WARNING: There are SPOILERS ahead for The Mandalorian, season 2, episode 6, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”
The Mandalorian, season 2, episode 6, “The Tragedy,” left questions and cliffhangers aplenty following some dramatic moments and reveals. The hit Star Wars show has been as much of a success for Disney+ in its second season as its first, and it now seems to be gearing up for a proper climax with only two episodes left to air.
The Mandalorian episode “The Tragedy” begins with Din Djarin and Grogu arriving on Tython, the planet Ahsoka Tano sent them to at the end of the last episode. Din takes Grogu to the planet’s mysterious “seeing stone” and places him on top, where Grogu enters some sort of Force-trance and becomes surrounded by an impenetrable barricade of energy. Then from the sky, a familiar ship descends – the feared vessel of Boba Fett, Slave 1. Fett (Temuera Morrison) confronts Mando, accompanied by a surprisingly-alive Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen).
Fett demands the return of his armor, but before the three can negotiate, a force of Stormtroopers land. United, the bounty hunters fight off a full platoon before the Razor Crest is blown to pieces and a squad of Dark Troopers fall from Moff Gideon’s cruiser and take the Child away. Fett – now re-armored – pledges that he and Fennec will help bring him back safely.
With Baby Yoda now firmly back within the clutches of the Imperial Remnant, Din has his work cut out for him. A confrontation with Gideon seems inevitable in the season’s last two episodes as Mando assembles a crew to break Grogu (Baby Yoda) out. But with so little time left before the show goes on break once more, a lot of questions remain unanswered.
It’s unclear at this point what exactly Tython’s seeing stone did to Grogu. Ahsoka told Din it would allow Grogu to reach out with the Force and potentially contact other Jedi, but that in itself is pretty vague. The Child was clearly exhausted by the ordeal and seemed unable to even register what was happening around him during his trance. But what did it actually do?
Did he see something? Did someone see him? It’s possible that Grogu signaled other Force-sensitives as Ahsoka said, which could lead any number of characters into the folds of the show. It’s also possible he was directly affected or empowered by the experience, as he seemed particularly invigorated at the end of the episode while batting some unfortunate Stormtroopers around like ragdolls. The exact ramifications of Grogu’s time on Tython remain to be seen.
“The Tragedy” finally showed Gideon’s imposing Dark Troopers in action. The mysterious super-soldiers were alluded to earlier in the season, but their kidnapping of the Child was the first we’ve seen of them actually deployed. However, their exact abilities and the danger they present weren’t fully shown. All they really did was fly down, take Baby Yoda, and fly back to the cruiser.
Inevitably, Mando and company will have to square off against the Dark Troopers more directly before the season ends. As Gideon’s apparent ace-in-the-whole, they should play a key role in the climax. By the look of them in episode 6, they seem to be some sort of high-powered battle droids – similar to old Legends versions of the Dark Troopers. Could their strength be rooted in beskar steel, stolen from Gideon’s purge?
The episode’s last scene show’s Grogu in captivity aboard Gideon’s cruiser. After brutally beating two Stormtroopers with the Force, the Child becomes visibly exhausted – as has generally happened after using his powers. Gideon gleefully watches the display of Force power, which includes some darker abilities like a clear Force choke. Could the Moff’s face suggest a desire to lead Baby Yoda to the dark side?
That theory is strengthened by the rest of the seen, which shows Gideon revealing the Darksaber to the Child and referencing Grogu possibly using such a weapon one day. Between his Darth Vader cosplay and clear obsession with the Force, Gideon could be hoping to train Grogu as a Sith, or at least as a powerful dark Force weapon. Much about the villain remains unknown, but if his affinity for the Sith is as obsessive as it seems, he could even be trying to create his own warped version of the Rule of Two.
In addition to possibly guiding Grogu toward the dark side, Gideon’s Imperial Remnant needs the Child for his blood. Why? Well, it hasn’t exactly been spelled out, but it likely has something to do with the resurrection of Darth Sidious or the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke. Earlier this season in “The Siege,” Mando, Greef Karga and Cara Dune encountered some sort of bio lab in an old Imperial outpost. That lab held traces of experiments involving the blood of Baby Yoda, including a few tanks holding what looked to be deceased lifeforms.
Whatever the Empire wants with the Child’s midi-chlorians, it can’t be good. One explanation is that his Force-strong blood is needed to create a sustainable new body for Palpatine. Another is that the experiments are trying to make the creature who becomes Snoke. A third theory holds that Gideon could be trying to imbue existing lifeforms with Force-sensitivity – a way for him to manifest his ambition of becoming Vader. Now that he has Grogu once again, we may found out his true intentions very soon.
Din Djarin experiences two great losses in “The Tragedy” – the loss of Grogu to the Empire, obviously, but also the loss of his beloved ship, the Razor Crest. The ship has been crashed, shot and beaten up plenty of times over the course of the series, but it’s always managed to bounce back with a few rickety repairs. That won’t be the case this time though, as a shot from Gideon’s own cruiser blasted the entire vessel to smithereens.
While the destruction of the Razor Crest is devastating, it does leave a curious question open for the show’s future – what will Mando’s new ship be? As a galaxy-trotting bounty hunter constantly on the run, he’ll need another way to hop from one planet to the next, and Boba Fett probably won’t let him hide in the Slave 1 cargo hold forever. This be a perfect opportunity to bring back a fan-favorite ship design for Din to pilot, or to introduce another new, soon-to-be-iconic ship to the world of Star Wars.
In “The Tragedy,” Boba Fett’s interest in Din is finally explained – he just wanted his armor back. That answer itself begs a question, however, as Fett seemingly could have reclaimed it from Cobb Vanth on Tatooine at any time. Fett presumably knew where to find his armor, and if his Stormtrooper murder spree in “The Tragedy” is any indication, he would have been more than capable of beating Vanth in a fight. So why didn’t he?
It’s possible that Fett supported what the armor was being used for, and therefore allowed it to stay with Vanth temporarily. It’s also possible he didn’t want to reveal himself publicly. Or maybe it just took him a long time to track the armor down, and he’d only located it just as Din took it from Vanth. Now that Din is riding along with him, maybe we’ll get some more explanation before the season’s over.
With the Child now aboard Gideon’s cruiser, busting him out will be a difficult task and likely the climax of season 2. Din already has a strong crew to do the deed in Fennec and Fett, but that may not be enough to take on Gideon, Dark Troopers, and everything else Gideon has to throw at him.
At the end of “The Tragedy,” Mando’s on the hunt for Mayfield (Bill Burr), a mercenary and former Imperial trooper who briefly appeared in season 1. Presumably, Din wants Mayfield’s help because of experience with and knowledge of the Empire. Season 2 has seen a number of other side characters come and go, any of whom could return for a raid on Gideon’s force. Ahoska and Bo-Katan top that list, but the New Republic could be an ally as well. Din will certainly need all the help he can get to spring Grogu from Gideon’s clutches by the time The Mandalorian season 2 concludes.
Originally from https://screenrant.com/mandalorian-season-2-episode-6-biggest-unanswered-questions/