This blog features spoilers for season 3, episode 6 of The Mandalorian. Do not read on if you are yet to see it.
Great Scott!
Last week’s episode of The Mandalorian ended with a major cliffhanger, as it appeared to show that a group of Mandalorians had helped break Moff Gideon out of captivity. With Bo Katan now tasked with finding the missing Mando tribes so they can take back Mandalore once again, the stage was set for a confrontation this week.
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However, this week’s episode had other plans, with Bo and Din’s quest instead taking them on a side adventure which introduced us to Captain Bombadier and the Duchess of the opulent planet of Plazir-15, played in genuinely unexpected guest appearances by Jack Black and Lizzo.
Naturally, these two famous faces led to a lot of social media buzz – but it was the third cameo that offered more than meets the eye, helping to address an underexplored part of Star Wars history.
Who is Commissioner Helgait?
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We’ve known for a while now that Christopher Lloyd would be appearing in the third season of The Mandalorian, and just like the Captain and the Duchess, his character was newly invented for the show.
Due to convoluted rules on the planet, Bo and Din can’t immediately meet up with the Mandalorians tasked with protecting it, and instead are told they can only given their whereabouts if they help solve a problem affecting the population: droids randomly attacking civilians.
They set off to meet Commissioner Helgait, who tells them the Droids are all reprogrammed Imperial models. But after a bit of detective work – and a visit to a Droid bar, which seems like a fun night out – they discover it’s Helgait’s meddling that has caused them to start turning on the public.
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The reason for his plan seems a little odd initially, telling the pair that he wanted to transform the “docile workforce back into battle droids and unleash them upon the unsuspecting citizens of Plazir.”
Why did he want to do this exactly? It turns out it’s because he’s a separatist, priding himself on never giving up to the Republic or the Empire, remaining loyal to the “visionary” that was Count Dooku – at this point, he’s blasted, and is later sent to live in exile by The Duchess.
Following the rise of the Empire, little has been revealed about what happened to the Separatists who successfully got away, with most assumed to have been killed. This is why this reveal that there are still true believers in the cause is a surprisingly impactful one, as it transforms how we perceive the prequels, and the Clone Wars overall.
The Legacy of the Separatists
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The foundation of the Separatists was, of course, purely a ploy to take down the Republic, with the movement vanishing once the Clone Wars ended and the Empire took over the galaxy.
The movement may have been contrived by those desperate to take over themselves, but considering the power it garnered during the final days of the Republic, it is a surprise that we’ve never encountered anybody who has remained faithful to the cause in the years since. Especially considering that the events of The Mandalorian take place roughly 30 years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith, meaning there are still many people alive with vivid memories of the wars.
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Helgait may appear like a deranged fanatic from the outside, but it is unlikely he’s the only one of his kind around. Let’s not forget that, despite various people with allegiances to the Empire now appearing reformed, there are still some with sympathies that have fallen through the cracks, most notably Elia Kane – so why wouldn’t there also be loyal separatists still walking amongst the general population, that evaded being caught by the Empire?
Lloyd’s character is likely motivated by having to serve Jack Black’s Captain, who informs us that he was a facilities manager planner during the Empire, and was only able to rebuild his planet through the New Republic’s Amnesty Program.
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As someone who says that he never gave up to the Empire OR the “corrupt Republic”, Helgait was likely planning his own rebellion since taking up his new post.
It seems like Separatists largely exist as a punchline with the galaxy at this moment in time – Helgait even highlights that it’s a pejorative term – but there are still those unable to accept that the movement was a sham, remaining faithful to a cause that has long past its sell-by date.
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It offered a fun bit of insight into an overlooked piece of Star Wars history; the final remaining separatist movements mostly went into hiding during the early days of the Empire’s reign, with very little to remember them by, but that doesn’t mean they all vanished entirely.
This episode gave us a fun detour from the overarching plot this season, but with the episode ending with Bo Katan finally claiming her Dark Saber, expect the mission to find the missing Mandalorians (and get an answer to last week’s cliffhanger) to be the full focus once again next week.
