This has been such a weird season of The Mandalorian thus far. It is only now, 5/8 of the way through it, that there is some sort of structure to the episodes, and even now, there are still a ton of questions about what this season is all about. Let’s get to it!
1. Zeb!
Although it was just a brief appearance, seeing Zeb Orrelios in a live action show is a very cool moment for fans of Star Wars: Rebels. There’s already a fair amount of Rebels DNA in The Mandalorian, but this small appearance leads me to believe that we’re going to get, essentially, a live-action Rebels sooner than later. We’ve seen Ahsoka, we’ve seen Zeb, we’ve heard the name Thrawn. It’s coming, and it’s going to be great.
It also dovetails nicely with what the show has been doing over the past few weeks, which is to give a broader view of what the galaxy looks like after the Empire. The finale to Rebels lets us know that these characters survived the war, but seeing them here further connects these series together. Star Wars works best as a tapestry, and when you see those pieces next to each other, it helps make the story feel more unified.
2. [Don Pardo voice] Tiiiim Meaaaaadows!
Saturday Night Live alum Tim Meadows shows up as a New Republic mucky muck, and does a great job of being a put upon middle manager who just wants things to be quiet. This is contrasted with Captain Teva, the New Republic X-wing pilot who has had a few interactions with Din Djarin, who seems like he is legitimately trying to make the galaxy a better, safer place. Teva goes to Coruscant for help, and he’s met with bureaucratic red tape and some deceptive behavior from Elia Kane.
I am really enjoying the positioning of the New Republic as an absolute nightmare of good intentions and ineffectual paperwork. It explains so much about what exactly led to the First Order without being heavy handed about it.
3. A new home
When Teva sees a distress call from Greef Karga, he tracks down the Mandalorian cell and pleads with them to help Nevarro and his old friend Karga. The Mandalorians debate Din’s request to help his old friend, but eventually decide to help. This leads to them taking out the titular pirate of this episode and being given a tract of land on Nevarro to make their own. I know I am skipping over the entire battle, but while it was visually very cool, there just isn’t that much to analyze about it.
That said, I want to spend some time talking about this idea of the Mandalorians having a new home, and the steps that have been taken to establish their new life. The first real piece of this is the softening of our view of this sect of Mandalorians. Yes, they are religious extremists who have poisoned the minds of many into thinking there is only one way to live, but this season has shown their acceptance, their dedication to their young, and a real sense of justice beneath their bluster.
The second piece is how Bo-Katan fits into all of this. When the Armorer asks her to remove her mask, it does two things: it show that the rules are arbitrary, and that the Armorer knows that. While it leads to, theoretically, a good thing – Bo-Katan as united of the stray Mandalorians – it should also show everyone else that none of this really matters the way they think it does. I’m not sure if Favreau and co. necessarily would concede that last point, but if the Armorer can just say “She doesn’t have to wear a mask,” then why should anyone else?
I am also very curious if the Armorer was being literal in her desire to re-take Mandalore – a planet that seems borderline uninhabitable – or if the goal is to make Nevarro a ‘new’ Mandalore.
4. Did the Mandalorians take Moff Gideon?
We’ve seen fake-outs in Star Wars before; remember when Stormtroopers made it look like Jawas shot up Tatooine? Could that be the case here, where it appears that Mandalorians took Moff Gideon? It would certainly throw people off the trail of the ‘real’ culprits, and put the Mandalorians at odds with the New Republic. We know that Gideon is still pulling the strings, and this seems like a very good plan to pit two of his adversaries against each other.
Continued belowI suppose there is a chance that he actually was taken by Mandalorians, but I don’t necessarily believe that.
This season has felt incredibly scattered and disconnected thus far, but this episode tied it all together in a (somewhat) satisfying package. We now see why Mando had to see Karga in the first episode; we see why we needed to tell Elia Kane’s story before Teva’s. We know why we needed emo Bo-Katan established before we could build her up into where she finds herself now. I still think the season suffers because of its structure, but this episode went a long way to giving it retroactive structure. I can’t wait for Topher Grace to edit this season and The Book of Boba Fett into a cohesive package one day.
