The Mandalorian’s episode titles are almost always a cryptic reference to a person or event in each episode. Sometimes they’re overt, like Season 2 episode “The Heiress,” which introduced us to live-action Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff). Others, like Season 1’s “The Sin,” are a bit harder to figure out. But the most recent episode of Season 3, titled “The Spies,” is downright confounding.
Who are the spies in The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 7? Here’s what we know, and what it could mean for next week’s season finale.
To The Mandalorian’s credit, one spy is revealed fairly quickly: New Republic Amnesty Officer Elia Kane (Katy O’Brian). Despite appearances, Kane is still loyal to the Empire and is seen delivering intel to her newly-freed boss, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). After her shady work in “The Convert” (another episode with an easy-to-parse title), it’s clear she’s not exactly trustworthy. So this isn’t much of a surprise. But the episode title refers to spies, plural. Unless the Mando brain trust all overlooked that crucial typo, there’s at least one more right under our noses.
It does make sense that there’d be another operative working undercover for Gideon. Bo-Katan, Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and the rest of their Mandalorian militia walk right into the trap Gideon set on Mandalore, which suggests he had help in coordinating the attack. The identity of this second spy, however, remains a mystery at the end of the episode. Does Moff Gideon have a second spy embedded within the Mandalorians?
Episode 7 ends on a heartbreaking cliffhanger, with Din’s capture and the apparent demise of Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher). Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian scouting party only barely managed to escape Gideon’s clutches, but two Mandalorians were conveniently absent from the skirmish: Axe Woves and the Armorer.
Bo-Katan’s former henchman, Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) escapes to get reinforcements shortly after the Empire attacks. He only recently patched up his differences with Bo-Katan, so he’s definitely not off the hook.
That said, The Armorer (Emily Swallow) also dipped at a convenient time, just before the ambush. Granted, it was under the guise of transporting the wounded back to the fleet, but she’s been acting a bit shady regardless. The Armorer warmed up pretty quickly to Bo-Katan over the course of Season 3. She publicly supported Bo-Katan as the de facto leader of their people in Episode 5 and even encouraged Bo to remove her helmet. As the leader of a cult that prioritizes helmet-wearing above literally all else, her change of heart is surprising, to say the least. There’s also the matter of her horned helmet, which bears a striking resemblance to Moff Gideon’s new beskar armor.
No one wants to believe the Armorer has been working with Gideon this whole time. But The Mandalorian is definitely building towards a shocking twist in its finale. Whether the Armorer, Axe Woves, or another character has been the spy all along, the Season 3 finale will have to make good on the mystery in “The Spies.”
