The Mandalorian sneaks in its penultimate episode before The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters tomorrow. It’s the first episode since the pilot that really felt like you couldn’t wait to watch the next one. Let’s get right to it.
1. Getting the band together
One of the strengths of the show has been its modular nature. If you’re aren’t feeling a certain guest star or locale, it’ll be gone 30ish minutes later. For the first time, “The Reckoning” brings back both characters and planets that we’ve seen before that aren’t directly related to the Baby Yoda plot. Both Cara Dune and Kuiil are back again, and we begin to see what the show might have looked like if it wasn’t such a meditation on solitude.
Also, after a couple of episodes that were more content with being tone pieces and stand alone stories, we get an episode that very much connects the overarching season plot. Personally, I would’ve been fine with a series of disconnected vignettes, but I can understand why the show would want to stitch its pieces together more as it approaches the end of its first season.
2. Further expanding the world of Star Wars
If Bob Iger’s book is to be believed, one of the problems that George Lucas had with The Force Awakens is that it didn’t ‘bring enough new’ into Star Wars. While Lucas is the guy who gave every alien a racist accent in The Phantom Menace, I absolutely understand his complaint. One of the nice things about The Mandalorian is its insistence on giving us new creatures, settings, and situations in each episode.
While this episode, yes, is going to places we’ve seen before, it also gives us, essentially, Star Wars pterodactyls. While this entire episode had me a hair-trigger away from screaming, the sudden appearance of these creatures was truly a ‘jump off the couch’ moment.
It also continues the longstanding pulp tradition of mixing dinosaurs and westerns so, again, I’m very here for this.
3. A case for the Empire
While the Client (Werner Herzog) doesn’t exactly convince me, he does make a case for the Empire as an, at least, force for peace in the galaxy. “Tell me, is the world any more safe since the revolution?”
Obviously, this is common propaganda that people in power use to deter those from trying to seek power, but it did get me thinking a little about the citizens of the galaxy. We all understand why a draconian government is a bad thing, but for people on distant planets with few concerns other than safety of their families and the ability to make a living, a revolution can be quite frustrating. This is an area I would love to see Star Wars continue to explore.
4. Welcome aboard, Gus Fring Giancarlo Esposito!
Moff Gideon played by the great Giancarlo Esposito, is the last of the named cast members to actually show up on the series, and while he is only on screen for a short period of time, his title, TIE fighter, and demeanor goes a long way to establishing him as a serious man, and a threat to what the Mando is trying to protect.
While it certainly looks bleak for the Mando, Cara, and Carl Weathers (I refuse to learn his character’s name, as Carl Weathers is 80% of a Star Wars name already), I don’t think the series will give us a typical Mexican standoff or anything of the like. While the show has been traditional in a few key ways, its confrontations have been less than expected.
5. 9 days?!?
It is bad enough that Kuiil is dead (He has spoken, RIP), but to have to wait nine whole days to see how the season resolves itself and, more importantly, to see the fate of Yodel, is so unfair, it is basically criminal. And at the holidays, of all times!
But seriously folks, one of the most impressive parts of The Mandalorian is the dedication to building Yodel into someone we all seriously care for to this extent. Yes, a lot of that is due to cuteness, but the show also introduces enough little aspects – him willing to kill for the Mando when losing at arm wrestling – that make his character so interesting, that we can’t help but be transfixed by him.
Join me on December 27th for the final word on this season of The Mandalorian. I can’t wait.
