The most exciting thing to me about a Star Wars TV show is the chance to explore societies that don’t get depicted in the movies. The movies deal with the big political figures and the battles that determine the fate of the galaxy. We don’t often get to see how people on the ground live. The people who are just trying to go about their day. The movies occasionally show us glimpses, but never for long.
That’s why I like the casino detour in Star Wars: The Last Jedi so much. And the Tatooine scenes of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Hell, I even like the deathsticks scene in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones because at least it shows a little of what it’s like to live in Coruscant.
The Mandalorian hasn’t shown us too much of that. We’ve seen how bounty hunters work, but as far as regular folks go, it’s been Jawas and a moisture farmer. Things we’ve seen before. This week’s episode gave us a new planet and opened on a society totally unfamiliar to us. We see a remote village where people catch neon blue fish in buckets. Kids try to catch frog-looking things and everything’s peaceful. Then the bandits attack. The town is defenseless, and is quickly overrun by the… space orcs? That’s what they look like to me, anyway.
Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian (Photo Credit: Lucasfilm / Disney)
Wouldn’t you know it, The Mandalorian is on the run and looking for a remote place to hide. He’s found just the planet, too. It’s fun watching him interact with the locals who’ve never met anyone like him before. Whatever money he has, it’s more than most people here have seen before. His gruff nature coming up against the friendly country folk gives the episode some humor before it gets to the real action later on.
Of course, he finds someone eyeing him suspiciously from the other side of the bar. He tracks her down and the two have a brief, fun fight before realizing they aren’t actually out to get each other. She was a mercenary who grew dissatisfied with her peacekeeping duties after the fall of the Empire. She left it all behind and thought the Mandalorian was after her head. She tells him there’s only room on this planet for one of them, and he agrees to head off.
Before he makes it off the planet though, his presence in town caught the attention of two fishermen from the opening. They want to hire him to protect them from the bandits. They don’t have much money, but the promise of a safe, remote place for him and The Child to hide out makes him take the job. This is a classic Western (or Samurai, depending on your preference) story. It’s Seven Samurai, or Magnificent Seven shrunk down to 41 minutes and given a Star Wars coat of paint. That’s not a criticism, it’s just what this episode is doing. And it’s doing it very well. There’s a reason this story keeps getting retold and remade. It’s a good one. Seeing it play out in the Star Wars universe like this is such a fun twist on it.
Gina Carano as Cara Dune. (Photo Credit: Lucasfilm / Disney)
The Mandalorian enlists Cara, thinking she probably needs a place to hide out too. She accepts, and the two set up shop in the fishing village. The episode starts building something of a love story between The Mandalorian and a young widow. From the moment he arrives in town she’s clearly way into him. Her first question is when was the last time he took his armor off in front of anyone else. Damn, I know there aren’t a ton of options in this town, but that is some thirst. The love story is really goofy.
I don’t believe these two together for a second and it springs up so suddenly, it feels more like an awkward comedy than anything else. It does serve a purpose though, and as the episode backs off her trying to get with him, that purpose becomes clear. It shows us, and The Mandalorian, the life he could have. He could just take off his helmet, raise the kid himself and have a small, idyllic life in this fishing village. By the end of the episode, he even starts to consider it. It’s not gonna happen, though.
He and Cara patrol the woods surrounding the village to figure out just what they’re dealing with. They come across an AT-ST footprint. They didn’t sign up for any imperial entanglements, they’re out of here. The townspeople beg them to stay, and ever the big metal softy, The Mandalorian offers to teach them to fight. You like training montages? Stupid question, who doesn’t love training montages? They’re the best part of every movie. I will say this one is a decent one, between The Mandalorian teaching the townsfolk how to shoot and Cara teaching them the proper way to hit someone with a pointy stick. It’s harder than it sounds.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm / Disney Plus
What I really liked about this episode was that it finally made the AT-ST’s scary. They were little more than fodder in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. They’re the second enemies you fight in Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire. They’re defeated by Ewoks with logs in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
They’ve never been shown to be a real threat until now. There’s only one this time, and it’s the scariest weapon the bandits have. Not even The Mandalorian’s blaster can penetrate its armor. On this show, it’s the feared weapon of a merciless empire that it should be. They build a trap for it, but it stops just short. Like its pilots know something’s up. It takes Cara taking swimming underneath it and taking potshots at its eyes before it falls into the hole they dug for it. It’s an exciting battle scene because you don’t normally see a ground fight on this small a scale in Star Wars. It makes the stakes more personal, and we’re more invested in who lives and dies as a result.
Maybe The Mandalorian playing around with classic Western tropes in the Star Wars universe will get old someday. I don’t see that day coming anytime soon. The show’s strength lies in that it’s main character is forced to keep traveling. There’s always a new situation for him to run into. Last week it was a moral dilemma. This week, it’s Seven Samurai. Next week, who knows? It’s exciting not knowing where the adventure will take us next. The Mandalorian briefly considers leaving The Child to grow up in this town, but then a bounty hunter attacks. Cara blasts it to a steaming pulp before it can hurt anyone, but the damage is done. It had a tracking fob. There will be more. The Mandalorian and The Child have to move on. Just like any good cowboy.
The Mandalorian streams Fridays on Disney Plus.
Previously on The Mandalorain:
- The Mandalorian Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
- The Mandalorian Season 1 Episode 2 Recap
- The Mandalorian Season 1 Premiere Recap
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