WiC Watches: The Mandalorian

Emily Swallow is the Armorer and Pablo Pascal is the Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+

The Mandalorian: “Chapter Eight: Redemption”

Right off the bat, the showrunners make an interesting storytelling choice for the opening scene of “Redemption.” Instead of jumping back into the previous episode’s cliffhanger standoff, we get an extended and humorous scene between two Imperial scouts delayed by Moff Gideon’s brutal antics in town, including a nice play on how the poor troopers can’t shoot straight. They meet the end reserved for most stormtroopers when the revamped IG-11 arrives to make a timely rescue of Baby Yoda. It totally works.

Back in the Nevarro space port, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) and his rogue regiment bring out the heavy artillery to blast Mando, Cara Dune and Greef Karga out of their hiding place. In a riveting moment, Moff Gideon displays his top-notch intel network by announcing the backgrounds of both Cara Dune and Mando. We learn Cara Dune is from Alderaan, Princess Leia’s home planet destroyed by Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin aboard the original Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope. Gideon goes on to expose Mando as a de-commissioned Mandalorian hunter named Dyn Jarren, a survivor of the Empire’s bloody conquest of Mandalore, specifically the massacre of thousands of Mandalorian recruits known as “the Night of a Thousand Tears.”

Jason Sudeikis and Adam Pally are Scout Troopers in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+

Moff Gideon continues, exposing Greef Karga as a “disgraced magistrate.” Whew. Then we dive into the complete memory of Mando’s traumatic orphaning and rescue, which we had only seen in fragments up to this point. We see Mando’s dramatic salvation at the hands of a platoon of Mandalorian hunters in jet packs, and hear the story of his induction into their fighting ranks as a foundling.

It’s The Mandalorian, so there’s lots of action right around the corner. IG-11, now programmed to “nurse and protect” by the late Kuill, races into town in an attempt to overwhelm Gideon’s forces. The shots of IG-11 covering Baby Yoda as he charges into battle are priceless. After some superb action where every member of the motley company acts to “nurse and protect” each other, the group is trapped again.

IG-11 (Taika Waititi) in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+

The badly-wounded Mando is down and dying and the stormtroopers are burning his team out of their hiding place. But the bad guys don’t have Baby Yoda on their side. The series story arcs continue popping as Mando’s helmet comes off; we get our first look at Pedro Pascal. But he’s still true to his creed, because IG-11 is the only one to see him, and it’s not a “living thing.”

A visit with the mysterious Armorer in the midst of the ruins of the covert results in Mando being given a new mission (return the foundling Baby Yoda to his own kind), a new role (as father to the foundling), the gear of the Rising Pheonix (a jet pack!) and his own signet: the Mudhorn.

There’s almost too much good stuff. The Armorer gets her own awesome action sequence, wreaking a little vengeance on the stormtroopers. One lava river, an R2-D2-type rowing droid and the magnificent sacrifice of IG-11 later, and we’ve got a jet pack-outfitted Mando versus Gideon-in-a-TIE-fighter midair duel on our hands. In the end, Mando and Baby Yoda fly off into the sunset.

Mof Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+

I had expected that Mando would end up with a crew at the end of the season, but it looks like he’ll maintain his lone wolf status heading into season two, though we’d expect to see more of Dune and the irascible Greef Karga. That brings us to Esposito, once again displaying the cool and viper-like elegance that made Gus Fring so terrifying on Breaking Bad. He plays Moff Gideon in a similar, spine-tingling fashion. He gets the final shot of the season, and it’s pure melodra at its best. We now have a villain who’s the equal of our hero.

Firing on all story cylinders and artfully delivering peril and payoff, “Redemption” is easily the best episode of The Mandalorian so far. Wildly entertaining, this installment gives fans of the show a highly-satisfying season capper and, more importantly, lays the groundwork for a second season we can honestly expect to be even better than the first.

GRADE: A+

Please excuse me now, because I have to go back and watch “Redemption” again. Season 2 can’t come too soon.

The Mandalorian season one is complete. Stay tuned to WiC for any and all news on the upcoming season 2!

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