The Mandalorian season finale opened up the series to a wealth of possibilities. While it seemed like the primary push of the sequential seasons of the show would deal with discovering where the Yoda-folk come from, the emergence of Moff Gideon cast a whole new light on the state of the universe.
While there are plenty of questions yet to answer about the Child, about the Mandalorians (plural) and about Din Djarin, the Mandalorian himself, there may be even more pertinent questions to be asked about Moff Gideon, a representative of the supposedly dead Empire in the era of the New Republic. And so, with that in mind, here are 10 unanswered questions we still have about Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon.
How ‘Evil’ Is He?
This always has to be taken into consideration when speaking about any resident of the Empire or the First Order. At least ever since Darth Vader, who proved to still have enough good in him to be turned in the end. Finn being a First Order trooper cast-away and having a community of fellow First-Order runaways is another testament to there being plenty about these evil orders that aren't all that bad.
That said, Moff Gideon looked pretty peeved and, thus, pretty evil. And given the track record of Giancarlo Esposito's characters elsewhere, it's likely that he might fall further on the Palpatine sliding scale of evilness, more than the Vader side. That said ...
Is He Redeemable?
Evil is not an end of the road and that's true more than ever these days. Early Star Wars stories had a lot of flat characters that were evil to be evil, with no redemptive qualities. Moff Tarkin, for instance, had very little hope of redemption because there was no focus on who he was, just that he was, in a word, evil.
In the modern era of story-telling, just about every character has multiple dimensions, so it would be surprising to see Moff Gideon be a full-on villain, especially seeing as how Din Djarin isn't really a full-on hero. There's complexity here and giving Moff Gideon the slightest hint of redemption could be a fascinating twist.
Where Did He Come From?
The easiest way to add some of those multiple dimensions is by getting into the backstory of a particular character. Again, that's why Moff Tarkin came off so one-dimensional. All that we knew about him was that he was a honcho in the Empire and destroyed entire planets to prove a point.
But then look at villains in shows like Game of Thrones, where even vile characters like Jaime Lannister have redemptive arcs that make them some of the most beloved characters in modern television. All because his backstory was revealed. Moff Gideon's backstory is going to play a huge part in discovering what he's all about.
Are There More Like Him?
It's been established throughout the first season of The Mandalorian that the Empire still exists in small cells, essentially swapping places with the Rebel Alliance. But Moff Gideon is the first person of any real leadership that we've seen on the Empire's team.
So the question is how many more like him are out there, if any. Is there just one Moff in charge of what remains of the Empire, or are there others? Others potentially worse than Gideon, who may or may not prove to be redeemable?
Who Does He Answer To?
As a follow-up to the last point, assuming that he is not alone out there, is there someone above him? Does he answer to a Grand Moff in the same vein as Tarkin, who is even more evil and nefarious and capable of mass atrocities?
It really comes down to how much the show is going to focus on this new character. But to bring him in at all, there has to be some focus on the remnants of the empire. And since he is flying around in nothing more than a TIE Fighter, the implication may well be that he isn't the top dog.
Who Trained Him?
Whether there is someone above him or not, it's clear that Moff Gideon has some serious martial abilities. Not just from his flying prowess, but also from hacking himself out of that TIE Fighter with a Darksaber (don't worry, we're getting to that shortly).
Seeing as how it is a weapon rarely seen before, the question then becomes who trained him. It's hard to imagine that he would be untrained in this exotic weaponry, so there is definitely someone out there helping educate all the young Darkaber disciples out there.
What Training Does He Have?
He's got this Darksaber, he's a master pilot, he's clearly revered by his men and feared by his adversaries. He has no reservations about torching those that withstand him, or at least attempting to torch them. So along the same lines of who trained him, what training does he have?
Is this guy an expert in hand-to-hand combat? Is he going to be flipping around, slicing up all who stand in his way or is it more of a show of force -- something to show the world that he is an authority figure? It would seem like a waste to just be a toy, so just how good is he?
Where Did He Get The Darksaber?
Everyone wants to know since the Darksaber was created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian to ever make it into the Jedi Order. It was then stolen by the Mandalorians, who used it to kill Jedi over the years. So its connections to Din Djarin and his people adds another layer of intrigue to the link Moff Gideon has to the story.
It may also infer that Moff Gideon has roots in the Mandalorian people, as well. Heck, since Yoda needs a daddy too, maybe Gideon is Din Djarin's father, too. Who knows.
Can He Use The Force?
The Force is not a requirement for using a Darksaber. The same way that it isn't a requirement for using a Lightsaber. But it certainly helps. And since it was originally used by a Jedi, there is always that possibility that a true master of the Darksaber would have to be proficient in the Force.
Star Wars doesn't have any force-sensitive Moffs. They're all just ordinary, often evil, people. So making Moff Gideon force-sensitive, potentially even trained in the force, adds even more layers. Though if he was a force , it may be assumed that we should have seen it already.
What Did He Want With The Child?
Moff Gideon wanted that baby. He brought the whole squad to steal him away and ruthlessly pursued him. Now, it might just be a matter of wanting revenge on the Mandalorian for reneging on the contract to bring the baby back to the Empire, but it seemed more than that. It seemed personal.
Perhaps lending credibility to him being force-sensitive, if Moff Gideon is force sensitive, evil, proficient with the Darksaber and able to land himself a Yoda apprentice, he would truly be unstoppable. Or maybe he just wants a baby.