Star Wars: The Mandalorian S3 Ep 6 + The Bad Batch S2 Finale

Warning. This podcast contains spoilers for season three episode six of The Mandalorian and the two episode finale of The Bad Batch season two Hello.

My name is Jason Septi and I'm Rosie Knight, and welcome to x ray Vision, the Crooked Media podcast where we dive deep to your favorite shows, movies, comics, and pop culture. In this episode, in previously on, it's Trailer Mageddon, it's the Blue Beetle trailer, it's the Cross the spider Us trailer, it's the Secret Invasion trailer. We're talking about all of them. In air lock. It's The Bad Batch

Love that coming up Leon Okay, First up in trailer mcgeddon, let's start with the Blue Beetle trailer. Release date August eighteenth, twenty twenty three. Do we count this as like the first official.

I believe James Gunn said this was where it begins it begins even though Superman, which is I believe twenty twenty five and we'll got the Batman two that year is the official first James Gun. He did say in that big announcement that post a flash this is the first kind of soft launch of the of the DC.

And if that is, it looks really looks great.

I'm excited for it. Like it's it's got a real nineties like zero early zeries. He's got superpowers and he's got to deal with them. It's very I love it.

It's a classic origin story, the likes of which we really have not seen in a while.

No, and it looks really charming. There's a lot of humor to it. I love that moment where he gets the scarab and it kind of jumps on his face and his whole family's just is.

On your face, Oh my god, get it.

Off, and horror elements of the suit. Yeah, it looks great. I love Sholo from you know Cobra Kai so charming. I love to see him in a role like this. I'm glad Warner Brothers was so excited to make it a theatrical instead of shiring it like back out. Harvey gianna Is in this movie and we don't know who he's playing. I'm hoping he's playing Ted Cord because we get to see how I may outside the Cord building. And yeah, I just think this looks like a ton of fun. And I love that he makes that big

I think, all listen, if you have a power like the Green Lantern or the Blue Beetle, which allows you to create matter from your thoughts, if you're not doing a swort every time, then what are we doing?

Literally? Especially, I feel like you hit on one of my biggest issues with Green Lantern, which is every single green landing can just imagine like a fist or a gun.

What are we doing fists like this?

It like please that you have literally the power of your imagination, a carnival like the big Fi, a giant gun you have, you don't need that, come on, guys. So the fact that he's the comps, the fact that he's thinking outside the box and he's coming up from the giant Bersark style sword. I was a big fan, just looks great. I can't wait to see it, and I'm very excited at the potential concept that this could be a kind of tone setter for what's to come.

Same same and very excited to get into the gun A verse and next up across the Spider Verse, the sequel to into the Spider Verse at least stay June second, twenty twenty three. I mean, I don't even need to see the trailer. I love the trailer.

You need to see it to see.

It because I'm I loved into the Spider Verse.

So let's be real. Best Spider Man movie ever made.

I think so, one of the greatest comic book movies period ever made. And this is gonna be fantastic.

Yeah, I mean, you've got every kind of you got Ghost Spider. Let's be real Spider Gwen, sorry, Marvel. Miles Morale is obviously miguela Horror which is really interesting because that's, you know, Spider Man twenty ninety nine, who we saw at the end of the movie, who we're now seeing in what seems to be more of an antagonistic role that we saw Peter B. Parker, we saw his baby may Day Parker. We saw Spider Woman, which is Isa Ray there's spot who's going to be the villain kind

India shouts to our good friend Cody Zigzig Spider park in the movie.

Yeah, I mean it looks so good, and I kind of love we didn't really know much about the story before this, because I feel like they knew that we didn't really need to. You want to go there, you want to see that experimental animation that basically changed the game, Puss in Boots. It was taken for a Spider of Us, the Bad Guys, taken for a Spider of Us. Mitchell's Vessel's machine made by a lot of the same team,

You know Ben has been grown on me.

Well, they've been doing a lot Ben, They've been doing a.

Lot of Ben work lately. Ben an early clone of Spider Man who's got his own thing going on.

Yeah, it was kind of a huge reveal was that he had been Spider Man all along, and it was really controversial. He has this cool, like very nineties jean jacket. But when they show him in the movie, in the trailer, when you pause it, I mean, it looks like it's directly too d out of a comic book. Just the most beautiful, interesting stuff and so many incredible people worked on this. I can't wait to see it. It looks absolutely brilliant.

And then finally on Jesney Plus Secret Invasion release date June twenty, first first episode of a six episode series. We didn't get too much more from this, No, I'm very excited for it. It feels like a tonal reset kind of obviously, you know, Fury coming back in that kind of winter soldier, conspiracy, spy, Marvel vibe. This trailer dropped kind of concurrently with a big Anthony Bresnacan exclusive photos. You know, that felt very much like, Hey, guys, don't worry.

These words are shiny again. Yeah, it looks very ultimate, very early phases of Marvel, where it's very grounded spy version secresy. I love Samuel Jackson's Nick furious one not all time great casting, so I love that. I have to say, look, when I think of Secret Invasion, it's hard for me to separate it from the immensity of the comic books and what that meant, which was who can you trust? Who is really which characters that you love.

Have been.

Years and you've been supporting them, You've been buying those issues, You've been following their adventures, and it's not them. I feel like currently what they're showing us is lacking that impact for me. But Fike has always said this will be a more intimate, small scale espionage thriller, so I'm interested in it. I love that Nick's not wearing the eye patch now, he's just he's living it up. He's showing off the cool, you know, flirkin scar, and I'm

She could be anyway, and also she could.

Be a scroll in the guys about her, you know, so who knows. But yeah, very interesting. I think there is an immense amount of pressure on this project, and I feel like they're behaving in quite a sensible way that has learned from things like say, Multive's a Madness, which I loved, but these movies where they made Ann in the Wasp, where they made people feel like it was going to be a groundbreaking earth sharing event, and it didn't necessarily live up to that in the way

Did anything here change your thoughts about who may or may not be a Scroll?

My biggest thought coming out of this was actually that they might not do that at all. I think that they showed.

The I worryingly felt the same way the.

Kingsley Bendea character, who's going to be this kind of Scroll rebel leader. It seemed like they were almost doing a Mister Smith thing with him, where there were multiple versions of him who's shape shifting into the same guy. So I don't know if they are going to do the Secret Invasion classic iteration and instead we're going to see the Scrolls use their shape shifting stuff in a different way.

I think what we are going to see in Secret Invasion is the birth of the super Scroll.

Yes, okay, let's talk about that.

I think all the lab stuff that we're seeing is the Scrolls, the extremist sect of the Scrolls, who are invading, who are doing the invasion or taking over various for various powerful people in Earth's government. I think that they saw the superheroes of Earth and they said, Okay, we got to figure that out. Yeah, have to Like shape shifting is cool, but why don't we have like why can't we fly? Why can't I punch somebody's And I think that they are trying to create powers, and I

I think that's right now. That seems kind of strange because the super Sculls are so deeply connected to the Fantastic Four in the comics. But I will say we get a moment with Kingsley Benedet's character Gravic where his arms go towards and it's almost it looks I felt like it looked quite read rich esy, but as I've seen lots of smart people point out, it looks a lot like Group's powers. Yeah, which is kind of this

I'm sad. I want someone big to be a scroll.

Me too. Let's be real. Let's be real. There's six episodes. This is the MCU that I there could be a shocking surprise if we just look at the cast, right, So you've got Everett k Ross definitely could be a scroll scroll, but who it's not that huge impact. I wonder if we look at who's actually in this we know that Rody is going to be in this movie, that would be I think the only person that they

Going, Rody actually died after the airport fight in Germany.

How that's the kind of shame where people would be losing their mind. But you know, there is out scroll history and the way that scroll ship shifts. There are people who spend time among humans and become allied with them, And we've kind of already got that a little bit with Taloso that wasn't in a shape shifting form. But I think that looking at the cast, it really either is going to be a big surprise and a character that we're not explaining. I'm still going for Hawkeye. I

Like setious?

I mean, I suppose the other thing. Now, don't get too excited, because I definitely have had a tendency in the past to come up with cool ideas that they would never do and then people be upset that they don't do them. But you know, Tony actually survived the snap and comes back in this form, and then he's actually a scroll and you have that be a large part of armor for Wars. Is Roady trying to convince

All right up next to the Bad Batch and the Mandalorian, we're stepping out of the air lock and into the two part finale of season two of The Bad Batch, now streaming on Disney Plus. And what a way to end a season.

Woo.

You know, there's a lot of Clone Wars vibe too. Obviously it's the same kind of the same time period for The Bad Batch, but I'm spot I'm talking about like the number of episodes and the kind of up and down nature of it, but like a really strong closing to this season that started very strong. Also episode fifteen,

Tech sacrifice, I think, truly sad sacrifice.

We will always have the tech Turn that will live forever. We can talk about whether he's really dead. But I have a bunch of thoughts, and first among them, we gotta let Sagerera cook. You guys, Oh my gosh.

Every time we've been saying this, this man is always right, always right, every single time. I feel like that is either going to pay off at some point. Well, this is just one of the few places where this part of Star Wars storytelling fails because he is not wrong. He is right every time. In this moment, he is talking about stopping the creation of the death stop correct, right.

So, so the bad batch is, you know, they're on the ground, they're invaded this imperial facility. There's this huge fucking firefight, and they happen to run into Sagrera who's also there, and it's like, hey, wilet, you guys are here. Uh my, what I'm here to do is blow up all this the imperial leadership that's all here. We got grahamav Tarkin, this here we got Orsyncretic here, we got doctor Hemlock here, we got a lot of movers and shakers here, and I'm going to blow up this whole facility.

I love the clones.

I want any clothes to die.

If if they had let Sorgerrera do his thing, Alderom would still exist.

It would have at least been like the destruction would have been delayed. I think we couldn't.

I think we could say that.

Listen. I've seen other places say well they just would have replaced Tarken and critic. Sure, but with like critic was an idiot and so maybe heard about it. But Grandma Turcan was like really good at his job. I think it would have like, even if they would have been replaced, who fucking cares.

Let's thinking about it, ausyncretic, he is the one who is keeping tabs on Jinnaso's dad, who was the one they actually needed to build the Death Star. Like, you know, we get these big references here to the original trilogy. You get this project star Dust, which we know is them talking about the creation of the Death Star. We get this huge kind of monumental it's been revealed itself over time. But there's two big things that we learn here.

Would not be surprised if if Gideon is baby Gideon, baby Gideon young Gideon God to start working for doctor Hemlock in some form of fashion here.

Yeah, it's very interesting stuff, but I definitely was also overwhelmed by the saw was right, Come on again.

Every time I get it, I really do get it, but it and yes, it's you know, there'd be some unfortunately, people would die in this. But like, what are we doing? Are we trying to like score to like bowl a perfect game against the Empire? Or do you actually want to fight because a lot of the big names are here. Let sau do his fucking thing if.

You want to, if he wants to do the day you work. Yeah, let's be real. That I think is one of the funniest conundrums of these stories, which we love so much, and they add all this great context. When you spend more time with these characters and you have more nuanced to the stories, it suddenly becomes a lot more complex. Then well, you just blow up the Death Star, because you blow up the Death Star ends

This if you go by Cody's for us. See, Cody would have said at the Battle of Evn, well, we have to evacuate all the people that are on the Death Store that maybe don't want to do this, you know, there's just a job, or there might be some clothes on there, and we evacuate them. I get it. Sure, But do you think.

They says like Dave Filoni punishing us for all those conversations we had about and that's not He's like, you are Cody now, Like I guess is what you've all been doing this whole time?

I think Cody is just I think Cody. I understand Cody's rationale here and I and I get it. And nobody really knows even though they're all talking about the death Star, nobody really knows what they're wing.

No one knows what projects taught us this. Yea death doesn't exist in any way that they understand, so.

They couldn't have known. And so I get based on the information they have, they made an absolutely reasonable call to be like, hey, saw, don't that said? I just want to acknowledge once again, who's right? He's right again?

He was absolutely right.

He is right again. He was right again. And his main problem is that he was right way before anybody else could even guess what the you know, what the what was going on, and so therefore he seems like a radical when in reality he's just like eighteen years early exactly.

If you compare the actions that Saw takes that people think are so violent and radical, they are absolutely equivalent to the things that Luke does.

You know, it's like you want to blow do you do you want like a two million people in the death Sert to die? Or do you want to kill like the you know, five hundred people that are in this facility right now and stop it from ever happening. It's like a trade off exactly.

So yeah, I agree with you. That was a big takeaway I had from this, especially because that's a drum we've been beating for a long time. Sorry. Also, can I just say that the last time we saw Sam we were talking about how he was right, he was actually the one arguing about protecting his people. So this is not some one sided thing where he just wants to kill people. He is a complex, nuanced man just like everyone else. But of course this is the Clone Show,

And I think that the overall conversation about that has always been inherent with the clones identity, you know, a personal identity. What does it mean to be an individual when you have been created from the DNA of one person and you look just like all these others. I think that is really fascinating. The bad batch within that idea is really interesting in and of itself because they are the ones.

You know.

Tech says that thing right before he dies. You know, when have we ever followed orders unlike the rest of the clones, you know? And I think that is that idea. Individualism within like a why a larger kind of monolithic group is really interesting and I love exploring that here Tech, is he dead?

I mean, I feelate the answer is no, just because of what we've seen in the past, with the way that they treat like a clone who dies or goes missing and they have that big, surprising comeback. So my hope would be no. But it had such a big impact on Omega. I think this one might stick.

I think it might stick to and I think you don't do the slow Mo Fall.

Yeah, that's true. That's true.

That's a classics you're gonna mean it.

Yeah, you can't like rewind the slow mo fall. It has a context and an impact.

And I agree with you Omega, man, it really it really hit Omega like that was heartbreaking, actually her wanting to go back. They can't go back. You obviously can't go back.

And also I think that notion of sacrifice like no, no, we never leave anyone behind, and actually that was somebody's choice to do that so we could move forward. So are you going to take advantage of that or are you going to stay behind and you know, trying to save somebody who in the end chose not to be saved.

Your thoughts on the strands that are obviously leading towards the Palpatine cloning project, project Project New Palpatine.

Well, I will say we were right, because I do think it is no coincidence that in the Mandalori and in this we now have what are essentially threads here to let's say, expand on rather than fix. No matter what our feelings are about Rise of Skyrocrifite, it does feel like Felonious once again using this as a space to kind of embroider more detail and context, because as we know, even Oscar Isaac was tired when he said it. Somehow Palpatine returned it is the somehow it feels like

You know what's really interesting is one of the kind of driving themes of the Clone Wars is the Jedi missed it. They missed the rise of Palpatine's right there. He's like two and a half blocks over from the Jedi Tim.

He's actually chilling with people that you know he can't.

You know, Yoda can't feel his presence. They have multiple meat face to his meetings with the guy, and they just think he's just some chilling and it really feels like, ah, man, they're so close and they just missed it. And now with the bad batchuh, you know, with the Mandalorian, you've got this. The new kind of thing that everybody missed is Palpatine's coming back, the cloning drive to recreate more Palpatine, so Palpatine can you know, be our villain in perpetuity.

It's interesting to see that in a more of a real time rather than something that's retroactively added, you know, like we saw this sequel trilogy reveal that Palpatine came back and now just a few years later, we're starting to see, oh they missed it again, Like this wasn't some super secretive out of rim nobody knew about it situation. This was going on under their noses while the original Palpatine was still alive.

The animation style is incredible. This is maybe this is The action in this was unbelievable. There's some really great like one shots where in particular where the bad Batch is like fighting through the facility and they like punched this Stormtrooper multiple times and then the camera like flips so you can follow them running down the hall. Feels freaking great. And by the way, I think this is the best the Stormtroopers have ever done in a fight.

They look good, they did well. Yeah, this is not your you know, four generations down stormtrooper missing everything with a blaster. Also, I feel you really like, I feel like there's a great anime influence on this in the way that they're using cameras as if they're shooting live action,

I think still, oh yes, right now.

Yeah, that one first, and so that sets this tone, and then you go to this full cg and people have that struggle to connect with it, and then Rebels you have that different style. It's really nice to see the bad Batch keep the spirit of Clone Wars alive. But just looks so fucking good, Like this has Disney

I agree, And it's just it just looks great. It looks really great. Your thoughts on the uh Omega meeting adult Omega shocking twists and where were they?

I know, it was very cool.

It looked I see pyramids and I was like, is that, Yeahvin, I don't know, but like that is obviously feels pretty huge. And the idea that they were we always knew that there might be more Omegas out there, but the fact that there definitely is one feels really huge.

Yeah, we always we always knew that Omega was basically like the next kind of generation of clone, this enhanced kind of clone. Potentially people wondering if she was for sensitive. I was very interesting to wonder that. Yeah, basically I was wondering the exact same thing. Where the Commonian stuff has been demolished, So where are they? Where is this intense black pyramid with a kind of inner jungle with

End, really strong ending to the season. Once again, shots to my guy Sagerera. You saw it. No, you won't get the respect you deserve, but you saw it. Up next The Mandalorian, The Mandalorian season three titled Chapter twenty two, Guns for Hire, directed by Bryce styles Howard.

In the Icon, she's back again, just in her bag. When must she get? In the stal Wars movie, she deserves. We've all been asking for it for so long.

All the Way in Her Bag written by John Favreau. We open in space an imperial ship crewed by Mandalorian mercenaries waylays a Quorn ship. The Mandalorian captain Axe Wolves, we've met him before, has been hired by some noble Moncalamari family to retrieve their love struck prince son. Apparently, the Quorn and the Montcalamari they shared the planet and

And they're trying to find Bo's old crew, you know, who abandoned her and became mercenaries after she lost the Dark Saber. So this is a quest that makes a lot of sense and puts them on an interesting side quest which I personally loved, yes, and was not expecting. But yeah, that their intention is to find more Mandalorians.

That's right. So they arrive on the planet and there's some like delightful sixteen bit fanfare music and announcement about you know what plus your fifteen is, and a voice welcomes them, you know, to a plus your fifteen the only direct to Christine in the Outer Rim. Grogu seems to really love the music. They pass some Imperial droids on the way to.

Train notable for what will come to Boss.

And on the train, you know they're they're heading in. They're kind of being interviewed by the security services of Pleasure fifteen. On the way in. Bo is like, hey, we want to speak to the man. We're here to see the man, my Mandalorian brethren. Can we can we speak to them? And the voice is like, no dice because according to the Corosonic chords, uh, you know, no outsider can have like direct contact with military assets and peacekeeping zones whatever that means.

Yeah, there's lots of bureau chrissy hair. You love bureaucriic Star Wars. You will be happy because there is some rules that are being laid down by the New Republic.

And the voice then is like, can we get your chain codes so we can verify who you are? They do and then all of a sudden, this voice is like, hey, guess what, Bocuten Creese and denjarying, your presence is requested at a certain place. They go to a place and it's a feast. There's a feast going on, and this is a star studded episode of the guys.

Say how they kept these cameos quiet kind of blows my mind. I know that this is just people who probably wanted to work with Bryce and who obviously also wanted to be in a Star War becers who doesn't. But it's really great because you get this feast and you first of will have this hilarious moment where you see one of the aliens, you know who, Gorgu was trying to eat the eggs, the baby eggs, and that was really shocking everyone and I was like, oh, my gosh,

Jack Black, So obviously that's huge, just casual. Yeah, and so they're playing the duchess who is part of this ruling family that has ruled plus you're fifteen to four apparently.

Since it was ever settled all of its modern history.

And Captain Bombadier.

A perfect name for a character played by Jack Black.

Yeah, the elected rulers, and you know, they sit down, Jack Black, excuse me. Captain Bobadier offers them some drinks, which are apparently secreted by some really gross, like sac looking globular alien in a in a jar.

This is classic interesting Star Wars world building because we really get the sense of that opulent, disconnected wealth that so often exists in the world of Star Wars because of people's connections to war or, as we'll find out, the imperial kind of regime.

And Captain Barbadier addresses them, He's okay, let's address the Bonson. I was once a facility's planner officer during the War for the Empire, and thanks to the New Republic amnuscry program, I was able to help rebuild the Plazi or fifteen, and then the Dutch just echoes that saying, you know, plusy or fifteen really got just really got wrecked during

That's what colonialism is good, good at stealing stuff from other table.

And certainly they seemed to be living it up now, so everything is going great.

Yeah, yeah, and they fell in love. Isn't that great? Well, one magical story.

You know what I I I hate I obviously whenever I see former imperials thriving, I take, I do a double take. But this is for love and everybody seems happy.

So on the planet, yeah, I actually I did expect to see some kind of like secret dark a side of the planet, kind of like what we saw in the Last Jedi, but you don't really get that hit it Great's is allegedly these people would elected democratically. People seem happy, everyone strive any and some food. There's some issues with droids that we'll get into that.

It's like Nieman Marcus the planet. Everything is luxurious, nobody works. Everybody's hanging out having a chill and buying stuff. It's shopping all the time.

All the time.

Pretty great.

Yeah, it's it's uh tourism, capitalism, but just al die every day and nobody works, which seems great. I would love to see it.

I'll just say this, you know, I think the AMBSC program is not only well meaning, but good and and if it's imperfect, as we've seen in other episodes of The Bandalorian, then it's imperfect for a good cause. I think it's probably a net positive. It means to be seen how things go with the cloning program.

The idea is I would say I agree with you net positive, because it is worth giving people that second chance to forced into those roles.

That said, and we don't know what Captain Bombardier was up to in his previous life as an acquisitions officer for the Empire. I feel like everybody's always playing down what they did in the exactly that I was an acquisitions officer or really, where are you station the death start? Like we were even.

Just that, but like where which planets were you ravaging, Like whose family wealth are you now sitting on like playing space croquet and eating delicious feasts. It seems inethical. I also think there is an interesting statement being made here when we look at how somebody like Bombardier is being treated in this amnesty program compared to the kind of low level grunts that we saw who are also

Although it certainly seems like a great guy.

I mean, it looks like it would be a lot of fun to be at this face love is Curlie Mustache and listen, he's married to Lizzo, so obviously doing something right, right and listen.

During the Imperial days, it's like, if you wanted to work, you kind of had to be in lead with the Empire. So I get I get it. Anyway, the Duchess then offers Grogu some space sardines, and Grogu's like, yes, yeah, does the flip right into her arm.

He's just never not flip in now.

Yeah. Dinners like I don't know, grog and then all of a sudden, Grego's like, well, I like anybody.

Who's giving me some food, delicious seafood.

We learned that this the whole direct democracy thing, which is basically everybody votes for the person that they want to rule. There's no voting for a representative and then is going to cast a vote for whoever is going to rule. You do you vote directly for the person you want. And so this whole direct democracy thing is is pretty new, and that even though the Duchess and our family have ruled for all the planet's history, they

Already like monarchs?

That seems unlike again, everybody seems trying their best, everybody seems happy. We also learned that Bombadier's imperial past means that he can't be in command of any military force, and therefore are fifteen kids can't can't have a military, so they outsource their military force. Thus the Mandalorians. That's why they are here. They are essentially mercenaries here on the planet.

To me, that feels like a very loophole, an obvious loophole that they should stop, because it's like, you can't have a nationalist military that is run by people if you can't, agreed. I honestly, militaries always leaking some bad stuff. I get that, especially with the imperial connection. But just hiring random mercenaries who you pay to commit war crimes, I doesn't say, my.

Guest, it seems like the way it works is they hired them to just be security guards. Yeah, they protecting and that, and they can't give them any orders beyond that. It's kind of just like, hey, protect the planet and whatever else you guys are doing. I don't want to know, because you know they're out here doing side quests for Moncalamari, you know. So Bo is like, well, I'd like to meet with these Mandalorians. I I have to talk with

Yeah, you can give them an order, you can tell them that why would we have to do.

But you know, again, the the Charter of Plaza fifteen stipulates that no kind of armed forces can enter the city. But there's another loophole. Because of the multicultural society that they are building here respects the cultures of the people that are there, which is a wonderful thing. Bo and Din can therefore or come armed into the city because their weaponry, their armor is intrinsic to their culture and therefore it's fine.

So, as you can see, this was a very cynical invitation. They knew that this would be useful to them. Yes, and bombaed it. Jack Black sells it very well. It's such a great coincidence. But also, if you want to speak to the Mandalorians, go so out our droid problem and they.

Offer actually a very very juicy nugget in return. The deal that they offer is in return for helping the Plausure fifteen out with their droid problem, Plausure fifteen would formally recognize the new mandalor the currently repopulating Mandalor as a sovereign system and then would lobby the new Republic to do the same. That's actually like a huge deal.

That's a huge deal. Let me ask you a question about this then, So this basically establishes that no question, this rumors and rumblings of them repopulating them law is out in the world, because that's not just a lucky guess, that's right. Like they absolutely come to this with a knowledge that this is something that's going on, which probably means other people are going to hear about it too.

Bo thinks that this diplomatic deal is really, really great, and dinner is just like I just want to kill Troy hate. I want to kill him. I like one droid. That's it, and he's dead. He's dead, and all the rest of them can go to hell. So they go to see the Security Commissioner. He's basically the head of all their defense infrastructure, and he it's a star studed episode. He is played by Christopher Lloyd, the legendary Chris Lloyd.

You really don't think after they do like Lizzo and Jack Flat, which just feels very contemporary, and you don't really expect to then just see like Dark Brown, our uncle Fast. You're one of the most influential character actors and comedians of our generation, especially if you love the kind of stuff we love. And they just casually have him that just being in charge of treat any five.

So then uh, the Commissioner plays them some of the security tapes of the various incidents, and some of them are comical.

And groceries around.

Yeah, and then a crash car and then a Benny Hannah chef goes nuts.

That was my favorite one. One, like who was thinking of putting some general grievous style guy in charge of doing you know, Beni Hannah that's cooking. And my favorite pie is when he turns he is wheeled in those good stuff.

Yeah. So Baul asks an important question, which is like, let's just turn them off, just turn them off. Well, here's why. Here on h On Neman Marcus planet, Neman Marcus uh, the neoliberal jewel of the outer rim. All of our citizens here on Plaza or fifteen live a fucking life of consumers leisure. They don't lift a finger. The droids do everything.

Seems like a problem just saying.

There are some moral and athnical issues. Hyah, we can get into it because there are some obvious issues that become that come to the surface, you know, or at least the subtextual service in this episode, and you know, essentially the Commissioner's like, listen, people don't want to work anymore, and honestly, right and if you turn the droids off, they're gonna have to go to work. They're gonna have to work as Benny Hanna chef's. They're gonna have to

They're gonna have to space grub hops.

Yeah, they're gonna have to carry the the fucking Captain Bombadier's like groceries to his house. And they're not gonna want to do that in society. We collapse and they're like, Okay, Bowen and is a very.

Big red button that he claims, well, turned them all on, a big, extremely ominous button. I feel like that would be a more sensible way to do that, and we will find out lat the button is ominous.

Yeah, So Bowen didn't go and see the the other people that do manual labor, skilled labor here in Plazia fifteen, and it's the ugnots, the mechanics who basically keep everything run and keep all the droids running and do a bunch of the other kind of maintenance work around here. Did knows how to talk to them, and he manages to get some information out of them over drinks. The ug Knots insist the droids are not malfunctioning because Ugnots are very particular about their work.

And to say that is like an insult.

It's an insult because you're saying ugnot work is not good, because why else would these droids be?

Yeah, I function. We get a great moment here where Bo as the princess. She doesn't know how to talk to normal people. She doesn't know how to talk to agnats who valued.

That health here in the Duchess she's fine, princess, you know, like, oh wow, this is great.

But we actually get to see Dinn showcasing his talent with people, showing how wildly is showing the common touch. He's a man of the people, like you're standing on those pieces of paper.

That's right. And so he managed to get some information out of them.

Uh.

And that information is the location of the droids that have malfunctioned in the past. So detectives Crez and Jarren head to a spaceport loading doct this is where they've been sent and the manager Droid says, hey, how are you? Don't worry? All our certifications are up to date and all these above board. Roger, Roger, no need for the police here. You can be on your way. Can I see your warrant? And uh, den. Jarren then goes into his good cop bad cop, which is all bad cops,

I'm gonna just kick every single droid until one gets stressed. Yeah, it's terrible behavior. It's an awful baitful baby.

So that he kicks a droid and one droid's like hey. He defends himself and then realizes it's been outed as one of these droids that now can think on its own, runs away and.

He just tries to shoot it.

Bowen didn't chase it down and shoot it in the back, just like real cops. Very realistic.

Actually they shoot this pulling in the book. He was just doing his job, just carrying a corboard box, and Din's Nash waving a hand in front of him kicking him. Bad behavior. Not a fan, not a fan.

But this is the way things work on Plaza fifteen, and we got to keep the society going. And I get it. Bo finds a spark pad on the droid's carcass and it leads them to a droid bar. The resister, and it's a lot ively place, you know, lots of happy droids having enjoying some R and R and all of that ground still halt as soon as Bowen Din walk in.

They got big snitch energy. You know, there is a problem when they walk in.

I don't think they get many of our kind here. Dinn says, no ship now, yeah, why yeah. The bartender is very standoffish until Dinn turns on the charm by saying, I'm gonna dissect your fucking brain.

Yeah and pulls out like in a little electronic like taste, like.

He's gonna cattle fraud you. And then I'm gonna cut your.

Head off and I'll just take memory caught out and like melt it so I can find out your secrets. He's this man has problems. He needs to go to like armor therapy. Go talk about best scarf, you bestcar so much. How about you treat some metal droids nice.

Not exactly you know, clothing, this mission and honor here, we're just like.

The Mandalorians, are strugglingly threatening these mechanical life forms a sentient. Let's be real, it's not cool, it's not okay, but be.

That as it may they do manage to get some information out of the bartender. The bartender offers that and this is actually a wonderful moment where we get to understand the kind of texture and fabric of this droid community. He says, Listen, the droid community here is just as concerned about the incidence as anyone else. We have a lot of older models here that would have been decommissioned and scrapped anywhere else in the galaxy. But here they've found a place where they can still work and be

I want to chomp up vegetables on a hop plate.

I want to do it. Please don't let them scrap us, din Jar and you could kick me in the in the thigh all you want, So they then bowed in. Then uh trace uh the issue from this part using this uh, the information from this bartender to tainted nepenthe, which is this kind of droid lubricant that droids drink, but it also acts as like a delivery system for like new code.

Which is very cool, really really cool. Basically, it reprograms them as they drink it, and the idea is to patch the software to keep them in this kind of new program state. And it's delectable. So somebody has tainted it and is reprogramming them for their own nefarious means.

So they go of the droid Morgue rip to the droids and the droid morg and Bow and Din go there and they have the kind of mortician takes some of the liquid that is in this this droid who has fell victim to whatever is in the nepenthe, and it's, by the way, it is either a B two that has malfunctioned or it's the one they just but be

Not even the dock Web, it was literally just space. They find this stuff very quickly.

His credit card is right there associated with it, and it's none other than Commissioner Hellgate.

The d Commissioner of.

Security, head of Security him self. He ordered the nanodroids. He's behind all this. They go to confront him, and it turns out Commissioner's a separatist. He's an unreformed ducalist. He's like Doku was a visionary.

I say, look, from what we've seen in the recent anima, he had, he had some thoughts.

I don't disagree with I he obviously in a way and I'm saying this in a way that is completely different from saga Aria. He went too far, he did.

He did go too far. But you know, we got to see that kind of disillusion that he felt. And he's both sides.

He's about to like unpack the entire Dukalist ideology. BO just tranks him as like a politics.

I don't want to get it. I'm not saying, we know, don't judge a book by its cover. Don't you know, judge somebody by their name. That can be very problematic. This man's name was hell Gates. I'm just saying, like, just giving him one extra look. He's in charge of the droids. He's got a very suspicious, narratively relevant name. Probably shouldn't have taken you long to get hit.

So we got the guy. Case closed. Head back to the Royal party room, where the Duchess is cheating at bachi ball with the help of Grogu.

Does she great time?

Does she know that Grogu is helping her cheat. I don't know, I mean, no one. She's hitting shots that no one ever hit in the she is.

I think when you are that level of wealthy and powerful, people just say yes to you all the time and they kind of just let you do whatever you do and they go, oh, darling, you're winning, and they move, they move the little hooks you know that you play the crochet with and all that kind of biz.

The ug knots relegated to the underworld, the way the droids are cheated. The fact that the Duchess is like openly cheating at a game and doesn't give a shit about it. There's some red flags here. It may everybody seems.

To you know what, though, Grogu he's having a great time, loving it, play in, doing some flips, using the force. You know. The Duchess just wants to snuggle him constantly, and he seems very happy about that too. He's just having a good time.

So Bowen didn't deliver Commissioner Hellgate, and they're like, this is the guy. He did it all. The Duchess offers Hellgate the same compassion that the planet and its society has showed her husband. Captain Bombardier, former member of the Dreaded Empire, and you know, can the commissioner do the same, Can the commissioner forgive Captain Bombardier for his imperial past and the things that they've done. And he's like, I don't know, maybe maybe i'll get there.

I'm an old dad, And.

So they're like, okay, well until you figure it out, you're e You're going to the moon, all.

Right, and humans off the guide on the moon.

Bye bye. So Bowen didn't get their audience with Axe Wolves, and they also get the key to plus your.

Face a huge's huge, huge key ridiculous.

On the ride over, bow is kind of worried because obviously her and Axe had this falling out and acts and his people don't really respect her because she didn't win the Dark Saber and the time Honored Way, and did says, listen, whatever you decide, I will support you, which is wonderful. They find the Mandlorids drinking space coffee by their ships, just hanging out. I've come to reclaim my fleet, you know, bo says, and Axes like, well,

He's like, you're right because because Dinn's like, did she not defeat the one who defeated me? And it's true? And I would just like to say we pointed this out on that and not only asked. We had a listener who eight days ago Brian emailed us and said he believed this would be the way things played out. And Brian was right, and we were right.

Shouts like Sagerera, you see the truth.

So Bo has a baby, the dark sabers back and thank god, honestly, because let's be real, Dinn was that was like he was not doing it. He needed more time, He did not know how to wield it. It was still very happy to hear me. He did not have the connection. And Bo was just looking light fro like it was made for.

He was gonna hurt his back every time.

He exactly might have killed the baby. It was looking bad, it was looking dangerous. This was the best option, and I also love that. Really, I think they just wanted Bo to be their leader because like it's very convoluted. Did he did she really win it in combat? I don't know if you could argue that, but she defeated and they're just like cool Saturday.

We got the fleetback, We got the old imperial ships back. This is a wonderful episode. It continues, this show continues to look great.

It feels like all of Disney's budget is going to this show. Every time I watch it, I'm like, it looks so much better. Whatever ILM is doing over there, please do that for those MCU movies that aren't connecting as well with people, because these worlds feel so lived in. The fights are so brilliant, the creature work is so fantastic. We get so much of that fun stuff. The costuming, the Duchess's outfit that's kind of this brilliant practice dress,

How the the foot race with the unfortunate droid that then gets dishonorably gunned down from behind, because that the movement was like really human, like I wonder if it was Mo capp or what it was it.

And it made it hit even hard.

It looked really really really cool. And I think this was like my favorite by far, my favorite col open of the season and maybe my favorite call open.

Maybe it sounds off feeling like a mini story. It is, and it feels like it's going to be this kind of dry, bureaucratic Star Wars conversation which we're so used to and we kind of rag on, but we also enjoy but it actually was this beautiful, funny Romeo and Juliette story. And I want to read the Inevitable a certain point of view story about it. I want to read the novella that somebody is going to write about those two because you do believe that they will see

Two episodes left? Feels like there's more Mandalorians to join the fold, still time for us to see Sabine. And then last episode surely is going to be the Assault on mandalis maybe a two parter.

I think that My God says, you're back with Rick for miahwa who was the who directed the opening. You're so great. Those are the last two episodes. I feel like this is going to be your big action story. You've had that Jon Favreau Dave Filoni style serialized storytelling, lots of side quest, lots of bottle episodes. I love that kind of stuff. I think it's really fun. But I think people do want this big, chunky, two part are that's going to re establish wish where we find the Mandalorian.

Ques after seeing what Acts and his people have been up to. It's one could only assume, listen, Mandalorians need work too, and when we first meet Den, he's a bounty hunter, Like this is what Mandalorians do is they live by their blasters, and so it absolutely makes sense that they would go out across the galaxy hired out as mercenaries, privateers, what have you, bodyguards, you know what,

Oh who followed Gideon or follow.

Gideon like it could I thought that that was an obvious frame up it maybe I think it probably is.

I think the best goot to me is too obvious, too obvious, But they couldn't you raise a good point. I think there's a large chance that that could be a splinter group who the follow Gideon, who have some kind of belief that he is still the rightful holder of the Dark Saber, or who have want to punish him for his crimes.

Because so much of this, the kind of emotional weight of this season, particularly with Bo, has been about no more Mandalorians fighting Manalorians. This is what she said that today when she says acts, this is what led us to this place. You know, all the tragedies that happened during the Clone Wars. You know, Mandalorian society ripped apart, with one side of the debate living on the Muna Conchorya, the rest of us trying to make a go of

I was gonna say, imagine if the power of like Gideon stepping off of a ship with like a new death was with the Mandalorians behind him. That would be huge and also gives an option for those Mandalorians to still be welcomed into the fold and perhaps turn. So I think I am I love the frame up. I think it feels like a frame up, and I still stick by it. But I am sixty forty that there could be this spin off, kind of secondary splinter group

Well, wonderful episode. Bryce Dallas Howard once again in her bag.

Give her the trilogy. You want a new trilogy, give it to Bryce. She's delivered at all.

Times, one of our greatest NIPO babies.

Most talented, the most of that NEPO fantastic power.

Cannot argue with it. Up next nerd Out.

In today's nerd Out, where you tell us what you love them, why, or a theory that you're excited to share, Peter ponders the poisoned planet rumors from both and Or and the Mandalorian.

Peter writes, quote, I'm curious if the planet is poisoned rumors warnings on both Canari and mandal Or are inherent parallels or thematic empire propaganda. In both shows, characters make it on and off the planets without dying despite the threat. I haven't seen this address and cant side if I'm overthinking this or if this is an overarching storyline. I think there's something to it.

I love that.

I think there's something to it.

Think about it. We see these planets that have indigenous populations that are culturally connected to the planets whose planets are raided, and then these rumors are spread about this idea of oh they're poisoned. You can't go back, you have to start again. That works for almost every level of imperial society. Not only does it eradicate an indigenous population and spread them out, but it also works. You need workers on Corriscont, you need workers in these places.

Yeah, I agree, and I also think it makes sense from a kind of economic point of view. It's just cheaper, exactly, It's just cheaper. You. Of course, you could poison the entire planet. That would take a lot of radiation and a lot of bombs and a lot of you know, chemical weapons, if that's what you want to do, or you can just scale it dy, You just tell everybody that it's poisoned.

And the fact that you had already attacked it. It looks terrible, It looks broken down. People don't live that those rumors spread and then people become scared to go back, like what happened with Mandlore.

I like this idea, and it seems like something that a space empire. It just makes sense that you would do it, especially.

We know that propaganda and branding is such a big part of the empire. It makes sense that that would go down to economic policy too.

I completely agree your absolutely great question, great idea, great nerd out. If you have theories or passions you want to share it, hit us up at x ray ac criocked dot com. Instructions are in the show notes. All right, that's it for us. Rosie Plugs, Plugs, Plugs, Plugs Plugs.

You can read my work. Go to my website Rosie Night dot com. It links to lots of my work, all different places ign Dan of g nerdist Polygon, all those kind of cool places. I have a newslet where I'm recommending cool books. It's called Rosie Recommends. You can find that on substack and obviously here twice a week. Yeah.

Watch Primo May nineteen on Amazonscvy. It's very good from the mind of Mike Shore at four time New York Times bestseller ch Serrano. Primo heartwarming family single camera sitcom, only on Amazon Freebee on May nineteenth. Catch the next episode of Extra Vision on Wednesday, April twelfth for more Yellowjackets and Succession.

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X ray Vision is a Crooked Media production. The show is produced by Chris Lord and Saul Rubin. The show is executive produced by myself and Sandy's Rehard are editing and sound design Who's by Vacillis Photopoulos, Dylon Villanueva and Matt de Groove provide video production support. Alex Roller for Handle Social Media. Thank you Brian Vescuez for a fe music. See you next time by Hey Mike, this is down for Marine. Yeah. I just want to talk about the

Mike.

I'll take my insy off the end, thank you,