The Mandalorian rejoins some old allies in “The Siege,” getting the Razor Crest repaired and giving Greef Karga and Cara Dune a hand in securing Nevarro. “The Siege” puts Carl Weathers (Greef Karga) in the director’s chair and marks the return of actor and comedian Horatio Sanz as Mythrol.
There are lots of fascinating things about this episode. Here’s a quick bullet list of things you might want to keep filed away for the rest of the season.
- A few things about the opening…
- 1). It’s difficult not to think of the Serenity (from Firefly) when seeing the back jets on the Razor Crest.
- 2). The opening sequence with Cara Dune mopping up some no-goods in a gunfight is some real space western kind of stuff. Very classic Star Wars.
- An experiment involving an “M-Count” can only mean midi-chlorians. Love or hate midi-chlorians, it looks like Baby Yoda’s got them in spades. Dr. Pershing says he will need another sample in order to continue the experiments, so you can bet Baby Yoda and Space Dad will have to put some serious distance between themselves and Nevarro.
- “I lost everyone.” While we see Princess Leia’s pain at the loss of Alderaan in A New Hope, we hardly get time to truly take in this literal world-shattering event. The grief Cara Dune has experienced is very, very real and tangible in this episode. It’s not a stretch to say that it’s likely she feels as though she could have done something to prevent this (even if she couldn’t have) or that she wishes she could have died with her friends and family. Could you blame her? The sorrow conveyed here runs deep and is palpable. Will Cara be a “joiner”? That badge left with her seems to be the proverbial Chekov’s gun.
- This episode marks the halfway point of the season. Thus far each episode has followed a similar format–Mando goes to one place, gets asked to help with a mission in exchange for something to aid him on his quest. If we really want to get down to brass tacks, this is effectively a Dungeons & Dragons mission in space, with each episode being a side quest. Last season, episode six marked the pivot in the story, where each of the threads began to be woven together. This season seems to be a little faster paced than that, so I won’t be surprised if the story starts to pick up a bit more next episode.
- “The Siege” serves as a reminder that we’re dealing with a cast of chaotic good/neutral characters. Mando is perhaps more lawful than the others, but the flashbacks to the show’s pilot episode served as a stark reminder that Mando is a violent man. Yes, he’s clearly got a softer side when it comes to The Child (and I would say even Cara Dune too), but sometimes it is easy to forget that Mando is a bounty hunter, which means he kidnaps or kills for money. That’s not exactly an admirable profession. Will Mando return to a life of bounty hunting once he reunites The Child with his kind? Only time will tell.
- We know that Moff Gideon has spies in Nevarro and is now tracking Mando and The Child. But those things that he’s building on his ship? The internet seems to think they are Dark Troopers. Dark troopers are currently in the “legends” area of Star Wars canon, but if this is the case, then our (anti-)heroes are in for some trouble.
- Just give Baby Yoda all the snacks. A growing baby needs all the macarons and frogs he can get. Just beware of blue barf on in-space flights.
What are your thoughts on this halfway mark of The Mandalorian? Anything you believe that will come into significance later? Leave us a comment and we’ll chat.
The next episode of The Mandalorian will air on November 27, 2020 on Disney+.
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