Chapter 23: The Spies

"Chapter 23: The Spies" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American television series The Mandalorian. It was written by showrunner Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, and directed by Rick Famuyiwa. It was released on Disney+ on April 12, 2023, and received positive reviews.

Plot
Moff Gideon is informed by Elia Kane of the Mandalorians' intent to retake their planet. Gideon relays this information to the Shadow Council, a group of Imperial remnant warlords. He requests reinforcements from Commandant Brendol Hux and questions Captain Pellaeon on the absence of Grand Admiral Thrawn, suggesting that the Council should choose a new leader.

Reassembling on Nevarro, Bo-Katan Kryze unites the Mandalorian clans and prepares a recon party to explore the surface of Mandalore and locate the Great Forge. Prior to leaving, Greef Karga presents the Mandalorian with IG-12: a rebuilt version of IG-11 which has been turned into a pilotable exoskeleton to be controlled by Grogu. The Mandalorian hesitantly allows Grogu to use IG-12.

On Mandalore, the group meets up with another clan, who is loyal to Bo-Katan. Bo-Katan admits that she surrendered herself and the Darksaber to Gideon shortly after the Night of a Thousand Tears, hoping that her people would be spared from further harm. She reveals that after her surrender, Gideon betrayed her and continued to bomb Mandalore. The clan directs Bo-Katan's search party to the location of the Great Forge, while the Armorer takes its weakened members back to the fleet to be tended to.

The search group finds the Great Forge but is ambushed by Gideon's beskar-enhanced stormtroopers and lured into a trap. Axe Woves sees an opening above and flies towards it to warn the Mandalorian fleet orbiting the planet of the attack and to reinforce the others below. The Mandalorian is captured by a beskar-clad Gideon, who reveals his intent to create a new army of Dark Troopers and complete the Great Purge of Mandalore. He attempts to kill the search party, but Bo-Katan uses the Darksaber to make an escape for the group, with Paz Vizsla staying behind to buy them time to warn the Mandalorian fleet of the approaching attack. Vizsla fights off the stormtroopers but is killed by Gideon's Praetorian Guards.

Development
The episode was directed by Rick Famuyiwa, from a screenplay by series creator Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

Casting
Pedro Pascal and Katee Sackhoff star as the Mandalorian and Bo-Katan Kryze, respectively. The Mandalorian is physically portrayed by stunt doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder, with Wayne and Crowder receiving co-star credit.

The co-starring cast for this episode returned from previous episodes, including Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, Katy M. O'Brian as Elia Kane, Emily Swallow as The Armorer, Simon Kassianides as Axe Woves, Mercedes Varnado as Koska Reeves, Taika Waititi as IG-11, Tait Fletcher and Jon Favreau as Paz Vizsla, and Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon. Brian Gleeson and Xander Berkeley appear as Brendol Hux and Gilad Pellaeon, two Imperial warlords and members of the Shadow Council. Jonny Coyne, Jodi Long, Hemky Madera, Ron Bottitta, Marco Khan and Imelda Corcoran appear as additional Warlords. Charles Parnell and Charles Baker appear as the Survivor Captain and Scout. Parvesh Cheena, Shirley Henderson, and Wesley Kimmel reprise their roles as Karga's protocol droid, the Anzellan crew, and Ragnar Vizsla, respectively.

Music
Joseph Shirley composed the musical score for the episode, with Ludwig Göransson composing the themes.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode has a score of 86% based on reviews from 22 critics. The website's critics consensus reads: "There's some creakiness as The Mandalorian reincorporates an overarching threat after a directionless period, but "The Spies" succeeds in priming this season for an impactful finish."