The Mandalorian-Episodes 5, 6 and 7

Mitch Van Cleave

We are getting closer and closer to the conclusion of this season of the Mandalorian. I feel that these episodes have revealed more information about the setting, and built a stronger storyline for the plot to develop. Most of the episodes have been small adventures that tie together, but we begin to see everything tie together, fleshing out the arc of the show.

In Chapter 5, Mando is forced to Tatooine after an unfortunate encounter with another nameless mercenary. We get to see Mos Eisley, which is a popular city in the Star Wars universe. This is Favreau’s nod to the previous movies, but it’s also a brilliant way to showcase his world building. We see Tatooine during Republic rule, and Imperial rule in the George Lucas’s films; the contrast of the two revealed the differences of these governments. What Favreau has done, is put forth Tatooine in a post-Imperial setting, where we see stormtrooper helmets set on pikes to ward off supporters of the falling Empire. This episode also confirmed my beliefs of Mando’s character, he has a heart. He obviously cares for the child, and he is also kind to those who help him, even when they are hostile. Amy Sedaris’s character, Peli Motto, is stubborn in dealing with Mando, and yet in the end he rewards her with the credits he took from the body of Toro Calican, the wanna-be bounty hunter.

Now we arrive at Chapter 6, my favorite episode so far. We learn a fair amount about Mando’s past from this episode due to context clues. The heist style that begins the episode is entertaining to say the least, and also does a brilliant job of displaying different arrays of characters, whether it be Twi’leks or highly intelligent droids. We also get to see Mando compared to these other bounty hunters, which portrays him very much as the good guy of the installment. In my opinion though, the best part of the episode is the second half. The moment where the lights turn red and the alarms start sounding is when you realize that Mando is about to begin the hunt. I’ve been a little underwhelmed with the amount of Mando being an unbeatable fighting machine, as we’ve seen him have plenty of moments of weakness; though, this chapter delivered what I have been craving. The surprising thing, though, is that Mando leaves his victims alive at the end of the episode, which is very uncharacteristic of a Mandalorian. This leads me to believe that we will see conflict between him and his clan at some point in the series.

The latest episode, Chapter 7, is the most satisfying episode in a television sense. Mando builds a collection of characters from past episodes in an attempt to kill The Client, the man who is sending an endless amount of mercenaries to destroy the child. There is a brilliant twist of classic Star Wars betrayal, and a fantastic instance showing alien creatures attacking from above. My favorite thing about this installment is that it genuinely make you feel emotion. The hatred you feel for the Empire after Kuiil is killed is unmatchable. As much as I hate that it happened, it was well written. I, for one, completely took the bait in believing that I was just watching a suspenseful moment, and that Kuiil would make it to the spaceship unharmed. One of the best things a writer can do is drastically disappoint your expectations.

We’ve been set up for a solid finale to the season. The cliffhanger from the seventh chapter leads us into what will hopefully be a slaughter of the Imperial officers holding Mando and his crew hostage, or a poetic ending that shows that the good guys don’t always win.