The Mandalore Plot

"If you ignore the past, you jeopardize your future."

- Moral

"The Mandalore Plot" is the twelfth episode in Season Two of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It aired on January 29, 2010.

Official description
While investigating rumors of conspiracy surrounding Duchess Satine of Mandalore, Obi-Wan uncovers the truth about a mysterious Mandalorian plot.

Plot summary
Obi-Wan arrives at Sundari on Mandalore, and is escorted via speeder to meet Duchess Satine. He is met by Prime Minister Almec, who claims Mandalore's violence died out with the warriors on Concordia, Mandalore's moon. Satine arrives, and she and Obi-Wan engage in a brief, flirtatious conversation (mixed with mild aversion) before Obi-Wan shows her a hologram of a figure in Mandalorian armor attacking a Republic cruiser. Satine assures him that she is not behind the attack, and she and Obi-Wan set out for a tour of the city.

They travel to a garden, where Satine tells Obi-Wan of a rogue group of Mandalorians called Death Watch, which is opposed to Satine's peaceful ways. She claims she has worked to root out the group of criminals, and has tracked them to Concordia.

Meanwhile, on Concordia, a man in Mandalorian armor is conversing with a hologram of Count Dooku, who has promised to support Death Watch. They plan to rally more citizens to their cause so they can overthrow the Duchess.

Back on Mandalore, Satine and Obi-Wan are touring the gardens when there is an explosion. Satine and Obi-Wan rush in to rescue the injured, and see a hologram showing the crest of Death Watch. Obi-Wan spots a man fleeing the scene, and pursues him through the gardens. After a brief struggle, the man jumps off a balcony, preferring to commit suicide rather than being kidnapped and interrogated by the Jedi. However, Satine and Obi-Wan manage to reach the dying man on the lower floor, a few seconds before his decease, when the Mandalorian whispers his last words to the Duchess in the dialect of Concordia.

Obi-Wan and Satine travel to the moon, and are greeted by Governor Pre Vizsla. The Jedi decides to secretly investigate the situation on Concordia and gives Satine an earpiece so they can communicate, then takes a speeder bike and travels to one of the moon's supposedly nonoperational mines, where, after a small scuffle, he is captured by two armed Mandalorians. He then contacts Satine, who is drinking with Vizsla, pretending Obi-Wan is meditating in his chamber and is going to join them in a few minutes. She excuses herself, and sets off on a speeder bike towards the mine, where she shuts down the mining machine which would have crushed Kenobi. They escape through a turbolift, but are cut off by a group of Death Watch members in armor. The group's leader orders an evacuation of the mines, then reveals his face. It is Governor Vizsla, who has been plotting against Satine and the Jedi. He gives Kenobi's lightsaber back to him, then brandishes his own Darksaber. They duel, and Vizsla is defeated. He orders his warriors to kill Kenobi, who escapes with Satine down the turbolift shaft. They journey back to Sundari, where Obi-Wan tells Satine he believes the Separatists are aiding Death Watch. But despite the evidence, Satine vows to stay out of the war. Anakin arrives to report for duty, and he and Obi-Wan join Satine aboard her starship.

Cast

 * Anna Graves as Satine Kryze
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Warrior #2
 * Corey Burton as Count Dooku, Warrior #1, Mandalorian Bomber
 * Jon Favreau as Pre Vizsla / Warrior Commander
 * Julian Holloway as Prime Minister Almec
 * Greg Proops as Tal Merrik
 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Unidentified Mandalorian Guard
 * Tom Kane as Narrator

Behind the scenes
"This is how George has always envisioned the Mandalorians. Of course, people immediately think of the iconic Fett armor, because that's all we've had to go on for so many years; it's mysterious, and we've built up that mystique as fans. But Boba and Jango Fett aren't necessarily what I would consider accurate representatives of the Mando culture. They're bounty hunters and outlaws -- totally rogue. If you go way back to the original concepts, the Mandalorians were a group of supercommando troops; it's only now that George is really bringing that to the screen. They're in the series because he wanted to define their culture, to explore the foundations of this warrior faction."

- Dave Filoni on the introduction of Mandalorians

The elongated shape of the Mandalorian helmets in the episode were inspired by Boba Fett's character design in The Star Wars Holiday Special.

The hexagon design seen in the chest piece of Mandalorian armor is visible in elements of Mandalorian architecture.

The planet of Mandalore appears significantly different from all of its past appearances, as a result of its new backstory involving a conflict with the Republic. A reconciliation of the two portrayals was established with retcons issued by The Essential Atlas reference book, and the later Star Wars: The Clone Wars: New Battlefronts: The Visual Guide guide book, which state that the expansive white-sand desert seen in the episode is only one aspect of the overall landscape of Mandalore's surface.

The character design for Duchess Satine Kryze and her royal guard were based on abandoned character design concepts for The Phantom Menace. The design for Satine was based on a Queen Amidala illustration by Iain McCaig, and the design for her royal guard came from the same artist's experiments with Sith.