The penultimate episode of “The Mandalorian” dropped on Disney+ about a week ago.
My reaction to this chapter (“The Reckoning”) is tardy because I was working on my review of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (read it here).
I’ll just say upfront that this was one of the strongest episodes in the series.
Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) sends a holographic transmission to the Mando (Pedro Pascal) — saying the two are even. The client who hired the Mando to find Baby Yoda is still on Nevarro, his ranks of ex-Imperial guards have grown, and they’ve Imposed despotic rule on the city — all things impeding the livelihood of the Guild.
Karga tells the Mandalorian that they can’t get close enough to the man to take him out. That’s where the Mando comes in. Karga wants to hire him to take out the client, using Baby Yoda as bait.
If successful, the Mando gets to keep Baby Yoda and have his name cleared by the Guild.
The Mando agrees to the job, and heads back to Sorgan (featured in the fourth episode) to persuade former Rebel Dropper Cara Dune (Gina Carano) to help him with the job. He finds her fighting a Dathomirian opponent in the local common house.
Dune agrees to help with the operation. She is concerned about getting involved, but hearing that the target is Imperial proves to be ample motivation.
The Mando also figures it’d be a wise idea to have someone keep an eye on Baby Yoda, so he arm twists the Ugnaught Kuiil (Nick Nolte), who brings along three Blurggs for the crew to ride.
He agrees to do it to “protect the child form Imperial slavery.”
Many fans (like myself) were hoping that IG-11 (shot by the Mando in the first episode this season) would make a return appearance. This episode finds the IG unit restored and reprogrammed by Kuiil. The Mando (who has no love for droids) is skeptical, but Kuiil assures his visitors that the former bounty droid is harmless.
“Droids are not good or bad,” says Kuiil. “They are neutral reflections of those who imprint them.”
Even though a couple of episodes in this first season of “The Mandalorian” have felt episodic (very much standalone in nature), I like how creator Jon Favreau has managed to tie things together.
We also get some insights into the psyche of Baby Yoda. During a down moment on the Razor Crest (as the team is flying to Nevarro), the Mando and Dune are arm wrestling.
Baby Yoda — sensing his overseer is about to lose to the muscular shock troop — uses the Force to strangle her (something that felt very Darth Vader-esque). The Mando intervenes before it’s too late, but it illustrates the power the child possesses. It also illustrates how dangerous the little one could be in the wrong hands.
The dramatics on Nevarro prove to be pretty compelling — and things don’t go according to plan.
Karga had planned to betray the Mando (not terribly surprising), but changes his tune when Baby Yoda uses his skills to heal Karga after a flying Reptavian attacks their camp during the journey to town.
The Mando decides to do the job without Baby Yoda — instead bringing the empty pram (closed) into town. He sends Kuiil back to the Razor Crest with the child.
There are far more Stormtroopers guarding the Mando’s original client (Werner Herzog) than Karga had suggested.
In these moments we see the tension ratcheted up in the narrative. There isn’t anything particularly earth-shattering in terms of novel plot points in the episode, but the execution is really well done.
The seventh chapter ends with a fallen Baby Yoda being scooped up from the lava fields by a couple of biker scouts (who intercepted a transmission from the Mando to Kuiil and chased the Ugnaught to the Razor Crest).
We also see an image of Kuiil where the Ugnaught looks like he is dead, gunned down by the biker scouts. I’m hoping we’ll find out he’s alright in the season finale.
We meet Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) for the first time in this episode (he lands in a TIE Fighter on Nevarro toward the end of the episode). He suggests that the Mandolorian and Cara Dune have no idea what they are in possession of as it regards Baby Yoda.
We meet Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) for the first time in this episode (he lands in a TIE Fighter on Nevarro toward the end of the episode). He suggests that the Mandolorian and Cara Dune have no idea what they are in possession of as it regards Baby Yoda.
“It means more to me than you will ever know,” Gideon says.
Gideon — with a group of Death Troopers and additional Stormtroopers — sets up an intimidating showdown for Chapter 8.
It was kind of cool to see an Imperial Troop Transport in this episode.
This craft is based on a toy Kenner released in the 1970s:
This craft is based on a toy Kenner released in the 1970s:
This episode was directed by Deborah Chow. She also directed the third episode. If both of the chapters she directed are any indication, fans are in for a treat when the Disney+ series based on Obi-Wan Kenobi (starring Ewan McGregor) is released. Chow will handle all directing duties in that series. She appears to be a talented filmmaker.
Stay tuned for my review of “The Mandalorian” Season 1, Episode 8 — the final episode of the first season!
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