Today's episode of The Mandalorian was one of the show's longest yet, but the focus wasn't on Din Djarin and Grogu. It wasn't even on a Mandalorian, for that matter. Instead, we paid a visit to Coruscant where Dr. Pershing was revealed to be part of the New Republic's Amnesty Program for those who once served the Empire.
Rather than jailing them, those who once served the Empire are given the chance to be rehabilitated, and Pershing delivers a speech which sees him reflect on the work he reluctantly did for Moff Gideon.
He says the villain twisted his cloning research into something "cruel and inhumane" in order for a "desperate individual" to use cloning technology "to secure more power for himself." If Gideon really was trying to resurrect Emperor Palpatine, it appears Pershing was unaware, though there's plenty of room for interpretation with these remarks.
Regardless, the scientist goes on to explain that his work revolved around combining multiple DNA strands to create replicas that incorporated the best genetic attributes of both donors. So, Palpatine + Grogu = Supreme Leader Snoke?
We later see Pershing cross paths with Elia Kane, another of Gideon's loyalists. As the episode progresses, they grow close and, after becoming disillusioned with the New Republic's lack of interest in his work, Pershing agrees to travel to one of the scrapped Star Destroyers in order to retrieve what he needs to continue his cloning work.
However, Elia set him up and he's arrested by the New Republic. They hook the unwitting cloner up to a device that looks an awful lot like an Imperial Mind Flayer, but insist it's been modified to simply help remove some of his traumatic memories so he can better overcome the Empire's indoctrination.
Elia watches on and secretly dials the machine right up, likely damaging Pershing's mind beyond repair. Clearly, she wanted to take him off the board, perhaps because he knows too much about what Gideon had planned...she certainly looks pretty evil, anyway! Unfortunately, that's where we leave these two, so we'd guess answers are coming in the weeks ahead.
What did you think about "The Convert"?