The Tragedy
In last week’s episode of The Mandalorian, our hero brought young Grogu to the ruins of an ancient temple on Tython. The Mando places Grogu upon the seeing stone in the temple ruins, hoping that the youngster will make a connection with a Jedi willing to train him. Everything is just fine until not one, but two unexpected visitors arrive on the planet.
The episode has a few funny moments between Din Djarin and Grogu. It also strengthens the bond between the duo as their father/son relationship continues to grow. As I mentioned, two unexpected visitors arrive on Tython while Grogu is seated on the seeing stone. The Mando forms an alliance with one of the visitors and this leads to a stand off with the other one. I’ll spoil that surprise later in this post.
The episode was directed by Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Machete) and his influence can be seen throughout the episode. From certain visitors flying down to the planet to the big shootout/beatdown, parts of this episode scream Rodriguez. There’s also the return of a beloved character from the original trilogy and a few faces introduced during both seasons of The Mandalorian. There’s been a ton of praise for the episode because of this, and I honestly believe that the grand entrance by one returning character clouded the minds of fanboys, making them believe that this is the greatest episode of the series so far.
Well, it’s pretty good, but far from the best episode of the series in my opinion.
Spoilers Below!!!!! You’ve been warned!!!!
Even folks that have absolutely zero interest in the Star Wars franchise know who the returning original trilogy character is in this episode. He was first shown as an observer in the first episode of the second season, but he really gets to shine in Chapter 14. That character is Boba Fett and I have to admit that whenever I saw Slave I cruising down to the surface of Tython, eight year old me jumped for joy. That being said, in typical Rodriguez style, the bulk of the episode was a showcase for action.
Temuera Morrison takes on the role of Boba Fett as an aged bounty hunter who has obviously been through hell. Scarred, slightly overweight, and really, really angry, all Boba Fett wants from Din Djarin is his armor. Din doesn’t believe that the armor belongs to Boba Fett even after Boba explains that it was his father’s armor (Jango Fett, also played by Morrison in the prequel trilogy) and the pair have a brief standoff. Along for the ride with Boba Fett is the returning Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), who reminds Din that the “asset” has a huge price on its head. Not long after, Imperial forces arrive on Tython and Din, Boba, and Fennec all agree to protect Grogu in return for Boba’s armor. If you’ve ever watched any Robert Rodriguez film, you know what happens next: a massive action scene that fills out the bulk of the episode with an amazing score accompanying it.
Basically, Boba Fett beats the crap out of a ton of stormtroopers and Fennec helps him while Din attempts to break into the Force force field surrounding Grogu. As the battle continues, Din is distracted by the stormtroopers and eventually loses Grogu to four Dark Troopers sent down by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) to retrieve him. To top it all off, Gideon has Din’s ship, the Razor Crest, disintegrated on the spot, leaving him only the Beskar spear that he earned in the prior episode. Boba Fett and Fennec Shand agree to help Din save Grogu and the Mando also enlists the aid of Cara Dune (Gina Carano) in order to bust another returning character, Migs Mayfield (Bill Burr), out of prison.
As I’ve already stated, this episode is loaded with action. Unlike the whiz-bang action of earlier episodes, Chapter 14’s action is much more brutal. It gives Boba Fett a proper live action fight sequence and this is primarily due to the direction of Rodriguez, who handles the action scenes perfectly. That being said, all of the character development is found at the very beginning and very end of the episode and that’s sort of a downer in my book. I still enjoyed the episode and it was fun to see Boba Fett whip up on some folks, but the episode felt a bit too “forced” for my tastes. It’s good, but nothing special.
Thanks for reading my post. Let me know how you felt about this episode. Did you get caught up in the Boba Fett action? Maybe I need to lighten up? If so, tell me in the comments!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 