Man, this Corruption on Mandalore duology in its original form really failed to convey its plot. It’s clear that the original intention was that the existence of the black market wasn’t the mystery, but instead that the big reveal was supposed to be that the black market was actually entirely unnecessary, artificially forced into existence by Almec so that he could secretly control the flow of cash. But the way it unfolds originally, the first episode focused too much on ‘black market bad’ with the poisoned kids, and then the second episode focused too much on the cadets instead of on what they were investigating.

It also felt awkward to have Satine discover corruption and then decide the best solution was to have a Jedi become a school teacher.

I’ve now intercut these episodes so the plot is as follows:

Satine knows that Mandalore has a reliance on the black market, and some corruption.
To invest in the issue of corruption long term, she embeds a Jedi in the academy to help ensure a lasting resistance against corruption on a generational basis. (Implicitly, she does this secretly, because the Mandalorian population at large don’t trust Jedi due to their mutual history.)
On the same trip, she invites Padmé, who’s popular on Mandalore because of her support for their neutrality, and who may be able to help her politically.
Ahsoka is uncertain of this responsibility - using the best scene of Ahsoka and Padmé on Padmé’s ship from the Assassin episode (which she also arrives on Mandalore in) - now giving Ahsoka more of an arc throughout, building on their relationship, and tying them together a bit better even though they don’t share other scenes together this episode.
Ahsoka unintentionally inspires the kids to investigate the black market, which they do offscreen.
The kids report that the black market may actually be linked to government officials to Satine (Korkie’s aunt, so a sensible move). THIS is the trigger for the plot - that the black market may be linked to government corruption, not that either exists in isolation.
Satine tells the kids not to investigate (because they’re kids, so a sensible move), but frustrated they decide to call Almec.
Before they can do that, Satine decides to take action - and she and Padmé go to talk to Almec (another senior official, so a sensible move).
Almec shows little interest, saying it’s probably Death Watch, which Satine finds a bit nonsensical. (This makes the scene in this context a little funny and Almec more flippant, which I think is fun.) Suspicious, and not knowing who else to trust (sensible, because she now suspects it may go as high as Almec) she decides to take some action herself.
The kids call Almec, who’s already suspicious that Satine may be closing in because of their previous conversation. He tells the kids to meet him that night, knowing he has to act fast. This justifies his fairly radical actions now - he’s more panicked now than in the original episodes.
The kids attend the academy, where they tell Ahsoka about what’s going on. This brings her into the story, and now that she’s learned a lot more caution than her season one self, she’s wary, and decides to keep an eye on them.
Late in the evening, Satine and Padmé (who’s always up for capers like this) go and check out the docks, where they see an easily bribed guy. I’ve changed the dialogue “A customs official” to “A government official” to make it explicit that they’ve just had their suspicions confirmed.
Again, they go to Almec (still sensible because they don’t completely suspect him, and they have more evidence now, and they’d always prefer to go through official channels). He rebuffs them once more, and they retreat for the night.
Almec now knows for certain he’s made, so while he moves to arrest the kids that night (as he always intended to since the moment they told him they had evidence), off camera he arranges the arrest of Satine. Padmé is unaware of this and doesn’t follow the rest of the plot (she enjoys a good night’s rest in the ambassador’s suite, presumably).
Ahsoka, now savvy and patient, saves the kids from arrest by Almec’s corrupt guards. They realise that Almec was corrupt and rush to Satine (as a senior official who can help them, still sensible), only to find her taken.
Ahsoka puts a plan into motion immediately, giving Almec what he wants (the arrested kids) and impicates Satine (who she knows Almec opposes) in order to gain his trust. This doesn’t work, but only because he’s not very trusting, but it was a perfectly sensible idea. It also gets her close to the prison.
She moves to plan B, and tries to free Satine herself. She falls into a trap, where Almec freely reveals his own corruption, but she turns the tables and imprisons him, freeing Satine, and implicitly rooting out Almec’s corrupt network.
As a note: Plan B also includes using the kids as part of the plan. I thought about trimming this, but I think it ties more into the Ahsoka-as-teacher plotline, and contrasts well against her cautioning patience earlier. She trusts these kids to act even in the face of danger, but she just knows that there was an unsuitable time for it (breaking into a government warehouse) and a suitable time for it (to free someone from illegal imprisonment and root out a usurper). It shows she’s a bit more discerning, even when she’s being bold. This also kind of shows that she expected to be drawn into a trap (and use that to get Almec to confess), if you want to interpret it that way.
Ahsoka - now no longer required because she’s both taught the kids about corruption AND triggered a series of events which has likely made the population of Mandalore more savvy about corruption - is picked up by Anakin.
But Padmé, in my version, remains, for a while. She has dinner with Satine, where they discuss their happiness at the outcome while still bemoaning the cost of corruption across the galaxy. But true to her earlier word, Satine now invites her to come and see a new hospital (the one where in the original they saw the poisoned kids, but here free of context it’s just A Good Thing) and enjoy peaceful mandalore to raise their spirits. They toast, and we end the episode. Mandalore’s now left in a better place than in the original version, and having Padmé stay there for a while is a nice way to keep it feeling relevant even if we don’t revisit them again soon.

I think this all ties together and flows well now, allowing the plots to interweave whilst keeping all of the character motivations completely sensible, and minimising the awful poisoned drinks plot and the kids we aren’t emotionally invested in. They’re now well-meaning but essentially still a foil for Ahsoka, which emphasises her growth.

I’m really glad I got this to work, because (strategically for the whole show) I needed us to spend more time with Satine, Padmé, Ahsoka and Mandalore.

This episode should be out later today, I still need to finalise it and then upload it.