The Mandalorian: Chapter 11–The Heiress

Mandalorian Season Two Spoilers Ahead!

The latest Mandalorian episode, Chapter 11: The Heiress, packs a punch in its 36 minutes.

Din has to make an emergency landing on Trask because of the pitiful state of the Razor Crest, and has to be fished out of the water by a really cool walker-crane. He throws some credits to a Mon Calamari wearing a warm-looking cable-knit sweater and suspenders to fix it the best he can.

Frog Lady reunites with her hubby, who directs Din to an inn where he can find info on Mandalorians. A Mon Calamari there directs him to some Quarren who will take him on their boat to the other Mandos. But guess what?

The Quarren just want to steal his beskar, and they push the Child (in his egg-stroller–wink, wink, poetic justice) into the mouth of a monster. Din jumps in but becomes trapped; it doesn’t look good until three Mandalorians show up, take out the Quarren and rescue the Child from the jaws of the monster.

So this is when it gets real interesting and kind of flip-out exciting.

Of course, Bo-Katan (!!!) is immediately recognizable with her distinctive armor; she’s showed up with two others of her group (who I’ve since learned are called Nite Owls–never knew this). When they take off their helmets, Din naturally thinks they’re not real Mandalorians, and demands to know where they got their armor.

The Mandalorian' Chapter 11 Exposes a Dark Truth About Our Hero — Katie Sackhoff, who voiced Bo-Katan in the Clone Wars, plays her live-action counterpart in The Mandalorian.

This is where Bo-Katan sets things straight for Din. She tells him the armor has been in her family for three generations, she was born on Mandalore, and is the rightful ruler. And she recognizes him as one of “The Watch,” a cult of religious Mandos who seek to go back to the old ways (which I believe is a remnant and evolution of Death Watch, as Din was saved and taken in by them–you can see their sigil if you look carefully in Episode 8 of Season One).

So now we understand the whole helmet thing.

And I don’t think Din knows how to feel about all this, either. His motto is “This is the Way,” but it’s not the only way, and he never knew this. He leaves them abruptly, apparently having no use for them. The fact that they just saved his ass and he just abandons them tells me his whole life perspective has just changed and he needs some time to digest this.

They meet up again in an alleyway where they save him again from some Quarren looking for revenge. He agrees to talk with them over a drink, and he tells them he’s looking for Jedi to bring the Child back to its own kind. Bo-Katan replies she knows a Jedi (and we know who she’s talking about–more flip-out excitement!). She can tell him where to go if he helps them with their mission: to steal some weapons from an Imperial ship to help them in their quest to take back Mandalore.

He drops off the Child at Frog Lady’s house for her to watch over him (and gives him stern daddy-orders to behave), and off he goes with the other Mandalorians. They jet-pack onto the Imperial ship, break in, and cause all hell to break loose. When it’s clear to the captain his ship is lost, he contacts–guess who?–Grand Moff Gideon. Gideon basically orders the guy to kill themselves to prevent the weapons from getting into the hands of the “pirates.” And he does it. But not before the Mandos get into the cockpit. Bo-Katan is looking for the Dark Saber–which, of course, Gideon possesses. The captain kills himself before she can find out where Gideon is. They manage to save the ship and and the weapons. She invites Din to help them retake Mandalore, but he has his mission and reminds her of the location of the Jedi she promised. She tells him the name of a planet, Corvus, and then she says it:

Ahsoka-freaking-Tano! Not like that, of course. But that’s what we hear, and we’re over the moon about it.

So Din retrieves the Child from Frog Lady’s house (no pollywogs were eaten), and off he goes, limping away into space again.

Whew! That’s a lot to take in in 36 minutes. But what an amazing episode. I’m sure all of us would love to see Ahsoka in the next episode, but again, I think they’re going to make us wait. I’m betting Din’s going to Navarro to recruit Cara Dune and Greef Kargo to help him first, and then maybe we’ll see our favorite Togruta after that.

She’s worth waiting for.

Liked this post? Hit the Like button, comment below, or Follow Star Wars: My Point of View.

Like to read Star Wars? Check out my sister blog The Star Wars Reader. I regularly review Star Wars books, both Canon and Legends.

The Mandalorian: S2 Chapter 9–The Passenger

Mandalorian Season 2 Spoilers Ahead!

If you’re a parent, the second episode of Season 2 of the Mandalorian might have struck a chord with you.

First you’ve got Din Djarin, trying his best to parent the Child, who clearly is in his terrible two’s stage despite being 50 years old. Din keeps telling the little devil to stop eating Frog Lady’s eggs, and guess what? He doesn’t listen. Sound familiar, Mom and Dad? Clearly Mando isn’t feeding his little one enough to get him through his growth spurt. Lots to learn.

Then you’ve got Frog Lady herself, who is trying to get her eggs back to her husband on the planet Trask to be fertilized. They’re not quite children yet, but they’re the potential of her future pollywogs, and so she’ll trust this Mandalorian she doesn’t even know to get her where she needs to go. She figures out the little green rascal is eating them, and so clutches them protectively at the end of the episode.

And then we have the big spider mama herself, coming out in full force to protect her horrible little creepy crawlies, because, once again, the Child is eating other creatures’ babies. But because we hate spiders, we don’t care if those babies get disintegrated or squashed; in fact, we feel a deep need for them to be destroyed.

Anyway, as a Mom I just kind of noticed these parent/children dilemmas and parallels in this episode, and thought it was interesting.

I’ve heard a lot of people complaining that this episode disappointed them, was “boring,” or was just filler, compared to the first episode. And maybe that’s true–from a certain point of view, of course. We’ve gotten so used to extraordinarily good content that we expect it all the time. Or we were just so pysched about Boba Fett, we wanted them to follow up with him immediately. I get it. I do, too. And I’m chomping at the bit to see Jedi. Any Jedi. And who knows if we’ll even see them this season at all? As any Jedi master will tell you, we need to utilize patience, young Padawans.

Personally, I thought The Passenger was anything but boring. The fight with the scavengers/bounty hunters at the beginning, the chase with the X-Wings, and the frantic escape from the spiders–how can any of that be boring? I was on the edge of my seat with the spider thing, I can tell you, because for me, spiders are the stuff of nightmares. Anyway, I thought it was quite entertaining, and the humor–a big part of Star Wars–was abundant and wonderful in this episode. Seeing Dave Filoni as Trapper Wolf again was a nice touch, and a good reminder that the New Republic is out there doing its thing, and don’t you forget it! Also, I think my favorite new alien is Dr. Mandible.

So I’m just going to file this one under “creature-feature” fun and move on, anxiously awaiting next week’s episode. Maybe then we’ll get the answers we’re hoping for.

Liked this post? Hit the Like button, comment below, or Follow Star Wars: My Point of View.

Like to read Star Wars? Check out my sister blog The Star Wars Reader. I regularly review Star Wars books, both Legends and Canon.

Thoughts on The Mandalorian S2: Chapter 9-The Marshal

Mandalorian Spoilers Ahead!!!

So it finally arrived, and Star Wars fans are ecstatic about the first episode of Season Two of The Mandalorian. With good reason–as young Anakin would say, it was “wizard”, “rugged”, and “savage”! High praise, indeed.

Where to begin? Well, I love this show because it appeals to so many people, even those who aren’t uber-fans of Star Wars. My husband is a casual fan of Star Wars (he’ll go see the movies with me and enjoys them, but pretty much forgets them after that!), but he LOVES this show. And one doesn’t need to know everything about Star Wars to enjoy it.

Having said that, if you ARE an uber-fan, then this show provides delightful easter eggs that are so fun to pluck! With this episode in particular, there were a few:

Cobb Vanth. This is a character who appears in the Aftermath trilogy of books by Chuck Wendig. I’m going to go ahead and admit that I didn’t know that, as I haven’t read the books–yet. I learned about him after I watched the show. Still, it’s awesome that F&F (Favreau and Filoni) are mining some of the EU content out there and making fans happy by doing it. And I just have to mention that Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) has the most perfect teeth I ever saw.
Anakin’s podracer. Again, I didn’t notice this right away, but on first seeing it, I thought, that thing looks awfully familiar! And when I learned it HAD been Anakin’s, I just got happy-fan goosebumps!
The Krayt Dragon. Not what I expected, but very cool. I’d heard of krayt dragons on Tatooine, mostly from the Kenobi novel by John Jackson Miller, and the descriptions in that book do not match up to this krayt dragon. No matter, it’s not canon anyway. This krayt dragon is quite impressive, and definitely gave me some Dune-like vibes. I also didn’t know that they had pearls inside them. Those Jawas are going to be styling!
And of course, Boba Fett’s armor, and possibly (and very probably), the man himself. I never understood the fascination with Boba Fett, but I have no objections to him being in the show (if that was indeed him at the end–and let’s face it, who else could it be? Rex? Some random clone? Doubt it). My theory is that Boba will go after Mando for his armor, and Mando will trade the armor for information on the Jedi. Possibly, if Boba can prove he’s a Mandalorian (which opens another can of worms: is he a Mandalorian? Let the fan arguments begin!) But Boba must know something of the Jedi, I would think. Anyway, that’s my theory. Can’t wait to see how it plays out.

And of course, there’s still holdover questions from Season 1: What is Moff Gideon’s game? How did he get the Darksaber? Will Bo-Katan make an appearance, as she’s the last Mandalorian (that we know of) who was in possession of it? How will Greef Karga and Cara Dune play a part in this season? Who else might show up?

And the tantalizing tidbits from the S2 trailer: who was that hooded woman? Is that snowy planet Ilum, where the Jedi went to get their kyber crystals? Will Mando actually meet Jedi? Ahsoka? Ezra? Luke? So many cameo rumors, but we’ll just have to be patient and wait to see what happens.

Fridays can’t come fast enough!

Liked this post? Hit the Like button, comment below, or Follow Star Wars: My Point of View.

Like to read Star Wars? Check out my sister blog The Star Wars Reader. I regularly review Star Wars books, both Legends and Canon.

Mandalorian Fever

I haven’t written any posts on the Mandalorian here, mainly because I watched it before I began this blog. It doesn’t mean I don’t LOVE it.

Like everyone else, I’ve been patiently waiting for Season Two, and we’re finally on the home stretch. I’ve watched the long-awaited trailer, and it re-ignited my excitement for this fantastic Star Wars show.

I’m not one to microscopically break down a two-minute trailer, but what I saw did bring out the goosebumps. I especially loved the voice of the Armorer telling our Mando that he must bring the Child back to his own kind, and the way to do that is to find the long, lost Jedi. As a huge Jedi fan, I can’t begin to tell you how excited that made me.

There have been some rumors that perhaps Mando’s journey will bring him to Luke Skywalker. Personally, I doubt it–I think Disney is pretty much done with Skywalkers–but if I’m wrong, that’s just fine. I’d love to see Luke again. I’d love to see ANY Jedi again, even a new one we haven’t met.

There’s also been a lot of speculation about who the mysterious woman in the cloak is. Some say Sabine, some say an Inquisitor. Again, I wouldn’t be averse to seeing Sabine–but I also don’t want Season Two to devolve into Cameoland. I’ve heard Ahsoka will be there, possibly Bo-Katan, Boba Fett, and on and on and on. I love these characters, but The Mandalorian is its own thing–it proved that in Season One–so it doesn’t necessarily need all these known characters from Star Wars. I get it that the Dark Saber brings many associations with it, including important characters related to its history. But maybe it’s simply on to the next phase of its existence, and doesn’t need anyone from the past.

Having said that, I’ll take whatever they throw at us. Because I know that no matter what, it will be great.

The Mandalorian S1.2 “The Child” matures quickly...

Do you have any theories about Season Two of The Mandalorian? Comment below and we’ll talk about it!

Liked this post? Hit the Like button, comment below, or Follow Star Wars: My Point of View.

Like to read Star Wars? Check out my sister blog The Star Wars Reader. I regularly review Star Wars books, both Canon and Legends.

And by the way, this is my 66th post on Star Wars: My Point of View.