The penultimate episode of Disney’s “The Mandalorian” premiered today, and unlike most episodes, it ended on a tragic note. The last we saw of the team of Din Djarin and Bo-Katan, he surrendered the Darksaber to her on the planet Plazir-15, and she took on the role of leader of the Mandalorians who had turned mercenary. This week, the entire united front of Mandalorians heads to their home planet of Mandalore to find out if the planet can be habitable but is faced with a vicious enemy there. Here’s what happens in episode 7 of “The Mandalorian.”
In the ecumenopolis of Coruscant, Empire loyalist Elia Kang walks into a shady alley and uses a droid to contact Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), who’s alive and well. She informs Gideon that the pirates had trouble in Nevarro and explains that it wasn’t the New Republic who helped the planet, but Mandalorians, with Bo-Katan Kryze and Din Djarin working together. Gideon walks through a corridor with Stormtroopers with darker uniforms, and enters the Shadow Council, where other warlords loyal to the Empire are in argument. Gideon asks Commander Pellaeon about Grand Admiral Thrawn and why he hasn’t appeared in the Council, even though Pellaeon had promised his arrival. He then informs the warlords and ladies that the Mandalorians are gearing up to retake Mandalore, and the arguments come to a stop immediately. The warlords unanimously agree that destroying the Mandalorians is the mandatory step before they can hope for a resurgence of the Empire. They also agree to Gideon’s requests for three Praetorian guards, TIE interceptor squadron reinforcements, and bombers.
As planet Nevarro is being rebuilt following the invasion attempt by pirate king Gorian Shard, High Magistrate Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) is informed by his droid that an Empire ship is arriving, but Karga quickly concludes it’s a light cruiser with the sigil of the Mythosaur painted on it; hence it’s being piloted by Nevarro’s Mandalorian friends. As the fleet descends on the Lava Flats, where the Children of the Watch have now taken up residence, the Armorer and the rest of the Watch go out to meet the new arrivals. While the two parties meet, there’s palpable tension between Paz Vizsla and Axe Woves. Karga arrives and gifts Mando a sleek-looking bottle that came all the way from Coruscant and invites the Mandalorian to his office to show him the new and improved IG-11 droid, only now it’s being operated as a machine like an Anzellan. Karga announces that the droid is now the new and improved IG-12 puts Grogu in the driver seat despite Mando’s disapproval, and Grogu happily walks around the office, flicking between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ buttons the droid has been fitted with. While walking through the market, Grogu begins randomly eating things from a shopkeeper’s stall, and Mando has to pay for the fruits while constantly trying to discourage his adoptive son from acting out.
At the Lava Flats at night, Bo-Katan speaks to the gathered audience and says that in order to retake Mandalore, the whole crew has to leave Nevarro and head to the upper atmosphere of their home planet, and that a small scouting team will go ahead and recon the land to see if it’s safe. She alerts the Mandalorians that they can’t contact anyone from the surface due to the magnetic interferences and asks for volunteers. Mando is the first to join, along with Grogu, followed by Vizsla, Koska Reeves, Axe Woves, and several other Mandalorians from both sects, along with the Armorer. The fleets leave for Mandalore, and a small ship travels down to the planet’s surface after sending the scouting party ahead. While making their way through the barren lands scattered with jagged rocks and no signs of life, Mando spots movement near the horizon and the party gets their blasters out. A land ship approaches and asks the party if they’ve food, and Bo-Katan answers they do. The strangers recognize Bo-Katan’s voice, and three of them fly down to the land using their jetpacks and take off their Mandalorian helmets before swearing fealty to Lady Bo-Katan of the Clan Kryze.
While having dinner aboard the ship, the Captain of this new group informs them how the attackers, during the Night of Thousand Tears, bombed the surface of Mandalore twice to destroy any form of resistance, but they still didn’t surrender. Bo-Katan corrects the Captain, saying she did surrender, and met with Moff Gideon to hand over the Darksaber with the hope that the Mandalorians would be spared, but Gideon went back on his promise and began attacking. As the Armorer clarifies that their guild survived by hiding in Concordia, Bo states the grim reality that Mandalorians could never be defeated by outsiders, but it’s their own warring nature that has always led to their destruction. Later, Mando approaches Bo-Katan and apologizes for considering her selfish and says that he and his clan follow her not for the Darksaber nor her bloodline but because she’s honorable. This is the reason Mando offers himself in her service and vows to serve her.
Realizing that the newest additions to the crew have several sick and weak members, the Armorer suggests taking them back to the fleet to heal them, while Bo-Katan asks the Captain to gather the remaining healthy members to help them search for the Great Forge of Mandalore. The Captain responds that instead of searching for it, they’ll directly take the scouting party to the Forge. As the Armorer takes the sickly people back to the fleet, Axe Woves and Paz Vizsla are seen playing a game of space chess, but it quickly turns into a fistfight over some flawed moves. Mando asks Bo-Katan if they should intervene, but she says they can’t be stopped; it is inevitable. Before blood is drawn, the two warriors are intercepted by Grogu in the IG-12 droid body as he repeatedly presses ‘No’ to discourage them from infighting. Bo-Katan congratulates Mando for training his ward well, but he says this wasn’t his teaching.
A spotter notices movement in one of the small, jagged rock formations, and out of it springs a monstrous beast, ready to attack. As the Mandalorians scramble to put on helmets and jump out of the ship, the beast brings down its tail on the ship, killing several in the process, but many survive. The Captain guides them into a cave and helps them escape, but the danger isn’t over. The Mandalorians hear jetpacks, but instead of reinforcements, it’s Stormtroopers wearing Beskar armor, and they open fire on the survivors. Paz Vizsla opens machine laser fire on the attackers and clears a path for Axe Woves to escape and bring in help. As the Stormtroopers start getting beaten back, they retreat into a cave and are pursued by Bo-Katan and the rest. The moment they arrive in a clearing, they see a whole facility with hangars for TIE fighters and multiple warehouses. Before they can make sense of the situation, a shutter falls, trapping most of the Mandalorians in an area while Mando and two others are locked out of the section. The Stormtroopers swarm in to attack him, and despite giving a tough fight, Mando is captured and his weaponry stripped as someone arrives in full black armor.
This is none other than Moff Gideon, who asks his lackeys to take Mando to the debriefing room and thanks Bo-Katan for gathering all the Mandalorians in the same place for him to wipe out. He adds that using the planet’s resources, he’s created a new sect of warriors in Beskar armor, and he hopes to create an army with the best of every clan. He then demands the Darksaber from Bo-Katan, but she runs to slice a hole in the wall, trapping them while Vizsla opens fire. As the rest manage to escape, Vizsla stays back, fighting the oncoming Stormtroopers.
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The courageous Paz Vizsla kills several Stormtroopers, and when his machine laser heats up and malfunctions, he begins using his fists and massive size to fight back. However, he’s not prepared for three soldiers in red armor who arrive carrying strange weaponry. These warriors are the Elite Praetorian guards, who were initially personal bodyguards of Supreme Leader Snoke, and they carry the Bilari electro-chain whip; in some cases, they also wield scythes with polearms called electro-bisentos. Interestingly, these weapons had been created with the idea of fighting against lightsabers, so it’s obvious they’re fatal.
Vizsla is no match for these elite warriors, and they repeatedly stab and hack at him with their electro-chain and bisento, riddling him with holes. Till his last breath, Vizsla puts on a tough fight but is ultimately defeated and slumps down to the floor and, in all possibility, dead. These Praetorian guards are so powerful that they dominate Vizsla, so the Mandalorians will have a tough challenge at their hands next week at the finale when we also figure out the fate of Mando.
