The Mandalorian 2.4 Review - 5 Ups And 2 Downs From Chapter 12

3. The Clone Conspiracy Confirmed

The Mandalorian Chapter 12 Clone
Lucasfilm

So, after dropping off The Child at the local school, Karga, Din Djarin and the Mythrol from the series premiere (the one frozen in carbonite) head to the Imperial Base. They soon discover all isn't as it seems however, and learn that the base isn't really a base at all - it's a lab.

The room of horrors where they discover this revelation features several human-sized test-tubes with bodies inside. We're then treated to a holo-recording of the scientist who assisted Werner Herzog's Client in Season 1, who describes what appears to be a cloning process and how they need specimens with "high 'M' counts" (a reference to midi-chlorians) to make it work. He mentions how he wasn't able to retrieve enough blood from The Child before Din intervened, and that's why progress has stalled.

One of the big theories from Season 1 was that, whatever the Empire wanted with The Child, it had to do with cloning, given the aforementioned scientist had a Kaminoan insignia on his uniform. Well now we know that's true - although for what scheme specifically remains unclear.

Could this have something to do with finding a suitable host body for the fallen Emperor? Snoke, perhaps? Or maybe it's an entirely new scheme, and the Empire are seeing whether or not it's possible to empower their troops with the Force?

It's too soon to tell of course, but at least we're a little bit closer to learning Moff Gideon's true scheme.

Advertisement
Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.