Warning: spoilers ahead for The Mandalorian season 3 episode 5.
There have been five episodes of The Mandalorian season 3 so far, with no sign of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) in the most recent installments of the Star Wars TV series.
After being caught in the season 2 finale following his fight with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), which culminated in the latter gaining the famous Darksaber, we know he will appear at some time, most likely not as a prisoner.
It had previously been claimed that Moff Gideon had escaped – and this was proven in the fifth installment, due to an investigation conducted by New Republic commander Carson Teva. (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee).
Carson discovers Moff Gideon’s prison transport floating in space in the aftermath of an apparent attack, with numerous dead bodies onboard, in the last moments of Chapter 21.
While searching the debris, he discovers a chunk of beskar alloy, which hints that Mandalorians may have been behind the breakout, given that beskar is a valuable alloy that is occasionally used to manufacture their armour.
Following this news, some Star Wars fans took to Reddit to voice their thoughts on who may have been behind the prison transport escape.
While one user with the username u/willzyoubelievethis speculated that it may have been the Dark Troopers, the lethal droids introduced in season two of The Mandalorian, they also added that there are certain Mandalorians in the Empire that may be on Moff Gideon’s side.
‘We know that the Empire had Mandalorians who were devoted to them from Star Wars Rebels,’ they claimed, referring to the franchise’s animated TV series. Some may have remained faithful to the Empire and pursued Moff.
‘We saw in Clone Wars that some followed whoever held the [Darksaber], and being that none were there to see Din Djarin take it, it’s possible they caught wind that their “leader” was in New Republic custody and went after him.’
Others mentioned Clan Saxon, a House Vizsla Mandalorian clan that existed on Mandalore during the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War and was backed by the Galactic Empire.
‘I think it was members of Clan Saxon who broke Gideon out,’ one person wrote, while another commented: ‘Clan Saxon makes the most sense. Fenn Rau liked to follow the Darksaber around, but he ended up being a good guy in Rebels, so I don’t think it’s him.’
Another possibility was the Nite Owls, a Mandalorian force commanded by Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), after rumours that they had ‘ditched’ Bo and were ‘seeking for a little payback’.
While some Mandalorians hope to unite the many tribes, might this imply that a civil war amongst the factions is on the horizon?
The Mandalorian is available to watch on Disney Plus, with new episodes released on Wednesdays.