Editor’s Note: The following contains minor spoilers from Season 3 Episode 7 of The Mandalorian.With The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 7, we can see the makings of the dreaded First Order are finally starting to take shape in the time of the New Republic, and the penultimate episode also revealed a significant contributor to the dark organization is none other than Commandant Brendol Hux (Brian Gleeson). Does the evil Imperial Officer’s surname sound familiar? If so, that’s because he’s the father of General Armitage Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) – the First Order military leader responsible for creating Starkiller Base in the sequel trilogy. Commandant Brendol Hux joins Grand Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and other established Imperial Warlords on the Shadow Council, where exploiting Mandalore for its resources is only a tiny part of their master plan to retake the galaxy.

Commandant Brendol Hux’s inclusion and the introduction of the Shadow Council is a significant stepping stone for what’s next for Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni‘s “Mandoverse”. The group introduces a new elite fighting force in the Praetorian Guard, whom we later see protecting Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, and teasing the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn ahead of his live-action debut in Ahsoka.

Although this may be the Commandant’s first appearance in live-action, Commandant Brendol Hux has a surprisingly long and storied history in the Star Wars universe and achieved a long-lasting legacy that would ultimately outlive him.

Commandant Brendol Hux’s Military Career Began During the Clone Wars

Before becoming a loyal servant of the Galactic Empire, Commandant Brendol Hux was once a young junior officer during the Clone Wars. Those familiar with the fan-favorite Star Wars era already know that most of the Galactic Republic’s forces were primarily comprised of Clone Troopers. While select clones did achieve the ranks of commander and captains, most leadership responsibilities were handled by non-clone officers and Jedi generals. During his tenure as a junior officer for the Republic, Commandant Hux developed a great level of admiration and respect for the members of the clone army. Not because he felt any comradely attachment to the troops he served alongside but because he felt they were a perfect breed of loyal soldier whose pre-programmed fealty to their government could easily create the greatest military force in the galaxy.

This belief would likely be further justified when Order 66 was enacted and commanded that all the Clones turn on and kill their Jedi Master. However, if Commandant Brendol Hux had watched Star Wars: The Bad Batch, he would see that Clone Troopers weren’t as unflappably loyal as they initially seemed.

RELATED: ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Episode 7 Easter Eggs

Commandant Hux Eventually Becomes a Ruthless Drill Sergeant

The Clone Troopers served their purpose in overthrowing the Republic and plunging the Jedi Order into extinction. Still, Emperor Palpatine quickly saw that the once powerful group of genetic soldiers would not last much longer. The DNA that the Clones used from bounty hunter Jango Fett was already being stretched to its brink before the war’s conclusion, and after Order 66 was enacted, more and more Clones began to rebel and question the motives of the Empire. As a result, the Clone home world of Kamino was sacked, and production of future Clone Troopers officially ceased, prompting the Empire to recruit like-minded members of their cause instead.

Thus, training centers for the future Stormtroopers and Imperial Officers of the Galactic Empire were created, and Commandant Brendol Hux was assigned to one such facility on the planet Arkanis. Suffice it to say, Commandant Hux was not at all pleased with having to deal with human students and the imperfections that came with them, such as free will and free thought. Commandant Hux almost certainly would have preferred to work with a new batch of Clone Troopers, but that was no longer possible following the fall of Kamino. Instead, Commandant Hux would have to make due and quickly began overseeing who would be a valued member of the Imperial military.

This leads to the events of the 2015 novel, Servants of the Empire: The Secret Academy, which is the first canonical appearance of Commandant Brendol Hux. Taking place sometime in between the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the story shows a group of young cadets (some secret rebels and Jedi) as they enter Commandant Hux’s academy on Arkanis. While there, they discover that the academy has a secret organization overseen by Commandant Hux, called the “Commandant’s Cadets”. These students were considered the best by the Commandant’s standards, and the effort to be accepted into the fast-tracked group of soldiers involved torture tactics and emotional manipulation. Ultimately for any of the students at the academy to be considered for Commandant Hux’s program, they would have to prove their worth by murdering a fellow cadet.

Brendol Becomes a Cruel Father to Armitage Hux

Sometime during the Empire’s reign, Commandant Brendol Hux had a son in Armitage Hux. However, the future First Order General was deemed illegitimate by his father as he was the product of an affair between the Commandant and a maid. Commandant Hux would still go on to raise his child, but if you thought he was cruel to his recruits, Armitage received an even more severe level of cruelty. Be it because of the Commandant’s fierce devotion to the Empire or simply his resentment of the child’s existence, Commandant Hux repeatedly beat and abused his son in the hopes of turning him into a fierce leader someday.

Commandant Hux Survives the Fall of the Empire

When Emperor Palpatine is killed, and the Empire is officially dissolved, Commandant Brendol Hux and his Arkanis facility become one of many targets of the New Republic. As we know from The Mandalorian, the Commandant would survive the encounter and be asked to join the Shadow Council, with the organization’s other members considering him worthy of the cause. When he joined the still-mysterious group isn’t exactly known, but in his brief dialogue with Grand Moff Gideon, it’s clear that his obsession with cloning has not ceased all these years later.

Commandant Hux’s cloning research may be just a hobby right now. Still, it’s more than plausible that his work could directly lead to Emperor Palpatine’s inevitable resurrection in the sequel trilogy. Until then, Hux still seems to oversee recruitment for the Imperial Remnant, supplying his allies with any troopers, ships, or bodyguards they may need.

Read More About ‘The Mandalorian’