The following contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 7, "Chapter 23: The Spies," streaming now on Disney+.
The Mandalorian's third season has been all over the place. Redeeming Din Djarin was the original premise, but that was finished by the season's second episode, "Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore." Since then, The Mandalorian has been working on transforming Bo-Katan into the series' headline Mandalorian. Throw in a few unnecessary side quests, and Season 3's purpose has been a bit unfocused. However, it was reined in during "The Spies." Bo-Katan rallied her troops to officially retake the planet of Mandalore until they were confronted by Moff Gideon and a group of beskar-wearing Stormtroopers.
Moff Gideon hadn't appeared all season, so it was time for him to show up. Yet it was surprising to see him on Mandalore -- and wearing beskar armor. He captured Bo-Katan's troopers, and he villain-spieled his plan to take over the galaxy with an army of specialized soldiers. The thing is, part of Moff Gideon's speech got fans thinking. Is he actually Force-sensitive?
How the Force Works in Star Wars
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While lightsabers and flashy characters are the most memorable parts of Star Wars, the Force is the single most important thing in the franchise. As Yoda said in The Empire Strikes Back, it surrounded and bound the whole galaxy together. Thus, everyone was a part of the Living Force, but that didn't mean that everyone was Force-sensitive. It was only a small percentage of Star Wars characters who could actually use Force powers.
Of course, there were varying degrees of Force-sensitivity. On a basic level, certain Jedi were more powerful than others, but it went beyond that. Some characters -- like Maz Kanata or Princess Leia -- could feel the Force without being able to control it unless they're in dire or circumstances. Meanwhile, most of the galaxy's population wasn't able to do anything with the Force whatsoever. So, the question is how all of that applies to Moff Gideon after the events of "The Spies."
Could Moff Gideon Be Force-Sensitive?
Fans started to theorize that Moff Gideon was Force-sensitive during the Season 1 finale. He had the Darksaber, and at that point, lightsaber-wielders typically indicated Force-sensitivity. But the Darksaber's history turned out to be much deeper than that, and Gideon showed no signs of Force-sensitivity in Season 2. He wielded the blade with skill, but he never tapped into any kind of Force powers. However, Gideon reopened the discussion during his villain-spiel in "The Spies."
Talking about his new Dark Trooper suit, he said, "The most impressive improvement is that it has me in it. You see every society has something to offer. The Cloners. The Jedi. The Mandalorians. By aggregating the best of each, I will create an army that will bring order to the galaxy." There are two interesting parts to that statement. First, he said that putting himself in the suit of armor was a huge improvement, and acting like he's so much better than everyone else seems to point to something else. Second, he mentioned that the Jedi had something to offer his grand plan, which also seemed odd.
It's possible that Moff Gideon was just acting like a conceited villain, and maybe he mentioned the Jedi because he wanted to clone a Force-sensitive being. But it's also possible that he was talking about himself. If he were mildly Force-sensitive, it would help explain many things: his self-opinion, his obsession with the ever-powerful Grogu, his skill with the Darksaber and his ability to always come out on top. Granted, Moff Gideon being Force-sensitive is just a theory at this point, but it's a perfectly viable theory. Hopefully, The Mandalorian will reveal the answer at some point.
New episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 air Wednesdays on Disney+.