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You may recall that back in September, we shared an exclusive video which showcased Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze going toe-to-toe with a fellow Mandalorian. The video itself was captured in March of 2022 at a park located in El Dorado, California and see’s a helmetless Bo facing off against who appears to be Axe Woves, a former member of Kryze’s Nightowls. At the time we had no context for the video, but now with The Mandalorian season three approaching it’s sixth episode, it’s worth revisiting.
In episode five of the third season, Bo Katan was tasked with venturing into the galaxy to find and unite fellow Mandalorian clans by the mysterious Armorer, leader of the Children of the Watch, as Bo Katan had walked both ways. We know from Bo herself that Axe Woves and Koska Reeves had left her to become mercenaries as Bo did not secure the Darksaber from Moff Gideon at the tail end of The Mandalorian’s second season. It makes sense that Bo would seek out her former followers and attempt to convince them to join her once again after discovering that Mandalore is habitable and that it houses the legendary Mythosaur.
Based off of the location of the shoot, a park located in El Dorado, Long Beach, it seems as if it could be the in universe location pictured below this paragraph. The shot shows a lot of greenery with Bo’s ship flying in. We don’t know if both Axe Woves and Koska Reeves will be at this location, or if Bo has to find them separately, but as you can see in the video, it appears as if she faces off against Axe, and we saw an actress who’s costume bared a striking resemblance to Sasha Banks’ Koska Reeves on the same set, which you can view here.
It’s worth pondering why Bo would fight Axe Woves. My first thought was perhaps she would beat him into submission, proving herself superior to the Mandalorian, but then I thought of the events of The Mandalorian season three episode five and while rewatching the video, I spotted what appears to be an Imperial Officer in the background who steps in to get involved in the scuffle…and it got me thinking.
The Mandalorian season three episode five revealed that Moff Gideon had escaped the custody of the New Republic when Carson Teva discovered the ship transporting Gideon had been attacked with a gaping hole on the side, New Republic officers dead inside and Gideon missing. However, the most interesting tidbit from this scene is that Teva discovers Beskar residue on the walls of the ship, suggesting that Mandalorian’s may have been involved with Gideon’s breakout.
I’ve seen some speculate that the Empire have set the Mandalorian’s up, hoping that the New Republic will place blame on the Mando’s and that may well be the case. But what if it’s literal? What if Mandalorian’s did help free Moff Gideon? We know that Gideon, at one point, was seen as the ruler of Mandalore as he was in possession of the Darksaber, before purposely losing it to Din Djarin, so what if he still has some Mandalorian’s loyal to him? We know thanks to a report from MakingStarWars that Gideon will don a black Mandalorian helmet with horns and a red visor, so he’s leaning into the Mando culture this season, and I can’t help but wonder if he’ll rock up in the final few episodes with his own Mandalorian’s in tow.
So what does this have to do with Bo Katan facing off against what appears to be Axe Woves? Well, what if it was Woves who helped Moff Gideon escape the custody of the New Republic? Bo said it herself that Woves and Reeves had left to become mercenaries, so what if it was just a simple pay day for Woves and he has no loyalty to Bo Katan anymore? Again, it’s worth mentioning that in the scene, you can see what appears to be an Imperial Officer getting involved as Bo faces off against Woves. It’s also with bringing up that Woves was missing from The Mandalorian season two finale, which featured his fellow Night Owls, Bo Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves, teaming up with Din Djarin, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand and Cara Dune, to rescue Grogu from the Empire, and to take down Gideon. Simon Kassianides, the actor who plays Woves, previously revealed that there would be answers as to why his character was missing in the season two finale, and now we can’t help but wonder if it was because he has some sort of ties to Gideon and the Empire.
We don’t have the answers at this time, but it’s worth revisiting the video now we have a lot more context for the season, and of course it’s always fun to speculate.
The Mandalorian season three is currently airing exclusively on Disney+, and the next episode, episode six, will debut on the streaming service this Wednesday.
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