Disney+, Disney’s new streaming service, is relying on The Mandalorian to become its big original hit, and the company’s PR machine has been working overtime leading up to launch. If anything can be considered a surefire winner, it’s a Star Wars-themed action series.
We know Disney has sunk plenty of money into this show, so the production values and CGI will most certainly be stellar. There are some big names attached, including creator/writer Jon Favreau (Iron Man), plus a stellar cast that includes Game of Thrones veteran Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell) in the lead role, and Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Carl Weathers (Greef Carga), Giancarlo Esposito (Mof Gideon), Nick Nolte (the Ugnaught) and Werner Herzog (The Client) in supporting parts.
Can the show live up to the hype? We’ll be watching The Mandalorian episode by episode right here. Let’s dive in!
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN.
The Mandalorian: “Chapter One”
I jump into the premiere Disney+ episode of The Mandalorian with high expectations, hoping for a fun dustup of a space western with Star Wars-ian trappings starring a complex antihero driven by motivations both light and dark. I also trust showrunner Jon Favreau, who has a proven track record with action, humor and character-building. This is the man who kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lest we forget. Will he and his team get this right?
The opening sequence is spine-tingling. Even though this scene was revealed last night at halftime on Monday Night Football, I loved watching it in context. The show immediately plunges into wild western movie mode, with the lone Mandalorian walking into the frontier saloon packed with rough customers. After slugging his way through a raft of thugs, he finds his target and delivers his first line: “I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold.”
You had me at “warm.”
It all feels so familiar, but in a good way. The Mandalorian is loaded with nods to the original Star Wars trilogy, from land speeders and stormtroopers to people encased in carbonite, from rat’s nest spaceports to known alien races like Jawas, Kubaz and Bith. It even playfully continues the oddball use of the term “parsec.” The main story kicks off with our bounty hunter being sent on a mysterious underground mission by the devious Greef Carga (Carl Weathers) and a shady dealer known only as the Client (Werner Herzog). We meet a mysterious Mandalorian armorer (Emily Swallow), and get hints of a traumatic past and a charitable streak for our lead character. It’s all engaging.
Staying true to its western heart, The Mandalorian features a crotchety old frontiersman Ugnaught (Nick Nolte) and a bronco busting sequence (with a Blurrg), complete with a horse-whisperer style resolution. The hero tracks his highly dangerous quarry and reluctantly teams up with a gunslinging bounty droid (he hates droids) as they take on a warren of armed bad guys.
CAUTION: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!
The Mandalorian. IG-11. Disney:Lucasfilm
The nature of the “asset” is a cool twist, with the Mandalorian executing his newfound bounty droid buddy as it prepares to “terminate” a fledgling member of Yoda’s green, fuzzy-eared species. At the end of “Chapter One,” our suspicions are confirmed: our rough-and-tumble bounty hunter has a heart of gold.
Now that my “Chapter One” watch is over, I sense that we are being given the Boba Fett project fans have wanted for so long. The producers of The Mandalorian have made it expressly clear that their protagonist has no relationship to the infamous Boba Fett of the Star Wars movie series. That said, there is no way The Mandalorian can escape Boba Fett’s cult status, and they’ve used the connection to their full advantage in the marketing. Since the Boba Fett of the original films was a minor character with a small amount of screen time who never removed that fabulous Beskar helmet, he had the intriguing mystery of a faceless character.
The Mandalorian Disney/Lucasfilm
If you’ve seen the PR images and trailers for The Mandalorian, you’ve surely noticed how prominently that helmet is presented, and that familiar Mandalorian helm screams Boba Fett. It’s a smart move. It works story-wise, since the Mandalorian race produces legions of mercenaries and bounty hunters clad in the traditional Beskar plated steel, and it creates an anointed and salable tabula rasa, a blank slate, for Pascal’s new character to emerge from within.
The Mandalorian intentionally leans on classic Western movies, including the spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood as The Man With No Name, and the climactic action sequence in “Chapter One” hearkens back to the famous final shootout scenes in The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It all works and it’s all a lot of unabashed Star Wars fun.
Grade: A
Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian and Nick Nolte is Kuiil in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Two: “The Child”
Target in hand, The Mandalorian must now contend with scavengers.
Setting out with his “asset,” the Yoda-baby, in tow (in a floating mechanized bassinet), the Mandalorian is soon beset by scavenging villains. First comes a squad of Trandoshans (not Weekway, my bad) whom he defeats and discovers that they too are carrying a tracking fob. That evening, the little Yoda-baby tries to help heal the Mando’s wounds. The next day, the Mando discovers Jawas brutally stripping down his spaceship, and chases their escaping sandcrawler. It only gets worse from there.
The Mandalorian picks up where it left off in “Chapter One,” with some nice action and appearances by aliens familiar to Star Wars fans. Once again, “fun” is the operative word here. With the Yoda-baby’s adorable cuteness and the Mando’s lousy negotiating skills on display, the show’s humor-laced narrative bounces along as the quest to obtain “the Egg” for the Jawas unfolds.
The Mandalorian. Disney+
We’re exploring the original trilogy Star Wars galaxy here, teaming up with an Ugnaught named Kuiil, seeing the interior bridge of a sandcrawler and getting to know a Mandalorian who apparently removes his supercool Beskar helmet for nothing and nobody (thus far). And guess what? The Mando is looking for a crew member. Not only that, he’s starting to question the nature of his underworld-initiated mission now that the asset has turned out to be a very special green infant.
The battle between Mando and the rhino-like “mother” (Mud Horn) creature is a blast, from its inspired and mud-caked action slugfest to the moment where the Yoda-baby uses its Force powers to lift the huge creature — the onscreen moment is near-magical — to save his protector from certain pulverization. The bond between mercenary and the baby grows, and it’s oh-so satisfying to watch.
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN.
The second episode of The Mandalorian shines just as brightly as the first, telling a simple tale in a gripping way. While serious story elements will surely follow, the storytellers are obviously committed to staying true to the lighthearted hopefulness of Star Wars: A New Hope, the film this TV show tacks closely to.
With his pursuit of “assets” and sacred objects in desolate places, an ironic sense of humor, tangling with bad guys and monsters and getting banged up all the time, our new Mandalorian emerges as a rough-and-tumble, endearing character who has more in common with Indiana Jones than Boba Fett, and that’s absolutely fine with me.
Grade: A
Chapter 3. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian and Emily Swallow is the Armorer in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Three: The Sin”
This episode starts off with the Mandalorian delivering the baby Yoda to the shady Client, but the bounty hunter displays some concern for the welfare of the child he’s relinquished for a handsome reward of Beskar steel. He immediately takes his prize to the legendary Armorer, where we see another handful of Mandalorians (one of whom’s green-themed armor looks a lot like Boba Fett’s) and learn something of their warrior ethos: “This is the way.”
During the ritual of the forging, the Armorer uses the Mando’s new Beskar steel and makes a batch of rare projectiles called “whistling birds.” The procedure also appears to engage Mando’s memories of being violently orphaned as a child. Mando selects a new mission as far away as possible — the Ocean Dunes of Carnac — but the fate of the Yoda baby still nags at his conscience.
Chapter 3. The Child and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
In every great story, the hero must act, and Mando’s first heroic action lies in his decision to abort his departure and return to find the Yoda baby. His motivation is protective, paternal, and without hope of profit. These forces are obviously foreign to him, but also undeniable. Once Mando rescues the little green dude (dudette?), the tracking fob of every bounty hunter in town activates, resulting in a hoot of an action sequence.
As with the Star Wars movie series, the Stormtroopers end up being cannon fodder, no matter how hard The Mandalorian tries to make them more rough-and-tumble, but I will admit the action sequence where Mando works his way through the boys in dirty white is admirably creative. You have to be a fan of Saturday matinee action and adventure to truly appreciate this series, including nick-of-time rescues by the cavalry (in this instance, the cavalry is a platoon of Mando’s heavily armed fellow Mandalorians).
Chapter 3. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
We get more nods to the original Star Wars movie in “The Sin” — watch out for an IT-O Interrogator Droid (the floating black sphere that Darth Vader used to menace the imprisoned Princess Leia) and blasted Rodian bounty hunters. While these New Hope reminders are a barrel fun, they could eventually feel overdone if the show doesn’t let up.
I’m not overly worried about that, though. This show is an exhilarating blast, and with the hero and Yoda baby now escaped and on the run, The Mandalorian‘s storyline feels primed and ready to spread its wings and dig into the depths of a complicated anti-hero, reveal the mysteries of the legendary Mandalorian culture, and fly into the great reaches of the galactic unknown.
Grade: A
Chapter 4. Gina Carano is Cara Dune in THE MANDALORIAN exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Four: Sanctuary”
Right from the get-go, we realize the remote Sorgan farming village in “Sanctuary” needs to be rescued from a muddy band of raiding Klatooinians equipped with an Imperial AT-ST Walker, and we suspect we know which reluctant bounty hunter is gonna get hired for the job. Enter the much-awaited and ballyhooed former shock trooper Cara Dune (Gina Carano), who just happens to be laying low on the same planet as Mando. The dynamic duo are soon committed to defeating the Klatooinians and saving the ancient Sorgan hamlet.
From there on, “Sanctuary” offers the high-grade, bread-and-butter action we’ve come to expect from The Mandalorian, layered with sweet “stop touching things” baby Yoda scenes and Mando’s mutually respectful tactical and strategic interaction alongside the equally-skilled Cara Dune. The show has proven adept at balancing its more easily paced scenes with action sequences, with “Sanctuary” serving as yet another fine example of its strengths.
Chapter 4. The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian isn’t easing off its Western movie influences either, with “Sanctuary” pretty much copy-pasting the plot of The Magnificent Seven, where gunslingers are hired to protect a sleepy village from outlaws. The episode also has something of a High Plains Drifter feel, where another hired gunslinger (Clint Eastwood) trains the citizens and turns their town into a trap for its violent antagonists.
A more trenchant comparison might be Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, on which The Magnificent Seven is based. That comparison is apt, since George Lucas has openly acknowledged basing the original Star Wars movie on The Hidden Fortress, another of Kurosawa’s samurai films. With The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau and his team seem to be trying to recreate some of the magic of the original trilogy, so it makes sense that they would go back to Lucas’ source material.
Since The Mandalorian is a space Western, it’s no surprise that the beautiful, steely-eyed, sharpshootin’ village widow Omera (Julia Jones) falls for the dashing Beskar steel-masked stranger; it’s a match made in Star Wars heaven, but of course it isn’t to be. Omera’s daughter Winta (Isla Farris) loves the big-eyed green Yoda baby (which Omera identifies as a “boy”), but their brother-sisterly relationship is not to be, either. Mando’s gotta keep running, but if a galaxy-hopping, sassy, female mercenary might come soaring into his life …
Chapter 4. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian and Gina Carano is Cara Dune in THE MANDALORIAN exclusively on Disney+
The former MMA star turned actress Gina Carano is a good choice for Cara Dune; she has the right combination of hardness, warmth and physicality. Her introductory scrap with Mando is bruising and fun, with a nice bit of scene-capper “want some soup?” dialogue. Carano’s acting can get a bit stiff, but I’d expect that to smooth out once she gets more screen time and grows into her character. We also fully expect some sexual tension to start sparking between her and Mando later on.
“Sanctuary” was a satisfying episode of The Mandalorian, complete with the introduction of Cara Dune and the first glimpse of helmet removal. It keeps up the fine Western-influenced storytelling and action of the show up to this point. It looks like Mando and the little green guy will be dodging bounty hunters and saving innocents well into the future. I just wish the episodes were longer.
GRADE: A
Jake Cannavale is Toro Calican and Pedro Pascal is The Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Five: The Gunslinger”
“The Gunslinger” opens predictably, with Mando dodging in his spaceship while under fire; life isn’t easy when every bounty hunter in the Galaxy has you on speed-dial on their tracking fob. With his vessel badly damaged, Mando slams on the brakes — Maverick’s trademark dogfighting move in Top Gun — allowing his pursuer to overshoot him and be dispatched with an easy potshot. And the closest out-of-the-way spaceport available for Mando to land and make repairs is … Mos Eisley, on Tatooine.
Mando lands his ship at a repair dock, exchanges a bit of dialogue with the feisty mechanic Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris) and heads off to explore the “wretched hive of scum and villany.” From that point on, the Star Wars: A New Hope throwback fastballs come fast and furious, so you’d better love that nostalgic kinda thing. Mando arrives at the famous Cantina where Obi-Wan lopped off a guy’s arm and meets Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale), who just happens to be sitting with his feet up in what looks like the same booth where Han Solo shot Greedo (first or second, depending on who you ask).
Jake Cannavale is Toro Calican and Ming-Na Wen is Fennec Shand in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Being a rookie in the bounty-hunting business, Calican engages Mando to join him in his mission to hunt down Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), an elite mercenary. A New Hope references erupt everywhere — the Dune Sea, the Hutt, Banthas, Tusken raiders, Beggar’s Canyon, etc. — as the duo travels across the desert wastes. A few scraps and weapon blasts later, Mando and Baby Yoda are on their way again.
If The Mandalorian was doing some heavy toe-dipping in the New Hope throwback pool before now, it dove in headfirst with “The Gunslinger.” The nostalgia surely provides a blast for some viewers but may verge on tedious for others; its fun, but leaning so much on the old pillars of the mythos prevents the show from erecting its own. And The Mandalorian is absolutely dripping with fresh potential, so far as mythology goes.
Should we be concerned? Naw. Showrunner Jon Favreau and company are just playing in the old sandbox for a bit. They’ll venture into the wild unknown soon enough.
Peli Motto (Amy Sedaris), The Child and the Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
However, of the five The Mandalorian episodes thus far, “The Gunslinger” is the weakest. Beyond providing us with a trip down memory lane, the episode’s Mando/Calican buddy storyline felt a little stale and uninspired. Sedaris was fun as Peli Motto. My interest went up as soon as Fennec Shand appeared, played with devilish salt by the always-delightful Ming-Na Wen, but she was given way too little to do and gone way too soon; I’d have vastly preferred her character survive to fight another day (and she might have, depending on what was going on in that mysterious final shot).
In fact, “The Gunslinger” illuminated a story problem every episode will have to deal with: Baby Yoda. Mando can’t cart the little green dude around on dangerous missions, so in many episodes he’ll have to find a babysitter (the function provided by Motto here). Perhaps Mando will eventually find a suitable permanent sanctuary for the child so he can leave it in capable hands when he’s called into action; otherwise it becomes a constant bump in the plotting road.
GRADE: B
Chapter 6. Natalia Tena is Xi’an and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Six: The Prisoner”
Landing the Razor Crest at a space station repair facility, Mando makes a rendezvous with the shady Ranzar Malk (Mark Boone Junior), an underground operative Mando used to run with in the “good old days.” Malk is organizing a rescue mission to spring a captured member of his company. His team includes Mayfield (Bill Burr), the Devaronian Burg (Clancy Brown), the droid Zero (Richard Aoyade) and the Twi’lek Xi’an (Game of Thrones veteran Natalia Tena, who played the wilding Osha). It’s a nefarious, rowdy bunch, and the stoic Mando kinda fits right in.
Staying true to its wild west theme, the opening of “The Prisoner” smacks of old cowboy films where a group of talented but unfriendly outlaws are hired to carry out a shady mission. The target is aboard a maximum security New Republic prison ship manned by droid guards (including the R1 astromech series). Unfortunately for our rescue team, there is a human guard (Matt Lanter) on the bridge, and he ends up activating an emergency signal that puts a New Republic attack team hot on their trail.
Chapter 6. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian, Bill Burr is Mayfield and Mark Boone, Jr. is Ran Malk in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Once the Twi’lek prisoner Quinn (Ismael Cruz Cordova), brother to Xi’an, is released, the outlaws double-cross Mando and toss him in the prison cell as they try to make their escape. The rest of the episode shines with smart writing, cat-and-mouse action and yet more double-crosses.
“The Prisoner” provides plenty of cool Star Wars-ian visuals and atmospherics, from the reflection of the Razor Crest’s dashboard instruments on Zero’s smooth metal eyes to Xi’an’s saucy Twi’lek attitude. The Star Wars throwbacks pop everywhere, from Gungan jokes to the Razor Crest secretly piggybacking on a much more powerful ship, as Han once did with the Millennium Falcon in the original trilogy.
Chapter 6. Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian, Clancy Brown is Burg and Bill Burr is Mayfield in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Structure-wise, the outlaws’ discovery of Baby Yoda aboard the Razor Crest and Burg’s cover-blowing destruction of a Mouse droid aboard the prison ship are a bit ham-fisted, but whatever — we’re here for the well-choreographed action, and we get it. Bouncing from a John Woo/Tarantino guns-in-the-face multiple standoff to an inspired prison cell breakout by Mando, the episode sails along.
Packed with The Mandalorian‘s now familiar tongue-in-cheek humor, superb CGI and creative action sequences, “The Prisoner” may be the series’ best episode so far. The continued Star Wars nods may eventually wear out their welcome, but the casting of Hollywood veterans like Tena, comedian/actor Burr (Breaking Bad), Lanter (Timeless) and even a cameo by executive producer Dave Filoni (he’s the New Republic X-Wing Pilot with a yellow Rebel Alliance starbird on his helmet) shows how much fun the cast and crew are having, and it’s contagious.
Chapter 6. Mark Boone, Jr. is Ran Malk in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
It’s no coincidence that Baby Yoda was largely sidelined in this one (though he still able to feed us with big servings of cuteness, and be placed in significant peril), which allowed Mando’s character to operate on a more robust and freewheeling basis. Facing off against a bevy of highly capable opponents, Mando really gets to show his stuff. And while the latest installments are driven more by episodic, standalone stories than a seasonal arc, The Mandalorian is always such a blast that it doesn’t really matter.
GRADE: A
Giancarlo Esposito is Mof Gideon in the Disney+ series THE MANDALORIAN.
The Mandalorian: “Chapter Seven: The Reckoning”
“The Reckoning” kicks off with a deal. Greef Karga contacts Mando via holographic post and offers a let-bygones-be-bygones compromise that sounds great for all involved: Mando returns to Nevarro with baby Yoda as bait in a trap to murder the Client, who has brought in more ex-stormtroopers and despotically “impeded the livelihood of the (Bounty Hunter) Guild.” After that, Mando can keep Baby Yoda and Karga will clear his name with the Guild.
Though he obviously dislikes the idea of exposing Baby Yoda to danger, Mando hedges his bets by returning to Sorgan to persuade Cara Dune to join the mission. She likes the idea of blasting an Imperial warlord, so off they go. Mando then returns to Arvala-7 to enlist the wise Ugnaught Kuiil, his Bluurgs and his reconstructed and reprogrammed butler/protector version of the bounty assassin robot IG-11. And Team Mandalorian is formed.
Carl Weathers is Greeg Carga, Gina Carano is Cara Dune, Pedro Pascal is the Mandalorian and Werner Herzog is the Client in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
Of course, conflict abounds among the disparate and argumentative crew. Mando is wary of IG-11, while Dune and Kuill bristle at each others’ company. They return to the volcanic Nevarro to meet up with Karga and head into town, taking casualties after getting attacked by nasty pterodactyl/dragon beasts along the way. Having been healed by Baby Yoda, Karga foils a planned double-cross and a new plan is devised. Of course it all goes fabulously haywire with the introduction of the ex-Imperial mastermind Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Espositio of Breaking Bad fame), and leaves us with the series’ first cliffhanger.
“The Reckoning” hits the target by reuniting Mando and Dune. Throw in Kuill and IG-11 and all of a sudden Mando has the crew the previous six episodes seeded for him. We get some great glimpses into the crew characters’ backstory, from Dune’s “dropper” days to Kuill’s indentured Imperial servitude to witnessing IG-11’s evolution. And you know Mando and IG-11 are set to develop a highly-amusing love-hate relationship over time.
Troopers in THE MANDALORIAN, exclusively on Disney+
The Baby Yoda babysitter problem I mentioned in earlier reviews is solved by the inclusion of Kuill, IG-11 and his Bluurg bodyguard squad (though its currently uncertain if Kuill’s gonna last beyond “Chapter Seven”). Baby Yoda’s Force-choking of Dune during her armwrestling match with Mando is hilarious, and both his cuteness and Force-value to the mission team (healing) are on full display. Gina Carano has shaken off the stiffness we saw occasionally in her first appearance in “Chapter 4: Sanctuary” and has found the tough-but-warm core of her character.
Powered by the assembly of Mando’s crew and full of action, humor, peril, tragedy, neatly injected exposition and the arrival of a new, high-powered villain, “The Reckoning” is super-entertaining and stands out as the finest episode of The Mandalorian thus far. It’s incredibly satisfying to watch and feel the story and character pieces developed in the prior six installments be forged together inside one crucible and then loosed upon the galaxy. There are no big surprises in “The Reckoning.” We all knew this was coming. We were waiting for it. We were not disappointed.
GRADE: A+
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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