problem, but Carson is gonna lose Din's trust." Another penned, "Moff Gideon leaving behind beskar like that was not surprising at all. I knew he'd find a way to frame the Mandalorians and get away with everything."
What do you think? Let us know!
New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
