Moff Gideon’s Mandalorian Season 2 Plan Explained: How Much He Knew

The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale saw Moff Gideon defeated by Din Djarin and captured by Cara Dune for delivery to the New Republic – but did his plan really fail, or has it yet to fully reveal itself? Played by Giancarlo Esposito, Gideon was introduced in season 1 and revealed to be the wielder of the Darksaber, a powerful weapon that can cut through almost anything (though fortunately not through beskar steel).

Mando’s clashes with the Imperial Remnant throughout The Mandalorian season 2 have revealed that the stubborn vestiges of the fallen Empire are frighteningly devoted to their cause. In the third episode, “The Heiress,” an Imperial captain was willing to crash his ship and die inside it to stop it from falling into Bo-Katan Kryze’s hands. The penultimate episode, “The Believer,” took Mando inside a refinery run by the Imperial Remnant where he encountered first-hand the fanaticism of the remaining officers. And at the start of The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale, “The Rescue,” an Imperial pilot shot his co-pilot for attempting to surrender before deliberately antagonizing Cara into killing him as well.

What’s left of the Empire is blindly devoted and all too willing to sacrifice chess pieces in the hopes of winning the overall war – even if those chess pieces are themselves. By the time Mando and his plucky rescue team arrive on Moff Gideon’s light cruiser, he claims he has already achieved his goal of studying Baby Yoda’s blood for a purpose that he believes will revive the Empire, and may well have already set in motion other plans. Here’s what we know about Moff Gideon’s plan, and to what degree it has (or hasn’t) been thwarted by Mando.

Moff Gideon Knew Mando Was Coming For Him

In what may not have been the best strategic move, but was at least good for dramatic effect, Mando sent Moff Gideon a message warning him that he was on his way to take back Grogu. Gideon could have probably tried to flee from the Mandalorian or rallied more forces around him but when Mando and co. arrive at the light cruiser’s location it didn’t appear to have prepared itself for an assault – Dark Troopers notwithstanding. Gideon seemed to immediately suspect that the lambda shuttle had been commandeered by enemy forces (perhaps recognizing Bo-Katan’s voice) and refused it permission to enter the light cruiser when it was “under attack” by Boba Fett’s Slave 1.

This refusal was most likely a test: Gideon knows that those still loyal to the Empire are mostly officers who are willing to sacrifice their lives if orders call for it, so when the lambda boarded anyway it was a clear sign of an infiltration. Gideon responded calmly, watching the lambda board the ship without making any real efforts to stop it. He then set up the stormtroopers under his command to attack the intruders and powered up the Dark Troopers, while he himself headed for the brig – knowing that the main assault was surely a diversion, and the real purpose of the boarding was for Mando to get the child back.

Did Moff Gideon Lose The Darksaber To Mando On Purpose?

Moff Gideon not only knew that Mando was on his way, he also knew that Bo-Katan would be along for the ride. During their confrontation in the brig, Gideon boasts that the Darksaber once belonged to Bo-Katan, adding, “Yes, I know you’ve been travelling with Bo-Katan. A friendly piece of advice: assume that I know everything.” While it hasn’t yet been confirmed exactly how Gideon got his hands on the Darksaber, The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale implies – through Bo-Katan’s determination to defeat Gideon herself, and the fact that they seem to know one another – that Gideon defeated Bo-Katan in battle and took it from her. Moff Gideon is aware of the significance of the Darksaber: that whomever rightfully wields it is the ruler of Mandalore, and therefore Bo-Katan needs it in order to rally the scattered Mandalorians to her side and retake the planet.

While the New Republic is an obvious enemy for the Imperial Remnant, it appears that the Mandalorians have also emerged as a significant foe for them. When he went down to the brig, Moff Gideon probably already knew that he was likely to be defeated in combat by Mando. However, after Mando disarmed him and held him at spearpoint, Gideon merely smiled and said, “You’re sparing my life? This should be interesting.” It was not the reaction of a man who had suffered a devastating defeat, but of a man who was pleased that he would get to witness the results of a successful plan. In ensuring that the Darksaber went to a Mandalorian indifferent to the fate of Mandalore, Gideon robbed Bo-Katan of a weapon she desperately needed.

What Was Moff Gideon’s Ultimate Plan In The Mandalorian Season 2 Finale?

A man as smart as Moff Gideon likely had a plan with many contingencies, and multiple possible outcomes that were beneficial to him. It appears that he was ready to die in combat with Mando so long as he got to sabotage Bo-Katan on the way out, but obviously killing Mando and repelling the assault with his Dark Troopers would have been the ideal result. Gideon seemed so unfazed by the attack on his ship that it can only be assumed a portion of his plan was safely in play already. Whatever information he had gathered from studying Grogu’s blood has presumably been passed on to another enemy hiding in the shadows – and is now potentially being used to create Force-sensitive soldiers who are loyal to the Empire. We may not see Moff Gideon’s plan play out until The Mandalorian season 3.

Moff Gideon Didn’t Expect Luke Skywalker’s Arrival

There’s one thing that Moff Gideon definitely didn’t plan for: the surprise of arrival of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The moment that Gideon learned there was a Jedi on the ship was the first time that he truly panicked – using a stolen blaster to try and kill Baby Yoda, so that the Jedi would not get their hands on the child and be able to train him. After his attempt to kill Grogu failed, Gideon then turned his blaster on himself, but was stopped from suicide by Cara Dune. Clearly Gideon had been hoping that his Dark Troopers would break into the bridge, slaughter the intruders and put him back in control. But when Luke arrived on the ship, Gideon knew that all hope was lost and was terrified of facing the Jedi responsible for the Empire’s fall.

Despite Luke Skywalker’s intervention, however, Gideon’s plan can still be expected to play out, even with the Imperial leader now in Republic custody. When The Mandalorian season 3 arrives, fans will hopefully find out exactly what the information garnered from studying Baby Yoda’s blood was used for – and it’s probably nothing good.

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Hannah Shaw-Williams
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Hannah has been with Screen Rant since 2013, covering news, features, movie premieres, Comic-Con and more! You can follow her on Twitter @HSW3K

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